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10 Best Planners for College Students & Young Professionals Starting Their Careers (2026 Edition)
Whether you're navigating your final year of college, starting your first job, or trying to figure out what comes next in your early career, staying organized isn't just about remembering deadlines; it's about designing a life and career that actually fits who you are.
That's why I've put together this guide to the 10 best planners for college students and young professionals who are ready to take charge of their career path, whether that means landing your dream job, building a portfolio career, or creating something entirely new.
The Clever Fox Planner Pro is a beautifully designed all-in-one planner that's perfect for students who want more than just a basic agenda. Now available in a bigger format and stunning rose gold edition, this planner gives you the space and structure to manage your academic life while also focusing on personal growth. You can use it as your daily, weekly, and monthly planner, gratitude journal, habit tracker, and goal-setting tool - all in one elegant package. According to its designers - a team of five passionate online entrepreneurs, this planner is the solution for anyone looking to boost their productivity and hit their goals while becoming the best version of themselves.
The Clever Fox Planners have many features I’m looking for in a planner. One of the most *clever* ones is its unmarked calendar that allows you to start with the planner any day of the year. But that’s not all. Each weekly overview comes with a habit tracking section, to-do list, main goal, and priorities overview. There’s even room to reflect on your week’s wins and lessons learned.
One of the most clever features is its undated calendar that allows you to start using the planner any day of the year, perfect for starting mid-semester or aligning with your specific academic schedule. Each weekly overview comes packed with student-friendly features: a habit tracker (ideal for building study routines or wellness practices), a to-do list, space for your main weekly goal, and a priorities section. There's even a dedicated room to reflect on your week's wins and lessons learned, encouraging the kind of metacognitive practice that actually improves academic performance.
The rose gold edition adds an elegant touch that makes planning feel less like a chore and more like a ritual you'll actually look forward to. The premium quality construction - with thick, high-quality paper and durable binding - ensures this planner will survive a full academic year of constant use. Whether you're tracking assignment deadlines, building better study habits, managing thesis research, or working toward personal development goals alongside your academic ones, the Clever Fox Planner Pro provides the structure and space to help you thrive as a student.
The Simplified Planner is one of my all-time favorite planners. It’s a planner that makes you happy just by looking at it. With its six beautiful and joyful designs, this planner is the perfect companion to organize your life, your work, and make things simpler in the process.
Emily Ley, mother-of-three and founder of The Simplified Planner, is a firm believer that simple is best. In this always-on-busy-world we live in, Simplified stands on the idea that there is more to life than overwhelm. Its mission is to inspire and empower women with the tools they need to simplify their lives so they create space for what really matters.
The Simplified Planner comes in a daily and weekly edition. They both cover 12 months. The daily planner has one day per page and shared weekend pages and features luxurious paper and a gold wire-o binding. The weekly edition has one week per two-page spread and features a book-bound, lay-flat binding. This makes the weekly edition slightly smaller in size and easier to write in (I use ring-bound planners but often find it’s hard to write close to the rings. But that might be just me and how I write :)). Both editions are finished with a beautiful hard cover with gold foil details and protective gold corners.
Besides the weekly or daily pages the planner comes with full month views and space for your schedule, to-dos, notes and meal planning. Colorful stickers and a pocket inside the front cover tops it all off. Not to mention the elegant box the planners come in or the monthly “planning tips” that you’ll get from Emily via email with each purchase. A simple yet complete planner for anyone looking to simplify their life.
Are you one of those creative, multi-passionate types (like moi) that enjoy lots of options, and – if possible – a little DIY in the process?
If so, you will LOVE the Erin Condren Life Planner. There are plenty of planner manufacturers out there that offer customizable options. None of them to the extend of this planner. The Life Planner is full of tools to help you plan out a successful year, and to help you set goals, figure out what you truly want and take charge of your life.
As I mentioned before, what makes the Erin Condren Life Planner (even more) awesome is how you can customize your planner to make it unique for you:
Interior color: you have the choice between neutral or colorful interior.
Cover: you’re free to pick a cover (in fact that’s how the whole customization process starts) or interchange your covers by purchasing different beautiful laminated ones and change them depending on your mood. You can also choose between having your name printed on your planner or two lines of text of your choosing. I mean, does it ever get better than this?
Layout: you can choose between vertical, horizontal or hourly weekly layouts.
Calendar: the Life Planner comes with three different calendar options. Two 12-month options. From June to July if you’re looking for an academic planner or from January to December if you’re looking for a standard one. The cool thing is that you have a third option, and in my opinion one of the most awesome features of any planner I’ve ever seen! You can order the January to December version including the remaining months from your time of purchase until January 1st. Isn’t this AMAZING? Often I decided against buying a planner because I couldn’t start using it right away (right?!). This option takes care of that issue completely!
Coil color: you have a choice between platinum, gold, rose gold (my favorite :)) and black.
The Life Planner comes with a goal-setting spread and weekly spreads for each week of the month. An entire week is spread across two pages (from Monday to Sunday) and each day features a lined section. At the back of the planner you’ll find a notes sections with lines, dots, coloring book pages. The 4 sheets of stickers are great to customize your planner even more, and make sure important events and to-dos stand out.
All of this makes the Erin Condren Life Planner the DIY planner by excellence, and super fun to put together. It’s also easy to use, extremely functional, and absolutely beautiful and unique at the same time!
The Conquer Kit by Natalie MacNeal is A Creative Business Planner for Women Entrepreneurs. A newcomer in my planner lists, but one that has definitely deserved its spot! On the back cover of the planner, Natalie MacNeil states that The Conquer Kit is a *canvas for your dreams and goals*. I have to say… it sort of is.
