VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

We all have a lot of roles in our lives that we try to keep organized, and today I’m going to be talking about the planner I’ve been using to do just that.

Shout out to RoteRunner for sending me two of their planners to review. I was super excited to be able to test their newly revised Purpose Planner, as I’ve been a fan of their products for a while. I also want to add, they’re not paying me to say any of this, so you’re going to be getting an honest take on my favorite things about this planner.

The Planner’s Structure

The RoteRunner Planner is a six-month undated planner. They have a hardcover and softcover, but I am finding that I prefer the softcover since it’s more flexible (obviously). Structurally, it’s got a rubber band to keep it shut and two attached ribbon bookmarks. There’s a pocket on the inside for storing loose papers.

The paper is really lovely. I have had planners whose ink just bleeds through, and this planner doesn’t bleed with the Pilot pens I use.

Improvements they made from the previous version of this planner are now un-dated, and the days of the week are blank. The planner doesn’t require a Monday-start, so if you want a Sunday-start planner, you can do that. I know that Monday-start planners are picking up a little bit more steam in the US, but for the most part, people are used to a Sunday-start calendar.

A Role-Oriented Planner

I actually found the Purpose Planner because I was doing a lot of research into what planner I should get for 2021. The thing that attracted me to it was the fact that it was role-oriented and not goal-oriented.

When you set up your planner, there are five pages at the beginning to list five different roles in your life. These roles can be anything from your job to just being a healthy person – which, yes, that is a “role” that I listed. There put down what you want to achieve in the six upcoming months. 

Take those goals and break them down into daily, weekly, and monthly tasks that will help you in whatever areas of your life you’re looking to improve. 

Let’s say your goal is to be a healthier person. In that case, tasks might include drinking herbal tea every day or getting enough water, or actually going out for a walk. The options are endless, but to sum it up, you’re looking at your life from a holistic view. Take into account all of the things that bring balance into your life, rather than just focusing on trying to get things done. The planner’s structure encourages you to take a step back and reflect on how all the roles in your life affect one another.

The Weekly View

The weekly view is packed with trackers like meal planning and hydration. There’s also a self-care and fitness calendar, which I love to use each week has its own daily habit tracker so you can adjust your habits weekly as your life changes. There’s also a sleep tracker that I admit I don’t really use. There is also a “not-to-do” and a “to-buy” list.

Priority actions are broken out into different sections for work and career home and admin, projects and passion, friends and networks and an area with a header for you to customize.

My favorite thing that they changed from the previous version of this planner is the AM focus checklist and PM focus checklist. The times on the planner run from 6AM to 6PM and has checklists for the day. Previously it was 5AM to 10PM with no checklists. It’s been a great addition I didn’t know I needed.

The Monthly View

The monthly view also has an area for making priority checklists and reflections for thinking about things you’ve learned, memories you’ve made, and reasons to be grateful.  

To be completely honest, sometimes I forget to go back to the previous month and add my reflections. I found it helpful to use that page area to reflect on the last month when setting up the upcoming month. For example, I use the January reflections space for reflecting on December.

Why I Prefer Weekly View Planners

Like many people, I experience migraines. Sometimes they can completely derail a day where I felt like I was being really productive and focused. Having a weekly planner (vs. a daily planner) allows me to take tasks from the time that I’ve lost and put it elsewhere in the week where I know I have more available time. Using a daily planner gave me guilt for having entirely empty pages of daily goals that I just couldn’t achieve due to something outside of my control. You cannot hustle every day. You have to take time to take care of yourself.

Also, at the beginning of the planner are pages for adding your bucket list and reading lists for the coming months. There’s also an annual calendar view, and at the very back of the planner, a checklist for just questions to check in with yourself and see how you’re doing with your self-care. 

You’re looking at your roles and the different streams of your life and how you can actually improve them and make them all flow together nicely. And it’s not just focused on goals and hustle. You’re encouraged to focus on yourself.

I consider using a planner to be an act of self-care. I don’t just use a planner as a place to keep my tasks. Using a planner as a dumping ground (or inbox) for things that cross my mind throughout the day helps me to keep my head clear for whatever task is at hand, instead of ruminating on what else needs to get done. It’s less about productivity and more about keeping my mind clear.

I’d probably get nothing done if it wasn’t for using a planner. I’ve tried a lot of different options over the years with my previous favorite being the bullet journal system in a Moleskine notebook. I’ve come to realize that I work best with using two tools: a main planner notebook, and a project management app like Asana for larger projects that have a lot of moving parts.

