inkWELL A5 Quarterly Planner: Smaller Size, Same Big Goals

Before the start of every calendar year, inkWELL Press sells a bundle of inkWELL A5 Quarterly planners. As the year goes on, they sell quarterly planners for the remaining quarters of the year. For example, after Q1 you can only buy Q2, Q3, and Q4. These are A5-size planners, so they easily slide into your liveWELL planner folders without adding any bulk—which is critical when looking for a supplementary item to your planner.

What I love most about the inkWELL A5 Quarterly planner is that it’s truly functional. I’ve gushed about the goal-setting system in the liveWELL planners many times, and now I’m going to gush about the fact that they’ve been included in the inkWELL A5 Quarterly planner. It might be smaller than the full-size liveWELL planner, but the sized-down goal-setting pages still have all of the graphic organization and splendor of the full-size version.

If you’re not currently using inkWELL’s goal-setting system, you’re seriously putting yourself at a disadvantage.

Get Abstract With It

The hexagons have the same typical inkWELL categories, which might seem useless if you intend to use the inkWELL A5 Quarterly planner for a specific project or for your work. However, it’s still useful. Even though there are “health,” “social,” and “me-time” goal-setting sections, you can still write down those types of goals as they relate to the project or work you’re focusing on.

For example, you can look at the “social” hexagon in terms of networking and promotion. For the “health” section, you can write down things about stress management. These categories are still useful for a specific project or for your work.

You Might Want to Write This Down

For such a small planner and narrow focus, it’s important that users have ample note-taking space. There’s a monthly “notes & ramblings” page at the start of every single month and a horizontal row in each week.

In true inkWELL fashion, there are also a few grid note pages at the back of the Quarterly planner for you to use throughout the three-month span. This provides more than enough space for you to write down any ideas, reminders, or notes you may have.

Lemme See You Flex

The inkWELLA5 Quarterly planner is essentially a small, three-month long version of the liveWELL Flex planner. The weekly layouts are horizontal just like the Flex. Because this is meant to be a supplement to your regular planner, it’s not meant to hold your entire schedule. The inkWELL A5 Quarterly planner is made for your tasks related to your quarterly goals. If you’re using it for your blog or side hustle then you can write down your daily tasks related to those, like updating your content or calling a potential client.

Because it’s a mini version of the liveWELL Flex planner, there are also those three boxes for each day that everyone loves so dearly—and they’re still open to serving whatever purpose you have for them. If you want to use them for your three most important tasks each day, then you can do that. Or you can even use them to track progress in certain areas, like social reach or sales per day. Not to sound like a broken record, but these boxes are very flexible.

Is the inkWELL A5 Quarterly Planner Right for You?

You might be thinking that a small quarterly planner isn’t entirely necessary. While that’s true(ish), the inkWELL A5 Quarterly planner is still incredibly useful for some people. Who are those people? Anyone who struggles with work-life balance.

Even with a planner, it can be overwhelming to see all of your personal responsibilities mixed in with your professional responsibilities. In my experience, I’ve realized that seeing all of the areas of my life jumbled together gives me anxiety because it reminds me of all the things I have to do after work. This anxiety keeps me from being fully present in the office and therefore makes it difficult to put out my best work.

The overriding anxiety is why I like being able to separate my work, personal, and creative pursuits with a small quarterly planner like this. It helps create that separation visually so I can keep my focus on the thing at-hand. If you have a side business, a large project, a blog, or anything similar, then a quarterly planner can make all the difference between a productive week and a week filled with stress and anxiety.

If you’re still a little unsure if the inkWELL A5 Quarterly planner is something you need, then at least consider just buying one for the current or approaching quarter. An individual quarterly planner is a mere $10, so if you end up not using it or needing it then you haven’t lost anything. A lunch out for a dry salad will cost you more money than that.

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