When I started using the planner I followed along the recommendation to “sketch, scribble, collage, and write all over its pages” (and had so much fun doing it!). And yes, by the end of it, I was left with a strong business plan AND the strategies to put them into action.
The thing about The Conquer Kit (uhm) is that it is NOT – in fact – a planner.
If you’re working on building a business (or if you have an idea or project in mind), The Conquer Kit is the workbook you need *before* you start using your planner.
Through eight clearly defined and actionable steps you’ll go from ideation to business creation. Natalie has thought of EVERYTHING (in a very her kind of way) to guide you to tap into your creative genius, build a strong foundation, create heart-centric product and marketing plans, put together your A-team, envision the bigger picture, map your next steps, and ultimately bring your dream business to life.
I use The Conquer Kit (or at least sections of it) on a somewhat ongoing basis. I go back to it for clarity, or work through the steps again when I have a new project or goal in mind. I find new golden nuggets every time!
Blue Sky has been a trusted name in planning for years, offering professional yet approachable planners that strike the perfect balance between functionality and style, making them especially popular with students navigating the complexities of academic life. What sets Blue Sky apart is its commitment to practical design: durable covers that survive being tossed in backpacks, high-quality paper that handles different pen types without bleeding through, and layouts that actually work for students juggling classes, assignments, extracurriculars, and social commitments.
The brand was founded with a simple mission: to create planning tools that help people organize their lives without overwhelming them. Blue Sky planners typically run for 15 months (July through September of the following year), which is absolutely perfect for students. This format aligns seamlessly with the academic calendar, allowing you to start planning your semester before it begins and carry through to the end of the following school year, no awkward gaps or wasted pages.
What makes Blue Sky particularly great for students is how its design anticipates your actual needs. The monthly spreads give you that crucial big-picture view of exam schedules, project deadlines, and study group sessions, while the weekly layouts provide enough daily space to break down assignments into manageable tasks. There's room for tracking multiple courses simultaneously without feeling cramped, and the note sections are perfect for capturing quick reminders or brainstorming ideas during lectures.
Anecdote planners have quickly become a favorite among students who appreciate thoughtful design that goes beyond basic scheduling. What makes Anecdote special is their understanding that planning isn't just about tracking assignments, it's about creating a system that supports your entire student experience, from academic goals to personal growth. Their planners feature clean, intuitive layouts with a focus on intentionality, helping you not just manage your time but actually reflect on how you're spending it.
The brand was created with the philosophy that your planner should tell your story, hence the name "Anecdote." Each planner is designed to capture not just what you need to do, but the moments and milestones that make your academic journey meaningful. This approach resonates particularly well with students who want more than a glorified to-do list; they want a planning companion that helps them stay connected to their bigger academic and personal goals throughout the semester.
What makes Anecdote particularly great for students is its balanced approach to structure and flexibility. The yearly format gives you a complete overview of your entire academic year, making it easy to map out semester schedules, plan for finals weeks, and coordinate breaks and holidays. The weekly spreads offer generous space for each day's classes and assignments, while still leaving room for tracking habits, jotting down reflections, or noting those "aha moments" from lectures that you'll want to remember later.
#7 Inkwell LiveWell 360 Planner
The Inkwell Press LiveWell Planner is an all-time favorite planner of mine. This year celebrates the 5th edition of the liveWELL Planner. And it features some amazing changes for its 2019 planner edition: the brand-new liveWELL 360™ system.
This disc planning system allows you to customize your planner to make it perfect for you. The fun starts with four covers to choose from, including two vegan options that I absolutely love! After that you can select your style: daily, weekly (flex or classic), monthly or goal-setting (my favorite option) and whether or not you want tabs. Add-ons can be purchased to customize your planner even more or as standalone planners. The options are:
Goal Setting Planner
Project Planner
Meal Planner
50 pages of dotted or gritted notes
What I love most about the Inkwell LiveWell Planner is its focus on goal setting and productivity. When you buy this planner you become part of something greater: a community of like-minded planner lovers who want to achieve their goals. Productivity courses, a podcast, blog and YouTube channel all accompany this planner to make sure you get and stay on track making this planner an all-in-one productivity solution.
#8 Day Designer
The Day Designer is a real work of art. Ever since I discovered this planner a few years ago I’ve been amazed at how attractive it is, and practical! It’s beautiful, intuitive, and has so much space for everything! There is a wide selection of contemporary cover designs to choose from. My favorites include the Jungle Out There (flamingo lovers unite!), Antigua, and Brushed Confetti. But the classic remains the Black Stripe. I mean, how can you say no to a black, white, and gold combo?!
Whitney English – designer and creator of the Day Designer – believes that a well-designed day is a well-lived life. I couldn’t agree more. As a minimalist and essentialist I believe that the more intentional we live our life, the happier we are.
The first pages of the Day Designer hold different worksheets, each designed to help you find out what really matters to you and what your personal skills, values, vision, passions, and strengths are. Yes, it’s absolutely essential to have clarity in order to achieve your goals!
In the daily planner edition, each day has its own separate page, except for Saturday and Sunday, which share one page. Each weekday, from Monday through Friday, has an hourly schedule from 5am to 9pm (great for early birds!), space to add your top 3 tasks of the day, an inspiring quote, dinner planning, a spot to record daily gratitude, notes and more. What I particularly like about the daily page is the space reserved for your daily to-do. Most planners don’t leave a lot of space to add to-dos (and let’s be honest, it’s important not to have to many of those on our daily list) but I love having room to scribble down things on the spot, or a list of things I have to remember.
