16 powerful ways Curation 2024 can help you live better, every day!

 I know what you’re thinking.

How can a planner “change my life” and help me “live better”? 

Let’s be clear—this isn’t an ordinary 2024 planner. 

What we’ve designed is an empowering set of tools that can help you stay organised, grounded and mindful in your daily pursuits. More than the standard planning functions of a weekly diary, there are over a dozen ways our Curation 2024 diary can help you live better, every day!

Prioritise your wellbeing by default 

Making your health a #1 priority and checking in with yourself on a daily basis is the single most beneficial thing you can do for yourself and those around you. 

We know it’s a challenging habit to build, especially when you’re experiencing pressure from other “urgent” tasks and commitments. It’s often in this busy haze that we forget just how important our health is and the impact it can have on our overall quality of life. 

We’ve been there—we’ve hustled aggressively, neglected our wellbeing in the process and paid the painful price of self-neglect. 

To help you prioritise your wellbeing by default, we’ve included dedicated space on the weekly spread so that you can schedule daily activities that rejuvenate your mind and body. This might be as simple as a 10 minute guided meditation or 10 minute full-body workout. 

Consider this a reminder to put yourself first—a daily check in and reminder to listen and honour the needs of your mind and body.

When you start looking after yourself consistently and proactively, you’ll notice a shift in your energy and the way you show up in the world. 

Build healthy habits that stick

We may not have superpowers, but the habits that contribute to our definition of success are the closest thing we have to it.  

Habits can propel you forward or hinder your progress. They can empower you or sabotage you. The trouble is, adopting behaviour patterns that support your goals and erasing routines that are simply destructive can be problematic without the right tools at your fingertips. 

How many times have you made a mental note to start exercising daily or go to bed earlier?

How many times have you started building a new habit only to last a day or two? 

We’ve tried it too—mental notes don’t exactly have the greatest track record when it comes to reconfiguring habits. 

That’s why we created the Habit Curator—to help you build habits that actually stick. 

There are two parts to the habit building framework—the first section is a worksheet that is designed to help you lay the foundations for building good habits. There is also a section for you to write down all the reasons why building this habit is important to you.

Not only does this highlight exactly how your new routine or ritual will add value to your life, it creates a very empowering source of motivation—which is particularly useful when you’ve detoured away from your intentions and want to get back on track. 

The habit tracker on the weekly spread also provides you with a visual reminder to follow through with your habit intentions. It also offers a visual display of your progress which can be a powerful source of motivation. Ticking off your habits is immensely satisfying and every single tick you achieve is visual proof that you can do this.

More than a series of ticks, it also keeps you mindful of how you’re spending your day. Once you’ve got a streak going, you won’t want to quit! So many wins! 

We’ve even created a FREE eBook: Curating Habits That Stick to complement the Habit Curator so that building new habits isn’t an intimidating process, but one that you have control over.

Adopt an attitude of gratitude 

It’s so easy to lose sight of how far we’ve come, what we’ve achieved and how fortunate we really are when we don’t pause to reflect. 

When we flex our gratitude muscle and start reflecting on the things (big and small) that we are genuinely thankful for, we activate an inner source of happiness.

This can reduce our stress levels, reset our perspective and improve our relationships with others. 

That’s why we’ve incorporated a weekly Gratitude Reflection. It’s all about celebrating the simple things and expressing gratitude for the moments and people who leave a positive imprint on our lives.

Whether you decide to write down three wins from the previous week or three things you’re grateful for, building this into your weekly ritual allows you to end and start the new week feeling blessed.

Plan or track important areas of your life

The table positioned on the right hand side of the Pre-Week Planner was previously used as a weekly meal planner but thanks to feedback from Curation users, we’ve realised that it can be used for so much more than that.

For that reason, we’ve kept the days of the week on the side but removed the headings so that you can customise this table to suit your needs.

Think of it as a multi-purpose space.

You might choose to use it as a weekly meal planner just as we previously had it.

Or

You might reserve one column to plan your dinners, another for workouts and another for scheduling study for a course you might be taking.

You could also use it as a daily food tracker or a mood tracker. It’s completely up to you. You have the option to change what you use this space for as you move through the year.

*The Pre-Week Planner is included in Curation 2024 Diary and Curation A4. This feature is not included in Curation Mini.

Prioritise your time effectively and mindfully

We are huge advocates of planning in advance. That's why we included the Pre-Week Planner—a double page spread that appears before your weekly spread*

There will always be unforeseen “urgent” items on the agenda that inevitably pop up and require a reshuffle of priorities, but for the larger part, planning your week in advance gives you the opportunity to prioritise your time effectively and mindfully. 

Instead of frantically trying to find time for your personal commitments, you can block out time for your goals. You can organise your week around your intentions, like reorganising your wardrobe, sorting out the details for an item on your bucket list or finishing that book on your bedside table. 

