The History and Benefits of a Daily Planner that Combines Modern Organization and Ancient Wellness Practices

AN AMERICAN HISTORY OF THE DAILY PLANNER

The concept of a planner can be traced back by more than two centuries to the European colonization of North America. Referred to as an “Almanac” — a calendar and local guide that provided Colonists with indispensable information like sunrise and sunset times, list of local inns, postage rates, weather predictions, the phases of the Moon, the positions of the planets, schedules of high and low tides, and a register of religious festivals and saints' days. George Washington, like other Founding Fathers, interweaved highly personal diary pages that documented where he rode, who came to visit, whom he dined with, as well as, personal thoughts and deeds as a self-initiative of staying accountable to God. Unlike a standard modern planner whose main objective is schedule keeping, the Almanac had a dual purpose of both earthly and spiritual goals in the Colonial era. 

In 1773, Robert Aitken, an aspiring publisher in Revolutionary-era Philadelphia, published what he claimed to be America’s first planner — the Aitken’s Register, which offered his customers a predesigned weekly layout that allowed them to record their expenses on one page with appointments and memos on the other. For the first time, Americans could see their schedules laid out before them and manage their finances alongside. Unfortunately, Aitken’s planner was a victim of America’s turbulent political landscape and its business-centered layout was ahead of its time.

Fast forward to the 1800’s of Industrial America, planners eventually did take off. People came to realize that planning ahead was critical to advancing at work and by 1850, the American Diary and other stationery varieties became not only a respectable, daily staple but an immense business opportunity that catered to the upper class. By the mid-19th century, the planner industry became democratized as the American Diary, whose original format was intended for only upper class men, was made accessible to women and also the working class. The daily planner became a symbol of a “moral standard” that reflected society’s set of values. Etiquette manuals were published to urge readers to “improve their time” and promoted the daily planner as the ultimate path to self-improvement. 

creation OF THE ASTRAL PLANNER

In 2019, while working as a freelance stylist and fashion designer of her own Ready-to-Wear label, our Founder, Elena Bobysheva, realized there was a gap in the market for an executive-level planner for spiritually-inclined creative professionals.  A life-long planner user, space enthusiast of all the wonders of our Universe, and earnest student of ancient esoteric subjects like astrology and numerology, Elena could never find a planner that combined all these interests into a sophisticated apparatus with style and function that conjointly offered all-encompassing planning features for life management, work, finances, personal well-being, and passionate pursuits through an interconnected lens.

Existing planners on the market were either too colorful, manufactured with economical covers and paper, or offered guileless prints of stars, flowers, and butterflies — not a presentation that would complement a preference for monochromatic, minimal design or the settings of a financial board meeting. Moreover, most planners on the market did not provide any additional value beyond dated, lined pages. If one wanted to holistically track their lifestyle alongside their daily agenda by recording one’s meals, fitness plans, sleeping habits, supplement intake, finances, moon rituals, or energy levels — they would be required to purchase a separate stationery product for each respective need (if it was available). For years, Elena would hand draw her own daily planning sections into the blank pages of a generic planner.

At the beginning of 2020, Elena created the first edition of The Astral Planner, found a printer that aligned with her values on sustainability and craftsmanship, and the 2021 Edition was launched in August 2020. The planner was designed with a premium linen hardcover, featured gold foil accents, and was constructed using smyth-sewn and flat-lay binding techniques. The intention being that it would have the aesthetic and quality of a rare book that might be pleasantly discovered in an ancient library or a quintessential bookshop. A planner that can be referenced and revisited for years to come and be a keeper of one’s dreams, intentions, plans, hopes, and aspirations.

This year, we are celebrating the 2023 Edition of The Astral Planner, which has evolved to include not only astrology but also illuminating content on numerology, synchronicities and angel numbers, Greco-Roman mythology, zodiac archetypes, planetary transits and energies, moon phases and eclipse themes, and so much more. 

THE ASTRAL PLANNER: A COSMIC GUIDE FOR THE MODERN POLYMATH

On an individual level, a planner is an organizational tool to track various aspects of one’s life. But on a collective level, it’s a reflection of society’s set of values and priorities. The pandemic especially, forced many people to redefine what success meant to them. Many realized that our current way of living is not only spirit-destroying but also unsustainable — for ourselves and our planet . During this phase, many people turned to ancient practices like astrology to identify their unique purpose, innate gifts, and to advise their next chapter in life. One could say it was divine timing that The Astral Planner was created at the cusp of this era of collective awakening. In 2018, a Pew Research Center study showed that 6 in 10 Americans have at least one “new age” belief — whether its psychic abilities, astrology, or spiritual presence.