After using a not-so-great planner last year (I used the Create & Cultivate Self Made planner in 2020 and wasn’t a huge fan of the lack of writing space or instruction on how to use some of the features), I did some hefty research before making my planner purchase for 2021. Ultimately, I ended up purchasing the Roterunner Purpose Planner and have been using it for one whole month – so it seemed like a good time to write a review! Just as a disclaimer, this post is not sponsored (but hey, Roterunner, hit me up!).

What is the Roterunner Purpose Planner?

This planner is a six-month, open date planner. The dimensions are the same size as a larger hardcover Moleskine (19x25cm). I tend to lean towards smaller size planners so they fit easily in any of my handbags, but I decided to take a risk with this one. I ended up liking the larger size since it allowed for more writing space. The flat-lay planner itself has an internal storage pocket, an elastic to keep the cover shut, and two ribbons for bookmarking.

I purchased the planner online through the Roterunner website. Hopefully they’ll be available through more retailers in the future, but at the moment it appears that online purchases are the only way to get your hands on one of these.

Compartmentalization Rules

At first I was a little bit concerned about the amount of compartmentalization. Every week has boxes for checklists for:

• Work & Career
• Home & Admin
• Projects & Passion
• Friends & Networks
• To buy & Not to Do
• 7 Daily Habits
• A sleep tracker
• Self Care & fitness calendar
• Meal planning
• Notes section

And this is on top of the weekly calendar setup. Does it seem like too much? At first I thought I might end up being overwhelmed by the amount of compartmentalization, but I’ve come to realize it actually makes me less worried by the amount of things that I needed to get done because I can separate things that are work or project related from things that matter to my health or home. I don’t find myself digging through my to-do lists anymore. I can zero in on specific areas if I need to.

I recognize that this might not be for everyone, but if you have a shorter attention span like I do and find organizing things into lists helps you to think clearer, this level of compartmentalization is really great.

Final Impressions

Favorite features

• Non-Dated Format: Six month open date allows for more flexibility and less guilt if you want to change to a new planner halfway through the year.
• Compartmentalization: keeping everything in separate boxes really does help to keep focus. For some things on my to-do list, I didn’t know which compartment to put it in though. Some items would fall into both Projects & Passion and Work & Career. There were a few compartments that went unused (like the Sleep Tracker), but overall I enjoyed having these features available when I needed them.
• Quality Feels: The hardcover and paper feels high quality. I didn’t run into any issues with my pilot pen ink bleeding through the paper.

Least favorite features

• Monday start weeks: After six months of using the planner, I don’t think I’ve gotten used to it.
• Timestamps: Even though this planner uses a horizontal weekly layout, the timestamps are only on the far left side of the week. I would’ve preferred if time stamps were included for each day of the week, because the further along in the week, the harder it became to use time blocking. Having lines in this section instead of a dot grid might’ve also helped here.
• Placement of the Monthly Reflections: This might be a “me” thing, but I found it hard to keep referring back to the monthly goals and reflections page. I’ve been tending to go week by week and not review the month’s goals. Having a section at the end of the month for reflection instead of at the beginning of the month might’ve been helpful.

After using the Roterunner Purpose Planner from January 2021 through the beginning of June 2021, I overall felt that it was definitely one of the better planners I’ve used. I did find that a lot of space went unused in the planner, including weeks that went completely unused. It’s pretty funny that this was my biggest complaint, considering my last year’s planner didn’t have enough space – this one has too much of it! For the rest of the year, I’m going to test out two 90 day/quarterly planners to see if having a more short term planner has any effect on personal project management.

Use Sustainable Suppliers

This might seem like a no-brainer. Using only sustainable suppliers for your product development sounds like it might be hard to do, but websites like Waste Not make it easier for you to find everything you need, from bio-based packing foam, to renewed material hangers. You can even filter down to companies with low-minimums if you don’t need a high volume of supplies.

Use the How2Recycle Labeling System

Recycling directions may vary by municipality, but using a standardized system like How2Recycle will help your customers know the best ways to recycle your product. Products often contain multiple components and this standardized system takes the guesswork out for the average consumer.

There is a setup fee for using this labeling system, so you may have to make a case for it at the company you work at. Luckily, more and more businesses recognize the benefits of the investment.

