The Positive Planner
With a year of stress, and at times despair we’ve all been touched by mental health so with the new year approaching we loved the idea of some ongoing positivity and inspiration to take us marching into the new year with some extra motivation.
Enter The Positive Planner! This is a journal, with a difference. When you open it and flick through the 300 pages you can instantly see its appeal and why it could become your daily companion. It can help you be more organised while simultaneously improving your mental health and wellbeing. So much thought has gone into the design of this, with all of its sections, that reflect how you feel.
It’s a journey of self-care that encourages you to make journaling and mindfulness an everyday practice. It’s designed as as 12 week journey which is gives you a wonderful guide and welcome direction but in reality there’s no wrong way to use it, because you’ll find your own way to make the most of it, for you. And using regularly, the positive affirmations, daily reflections and mindfulness activities provides the repetitiveness that can really sink in, which means our brains eventually forget we’re learning, because we’ve learnt it.
It’s actually a lovely practice to get into, and is particularly nice to do of an evening at this time of the year when the nights are dark and it’s cold outside – to wrap up on the sofa and make notes reflecting on that day, and to think about tomorrows intentions – there’s a whole section for this!
But as well as all this, it is a super useful planner that includes all those mom-features we find useful such as meal planners, shopping lists and monthly diary pages.
It’s a perfect starting point for someone looking to make self-care regular practice and this reviewer loves it.
How to buy
The Positive Planner is available to buy at £20 when not on offer but look out for some fabulous seasonal (Black Friday) deals too.
The Doodle Diary
Studies have shown that meditation in primary schools have a massive positive effect on children, their minds are like sponges so they absorb so much information. Everyday life for our little ones can be hectic for them, being under pressure to perform at school, having a busy extracurricular timetables of sports, music, clubs and even playdates, while some may thrive on this, others can struggle to keep up. So it’s no wonder some schools have taken to mindfulness sessions because it is a scientifically proven form of meditation.
So, a lovely accompaniment to the Positive Planner for mum, is the positive Doodle Diary for our younglings. Based on the same idea at the positive planner but with doodling and colouring at the heart of its activities making it appealing to a younger brain – but it all sinks in, creating confidence through creativity.
It’s wonderfully illustrated using bright colours and fantastic drawings and symbols for mindful colouring, and there’s space to both doodle and write about how they feel and how their day has been – teaching them to reflect and show gratitude. The daily affirmations are there too along with exercises for self-care and positivity. There’s also yoga exercises designed for them, which are fun to do together.
You can leave them to it, or as I like to do, sit with them and talk about what’s in the diary and asking how they like using it, as well as the yoga. We’ll also sit together while working on our own planners which is fun to do too. They don’t really realise that they are being self expressive or mindful but the activities they do help them explore confidence and resilience, stealthily implanting kindness and confidence.
Overall it’s a lovely quality hardback book, packed with loads of activities with such a wonderful aim at the heart of it.
How to buy
The Positive Doodle Diary is available to buy at £20 when not on offer but look out for some fabulous seasonal (Black Friday) deals too.
