I know I’ve been away for quite some time. In the meanwhile I finished another coaching school, trained for and then ran a half marathon, and tried to find more time for myself (as you can see from the above, not working that well :)).

So when I received the offer to do a review for the Ritual Dreambook, I realized I loved the idea but I would really struggle with the time to write a proper review.

In the meanwhile, the kickstarter for the project finished, the project got funded (yay!! congratulations!!) and I still want to write the review to say just how great this planner actually is.

Important note – I worked on the PDF version; the actual printed version wasn’t available yet at that time.

So what is the Dreambook & Planner?

It’s a beautiful combination of a life goals & vision planner with the actual timetable templates to keep you going and get that focus you need. It’s like having a discussion with a life coach, but in writing.

It begins with an opening note from the founders which gives more glimpse into what rituals mean and how planning can be more a pleasant way to connect with yourself and your dreams, rather than a mechanical daily chore.

Then it follows with a set of life questions – what matters to you, what you want to explore.
Values is an important section.
Then you get to draft your life purpose, which again is put into frame by an inspiring text from the founders.

You then create your vision of the future for 6 life areas (kind of like a coaching “Wheel of Life”, but much more in depth).
The way you create your vision is nicely guided by several questions for each of these life areas, and there are special sections where you’re supposed to write your answers.

The Planner then has a large section of mind maps where you can break down your visions into achievable chunks.

I loved the design of the mind maps and it inspired me to start drawing my other, much more worldly and business focused mind maps in the same way.

How to put it into practice?

First of all, the mind maps section is where the pragmatic planning takes over from the “dreaming”.

You start with life goals broken by life area, then work your way through 10 year goals, 3 year goals and 1 year goals. This makes the whole process much more attainable and rooted in daily life.

The Dreambook has also a Planner section, which is the actual “Ritual Planning” section. In this section  you can work on your life goals or main areas you want to tackle and build the ritual element around them.

The founders explain it very nicely:

“The single most fundamental element of a ritual is that you are deliberate about it.”

If I may add, this element of setting an intention makes the transition between just putting something on your agenda and actually making space in your life for that something to manifest.

The Planning/Ritualizing section of the planner follows with some structured templates (weekly, vertical layout, with weekly tasks and gratitude reminders). It’s simple, to the point and very inspiring. There are weekly templates for each week in the year, each of them with its own inspiring quote.

The Dreambook/Planner ends with an open space to record your reflections on lessons learned, improvements and life themes for the year that just ended.

In conclusion, what I loved about the Dreambook/Planner:

It’s like a conversation with a life coach: empowering, inspiring, clarifying

Very well structured, taking you from big life themes to daily planning. All you need to do is fill in the blanks.

The Ritual component can be a good energizer for those who plan but can’t get to actually do things they mean to do

The book in itself – I only saw the pictures, not the final product- is absolutely gorgeous, minimalist and inviting.

What I didn’t love:

I worked on the printed PDF version, and for me the actual look and feel of a planner is very important. If you’re the kind of person who works with templates printed off the internet and put into a binder, you’ll love this version.
If I was faced with a purchasing decision, I would definitely get the full planner, not the PDF version.

In conclusion, it’s an enthusiastic recommend. 
You can watch the presentation video here  and you can also pre-order your planner here. 

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