I am normally against gift guides and — to be honest — the idea that propelled me to write this one was my feeling that so few of them offer much value. I thought to myself: “What would actually add value to people’s lives instead of just contributing to increased clutter?”

National Prosecco Day is on August 13. If you were following my blog last year, you’ll remember my primer about Prosecco, as well as 13 ways you can enjoy the sparkling wine. Looking back, planners were underrepresented in that post so I decided this year I would go through the fun activity of pairing Prosecco cocktails with planners based on their cover and design.

As I sit here, writing this post on the eve of a new decade, a new year, a new month, I am exhilarated and inspired by all of the limitless potential and opportunity. Truthfully, the start of a new year is always one of my favorite times of year.

Of course, I begin each week with the best-laid plans, but life happens and the things I intend to do each day or during the week sometimes get pushed off the priority list. When this happens, I go back to the tasks that help set me up for success, and this typically happens on Sundays.

So sorry for the unexpected hiatus, but as you’ll learn in this post the last several months have been consumed with a lot of work. This is a long one, so be prepared to take a few minutes to get through it. And at the end of it all, I hope you’ll share your thoughts or questions with me. Thanks for reading!

Choosing a word of the year has been a ritual of mine for three years now. But I found myself feeling pretty burned out by the last quarter of 2018. Therefore, I decided “simplify” would be my word in 2019. With those feelings in mind, I gave serious thought to my planner system at the end of last year and whether or not it was helping me in the way I intended when I chose it.

Welcome to my blog!

Chances are you found your way here through one of two ways: you follow my “planner Instagram” @cynthiaplans or you’re a friend or family member, who showed up to support me. Regardless of how you got here, I’d begin by saying thank you for visiting.