I Tried a High-Performance Planner for 30 Days as a YouTuber
Can a productivity planner increase my video output while helping my mental health in quarantine?
This article is not sponsored. I purchased this planner with my own money.
I’m a planner girl living in a digital world. In 2020, I uploaded to two YouTube channels, Instagram, and TikTok every week while balancing a boyfriend, unsocialized cats, and my physical and mental health. Even though ad revenue had dipped on YouTube, there was higher traffic on the site during lockdown orders.
There was potential in gaining more views and subscribers than my usual growth rate, but I also struggled from the fear of the unknown (the virus), money stress, and lack of a routine. My typical agenda couldn’t keep my mind on track, so I invested in a specialty planner with the niche focus of productivity.
I chose the High-Performance Planner (HPP) by Brendon Burchard for $20 (price may vary) on Amazon. However, each planner lasts you 2 months, so you would need to buy 6 (totaling $120) to use it for a full year.
The HPP promises to bring you a healthy work-life balance and help you complete your long-term goals. I strongly believe that happiness and work stamina stems from having balance, so that is why I chose this specific planner. And according to my research, this planner is guaranteed to help CEOs and celebrities, which defines a YouTuber who runs the production and is the on-camera talent.
First Impressions
Although the HPP is thick, a 2-month planner, that costs more than a basic 1-year agenda, is a gimmicky, overhyped bounded set of paper. But, if I can build long-lasting, healthy work habits within the 60 days of use, I will eat my words.
Also, the HPP is huge! The dimensions are the same as a laptop, which adds difficulty to storing and transporting the planner. Some may say the unique size is a necessity for the workbook section and monthly calendar, but I also wonder if the bulkiness is to purposely stand out like a mini-billboard so your friends and coworkers ask about it.
The Productivity Quiz
The planner recommends taking a productivity quiz before using your HPP, so you can track your results. They suggest taking the online and in-planner quizzes even though both are the same. Just take the online quiz to save yourself time from manual grading.
The quiz focuses on 6 categories: Clarity, Energy, Necessity, Productivity, Influence, and Courage. But, your scoring total is out of 5. The top 15% of high performers in the world earn 4.76 out of 5.
I scored a 3.94 out of 5 (after it averaged my results from all 6 of those categories) with Clarity as my lowest-scored category. My lack of Clarity aligned with the times of being in a pandemic, so I couldn’t imagine that I would score much higher in that category anytime soon.
Should you care to know the preliminary questions, watch the video below. But really, just picture a personality quiz that asks you the same thing in different ways until you are mentally exhausted.
Daily Workbook
My daily journaling assignment was really a twice-per-day activity that spanned across 2 pages. The process felt more like a time-consuming workbook.
In the morning, I answered 10 questions to determine my “Morning Mindset,” along with making a to-do list and determining my goals. It was all too much thinking and self-reflection for me in the morning. I prefer drinking my coffee and daydreaming.
I dreaded honing in on every single day of quarantine. I slept most of the day away. My goals were my only to-do list items. This was a constant reminder that I wasn’t doing anything with my life.
In the evening, I would fill out answers to the 6 questions of my “Evening Journal” and finish with the “Daily Habits Scorecard.” Depending on my mood, I was nicer or harder on myself when determining my final score.
Over time, my work became sloppy. I’d skip over sections. I stopped actively thinking, so I was no longer providing thoughtful responses. I despised everything about this planner.
I wanted to get my money’s worth and fill out the full 60 days, but I decided that a 30-day challenge for myself was plenty. Of course, I made a video review of this productivity planner, which you can watch too.
Weekly Review
After completing 7-days’ worth, I would come upon the Weekly Review section that also spanned across 2 pages. This means on some days I had to fill out a full 4 pages!
I really liked the questions, work scorecard, and the personal self-reflection part of the Weekly Review, but I was often too mentally drained to care. I would flip the page and my heart would sick realizing that my work wasn’t done.
What Went Wrong?
At the end of my productivity challenge, I really made sure everyone knew that I didn’t like it, but I wasn’t for sure if I should blame the planner, myself, or the poor version of myself in quarantine.
As someone who makes New Year’s resolutions and faithfully uses an agenda, I am always listing out goals…but for the week. Because the time I spend filming and editing videos vary per project, I am always rearranging my day. I need to have a flexible mindset and realize that some tasks will be rolled over to the next day.
So, when this planner demanded a hard copy of daily goals, I became easily discouraged. When I couldn’t complete my goals of the day, I felt unproductive, which then negatively affected my confidence, happiness, and work performance for the next day. I fell into a depressing cycle.
I wish that this planner didn’t have an everyday demand for my time and attention but instead offered its Weekly Review and then a more thorough, in-depth monthly survey. This way, should I review my past entries, I would truly see my progress week by week.
However, I don’t think this High-Performance Planner will ever work for me. Even when the pandemic ends. Even if my workload increases and requires more organization and mindfulness. I don’t think this has anything to do with me and how I function. I think it’s because of my work.
In a 2009 essay by Paul Graham titled ‘Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule,’ Graham goes on to explain that a Manager can operate by scheduling hourly appointments while a Maker requires a large amount of uninterrupted time to work.
…the mere consciousness of an engagement will sometimes worry a whole day. — Charles Dickens
A Content Creator is considered a Maker. I need to function on a Maker’s schedule to create high-quality videos and finish before my upload day. Tasks that have a set start time, like a work meeting or doctor’s appointment, throw off my entire mindset. But other tasks, like working out, are not bothersome as long as I can push them to a later time. And many Makers are night owls like me.
The High-Performance Planner is for Managers. The questions assume that I come in contact with numerous individuals a day. The schedule listed in half-hour increments takes up 40% of the page layout and doesn’t go past 7:30 pm. Nothing about the format really applies to someone who is an artist or does freelance work in general.
There may be a chance that I’d value my HPP if I was a big enough YouTuber that I needed a production team. I’d hire employees and have to think like a boss. But, I am not at that level yet to really know. (Maybe subscribe to my YouTube channel, so I can someday write a part two?)
From a Manager’s perspective, I think taking a break to journal would be helpful and therapeutic. I can definitely see this working for some people. So, if you run on a Manager’s schedule but find yourself disorganized and mentally lost, consider buying 1 HPP just to try out and see. You’ll know within the first 30 days if this productivity planner is a perfect match for you.
This article along with my video review of the High-Performance Planner was not sponsored.