Know Key Phrases

Biodegradable? Bio-based? Renewable source? Renewed material? Doing your homework to know the different key phrases is important. Sometimes buzzwords can be thrown into things to make a product more appealing, but if you know what you’re looking for, you’ll be able to make better decisions.

Commit to Continued Learning

Education should always be a priority, no matter what stage of your career. Climate Designers is a chapter based organization that makes it easier for likeminded designers to share ideas and learn how to better the world through their work.

In their own words, Climate Designers’ mission is:

1. To provide the resources, knowledge, and community for designers to take climate action in the work they do.
2. To inspire, motivate, and graduate climate designers by providing climate-focused resources for design educators.

Find your local chapter.

Whether you’re just starting out as a designer, or you’re already moving on up in your career, it can be easy to build sustainable habits into your workflow.

With an acrylic photo cube, a few swipes of paint, some LED garden lights, and waxed paper, you can have a great geeky decor item for your desk or bookshelf! I originally created this as a prop for a Loki cosplay that I was working on back in 2014.

Note: This video is SUPER OLD and I feel like it’s not very representative of my work today. But it gets the job done.

Spec work, aka speculative work, is unpaid work that gets produced for a potential client or employer. With spec, there is no guarantee of payment for the hours or resources spent on the project. Clients often frame spec work as a “design test” or a “sample”, to see if they like your work. While spec can take many different forms, this type is the form that this article will focus on. For simplicity’s sake, we’ll also refer to every type of creative as a “designer”.

So why is spec so bad?

Spec causes the creative professional to lose money or potential work.

If a graphic designer chooses to put hours into an unpaid spec project, they are blocking off time on their calendar that could be put towards completing working for paying clients, nurturing leads (aka paying clients), or building their business and brand content (aka attracting leads). In the corporate world, if a job seeker is spending time completing “design tests”, that’s time that could be put towards applying for other jobs where a creative worker’s time is valued. Either way, the creative completing the spec work loses the potential for more income.

Spec does not involve a full creative process.

Spec work often involves only a very brief creative brief (ha, wordplay) and minimal detail. Rarely in a professional environment does a project contain such minimal details. Whether freelancing or working in-house, creatives rarely work in a silo and work alongside their creative directors and the stakeholders who are requesting the assets. The opportunity for stakeholder interviews or collaboration with the rest of the creative team isn’t possible during the spec process. Therefore, it’s not possible for the designer to produce their best work.

Spec doesn’t harm only the creator, but the client as well.

It’s impossible for a client to truly get a feel for what it’s like to work with a creative unless they’re working through the full creative process with them. When a client chooses to work with a designer based solely on the work produced during the spec review, the price tag attached to the full project is often larger than what they would’ve paid if just paying the designer’s hourly rate for the “sample”.

What are the alternatives to unpaid spec work?

When proposed with the facts of spec work, people usually become defensive and will protest, “But how else am I supposed to know if I will like the work?”. Here are some options:

• Trust the professional. A professional designer comes with a great portfolio and references. Any designer worth their salt has an up-to-date portfolio that shows off their best and favorite work. If a designer refuses to provide references to previous clients or employers, consider it a red flag. The best professional creatives are able to work within the brand style guides that you provide them, or you can seek out a designer whose personal style is the solution to the problem you’re seeking to solve. Talk to a designer’s references and get feedback on their collaboration style.
• Still not 100% sure? Hire the designer for a smaller project. Rather than asking for an unpaid sample of the designer’s work, hire them for a smaller project that would be a smaller investment on your part. It will give you an idea of the designer’s working style and you don’t put as much upfront investment – and you still get a product that was paid for.
  

Food for thought: you wouldn’t go to a restaurant and ask to eat the food before agreeing to pay the bill. You trust that the professionals in the kitchen, who were trained using completely different sets of ingredients and recipes, are capable of creating the dishes that are on the menu. With completely different ingredients than what they were provided in culinary school.

Additional resources on the topic:

• https://www.nospec.com/
• Jessica Hische provides a guide on how to reply to spec requests
• AIGA’s Stance on the Matter

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(Note: Some of these links may be affiliate URLs)

SKILLSHARE

Skillshare is full of project-based classes that help you add pieces to your portfolio while teaching you how to use new skills. I have a few classes I teach on there and can offer a free 14 day trial of Skillshare premium.