This planner is an effective tool to help you organize your goals, ideas, tasks, days, thoughts and life!
The AT-A-GLANCE Monthly Planner is a trusted classic that's been helping students stay organized for decades, and for good reason. This is the planner for students who prefer a streamlined, no-nonsense approach to planning. Instead of overwhelming you with daily spreads and complex tracking systems, AT-A-GLANCE focuses on what students actually need most: a clear, comprehensive view of the entire month at once. This bird's-eye perspective is invaluable when you're trying to balance multiple course schedules, track assignment due dates across different classes, and plan around exams, group projects, and extracurricular commitments.
What makes AT-A-GLANCE particularly brilliant for students is its simplicity and reliability. The brand has spent years perfecting the monthly planner format, and it shows. Each month gets a full two-page spread with generous daily blocks, enough room to note class times, assignment deadlines, exam dates, and important events without feeling cramped. The clean, uncluttered layout makes it easy to scan your entire month in seconds, helping you avoid those dreaded scheduling conflicts and last-minute deadline surprises.
Whether you're a grad student coordinating research deadlines, an undergrad managing a full course load with work-study hours, or someone who simply prefers to see the big picture rather than getting lost in daily details, the AT-A-GLANCE Monthly Planner delivers exactly what it promises: an at-a-glance view that keeps you on track all year long. Sometimes the most effective planner is the one that simply works, semester after semester, without any fuss.
I wanted to finish this list with a planner with a totally different approach still. That’s why I decided on The Freedom Journal. The promise of this planner is to guide you in the accomplishment of your #1 goal in 100 days.
The Freedom Journal is a goal-setting, productivity and accountability tool all at once. John Lee Dumas, the creator of The Freedom Journal, has interviewed over 2000 successful entrepreneurs and has created a unique step-by-step process that will guide you in setting and accomplishing your #1 goal in 100 days. What I like about it is the Agile approach, a methodology I was trained in as a project manager and that works wonders to complete projects in the most efficient way possible. Imagine doing that with your goals? That’s the promise of this planner!
When you order a copy of this planner you get access to an exclusive planner community on Facebook. You also get the audio book, mobile app and fillable PDF version of the planner for free. Worth getting your hands dirty if you ask me!
💡 If you're using a planner to figure out your next career move, I can help. Explore coaching for creative generalists or join the TrueSpark community.
That’s it for this back to college or kill it at that first job list. I hope you enjoyed this post, and that it helped you to choose the planner that is perfect for you.
Is low self-esteem sabotaging your business?
CONFIDENCE. A ten-letter word that holds so much power. The most important sales tool you’ll ever have or need. Precisely why it’s so important to cultivate, and be aware of it. And why so many creative and passionate entrepreneurs struggle financially.
The reason is, anyone can feel when you don’t *really* believe in yourself – I mean when you feel like an awkward little duckling in a big pond of voracious alligators – and that often puts people off.
I’ve always known this to be true. In fact, when I first started out as a freelance project manager in 1998, confidence (and a pair of heels) was all I had. I call it confidence now, but looking back I’d say it was mostly naiveté. Not knowing what I was getting myself into (building a business is freakin’ hard) and with absolutely no clue about the MOUNTAIN of things I actually didn’t know anything about. Add a dash of ambition, and a cup of perfectionism and people-pleasing into the mix and you’ve got yourself a workable mix – at least when it comes to landing projects.
Clients responded well to that initial enthusiasm. I was just slightly ahead of the curve with my knowledge of the emerging Internet and my self-taught web development skills. So they hired me. For one project at first, then repeatedly. Projects and business was coming in.
As time went on my knowledge of the work I was doing improved. I gained more and better skills (bye bye Dreamweaver!) and was in charge of increasingly complex projects. After a few years spent trying things out (read: getting totally lost in business land after a few wrong turns) I eventually started my own web agency. I approached it with that same passion, and enthusiasm.
Quickly a list of repeat clients was born.
I’m not going into the details of the type of clients I was attracting, or the promises I was making them – I wasn’t the best judge of budget versus scope back then. That’s for another post (said while writing potential jaw dropping title down in editorial blog planner).
What I want to talk about today is how exhaling confidence was the only tool I had when I started out, and how it allowed me to make money and start a business.
In those early days, whenever I wasn’t confident (didn’t believe in the idea, didn’t understand it, or wasn’t sure I wanted to work with the client) I usually wouldn’t sell. Afterwards I had this nagging feeling that I’d somehow “sabotaged” myself, that I’d not given it my best shot. I was right.
I wouldn’t sell because I wouldn’t fully engage. I wouldn’t show the extend of my capabilities because I wasn’t passionate, because I wouldn’t take the lead during the meeting. Potential clients would doubt my skills, and whether or not I could handle their project. The important lesson here is: it was ME doing it. I was playing the wrong cards unconsciously – but on purpose.
When I became a career coach and business consultant the same principle still held true (well duh!).
In the beginning I didn’t feel confident calling myself a coach. I didn’t have a lot of experience, and the coaching sphere felt really overwhelming. So when I did speak of it, the words that came out of my mouth sounded more like an apology than an enthusiastic claim to greatness. In every single one of those cases I got back what I was sending out: a lack of enthusiasm to work with me, aka absolutely nothing. A few months in, and many failed attempts at trying to land a client this way I decided something had to change. I’d made a commitment to become a coach, I’d studied hard for it, had done all the work. I might as well be PROUD of it.
