Planner Review: The Girls Goal Planner by Cultivate What Matters

Most people know that I am all about setting and planning my goals. I’ve written about it in multiple posts, and I have even been managing to do it while in quarantine.

For the past three years, I have been using a PowerSheets Intentional Goal Planner by Cultivate What Matters. (The 12-month planner I use is sold out, but they have recently launched their undated 6-month planner). And, I recommend it to everyone I know, as I find it is such a great way to think about goals and develop habits and routine to accomplish them.

While I’ve had a few friends give them a try, I didn’t realize until this year that my daughter was watching me use the planner and was interested in it. So, when Cultivate What Matters announced that it was publishing a goal planner geared toward girls aged 8 to 13, I knew my daughter would want this planner.

Their launch could not have come at a better time. My daughter is 11 years old and is going to middle school next year, and she is really starting to think about what she’d like to do when she grows up (something I tell her will be an ever-evolving question for her).

Although her lack of a promotion ceremony is nowhere near what high school and college seniors have missed out on this year, it was disappointing that she did not experience the same activities and celebrations that had marked the end of her brother’s time in elementary school.

When I saw that the Girls Goals Planner would be released in May, I knew it would be the perfect graduation gift for her. Luckily, she agreed!

Teaching Girls About Goal Planning

When I was growing up, no one really taught me about having goals or the steps it would take for me to achieve them. I certainly had goals, but I didn’t think about them much, let alone break them down into steps and habits.

I also did not ask myself what I really wanted in life or what my dreams were. Instead, I focused on just a few lofty goals that seemed to be important because it either related to my schooling or was something I could do to please my family.

What has been gratifying about using the PowerSheets goal-planning method is that, through a series of worksheets (the “prep”), you are encouraged to dig deep and think about what truly matters to you in whatever season of life you are in. The questions and writing prompts have you explore everything from relationships to finance, and it is a very personal experience.

The planner also has space to break down the steps it will take to achieve your goal. And, each month and season of the year, you complete some additional prep sheets to fine-tune your goals or change them entirely. The monthly “tending sheet” has habit trackers that allows you to track your monthly, weekly and daily progress on the goals you’ve set for the month.

Three years in, and I finally feel like I’m learning to goal plan. Not bad for an old(er) bird. I had often thought of how helpful it would have been for me to started goal planning earlier in life. So, my decision to purchase the Girls Goal Planner for my daughter was in part based on her interest, but also out of my desire to give her skills I have come to acquire as an adult. For a review of the 2020 PowerSheets Planner, check out this link.

In teaching my daughter about goal planning, I have tried to convey to her that goal planning is not meant to be a form of micromanaging your future. Some people think that goal planning is way of trying to control your life and create unrealistic expectations, and ultimately disappointment, since very little is in our control.

After a few years of doing this, I have learned that goal planning works best when I do not try to control every last aspect of my life or future. Instead, it can be an important and healthy way for me to prepare for the next steps in my life and make room for the unexpected good things that are to come.

When I gave my daughter her new planner, I explained to her that setting goals is a great way to work on ourselves and identify what is meaningful to us. I was careful to emphasize that setting a goal does not mean that we will force an outcome. It is simply giving us directly and allowing us to move with more purpose.

More importantly, our decision to set goals is a sign that we are hopeful about the future and would like to be engaged in what happens next.

The Girls Goal Planner

While I have always thought that a goal planner for girls could be a great learning tool, I wanted to make sure that anything I purchased for my child would be simple to use and age appropriate. After looking at the Girls Goal Planner, I can say that Cultivate What Matters really outdid themselves when they created this planner for girls.

First, the planner is “research-based.” The Cultivate team claims that it worked with “renowned child psychologists and developmental experts” in creating this planner. From what I can tell, the planner is well designed for a younger audience.

Here are some of its basic features and how it compares to the 12-month PowerSheets planner:

The planner measures 7.25 x 9.5″ as opposed to PowerSheets, which come in at 8.5 x 10”. It feels a little smaller, but boxier than PowerSheets.

The cover is made of a sturdy but flexible, plastic material with a mat finish. It is similar to the covers the planners used to come with before this year’s switch to a hard cover with corner protectors. It’s also beautiful with a floral design and gold foiling. Because the cover is thinner than the PowerSheets cover, the book doesn’t seem as bulky and feels more portable.

The coil binding is also similar to the coil CWM used before this year. It has a white plastic coil, which is surprisingly sturdy despite its being so lightweight. (This year’s PowerSheets planner has a gold, double o-ring coil binding).

Unlike the 12-month PowerSheets planner, which is dated, the Girls Goal Planner is undated except for the 2020-2021 on the cover. This means that the monthly tabs are blank, so you must purchase separate month stickers for the tabs, which they sell as an accessory.

Just like PowerSheets, the months in the Girls Goal Planner are sectioned off by thick, glossy cardstock dividers with laminated tabs.

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The planner comes with a card to for a grown-up to encourage and guide the girl who is using the planner. I thought this was a really thoughtful touch. As the card recommends, we plan to do our prep work together each month, which I’m really excited to do with her!