COURSERA

MOOCS, or Massive Open Online Courses, are making a big comeback. On Coursera, you can take free higher education courses in your favorite subjects from colleges around the world. They have everything from entomology to content strategy.

TEAM TREEHOUSE

Cupcake ipsum dolor. Sit amet topping tiramisu. Lollipop ice cream bonbon powder jelly beans dessert. Candy gummies wafer cheesecake.

ENVATO TUTS+

Formerly known as just Tuts+, it’s now included with any subscription of Envato Elements. There’s everything from video courses to guides and eBooks.

CODECADEMY

Codecademy is a great place to get started learning to code for free. You can try 180 hours of learning content for free and decide if it’s for you before you dive into the more premium content.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

General Assembly is most known for its Bootcamp-style courses that span over a few weeks and get you prepared to start a new career. However, they also offer smaller one-day workshops or online engagements. The list is always changing, but there is always quality learning material.

Looking for more resources?

I’ve created a page of my favorite resources, which include online learning and my favorite tools. Some of these resources also come with a free trial! Check it out!

1) BRING A DRIVING PARTNER

Driving long distances can be made so much more tolerable if you have a partner to drive with. Bring a friend or family member with you on the tip. For me, I brought along my fiancée/now-husband. He was already living in Los Angeles, but it just made sense for him to fly back to Tampa for us to make the drive together.

Switching between drivers every few hours can allow you to cover more miles with fewer stops, and it’s a lot more fun to share memories with someone you care about.

2) CULL YOUR CLOSET (AND EVERYTHING ELSE)

This might seem like the most obvious thing to start with. Watch some Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up on Netflix, and Marie Kondo the heck out of your belongings.

Find a local charity that speaks to you, and donate everything that is still in usable condition.

3) PACK SOFT ITEMS IN BAGS.

Soft items packed into bags (such as blankets, pillows, clothing) can be crammed into those car nooks and crannies that boxes and suitcases can’t fill. A few things might need ironing after the trip, but you’ll be maximizing the amount of space in your car.

4) PLAN TO MAKE UNEXPECTED STOPS

When planning how long it’ll take for you to get from one Point A to Point B, make sure you add in more time than necessary. You’ll make pit-stops at random towns on the side of the road and find delightful tourist traps where you least expect it.

Planning extra hours into your journey will relieve some of the stress you may feel from needing to get to your hotel or Airbnb before nightfall.

5) RESEARCH WEATHER IN OTHER STATES

When we left Florida, the autumn weather was humid and slightly more than balmy. Eight hours and one state later, the weather was windy and cold. If you’ll be driving from one climate to another, make sure you have your change of shoes or extra layers within easy reach.

6) MOST IMPORTANT: LEAVE ROOM FOR SNACKS

As a lover of snacks, I cannot stress this enough. Leave. Room. For. Snacks. Don’t be so intent on packing every corner with your belongings that you forget to leave space for snacks. Your mid-dessert cravings will thank you.

(A) Forgot your business cards at home (again)
(B) Awkwardly hand them your business card, which isn’t as cool as theirs.
(C) Proudly hand them your business card, which they then put into their back pocket with twenty other cards they have collected throughout the day.

Business cards are a dime a dozen in the world of networking and conferences. Unless you make a lasting impression on every person you hand your card to, it’s unlikely that your card will end up in a pile of similar, albeit well designed, cards. Unless you personally follow up with everyone person you exchanged cards with, it’s likely that they won’t remember what card belongs to who.

But we’re not here to talk about how to get your card to stand out from the pile. And we’re not here to talk about your followup strategy or the followup strategy of every person who you met with.

I’M HERE TO TALK ABOUT A NEW STAPLE IN THE WORLD OF CALLING CARDS: PROMOTIONAL STICKERS.

You might say, “You want me to put all my contact information on a sticker? Isn’t that tacky?” Or, “What are you talking about? Stickers have been around forever.” Or, “What even is a promotional sticker?”.

HERE’S SOME PROMOTIONAL STICKER TRICKS:

• Produce stickers with illustrations related to your brand, and make sure to put your name, website, or social media handle somewhere on the sticker.
• If illustrations aren’t your thing, having a well-designed logo or phrase on a sticker is likely to get plastered somewhere just out of a designer’s love for good typography.
• If the sticker relates strongly enough to your brand, when it gets stuck, it becomes (at least semi) permanent advertising for your brand. It doesn’t get shoved into the back of a desk drawer with the one hundred and fifty other business cards never to be heard from again.
• When it comes to design or design brands, stickers are a hot commodity. We use stickers to personalize our MacBooks and Moleskines in a world where every designer virtually has the same item.