The next time I spoke to a potential client, I didn’t try to sell her anything. Instead I told her about all the changes my pro bono clients had achieved, the new careers they had transitioned into, the projects they had started. I spoke honestly and with passion, and started dreaming with her about the things she could do and that I could help her achieve. She signed up ON THE SPOT.
Moral of the story? Sales require confidence.
If you don’t believe in yourself and the products or services you offer, you can still make a buck or two, but sell consistently and in a way that feels good? I sincerely doubt it.
The solution? (wouldn’t wanna leave you hanging on a cliff :))
Practice – as often as you can. With all the enthusiasm you’ve got to offer. Fake it till you make it if you have to.
Investigate your self-worth: perhaps you need a little confidence boost (there’s plenty of books out there that can help with that like this one, and this one, and this one).
Don’t sell what you don’t believe in (it doesn’t work anyway). If you’re not sure what you believe in, get clear on your values.
Take a (free) sales course (again plenty of good options available, but I particularly like this 25 Days to 100K one – thanks Ash for being such a star!)
Learn from your mistakes. Keep a “lessons learned” list by your bedside.
Learn from you wins. Keep those on the same list.
Never stop growing: try something different every day, join a mastermind, go to a sales seminar, or just talk to people.
Hire a coach
But most importantly: BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.
You’ve got this, I promise! Selling doesn’t need to be all eek and yikes. The more confident you’ll get that you have THE solution for a client, the better the process will feel (to both of you). So don’t sell yourself short – pun totally intended – but instead grow that confidence muscle, relax, have a drink and watch as your sales finally take off.
How to get the most out of your day planner
I was having a chat with a friend last Friday when she mentioned to me how hard it is for her to stay on track with her goals. It’s a “right brain thing” she told me, I’m build this way and I only thrive in chaos. She continued by telling me that – like everyone else – she has a planner, and write things in it. And that’s precisely the issue: she just writes things in it. She doesn’t use it.
That’s why I decided to call this tip “Make the most out of your planner” instead of buy a planner, invest in a planner, or even have a planner. Those are all really great things that you need in order to USE your planner, but that’s also really where the greatness stops.
I used to be a planner hoarder. (Still am, to be honest)
Every time I came across a planner that I loved, either because of its color (pink, please), bling (you had me at sparkle) or content (give me those pages darlin’!), I’d buy it. Once home I’d put it on top of the pile of other wonderful planners I’d “invested” in. Sometimes – if they were bubble wrapped – they would stay that way for weeks, months, sometimes even the entire year.
Planners were really unhappy around me.
I never gave them the love they deserved, and the attention they needed. Instead, come every Sunday night, I would *think* about prepping for the week ahead and writing all the amazing things down that I was going to achieve, but then the TV called, or a friend, or both.
Before I knew it, it was bedtime. Ah well, I’d do it tomorrow or next week. It didn’t really matter – so I told myself – I had the planner. Uhum – I had PLENTY of them. I wasn’t making any decent progress on my goals, so what was the deal though?
The truth is, a gazillion planners won’t change anything.
If you want to achieve your goals you need to USE your planner – not just look at it, however pretty it may be (starts to sweat knowing she’ll need to part with most of her sparkling babies soon).
Left brain or right brain, we can all use a planner. Yes it’s certainly true it comes easier to some than others. But that’s just more reason to do it. It helps you organize your thoughts, and get clear on what it is you need to work on. When I started using one – for something more than keeping grocery lists that is – everything changed. I got more done in less time, i was able to stay focused on my daily tasks better, and because of this shift I wasn’t losing sight of my big dreams and goals anymore – a chronic illness I’d been battling for years without success.
What follows are three of my best tips when it comes to using a planner, taking right from the tranchees where little guinea pig called moi tried and tested them out first. (You’re welcome :))
How to use a planner?
Take time to plan things out
If you want to take full advantage of your planner, you’ll need to take time to plan things out, and write them down in it. There’s simply no way around it. For your planner to be an effective goal-slaying companion, you need to give it the right stuff to eat: tasks. Planners are crazy about those little finger-licking sweets. They can eat them by the thousand. The more you feed it to them, the happier they get. But the problem is, planners count on YOU to get them. So make a habit of sitting down with your planner once a week (or every other regular interval that works for you) and write out the tasks you’ll take on together in the next period (that would be a week for me, but could vary depending on your chosen interval).
Keep your planner on your desk
Writing down tasks in your planner is only half the job. Once they’re in there, you’ve got to review them, focus on them, and make them happen. That’s why I love to keep my planner on my desk. I open it to today’s date and work my way through the tasks I’ve set. When I’m done with one, I cross it out (greatest feeling in the world). When possible I start with the big, important ones and work my way down to the smaller, easier ones. So make sure to check in with your planner every day and keep it on your desk.
Don’t be afraid to experiment
Every year I publish a round-up of my favourite planners. I do this because I’m always on the lookout for the ultimate planner – the one that will be absolutely PERFECT for me. That planner, unfortunately, doesn’t exist yet (I’m still working on putting it together), so what I’ve learned to do instead is to experiment, and tweak my planner so that it works best for me. If you’re planner doesn’t have a habit tracker for instance, why not add it in yourself? Or if you need a space for gratitude, why not use sticky notes? Whatever it is you’re missing in your planner, there’s always a way to add it in. Remember that you’re planner is supposed to work for you, not the other way around.
