I know that I need to organize and plan my days and life to have a better focus. I have been using The Beautiful Life Management System from Jennifer Neef and Grace Works. This system is more than a beautiful planner; it is a system to help busy moms focus. Neef developed this system to guide her, and now she is sharing it with us. The Beautiful Life Management System costs $39.95 and contains

• Workshop Series (four CDs)
• Canvas Starter Binder
• Beautiful Life Manager Daily Sheets (enough for 100 days)
• Morning Latte (Devotional Pages)
• Fold-out Yearly Calendar
• Keeping in Mind Pages where you can pick a habit to work on, list repairs, and short- and long-term tasks (ten sheets)
• Monthly Calendars (twelve) 
• Mountains of Success & Questionnaire (five-goal sheets)
• Glossary Sheet
• two Page Markers (each marker has a beautiful verse and pressed flower)

When I received my planner in the mail, I wasn’t sure where to begin. The previously mentioned parts of the system wrapped in plastic, so I unwrapped them and decided to start by listening to the first CD. On the CD, Neef told me how to put the pages in and fill out each section. I listened to one CD per day. I learned more about her and how she used the system to guide her into having more structure and freedom. Although I enjoyed learning about how to use the planner, setting goals, having an organized house, meal planning, the importance of routines, and much more, I would have appreciated a transcript or a presentation as I’m a visual person.  I also would have been able to go back when I wanted to relearn more about meal planning or any of the sections I felt were important at the time.

After I had finished listening to the CDs, I decided to take the 28-Day Challenge discussed. I would have quiet time in the morning and fill out my Morning Latte section. I would then move onto the daily section where I would mark down the day and date, dinner plans, my focus for the day (usually relationships), and see what tasks I listed for the day. I also listed any errands and other tasks that needed to get done. Towards the beginning, the Glossary Sheet was a great reference when I forgot how to fill out a section. After a week, I did not need it anymore! My favorite time of the day became when I would journal my devotions and fill out the day’s tasks. I was beginning to have a better focus and reached my goals of having a cleaner home and more organized life.

There were some sections I was never able to figure out how to use efficiently, the Keeping in Mind pages and the Mountains of Success pages. As I now look back, I should have taken these pages out of the planner and tacked them to the bulletin board by the desk. These pages are ones that I needed to look at quickly because I am a visual person. They were getting lost in the planner. Now that I know that perhaps The Beautiful Life Management System will work for me. There might not be too many sections to use at different times like I thought there were. 

I recommend this planner because there are many useful sections to focus on what is most vital for you to have structure and freedom.

-Product review by Rani Grant, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, December 2020