When you open the planner, the first page has room to write a name and the other side has an encouraging message.

After the nameplate page are four (!) pages of stickers (PowerSheets planners for us grownups only have 1 sheet), some of which are entirely gold foiled. Some of the stickers are functional stickers like hearts and little quote bubbles, but most are just pretty floral ones.

The worksheets at the beginning include an all-about-you page and a self-portrait section. After that is the Goals section, which includes 10 prep pages. Compared to the nearly 50 prep pages in the PowerSheets planner, the work for girls is far less daunting. Moreover, each page has very little to fill out, examples are provided to help the girls get started, and many pages include areas for drawing and coloring.

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The girls are introduced to concepts such as identifying what matters to them, breaking down dreams into smaller goals, and thinking about how to make this year a good one. There is also a vision board section, which my daughter is planning to fill with magazine cutouts.

Each month has an undated monthly spread (in color with a floral design), pages to brainstorm and goal plan for the month, a habit tracker for a single habit, a coloring page, five 2-page weekly spreads to track daily activities, feelings, notes, gratitude, and challenges. In the middle of the weekly spreads is a page to work on a character trait- with different ones assigned to each month and a fun activity to explore the trait. Just before the next months’ divider is a blank page for notes.

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At the end of the planner is a glossy cardstock pocket, where presumably more stickers or notes can go. This is where my daughter is keeping the card with the introduction for the grown-up (you didn’t think I would get to keep that, did you?)

What We Love About This Planner

• We love that the prep pages have a fun and cheerful layout that help to guide young planners through the goal-setting process. Because the prep pages have lots of space and few questions, none of it seems overwhelming. My daughter plans to start using her planner in July and has already been working on her prep pages, which she thinks are “really helpful to plan out your year and it is really fun and cute.”
• I love that the monthly and weekly spreads are completely customizable and simple. My daughter can choose what she wishes to track and does not have to focus on more than one habit a month. She also has the option to use the weekly spreads as an actual planner or one that just provides small spaces for a little journaling each day. There is no requirement to focus on one goal for the whole year- goals can change as my child’s interests change throughout the year, and it seems to encourage choosing different parts of a goal each month.
• Finally, this planner places emphasis on positive character traits (I am a helper, unique, brave, etc.) and self-care. It encourages girls to think not only about where they are going, but the kind of people they want to be. These are values I have been trying to teach my daughter, and I love that this planner reinforces them.

What We Think Would Improve this Planner

There are very few things we would change about this planner, but here are a few suggestions that we think would make the planner even better:

• First, with 4 sticker sheets, we think they should skip some of the floral ones and just add the small month stickers for the tabs. We purchased one of the bundles and it came with the Goal-planning sticker book but no monthly tab stickers, which seemed odd. I’ll be ordering them later.
• My daughter suggested that they include a single page at the end as a year-in-review where she can write about what she’s accomplished and focus on her wins. PowerSheets have a similar page, and I think that would be a great idea to shows these girls how far they’ve come.

Aside from that, there is very little about this planner we would change. We may think of more as my daughter works her way through the book, but from what we’ve see of it thus far, it seems like it is going to really help my daughter think about her future with more hope and intention.

Our Favorite Planner Supplies for the Girls Goal Planner

Of course, we cannot recommend a planner without also offering some planner supplies to go with it! Many little girls want to have a neat looking planner that is also colorful. My daughter gets frustrated with using pencil that smudges and likes to be able to erase her mistakes. Aside from the CWM Goal Setting Sticker Book, here are the supplies we are using:

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again- Pilot Frixion pens are amazing. They erase really well in the paper CWM uses in its planners, and the Girls Goal planner is no exception. We really like the retractable ones, as they have a clip that allows you to store a pen in the plastic coil. They also have replaceable cartridges, so you can refill them and not buy new pens:

If you don’t care about clipping the pen in the coil or replacing the ink but still want a fun variety of colors with the same Frixion quality erasable gel ink (at a better price point), try their ColorSticks:

Frixion now makes markers, and although they are not as bright as ones like Sharpies or Papermate Flair Pens, they erase really well and come in lots of fun colors. Here are the regular-sized markers:

Their new Frixion fine liners are also a fun way to play with a goal planner, and they also come in several colors:

Finally, I do a lot of color coding and have encouraged my daughter to try the same. Frixion also makes erasable highlighters that erase just as easily as their pens. For bright colors, try these:

If you prefer something closer to a Zebra Mildliner, the Frixion Pastel Highlighters are a great erasable alternative, and are easier on the eyes:

We also love using Washi Tape to help with color coding and adding some decoration:

Because the monthly layouts are undated, it might also be fun to use some pretty, handwritten month stickers like these:

I would love to hear from other moms who are goal-planning with their kids. Are you using a goal-setting system? Have you found one that is more unisex or geared toward boys? Leave a comment below!

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**Image credits- Tree reflection, “My Journal,” and woman journaling images found on Pixabay.