If you want more tips to get unstuck, I’ve got great news for you! This tip is part of a series, you can find all entries here.
How Nadine started her own communication and copywriting agency
I met Nadine at a business retreat I attended a few months back. We sat across of each other during a workshop session where we had to reflect on our goals and the future of the projects we were working on. Pretty quickly, Nadine and I started talking. Her bubbly nature was so inviting, and her advice so honest and valuable that I needed to learn more about her, and how she got to be such a delightful wordsmith (you know me). Here’s how she did it.
What was your big dream, and what inspired you to go after it?
My big dream was to start my own communication advise and copywriting agency. I’d been helping a lot of people for free with copywriting when one of them told me I could send in the bill for the work I had done for his company. That’s when a light bulb went on. Until then, I thought I was just helping out (like I did with so many – too many – people) for free. But after that the Orange Typewriter was born.
Did you always have this dream?
Nope. My dad had his own printing business for many years. And as a kid I witnessed how my dad was always working. Then, the last ten years of his career worrying about money. Add to it that I loved the corporate international world I was working in, and there was nothing telling me I would ever start my own business.
What was one of the first thing you did to get you started?
Incorporate my business – making it official – by signing up at the Chamber of Commerce. And drink champagne afterwards. Talk enthusiastically about what I did – which helped spread the word. Talk to two entrepreneurs I knew about starting your own business. Design my logo – Which made it real :).
What were the biggest challenges you faced in working toward achieving your dream?
Confidence to just do. Taking that first step. Corporate is one thing, having your own business feels much more personal. So failing business to me would feel like failing as a person, as I saw how it was for my dad.
I also had to let go of control: I left corporate because I choose to take care of my kids of which one is dealing with autism and the other has juvenile arthritis. It was a really good decision which I would take again, but it did make me an overly concerned tiger mom. Always there, always taking care. Now that they are teenagers we all have to learn that they can stand on their own two feet.
What do you wish you would have done differently? What would you warn others about?
Be clear to clients what they can ask for what price. In the beginning I definitely under charged. So my advice is: remember that you’re worth it. Giving freebies, or a lot of none chargeable hours (which the clients often don’t even know about) doesn’t make you more valuable to them. They care about getting the solution they’re looking for, not the gifts and specials you offer them in silence along the way.
Would you say you’ve achieved your big dream yet?
Yes. I successfully started my own business. It’s about a year old now, and it was an amazing year. Getting clients I didn’t even think I could ever work for. I thought way too small! Can I still grow? Is there still a bigger dream out there for me? Yes, for sure! But wow did I achieve so much already.
What do you think helped you achieve it?
Enthusiasm and professionalism. Enthusiasm to my clients, enthusiasm in my communication and in the meantime delivering bad ass texts my clients need to grow.
What’s the best advice you have for others who want to follow their big dreams?
Just start! Every great run, every great business, every adventure started with one step, one action.
Me doing great, shining in my business is also better for my family. Yes it’s true I’m not there with them all the time. And my two kids had to get used to it. But when I am home, I’m happy – singing – dancing – taking them on adventures. My growth makes them grow as well. They are so proud of me. There is a reason I registered my business on the birthday of my daughter, hoping to show them that you can always start a new dream (even when you’re 40). It’s important to remember this, especially as women who often think about and care for everybody except themselves.
More about Nadine – theorangetypewriter.nl
Nadine graduated from the School of Journalism & Design in 1998, and was an Art Director for Reed Business Information from 1998 until 2003, when she moved to Germany and got kids. Since 2016, Nadine is specializing in International Business Communication and Communication Strategy for small business owners.
You can find out more about Nadine through her website at theorangetypewriter.nl or on Instagram @nadinevanlierop.
Nadine’s favorite quote:
Let’s go on an adventure! (Free translation from Bilbo Baggins – The Hobbit: I am going on an adventure!)
Nadine’s big dream for the world:
Appreciate and enjoy each other’s differences, each other’s cultures. It’s an asset that we are so diverse. Not a threat.
If you want more inspiring stories, I’ve got great news for you! This story is part of an interview series, you can find all entries here.
How to nurture your creativity
You are a creative super star! It might not be what you think you are, but I guarantee you that creativity is in your DNA. The problem is, most of us have gone through a creativity killing process called education. It’s when we inherited dreams we didn’t choose for ourselves, and forget about our own.
But let’s try to remember for a minute. All the dreams you had, the stories you performed, the endless imagination you brought to the table. Where’s that magic spark? What happened to the crazy life you were going to live? The unique career you were going to have?
They was slowly filtered out of you.
As you made your way from teenager to adult, there wasn’t much left. Your fidgeting, playful, passionate, insatiable self made way for a more manageable version. One that had a nicely predefined place in society, a clear role you’ve since then learned to perform well. So much that you’ve come to believe that this role you’re performing is, in fact, who you are.
The trouble is, it isn’t.
When creativity dies, big dreams often die too. And with them the stardust that makes us unique.
I’m a example of this. By the time I was 20 there was little creativity left in me. As a child I always had the wildest dreams. I wrote, painted, danced, sang, put plays together with my cousins, made things. There wasn’t a day that went by that I wasn’t creative.
As I grew older the pressure to conform, to perform, and to make something of myself increased. Creativity became a time waster, and I felt guilty for having so many interests, passions and for being unable to focus on one thing as I was expected to. Well to the dismay of my parents I decided to pursue a degree in Philosophy. Career outcomes were so insubstantial to them that they often told people I was studying to become a psychologist (slaps hand on face).
