When the Best Self Journal arrived, my husband and I fought over who would get to use it. Yep, we’re nerds like that. But it’s also a great planner, as I’ll show you in a minute. First, let me introduce myself: I’m a mama to two and a part-time blogger, so time is my most limited resource. As a result, I’m obsessed with time management, productivity, and planning.
If you’re balancing a whole lot of work and personal responsibilities, you’ve come to the right place. In 2017, I bought 8 planners to test out and review. You’ll see links to all my other planner reviews below, or you can start planning your blog content using my free editorial calendar template.
This post includes affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something using my link, I’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. You can read more on my disclosure page.
Other reviews in this series:
The ultimate planner review round-up (This post has the highlights of all 9 planner reviews)
Daily Greatness Business Planner
Best Self Journal Review
Even though it’s called a journal, I consider the Best Self Journal more of a planner. It’s designed to help you break down a big goal into small, actionable steps.
As one reviewer put it, the Best Self Journal asks all the right questions. Each daily page has space to write down your big goal, your daily targets, wins, and a gratitude list. There’s also space for notes and ideas, plus a timeline/agenda to write down your appointments.
The reflection pages are also a nice addition. I always struggle to press the pause button and reflect on how things are going. With a planner that includes those reflection pages, I would be much more likely to actually pause and reflect. 🙂
Care for a more detailed look? Check out my video review and walk-through here:
The Best Self Journal is perfect for you if:
- You need structure to help you reach your goals. The Best Self Journal provides a lot of structure and a detailed approach to planning.
- You like using a daily planner (as opposed to a weekly planner, where you see each week on a two page spread). In the Best Self Journal, each day gets a two page spread.
- You like to work in 90-day chunks. Each planner holds 90 days, and the system is designed to help you reach your goals at the end of each 90 days.
The Good
There’s a reason why my husband and I fought over who would get to use this planner. It’s designed in a simple and thoughtful way, and it includes all the elements we both look for in a planner. Plus, the cover is a gender-neutral navy blue, so it would look professional at home and work.
I love that it’s designed to help you be more productive and reach your goals. Many people struggle to break down a big goal into daily action steps, but the Best Self Journal provides a framework-and planning pages- to help you do that. It would definitely be helpful for anyone who needs to manage a big project.
I also appreciate that it’s undated, which means you can start using it at any time and not waste pages.
The Bad
Because this is a detailed, daily planner, there are only 90 days in each book. (Putting a year’s worth of daily pages inside would make the planner HUGE and unwieldy.) Over the course of a year, though, you would need to buy 4 copies. So that brings the cost over $100, which is much more expensive than all the other planners I tried.
If you don’t like to work in 90-day chunks, then The Best Self Journal is not a good fit for you. Because this planner is designed around a 90-day system, you would be frustrated when the planner ends, but your project hadn’t.
Overall, I think the planner would be a good fit for bloggers and solopreneurs who are working on a big project, such as a course launch.
If you’ve got a planner, but you struggle to stick with the plan, check out Master Time Management, my FREE 5-day email course for bloggers and solopreneurs. Sign up below to learn how to stop the overwhelm and get more done every day.