This ultimately gives you greater control over your week. Not only do you have a birds-eye-view of the next seven days, you’re able to manage the day-to-day tasks alongside your long-term goals. 

The Mission in Progress section on the Pre-Week Planner* is designed to keep your long-term goals top of mind. It prompts you to check in with your goals and figure out what tasks you can tackle. The Drawing Board also facilitates brainstorming sessions that are likely to occur when you’re deep in planning mode. 

Yes, this methodology does require an investment of time which you would probably rather spend on Netflix or YouTube, but once you experience a solid return on investment, it will likely become a weekly ritual. 

Instead of suffering from a case of decision fatigue and switching aimlessly from one task to another, you can begin each day productively, with a strong sense of purpose. 

*The Pre-Week Planner is included in Curation 2024 Diary and Curation A4. This feature is not included in Curation Mini. Curation Mini includes a feature called This Week's Priorities which can be used for the same purpose—prioritising and managing day-to-day tasks alongside long-term goals. 

Free up your mental RAM

When you’ve got a hundred tabs open on your laptop and 19 applications running at once, what happens? It begins to freak out, right? 

Well, we may not have a colourful spinning wheel in our frontal cortex, but we can certainly feel our brain power diminish and the mental fatigue settle in. 

Free up your mental RAM by downloading your mental to-do lists, important dates and things you need to remember to your Monthly Planner and Weekly Spread. 

Alternatively, you can use the weekly Drawing Board* to brain dump or write a long to-do list. Once you’ve identified when you want to tackle each task, you can add them to the weekly spread on the relevant days. 

The simple act of writing down your intentions is like shutting down the excessive number of brain tabs and relieving yourself of the pressure to remember it all. 

*The Drawing Board is included in Curation 2024 Diary and Curation A4. This feature is not included in Curation Mini. 

Unlock the door to a world of possibilities 

There’s nothing more refreshing, enlightening and liberating than new experiences that unleash newfound confidence, joy and a sense of accomplishment.

However, there’s often a hefty price tag attached and it’s not always one we’re willing to accept. 

The thing is, the fear and the doubt we experience when we enter unfamiliar territory (like when we’re pursuing our goals) can only be diluted when we voluntarily step out of our comfort zones and try something new. 

To coax you out of your shell and help tear down those mental barriers, we’ve included a series of optional weekly challenges (Your Cue). There’s a good mix of comfort zone and mindfulness challenges at the bottom of your Pre-Week Planner.*

Just remember, that incredible feeling of accomplishment, pride and fulfillment you might be craving can only be activated when you feel the fear and do it anyway!

*Weekly Challenges are included in Curation 2024 Diary and Curation A4. This feature is not included in Curation Mini. 

Create an epic roadmap for your goals

Let’s face it, keeping your goals and intentions isolated in your mind amid the various other “tabs” that are open, isn’t a helpful strategy by any means.

Forgive us for sounding like an infomercial, but IF there is a free and proven way to increase your likelihood of achieving your goals, you would do it, wouldn’t you?

According to a study conducted by Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at the Dominican University in California, writing down your goals makes you 42% more likely to achieve them. We like those odds.

Yes, you could write down your goals and intentions in any old notebook or on a piece of paper, but the question is, are you going to revisit that old notebook or random piece of paper? 

Using the Mission Statement framework to define your goals, formulate a grand plan of action, set milestones and track your progress in the same beautiful diary that is used for planning your daily agenda not only keeps everything in one place, it keeps your intentions top of mind, encouraging you to take action on them every single day. 

We’ve strategically incorporated a Mission in Progress* section into the Pre-Week Planner, so that you can consistently review your goals, and identify goal-related tasks you can realistically tackle during the week.

In addition to the Mission Statement framework, we've also introduced a section for journalling and categorising your intentions for the year ahead. 

This exercise is perfect for those who want to step into the year with a bit more clarity and purpose. It can serve as a precursor to goal setting or it can simply be space for you to journal and explore how you feel about the year ahead.

*Mission in Progress is included in Curation 2024 Diary and Curation A4. This feature is not included in Curation Mini. Curation Mini includes a feature called This Week's Priorities which can be used for the same purpose—identifying goal-related tasks you can realistically tackle during the week. 

Find the fuel that drives you forward

Staying motivated and following through with your mission is no walk in the park. 

That’s why we’ve included space in the Mission Statement framework for you to flesh out your biggest reasons for pursuing each goal. It gives you the opportunity to dig a little deeper, beyond the surface and be really honest with yourself. It may be helpful to ask the following questions:

Is this what I really want?

Am I doing this to please someone else?

How does pursuing/reaching my goal add value to my life? 

How does pursuing/reaching my goal add value to others? 