By the time I graduated, they had convinced me I’d wasted four years of my life. Although I contemplated an academic career I knew it wasn’t what they wanted. I had to make something of myself. Show them I was worth the investment. So in the final months of college I started working as a freelancer. I’d always been around computers, and it was all I’d ever seen my father do. With Internet emerging, and my DIY experience in building websites (hello 1998!), I landed a job as a freelance web project manager.
That first job turned into many other projects and clients, and eventually in me starting my own web agency. Although I’m proud of my accomplishments the truth is I pursued everyone else’s dream but my own.
Building a career that wasn’t meant for me turned the creative, multi-passionate big dreamer I was into a perfectionistic, people-pleasing workaholic.
The unhappiness I felt made me try harder. Always chasing the next thing, without taking a breath to enjoy what I’d already achieved. Or reflect on what I really wanted.
In 2010 I was forced to pause, and finally do some thinking.
I saw the dreams I’d been pursuing for what they were, and decided it was time for me. The problem was, I didn’t remember my dreams. They’d been buried so deep beneath everyone else’s that I couldn’t come up with a single idea.
Because I couldn’t figure it out, I decided to just do something.
That let me back to creativity. Slowly at first, because making stuff was now so far out of my comfort zone. But as time went on, and I tried out new things, my creative multi-passionate self resurfaced.
Creativity was my way back to me. And to my big dreams.
I believe it can be yours too.
How do you nurture your creativity?
Try things out
It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you allow yourself to play. I’ve done everything from writing workshops, dancing and cooking classes, to screen printing, improv theatre, drawing retreats and piano lessons. Recently I’ve realized that I need at least one creative outlet a week in order to be happy. And the more I do, the easier it gets. Pick something, and just do it! Like I signed up for a 5-day theatre workshop (dipping sweat off forehead) just before finishing this post.
Let go of control
Creativity is a process that you can prepare for, but that you can’t control. There’s no way to know when you’ll have a creative spark, make something amazing or experience flow. Things simply unfold. This little perfectionist had to learn this the hard way. Not being able to create what I had in mind made me want to scream and run more than once. That’s what happens when you believe you have a say in the creative process. By letting go of control you’ll be able to create freely and to experience moments of pure bliss and freedom that will help you to believe in yourself and your dreams.
Make it a practice
Creativity is a muscle, you have to train it to make it work. Doing something creative once a year is better than doing nothing. But the effect won’t last long. That’s why you should make creativity part of your daily life. By doing something out of the ordinary regularly you’re strengthening your creative dream muscle. You realize that you can do much more than you think, that things aren’t that hard or scary after all. The more you do it, the more you’ll want it. So make sure to do something creative regularly, to challenge yourself to try unfamiliar things. It really helps to dream bigger. And – more importantly – to dream you.
If you want more Dream Bigger Tips, I’ve got great news for you! This tip is part of a series, you can find all entries here.
How Mardi is helping business leaders thrive in a state of wellness and harmony
Mardi spent the last fifteen years working as a lead HSE and Legal Compliance Advisor and System Auditor as well as an integral member of senior executive teams with global organizations in the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific and Australia.
Throughout that time, and journeying her own struggles to adapt as a woman working in male dominated industries, she learned that to experience success as part of a business landscape there must be a balance between harmony and performance – of both chasing success with determination and zealously adhering to your own ethics and values.
This insight became the foundation of the elite performance system she developed and now calls PerforM. Clearly Mardi’s my kind of human. So I had to know more about her and how she created her system. Here’s how she did it.
What was your big dream, and what inspired you to go after it?
My big dream was to be a thought leader in creating healthier and more balanced corporate environments. There is no doubt that the corporate world is changing and we as leaders, employees and technical professionals are struggling to operate within the old structure. Performance is dropping, almost 80% of people have been found to be unhappy in their jobs, people are either getting injured at work or executive teams are having to go over the top in implementing processes where their staff are no longer allowed to be creative in their roles. The dysfunction between masculine and feminine energies can also no longer be ignored. You see it on the news almost every other day, but fighting it and demanding change isn’t the answer –the key is to create a balance between the energies, letting both operate in harmony.
My inspiration to mentor people around how to achieve higher levels of performance, wellness and sanity within this waning corporate structure until the new structure is fully born came from my previous role as a Senior Health and Safety Executive as a woman working in male dominated industry. I saw the struggles of dysfunction day in, day out and over fifteen years working within it, I realised that I’d developed a unique way of helping people and teams not only increase their performance, but find more fulfilment, creativity and wellness while they were doing it. Now I help corporate professionals including lawyers and scientists, especially in the STEM industry, move from a place of high stress, high pressure and overwhelm in their corporate roles to a place of high performance with wellness and ease.
Did you always have this dream?
I would say my dream has always been part of me however, it has grown and become defined as I have evolved and experienced life. I come from a family with a long-line of medical and health professionals so it was no surprise that from a young age I was always interested and invested in people’s health and wellbeing.
As time went on and I heard more about people being injured and fatalities occurring in the workplace, I had this burning desire to step into a role that can be influential in stopping such events, questioning the imbalance and wanting to manage this issue in a new way. I didn’t believe that lives should be lost or we should in anyway compromise ourselves in an organizational setting. This led me into a career as a Health and Safety Professional knowing this role will allow me to make a difference, be proactive and impactful to people’s holistic wellbeing in the work environment, helping create healthy and balanced corporate environments, cultures, systems and processes to protect people’s lives and wellbeing at work.
