This TikTok-Famous Planner Has Helped Make My Busy Days Way More Manageable — and It’s on Sale!
If you’re anything like me, then buying a new planner in anticipation of a new year is one of the best parts about starting with a clean slate. Whether it’s for school or Day 1 of 365, there’s something about cracking open a brand-new notebook to take charge of your life that’s pretty exciting (and maybe even a little overwhelming!). When you really think about cramming a year of your life within a set number of pages, the layout of a new planner suddenly becomes super important. It took years for me to fully realize that one size does not fit all. Personally, I prefer calendar pages to chart major events, but I also need weekly pages to look closer at my priorities each day. I also crave the satisfaction of writing my notes down, which rules digital planners out almost entirely. Oh, and one more thing…
Actually completing every month of my planner has almost never happened — until I stumbled upon smart notebooks while scrolling TikTok. I subsequently found the Rocketbook Panda Planner, and I’m now more organized than ever.
The Rocketbook Panda Planner is a physical/digital hybrid smart notebook that allows you to fill it in by hand, then scan as needed to your devices. Due to its collaborative capabilities and ease of use, it’s no wonder that Rocketbook smart notebooks are so popular among TikTok users and are some of the most-wished-for products on Amazon. And get this: It’s only three months long.
What I love about the Rocketbook Panda Planner is that it features a short-term approach to long-term goals. In the past, I’ve tried using thick planners that walk you through a layout of your entire year in detail, down to your personal goals in multiple areas of life, but thinking that far ahead always seemed too overwhelming. By the time I got through the heavy-handed breakdown of my outlook for the new year, I’d be burnt out. With the Panda Planner, there’s a single page for a general overview of your annual plan, while months are planned one quarter of the year at a time. It turns out that breaking down your yearly goals down into smaller tasks makes them more digestible.
The planner also breaks down its weeks and days in a similar manner: Weekly agendas are filled out two weeks at a time, daily planning is tackled one week at a time, and days are spread between two pages with morning and evening routines. If you want, you can get even more granular than that: The morning template includes spaces to reflect on what you’re grateful for, what you’re excited about that day, your priorities, hourly schedule, and task checklist. The evening template asks you to acknowledge three of your wins for the day and name one improvement you’d like to make. It’s just enough to not be intimidating, and it’s actually fun to fill out!
Being able to scan and save the pages of the planner has been great for a number of reasons. First, for goals I’m working toward, I’m able to keep up with my pacing by scanning and storing the pages on my computer to track my progress. I don’t always purposefully keep tabs on my checkpoints, but it’s been a good practice (when I do make time to check in) to save my pages for a few months at a time in order to look back and see my progress.
Second, the digital aspect of Rocketbook is exactly what makes it so strong for collaborative work. Every now and then, I work on big projects with my friends and I’m able to easily pass along my notes with a quick scan so we can trade ideas in real-time. Rocketbook notebooks are even doodle-friendly, and as a creative, that’s been one of the coolest elements about using the tech. Drawings get picked up in the scan, and the Rocketbook app even cleans up handwriting so you can scribble away to your heart’s content.
Last but not least, I love that the planner syncs scans to specific targets that you can set and adjust as needed in the Rocketbook app. The bottom of each page features seven symbols that link to different scan destinations, including text, email, Google Drive, Dropbox, Slack, Trello, and more. You can also scan a page to save on your device directly. I personally prefer to fill in my schedule and tasks, then scan the page and save it on my phone to use as a running checklist for the day. I found it really helpful to see it all in one go, rather than having to sort through multiple screens to get all the details.
All in all, the Rocketbook Panda Planner completely changed the way I manage my busy schedule. If it could do that for someone like me, who’s constantly juggling tasks, I can only imagine how helpful it is for students, parents, people working from home, entrepreneurs, and especially those on the go. The notebook is thin enough to fit into a bag without overcrowding it, and if you don’t want to take it with you, just scan the pages you need before jetting out the door.
It’s been a great feeling to finally have found a planner that’s low-pressure and flexible! Instead of painting over pages with White-Out anytime I need to shift gears, adjusting my schedule is a guilt-free swipe of an eraser away.
Buy: Rocketbook Panda Planner, $24.50 (normally $35)