When the idea of quitting begins to anchor you down, you can revisit this list and remember why you started. The “why” can often reignite your fire and launch you into the next step of your journey. Think of it as your personal source of motivation that you can tap into at any time. 

Debunk your fears

Naturally, the pursuit of any important goal or mission will manufacture its fair share of fear, doubt and anxiety. In fact, fear of failure was the most commonly cited struggle associated with setting and pursuing goals, according to Curation users.

These fears become problematic when they hinder our ability to move forward and deplete us of motivation to the point that we decide to abandon the ideas that once excited us. 

Having encountered a truckload of doubts on our own personal journeys, we decided to incorporate a journaling component, which has been particularly valuable during periods of uncertainty. 

Your Curation 2024 Diary comes equipped with five journaling prompts to help you debunk your fears, identify the cost of inaction and clarify your reasons for pursuing any given goal. 

These journalling prompts will help you rationalise your fears and approach them in a more constructive manner. The ultimate objective is to help you readjust your self-talk and overcome the mental barriers that prevent you from moving forward. 

Visually track and celebrate your progress

We are just as guilty as the next person when it comes obsessing over the finish line, but how can we fully enjoy the journey, let alone appreciate it if we’re always fast forwarding to the end? 

Curation 2024 Diary, Curation 2024 Diary (Mini) and Curation 2024 Diary (A4) include a number of goal-tracking features—weekly Habit Tracker, Mission Statement progress bar and Savings Curator progress bar—that encourage you to celebrate your milestones, both large and small.

After all, without these mindful observations of growth and progress, achievement and success have no meaning.  

Acknowledging your small achievements will not only unleash joy, excitement and all those happy feels, this positive reinforcement will instill confidence, top up your motivation levels and strengthen your commitment to your goal. 

When you can see that you’re making meaningful progress, you’ll find that your fears and doubts will begin to dissipate and faith, confidence and motivation will fill its place. 

Simplify the act of self-care

We’ve covered decision fatigue from a weekly planning perspective, but another daily decision which may be relatively new to you is deciding how you’re going to practise self-care. For some, it may come quite naturally. For others, this is completely new territory. 

If you prefer to switch things up throughout the week, you’ll find the Self-Care Menu extremely helpful. 

The Self-Care Menu is designed to make the art of putting yourself first easier on you by giving you space to list and organise your favourite routines and rituals. 

Whenever you’re stuck for ideas, flip to your menu and choose an item from your curated list based on how much time you have. Yes, it still does involve an element of decision making, but it certainly avoids the “hmm… where do I even begin”which often turns into “hmm...I’ll just skip it today.” 

To get you started, here’s 150+ Self-Care Ideas & Resources you can draw inspiration from. 

Transition into each new month with greater self-awareness

When we don't pause to reflect, the days start to blur into one another. We miss out on the opportunity to learn and evolve—from our mistakes, challenges and day-to-day choices. 

At the end of each month, you’ll find a link at the bottom of the weekly spread, directing you to five monthly reflection prompts. 

This will help you develop more self awareness around the choices you’re making, how you’re spending your time, what’s working and what isn’t.

What you uncover will help you plan and live more mindfully, in alignment with your values and intentions. 

Capture your favourite moments on record

Memory Bank is a one-page addition designed to capture your favourite moments from the year and help build .

There are 27 spaces to hold your favourite memories from 2024. It's a wonderful way to celebrate those special moments and create a 2024 keepsake in the process. 

We were inspired by the "jar of awesome" idea which involves writing down your favourite moment from each day, storing it in a jar and reading it at the end of the year.

Do more things just for fun

Curation 2024 wouldn't be complete without a section dedicated to playtime. We're talking about your 2024 Bucket List. 

It's space for you to plan all the fun stuff you want to do throughout the year. 

Although traditional bucket lists often include once-off, travel-related adventures and expensive activities that give you an adrenaline rush, the bucket list in Curation is more about fun, realistic things you can do locally. 

Some of the things we've had on previous bucket lists include: salsa dance classes (one of our highlights from 2018), winery segway tour, acro yoga, pottery classes and the fire and ice experience at the hot springs. 

It doesn't have to be Instagram-worthy or conform to the traditional definition of a bucket list. All that matter is that it's fun and satisfying for you. 

Spend and save more mindfully 

There’s nothing quite like writing down your income and expenses to make you aware of your spending habits! 

The Savings Curator provides goal-setting flexibility. You have the option to exclusively set monthly goals or divide one big annual goal into monthly targets. There’s also a brainstorming section for you to explore different saving methods—a helpful tool when trying to maximise your saving potential. 

So there you have it—16 powerful ways our Curation 2024 Diary can help you live better, every day. And that's just the beginning.

Just remember—Curation only works if you do.