True fulfillment means finding a balance you can live with. The Astral Planner’s daily format is structured in a specific way to ensure each life area is always in balance with another, while providing the necessary breathing room to contemplate and pursue additional interests. Our favorite part about The Astral Planner is that it’s truly a multi-functional planner for the modern polymath that holds EVERYTHING you need from day to day. 

Whether it’s a physics professor who loves to write fantasy novels and needs a planner to manage his class schedule and also jot down a story plot idea, or the engineer who is also a painter looking for a better time management tool so they have the needed bandwidth for their art projects, or the photographer who also has an excellent analytical mind and needs a daily planner to manage his finances and campaign budgets, or the pharmacist turned lifestyle blogger attempting to identify food sensitivities to better improve their energy and gut health, or the start-up tech entrepreneur who is studying law and needs a multi-functional tool for their business obligations and night class schedule, or the wardrobe stylist that needs to manage the influx of client purchases and returns — they all have deep, varied interests and the desire to excel in each. 

The Astral Planner helps them learn how to finesse their area of interest by prioritizing time to think, create, and innovate in a calm and inspiring environment through decluttering their schedule, eliminating energy drainers, and identifying opportunities for focused, deep work and creative exploration. With the intentional balance between work, life, and passionate pursuits, many are able to find more time for self-discovery, personal development, and additional skill-building  — inclusive of staying more disciplined with healthy routines by developing wellness practices that not only work with their lifestyle but also cater to their emotional needs (moon sign).

You don't have to be familiar with astrology or spirituality to enjoy The Astral Planner. It is suitable for anyone interested in mysticism while also providing a heavy focus on goal setting and a variety of functional life organization tools. Besides a yearly overview; monthly calendar spreads; goal setting pages; self-care habits and practices; seasonal living prompts; daily pages for your to-do lists, appointments, meal planning, fitness plans, daily moon phases and signs; budgeting pages; life admin sections including important dates, favorite moments, and lastly — a back pocket to store notes, receipts, business cards, and anything else you wish to keep near, The Astral Planner will help you:

1.Identify Innate Personality Strengths and Weaknesses:

Who are we? Where do we come from? What is our purpose? Humanity has been attempting to answer these questions since the beginning of time . . . through science, religion, evolution, spirituality, and the metaphysical arts. As you will come to learn in the 2023 Edition of The Astral Planner, the positions of the various planets and stars in our sky may present some answers to these questions. In fact, these celestial alignments are used to determine one's natal chart. Your natal chart is a unique cosmic snapshot of the major celestial bodies within our solar system at the precise time, date, and location your soul arrived on Earth. At the time of your birth, the stars and planets were in a multi-layered, cosmic conversation, operating as a beautiful map of clues to your purpose, the forces you would encounter in this life, your struggles and passions, and whom you would grow to become. Many times, when people start learning astrology, they feel validated on what they innately suspected about themselves. 

2. Achieve a Heightened Awareness to Celestial Messages:

Whether you are religious, atheist, agnostic, new-age, or spiritual — most people will agree that, despite what name we use, there is a Higher Power at play — guarding and guiding us. Numerical repetition called synchronicities and angel numbers have been observed for thousands of years by various cultures all over the world. Synchronicities are moments of spiritual significance sent from the Universe that ask us to pause for a moment of reflection and reach a new level of awareness. Many people worldwide see angel numbers before, during, or after significant life events if they are open to receiving them. Angel numbers are meant to bring hope, encouragement, and comfort when you feel alone or lost in life. 

3. Practice Gratitude:

It sounds cliché but sometimes being thankful for the problems we don’t have is a sure-fire way to shift our mindset from victim mentality to one of purpose and action. The “Life Assessment” section in The Astral Planner will help you take inventory of where you’re currently at in life by identifying life areas in need of personal growth. Progressing onwards to our “Goals and Resolutions” section will help you determine what you short and long term goals you desire to accomplish for each major life area. Lastly, our “Favorite Moments and Accomplishments” section will be there whenever you need to be pulled out of a rut. 

4. Do Daily Check-Ins:

Understanding how stress, sleep, physical movement, and nutrition impact your mood and energy levels is the ultimate gift of self-awareness to achieving sustainable well-being and professional satisfaction. Whether you are an entrepreneur, stay-at-home mom, or work in corporate — if your physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental health is strained or neglected then your business, relationships, or work quality will inevitably crumble as well. 

Ready to begin leading your life through cosmic guidance and soulful planning? Explore our 2023 planner and journal collection here.