I have never used planners. I would make lists of things to do and mechanically try to get through those. But I find that a simple five minutes of writing down your goals helps focus your mind on the day ahead. This is the first planner that I bought for myself, and I’m quite happy with it. I’m not happy with how I didn’t accomplish certain tasks, but the Barakah journal puts matters in perspective. There is a weekly plan, a daily plan, and at the end of the week you get a weekly review. In this review you write down what you are grateful for in the past week, among a couple of other things. So you don’t weigh down on yourself for what you didn’t do, but are grateful for what Allah allowed you to accomplish, and you can make a small plan on how to go about the next week.
The Barakah journal has a few guidelines at the beginning, of how to be productive in a way that brings Barakah in your life (hence the name). The cover is strong with a small elastic strap so the journal will withstand the abuse of a handbag. I bought a couple for my kids as well, and my older one loves it (my younger one needs to be prompted to use it).
As it’s a journal, I believe it’s a great investment. It’s more than a planner, it’s a few moments of remembering what you want and being reminded of making Du’a and Istikhara for those tasks. Great buy alhamdulillah.