This was a crucial time as it gave me a unique insight into how we can do it differently, how we can perform in harmony, look after our people and leaders and align with the needs of today’s society. This was the platform that confirmed and brought my big dream alive.
What was one of the first things you did to get you started?
I knew I needed a strong personal brand to communicate my level of expertise to the corporate world and to start building reputation as an expert and thought leader in the field, so my first strategy was to create a website to communicate my individual and organizational mentoring packages and to start speaking at events to get my message out there. It didn’t take long to realize just how many people were suffering with corporate overwhelm. These people are all highly qualified and experienced professionals in their fields but they were struggling with how to work with their expertise within the corporate environment. Things like how to navigate office politics, how to resolve issues with management teams, how to mitigate performance review problems and how to actually get the promotions they were working tirelessly to prove they were ready for.
What were the biggest challenges you faced in working toward achieving your dream?
Oh self-doubt for sure! Whenever you have a big idea or a big dream there’s always an element of self-doubt. I could see the need was out there, but there’s not many mentors doing what I do, so there was a little voice in the back of my head that kept saying ‘You’re crazy Mardi, just stay with your comfortable corporate salary, it’s too risky’. But I took the risk anyway.
Starting a business without having a background in business management does have its twists and turns for sure. Unlike being an employee there’s so many other things to get your head around like marketing and financial management, and what I’d say in that area is hire experts to help you. If it’s not your area of expertise, outsource it, every time. Trying to save money by doing it yourself doesn’t work, it just wastes your time and makes your dreams take longer to materialize.
What do you wish you would have done differently? What would you warn others about?
I try hard not to have the mindset of “I wish I did it differently”. Hindsight as they say, is a beautiful thing. Like many others I use my own experiences to share with people so they move through their experience with more ease, with a better understanding and at a quicker pace.
One thing I would share is to find yourself a mentor(s) when you are igniting your dream, it can be lonely, you can lose sight and momentum. External support and guidance helps with accountability, perception and achievement, keeping you in balance.
Would you say you’ve achieved your big dream yet?
Ha ha, my big dream is very big indeed! As a society we have a long road ahead of us in creating a corporate environment that honors both masculine and feminine energies. It’s not going to happen overnight, but I’m on the right path and it’s my life’s work to see it happen. I do feel like I have achieved a big dream in seeing the results my clients get after working with me. To see them go from stressed and hating their jobs to renewed and energized about the possibilities ahead; possibilities they didn’t dream they could make a reality, gets me every time. That’s the biggest reward for me.
What do you think helped you achieve it?
Stubborn determination. Dreams don’t come easy or everyone would be achieving them. It takes commitment and grit to keep believing and striving every day.
What’s the best advice you have for others who want to follow their big dreams?
Be open-minded, fearless and authentic. Find those special few friends who will support you and your dream and whether you have a win or take a little step sideways, share the adventure with them.
Dreams arise within us for a reason. It is our imagination and our intuition bringing into consciousness our higher purpose. Believe that we can achieve, that our dreams present ideas to help ignite positive societal change and growth needed in this fast evolving world.
More about Mardi – mardikeyes.com
Mardi Keyes is an International Performance Consultant, Organisation Coach and Leadership Mentor. With her signature elite program perforM she’s made it her mission to help business leaders thrive in a state of wellness and harmony delivering exponential success in today’s rapidly changing corporate landscape.
You can find out more about Mardi and her work on her website: mardikeyes.com or connect with her on LinkedIN.
Mardi’s favourite quote is:
There are so many quotes from inspirational people around the world that I adore, but here are two that I refer to when things get a little overwhelming in my life to propel me into a new perspective:
Hard times arouse an instinctive desire for authenticity.
– Coco Chanel
Mardi’s big dream for the world is:
Purely to create a healthier, well-balanced corporate environment that honours both masculine and feminine energies so it provides an environment where people thrive in a positive state of wellness, creativity, high performance and ease. And masterfully, by creating this new balanced environment by default it addresses the current diversity, inclusion and equality issues in today’s current workplace.
If you want more inspiring stories, I’ve got great news for you! This story is part of an interview series, you can find all entries here.
5 ways to cultivate a mindset of good enough (and beat perfectionism)
If I’d beam back in time to have a coaching session with my former self, let’s say from ten years ago, and I’d ask her what she wanted most out of coaching with me (I know this intro sounds super strange, but there’s a point to this madness I promise) I’m positive she’d say something like “finish the stuff I start” or “stop procrastinating all the time”. If I’d then ask her what she thought about herself she’d probably mention how she often didn’t feel confident, that life and work were overwhelming, she didn’t fit in, and simply wasn’t good enough.
(See, I told you :))
A lot has changed since then. The overwhelm and awkwardness I felt growing up and building my first business have thankfully made room for a more fulfilling state of sort-of balance and flow.
For the past ten years I’ve been my own (sometimes uber shitty) coaching client. I’ve used myself as a guinea pig to try and understand what this life and work thing is all about. I’ve tested uncountable ways to be a better, more productive and successful human. To learn, grow, and figure out what actually works.
The short conclusion – drumroll included:
Everything you thought you knew about happiness is wrong.
It’s not about being the best, having the most money, buying the Chanel bag, being *super* busy all the time. It’s not about having the seven figure business (although I’m all about money love, but that’s another story). If you hadn’t caught on yet, what I mean is, happiness has nothing to do with being PERFECT.
In fact, is has everything to do with NOT being perfect.
Happiness appears when we stop the “shoulds” and “musts”, and see ourselves for what we are – and always have been: good enough just the way we are (if a romantic scene from Bridget Jones is popping into your mind right now you’re definitely my kind of human).
