6 Planners To Set The Tone For Your Best Year Yet
Goddess Erykah Badu said, "Write it down on real paper, with a real pencil, and watch shit get real." And if Erykah said it, it's law. More than ever, we are consumed with our phones and laptops that the craft of planners and journals have become somewhat obsolete. We also think that 2020 didn't help with all of its drama – people literally burned their planners after March. In a Zoom kinda world, I'm still glad I got my planner.
What better way to set the tone for this new year than with a planner full of intention? Using a planner has shown to have benefits including better time management, realistic productivity, improved focus and lower stress levels. Without further ado, we have gathered six planners that will change your life in the most fabulous way!
The Book’d Store
The Book'd Store
I fell head over heels in love with my Book'd Planner last year despite the year being a shit show. It was an easy purchase because of the beautiful product AND the creators are Black women. According to Tamera and Adrienne, "Book'd Store is a luxury stationery and lifestyle brand for Black women that is super stylish, uniquely quirky, and most importantly, speaks directly to who we are." Each page has an inspirational quote to help you plan your life and be intentional about how you'll slay each day. It's the details, the stickers, and the everything for us.
BlackCoilsPaperie 2021 Personalized Black and Educated Planner
Black Coils Paperie
This handmade planner is a crowd favorite. You can customize the cover with your name and title to really show off your boss babe status. It means everything to see the Black woman clipart all up and through these pages. You can even choose different date ranges in case you're still processing 2020. Between your many goals and priorities, the Black and Educated Planner is most definitely a winner.
The Magic Is In You 2021 Planner
Papier
You are the magic, baby girl. And the magic will only get more powerful as you start to organize your plans and goals. Papier created this planner with you in mind. Made up of weekly, monthly, and daily overviews, you can easily document all the things on the smoothest paper ever. You can also personalize the cover to your liking.
Black Girl in Love with Herself Organizer / Planner
Black Girl in Love
Made for a Black girl by a Black girl, Trey's lifestyle planner will have you feeling like you have the same 24 hours in a day as Beyonce. It's the perfect place to write down everything, from your hair appointments to your next vacation. Consider this the planner dedicated to meeting the professional needs of Black women so we can really fall in love with our essence.
Savor Life Planner
Savor
Daily Worth claims the Savor Planner is, "The planner that changed my life." We believe it's life-changing because it's centered around self-care. Inside the planner, you'll find four monthly calendars, 90-day vision worksheets, Organize Your Gorgeous Chaos layouts, and a place to Detox Your Brain. Before you know it, you'll be taking it one day at a time and you'll need a new 90-day planner.
BeatificHappyPlanner
BeatificHappyPlanner
Create the life you desire with this weekly planner. It is devoted to helping you learn to value yourself by fighting for your happiness. One of our favorite things about this planner is that you can choose the color of the cover to match your skin tone. Not only are there pages to show gratitude but there are also amazing plans for your diet, hydration, and self-reflection questions to help set goals.
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Featured image by Shutterstock
Joce Blake is a womanist who loves fashion, Beyonce and Hot Cheetos. The sophistiratchet enthusiast is based in Brooklyn, NY but has southern belle roots as she was born and raised in Memphis, TN. Keep up with her on Instagram @joce_blake and on Twitter @SaraJessicaBee.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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You've Never Seen Luke James In A Role Quite Like This
Over the years, we've watched Luke James play countless characters we'd deem sex symbols, movie stars, and even his complicated character in Lena Waithe's The Chi. For the first time in his career, the New Orleans-born actor has taken on a role where his signature good looks take a backseat as he transforms into Edmund in Them: The Scare—a mentally deranged character in the second installment of the horror anthology series that you won't be able to take your eyes off.
Trust us, Edmund will literally make you do a double take.
xoNecole sat down with Luke James to talk about his latest series and all the complexity surrounding it—from the challenges taking on this out-of-the-box role to the show's depiction of the perplexing history of the relationship between Black Americans and police. When describing the opportunity to bring Edmund's character to life, Luke was overjoyed to show the audience yet another level of his masterful acting talents.
"It was like bathing in the sun," he said. "I was like, thank you! Another opportunity for me to be great—for me to expand my territory. I'm just elated to be a part of it and to see myself in a different light, something I didn't think I could do." He continued, "There are parts of you that says, 'Go for it because this is what you do.' But then also that's why it's a challenge because you're like, 'um, I don't know if I'm as free as I need to be to be able to do this.' Little Marvin just created such a safe space for me to be able to do this, and I'm grateful for everything I've been able to do to lead to this."
Courtesy
Them: The Scare, like the first season, shines a light on the plight of Black Americans in the United States. This time, the story is taking place in the 1990s, at the height of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. While the series presents many underlying themes, one that stands out is Black people and the complicated relationship with the police. "For the audience, I think it sets the tone for the era that we're in and the amount of chaos that's in the air in Los Angeles and around the country from this heinous incident. And I say it just sets the tone of the anxiety and anxiousness that everybody is feeling in their own households."
James has been a longtime advocate against police brutality himself. He has even featured Elijah McClain, the 23-year-old Colorado man who died after being forcibly detained by officers, as his Instagram avatar for the past five years. So, as you can imagine, this script was close to his heart. "Elijah was a soft-loving oddball. Different than anyone but loving and a musical genius. He was just open and wanted to be loved and seen."
Getty Images
Luke continued, "His life was taken from him. I resonate with his spirit and his words...through all the struggle and the pain he still found it in him to say, 'I love you and I forgive you.' And that's who we are as people—to our own detriment sometimes. He's someone I don't want people to forget. I have yet to remove his face from my world because I have yet to let go of his voice, let go of that being [because] there's so many people we have lost in our history that so often get forgotten."
He concluded, "I think that's the importance of such artwork that moves us to think and talk about it. Yes, it's entertaining. We get to come together and be spooked together. But then we come together and we think, 'Damn, Edmund needed someone to talk to. Edmund needed help... a lot [of] things could have been different. Edmund could have been saved.'
Check out the full interview below.
Luke James Talks Ditching Sex Symbol Status For "Them: The Scare", Elijah McClain, & Morewww.youtube.com
Featured image by Getty Images