Homemaker Review- the iBloom Life and Business Planner

Homemaker Review- the iBloom Life and Business Planner:

This is going to be a super easy post for me to write.

I’ve tried several planners over the course of the past few years. All of them seemed to be lacking something. For me, the biggest thing that they lacked was direction.

What I love about the iBloom Life and Business Planner:

A planner is more than a calendar. A planner, for me, is my place to put all of the information that gets all jumbled up in my brain in an orderly, organized place. It helps me to focus. As a blogger, there are many facets to my work. Deadlines, new products, affiliate marketing, networking, and so much more. It’s so easy for me to get distracted, to lose focus, to get sidetracked. The iBloom Life and Business Planner helps me with all of those annoyances.

Everything that I need is contained in one easy to carry planner. I love the “reality check” to identify what is going well and what is not. This helps me to narrow down my focus for the year. I can see where I am doing well as well as where I need more work. Identifying my goals for the upcoming year as well as a projects section with a timeline and detailed action plan. Last year, I made a vision board and hung it on the wall, but for 2016, I’m going to utilize the vision board pages and include it in my planner so that I can see refer to it as I’m making plans.

The year overview, for two years, helps me see the “big picture.” Business goals, personal goals, books to read, and more are included. This may be the best part of this planner. It’s like a 1:1 session with my business coach, Kelly Thorne Gore, founder of iBloom. I can hear her voice as I read over the “my goals for this month” page. Here, there is a section to record my gratitude list, relationships to invest in, what’s going well, what’s not going well, what needs to change, and notes.

Looking back over my last year’s planner, I see a theme in the what’s not going well section each month. This shows me that I lacked focus and follow through to change those items from not going well to going well. It’s hard sometimes to look at these sections and see this, however, it also gives me a focus. Blogging (and many other businesses) can be so wide open that it’s easy to reach for the next “shiny” object be it a training, a conference, or an idea. But, without follow through and focus, none of those items will be completed or the information gained implemented. This planner gently nudges me back to my focus.

I have tried other planner options and have found that the iBloom Life and Business Planner is exactly what I need. iBloom’s goal is to help women create a life that they love. Our business exists to enhance our life. When we’ve over-extended ourselves, neglected relationships, or lost focus, business is no longer enhancing our life, rather it becomes a burden. By keeping business goals and tasks in the proper perspective, we can truly create a life that we love.

Here are the top 10 reasons that the iBloom Life and Business Planner appeals to this office supply addict:

1. Spiral bound (no loose papers, no ripped paper holes)
2. Luxurious thick paper that just “feels” good to the touch. (I use a fine point Sharpie marker in my planner and have no bleed through)
3. Business and life planning sheets
4. Sturdy tabs
5. Laminated covers
6. Back pocket to contain notes and such until I record the info in my planner (NEW this year!)
7. Affordable price
8. 8.5 X 10 size- large enough to have plenty of room to write, but not cumbersome
9. Notes pages in the back- both lined and unlined
10. Colorful and engaging graphics (I add a bit of fun with washi tape and stickers, but that’s my choice, it’s beautiful on its own)

I hope that you’ve seen just how much I love this planner through my review. It’s truly so much more than a calendar and to-do list, it is indeed a life AND business planner.

Homemaker Review- the iBloom Life and Business Planner