Jumping back to my younger self for a minute. Ten years ago I was an utter and absolute perfectionist. Nothing I did was ever good enough. The result? I didn’t do much at all. I was also a helpless people-pleaser who lacked the confidence to make herself a sandwich before asking for permission. What I knew best was how to follow rules, to adapt to whatever I thought was expected of me. By the time I was 30 there was little room left for freedom, play, curiosity or creativity. Life and work felt like burdens. All I had were “have tos”.
The state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion I was in was the result of excessive and prolonged stress. To be clear: that I’D PUT ON MYSELF. Yes, work was hectic. Yes, building a business is hard BUT I was never the helpless little chicken I made myself out to be. I didn’t know it at the time but the truth is, I had the power all along (clicks shoes together three times).
That power is called CONFIDENCE. And it’s the result of (many things including) cultivating a mindset of good enough. That mindset will help you:
Focus on what’s really important for you
Find and do work that feeds you instead of drains you
Actually create the freaking thing instead of just thinking about it
Get off your time machine and discover where the fun’s really at (spoiler alert: it’s called now)
Start living your own dreams instead of trying to build everyone else’s
But Murielle, I hear you ask, how does one cultivate such a seemingly magical mindset?
The truth? It’s super easy AND palm sweat complicated at the same time.
You change the way you think.
Simple enough, right? There’s just one little tiny thing though… All the years you’ve been gobbling up and repeating so many other thoughts about yourself and the world. They left a mark on you. They’re the reason you think the way you do. So to get to the good stuff you’ll need to get passed those first.
It’s a process that takes dedication, time, and discipline. This pink-loving guinea pig knows because she’s been there. So here are 5 ways that work(ed) for me and hopefully will get this life-changing process of *finally feeling good enough like the star that you are* going for you too.
#1 Stop comparing your awesome self to others
Comparisitis is the disease of our time. The rise of social media – a process that’s been going on for about 15 years now – marked the beginning of an exponential cycle of out-of-control expectations and judgments about ourselves. Don’t get me wrong. We’ve always glanced at the neighbors to see what they were up to, but it was never in our face the way it’s now. We could still escape it, because we were in control of the information stream. Today things are different. Everywhere we look we see what looks like awesome people doing what looks like amazing stuff. Online nobody has a bad hair day or doubts about their life. And that’s a shitty problem. Having those perfect humans pop into our feeds so many times a day (about every 18 minutes studies find) is making us sick, unhappy about our lives, forced to hide the *real* struggles we all have to deal with.
My recipe to stop comparing your awesome self to others includes:
Limit your time on social media (15 minutes a day will do – yes I mean one five)
Unfollow accounts that make you feel blah
Avoid being sucked into the research hole that inevitably leads to “she’s awesome and I suck”
Remember that all humans are unique. A valid comparison would need both of you to be equal in EVERYTHING except the one thing you’re comparing. Identical twins wouldn’t even meet those criteria, so how could you? Ever?
#2 Accept that perfection is bullshit
As long as you think there’s an absolute state of perfection to be attained, you’ll never be happy with what you have or who you are. The truth about perfection is that it doesn’t exist. Plato (and a heap of other philosophers) believed life on Earth was a poor imitation of the *real* world. Surely, he thought, if we can imagine something to be perfect it must BE perfect somewhere. Since it clearly wasn’t in the physical world (clears throat to hide discomfort) he concluded it must be in the world of ideas.
Yes, there’s something to say for Plato’s ideas. There are many flowers in the world, but none of them compare to the idea of THE flower we have in our mind. We’ve never seen this perfect flower with our own eyes, we’ve only IMAGINED it. The point is, we’re great at conceptualizing. According to Yuval Noah Harari one of the indispensable qualities we needed in order to rule the world. But there’s a difference between ideas and reality, just like there’s a difference between being perfect and being human.
#3 Be a fearless scaredy cat
I know you’re scared. I’m scared too. Every single freakin’ day. But that doesn’t stop me from taking action (anymore). Fearless is what I call feeling the fear and doing it anyway. Because mmm… the fear never goes away. So we might as well learn to live with it, right? My advice is to be a fearless scaredy cat. To do your thing, even if you feel like you’ve got a giant sign on your back saying “I have no clue, please rescue me”.
#4 Don’t believe everything you think
Seven years ago I enrolled in a 10-week mindfulness training program. Before that I’d never meditated, never considered the power of my breath or body, and certainly never thought about the things I told myself every single day. In session one of the training our teacher, in response to a question about that subject, *casually* mentioned that we – humans – are not our thoughts.
Say what?! I’d never considered that the voice in my head could be different from who I was. This was such a revelation that it took me weeks to grasp the full power of what she’d said. Especially with the negative tune that was playing in my head at the time, realising I had CONTROL over what I was thinking gave me back my power. The thing is, you have that power too. You’re not your thoughts either, so don’t believe everything you think just because you well.. think it.
#5 Focus on smarter, not flawless
Know that you can grow, learn and improve. A mistake isn’t a problem until you get stuck in making it over and over again. Instead is trying to be flawless, learn how to learn from your mistakes, to integrate what happened so you can do a better job next time. That’s the only thing anyone could ask of you, and the only thing you should ask of yourself.
Flawless, we’ve seen above, doesn’t exist. So it would be mighty silly to put any effort into trying to achieve it. Focus on what you CAN change, on the stuff you do have control over. Meaning: just be smarter next time. Because you’ve got this!