The cost may be higher, but so will your return on investment. A popular choice for high-quality sticker production includes StickerMule. If you want an illustrated sticker for your brand, there are many designers (including myself), who would love to be a part of your project.

When the average business plan outlines goals for future marketing, very rarely does it discuss how design will play a role in that expansion. Good design is an opportunity for every business and should be one of your strengths.

STEPS TO TAKE TO IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS’S DESIGN

Take an audit of what design assets you currently have and any that you may be looking to add down the line. For the average business, this would include things like a logo, website, business cards, or any printed marketing material. But don’t just stop with the average design assets. Think a little further.

For example, if your business will have any presence on social media, you will also want to consider sprucing up your cover photos or having a set of graphics created to add to your posts, rather than only posting text when you create an update. Social media posts that included photos and graphics had an 87% interaction rate in a study conducted by the Social Media Examiner.

Once you compile your list of current design assets and things you may want to add or improve on in the future, determine what is most important to you to improve upon. Within the Strategy and Implementation section of your business plan, include these areas in a timeline. What will you work on and have complete before launching the business? What will you implement a year from now? Two years from now? How do these design improvements play back into your strategy?

“BUT GOOD DESIGN CAN HAVE A HEFTY PRICE TAG”

If cost is an issue while you’re just starting up your business, don’t feel like you have to take on all the design and branding by yourself. No matter what kind of designer you’re looking for, you can find something within your budget.

However, it’s important to remember, you do get what you pay for. Like most vendors, you should check for references and reviews. You’ll want a designer who can concept and create original works for you – not design a logo from a cookie cutter template that countless other businesses may have already used. Originality will be key when branding your business, especially if you plan to trademark your logo.

Having good design at all of your business’s touch points not only add credibility, but also have a higher success rate at garnering customers. According to the Design Management Institute, design-driven companies have outperformed the S&P Index by 219% over 10 years.

Do a search for a local designer who you can meet with to discuss your business’s needs. Talk to other small business owners in your area and see who they work with or recommend.

Okay, so maybe we’ve all received more than a few.

WHAT IS THE GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION?

Enacted in April 2016, the GDPR protects the data of citizens in the European Union – though it isn’t enforceable until May 25, 2018. Personal data is being defined as anything that can identify the contact. Things like name, email, or address are the first things that come to mind. But even genetic or biometric information fall under the GDPR.

HOW DOES THE GDPR AFFECT YOUR BUSINESS?

Your company doesn’t have to be based in the EU to be subject to the regulation. If you process the data of EU citizens, the GDPR applies to you. If you are unsure about the location of your customers, you are better off being in compliance than risk being fined a whole lotta money.

THE GDPR OUTLINES THE KEY CHANGES TO YOUR CONTACT’S RIGHTS:

1. If you learn that your company has a data breach, you must alert your customers within 72 hours.
2. Your customers have a right to know how their data is being used. After all, if you gave people your sensitive information, wouldn’t you want to know where it’s going
3. If your customer wants their data to be erased, they have the right to it. This isn’t just deactivating their account – it’s completely deleting the data
4. Does your customer want a complete copy of what data you have on them? You need to be able to download a copy of their data and to provide them – in a format their computer can read.

Luckily, most email service providers have already begun making changes to their applications to allow their users to be in compliance with the GDPR when using their application. As a small business, it’s your responsibility to make sure this is the case.

One of the quickest wins a company can make to be compliant is to ensure consent. You must have explicit permission from the contact that you will be contacting them using their personal data. There’s no getting around it. Your customer must take an action to opt-in, such as clicking on a checkbox or confirming via double opt-in.

There is a lot that goes into being GDPR compliant – most of which is not covered in this post. But hopefully, it’s enough to get you started and on the right track to being compliant.

THE ULTIMATE LIST OF GDPR RESOURCES:

• EUGDPR.org: Get the skinny directly from the EU.
• MailerLite.com: Based in the EU, MailerLite knows what’s up with GDPR and how it can help you with your email marketing.
• Bronto.com: The email marketing giant answers commonly asked GDPR q’s.
• Mailchimp.com: Gettin’ ready for the GDPR – now with a handy-dandy PDF guide.
• Wikipedia.org: Because why not.