Achieving Personal Goals

In my opinion, the most useful tools and aids are frequently the ones that are the simplest. The one essential yet simple tool I rely on daily above all others is my notebook.

A simple notebook, moleskin or other form of tablet can absolutely get you going to start recording the most important things from your goal plan that you need to do each day, plus (b) capture great ideas, suggestions or solutions when they pop into your head, and (c) record things that you accomplish for future reference.
 
I don’t know how anyone who’s serious about productivity, or reaching a goal, can function properly without some form of a notebook they carry constantly.
 
Planners might be the best of these tools. They’re simple, easily to find, and the list of successful people who’ve made a habit of carrying some form of planner or notebook with them at all times is long.
 

Franklin Covey does the best in my opinion by far, if you want a smart, well developed systems. However, they are also a little expensive for some people’s taste. You only purchase your refills once a year, but if cost is an issue they might not be the planner for you. They do incorporate more than just “planning”, they have forms for virtually anything that you want to track, measure or record, which is the advantage of going to someone committed to this subject.

No one’s suggesting that your notebook has to be sophisticated or complicated, though.

Here are a couple of the different planner systems I recommend:

Franklin Covey has made an art form out of designing planner forms that suit all purposes. They’re not cheap, but as with most things you get what you pay for. It’s clear that the company’s mission is committed to productivity, so I generally don’t mind spending a few dollars more to get what I think is the best product in this arena.

Moleskin notebooks are the favorite for many achievement oriented people, simply because (a) they understand and appreciate the importance of having a place to easily record ideas, solutions to problems that pop into their heads, record meeting notes, etc. and (b) having a nice, high quality, well-constructed notebook seems to raise the importance of your note taking, it formalizes the process and makes the act of taking and reading your notes easier to do. The Dick Blick catalog is a great, one-stop shop for a wide variety of moleskins.