Why you should invest in a Happiness Planner this year

Trust us, it'll help you get the most out of your day

The Happiness Planner is a mindful way of journaling that forces you to focus on the good and positive parts of your life, therefore helping you process and better deal with any daily struggles. But what exactly makes them so popular and has earned them such a cult following?

So, what is The Happiness Planner?

The Happiness Planner’s journey begins with founder Mo Seetubtim’s inspirational blog, Brandmentalist, on which she shared inspirational quotes and life lessons she had picked up over the years. She would get a lot of emails from readers telling her how much they loved the blog, and so naturally she wondered how she could take it further.

'I wanted to turn my blog into a business, but I didn't know how at that point' she says. 'I did not feel ready to publish a book yet, though a lot of customers asked if I could print my blog posts or design them in PDF form so they could print them out. So I decided to ask my readers when they subscribed to my newsletter, "If I could write about one thing that makes you day, what should I write about?" A lot of them replied and said they wanted to learn more about how they could be more positive and happier.’

One of the key lessons Mo emphasises is that you can’t change your attitudes overnight: 'We've been a certain way for so many years, in order to change the way we think, our attitudes and our mindset, we need to practice for weeks and for months until it becomes a part of who we are’ she says.

‘I tried to think of an idea for something that could be easily integrated into people's lives and help people become more positive and feel inspired everyday. So I gave birth to the idea of The Happiness Planner.'

Who is The Happiness Planner for?

While the planners are primarily used by women in their twenties and thirties, they can be used by anybody who wants to feel happier and more organised in life.

If you’re a stationery enthusiast, you’ll love the planner even more. The beautifully curated pages are complete with a daily positive quote by anyone from Mother Teresa to Leonardo DiCaprio. The year-long planners are presented in a box with a matching pen, bulldog clips and paperclip, as well as a selection of handouts ranging from ‘how to change a habit in 30 days’ to ‘The Happiness Planner bucket list’.

How does The Happiness Planner work?

Before you begin filling in a page per day, you first complete a sort of self-reflection – your ‘Happiness Roadmap’. By evaluating various aspects of your life, from the things that make you happy and unhappy to what you have achieved and are grateful for in life, you become much more aware of yourself and your needs. It also makes you more aware of what it's important for you to do every day, every week, and so on.

For me, it worked best to take about ten minutes in the morning and ten minutes in the evening to plan and reflect on my day respectively. The key is that, no matter how good or bad a day you had, you have to find at least one little victory to write down, even if it's something tiny. It can be pretty tricky at first, but it does help to shift a ‘doom and gloom’ attitude you might have at the end of a less positive day.

And it’s clear the planner really works for people – A quick glance at the reviews section of the site yields endless positive experiences with the Happiness Planner. As well as benefits such as feeling more organised and inspired, many write that using the planner daily has helped them to manage mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

Choosing your Happiness Planner

The Happiness Planner: 52 weeks

The chunkier, spiral bound planner comes with a whole 365 days of mindful journaling, helping you to plan for and reflect on an entire year. It's a great way to set and achieve your goals for the year and see how much your mind set has changed over time. You can see why it's the perfect gift for a stationery lover (or yourself), with gorgeous dividers and matching pen and paperclips.

The Happiness Planner: 100 Days of Happiness

If you're looking to trial out The Happiness Planner for a considerable period of time, but don't quite want to commit to a full year of journaling just yet, then this is a great place to start. The 100 day planner is undated and will give you just over three months of mindful reflecting.

But if you’re still unsure about whether The Happiness Planner is right for you, there is a free app where you can log the same information daily on your phone. The app also provides daily material to read, e.g. 10 rules to live by for a positive life, which you can use to supplement your use of your printed planner for that extra bit of positivity.

Get ready to get happy.

Happiness Planners are available to buy at uk.thehappinessplanner.com, while the iOS app is available to download for free on the App Store (Android app coming soon).