Silk + Sonder is a monthly planner subscription that makes planning, reflecting, and achieving easy and fun by delivering a new pen-to-paper experience every month. Every month features new layouts that are "inspired by positive psychology, bullet journaling, and self-help books."
Including a personalized note, I am already impressed with the passion Silk + Sonder stands for!
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
Silk + Sonder July 2023
In this face-paced world it is not surprising that so many people struggle with anxiety. Because I am one of those people, I know first hand how debilitating it can be. After years of struggling to create a "tool box" of resources that work for me, it has stayed under wraps for the most part, but still creeps in every now and then.
One tool I found extremely helpful was to journal, and while a plain notebook to get your thoughts down onto worked, I wanted to take it an extra step and discovered the Silk + Sonder planner. Centered around a different theme each month, this month's theme is "Acceptance" and encourages us to accept ourselves, others, and our circumstances. With 60 pages of writing prompts, trackers, calendars, fun activities, and more, I find myself looking forward to opening this daily journal each day!
Acceptance: the action of consenting to receive or undertake something offered; the action or process of being received as adequate or suitable, typically to be admitted into a group.
As I spent the last few days at the age of 34, I really pondered what "Acceptance" meant to me at this stage of my life. Vastly different from what it meant in my teen years, or even twenties, this concept is more easily understood, though still hard to embrace at times. Reading and re-reading the definition is a great way to start my day and encourages me to pause and ask myself if I am practicing true acceptance. Helpful and beautiful, a great start to this month's journal.
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Being so excited to utilize this lovely planner to its full potential, I started penciling in my calendar before I even took pictures! Summer is a busy time of year for us because of baseball, so almost everyday is booked. While it makes my anxiety slightly increase looking at the busyness of this calendar, I also realize my boys are young for such a small amount of time that I will look back on this and miss it. Typical of a traditional planner, this calendar is a great go-to for planning purposes and keeps things neat and organized. While not shown, it also includes a full year calendar on the opposing side for reference.
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After the calendar, we are greeted with a "Future Log" and "Wheel of Life". The future log shows small calendars for the two following months which was great for jotting down future plans. The "Wheel of Life" page has you rank different areas of your life based on how fulfilled you feel. You then write down ways you can increase your level of fulfillment for each section. This was an interesting activity because I found it varied day to day. It also helped me think very purposefully when it came to those areas of my life throughout the day. Because we are in the midst of summer, my mindset is a little more chipper than in the dead of winter, so my scores were pretty high, but don't be fooled, some days were dang low too.
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Plugging right along, I discovered the "June Reflections" page. This page gives you the chance to reflect on the past month and write down wins, challenges, and favorite moments. This was a great way to think about what went really well last month, and what things we can change or make better. I love how intentional this piece is, and loved the doodle areas and ways we can make this our own. Looking toward the future, we are also given an area for "July Intentions". This area was good to fill out as I needed some strength to get through July. Our busiest month, and the one where I get older, I always like to set goals and be intentional. Let's see how things go!
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Up next was the "Mood Tracker" and "Habit Tracker" circles. Like I mentioned last month, I have listened to a few of the podcasts found on the Silk + Sonder app regarding interesting data found when it comes to habit tracking and mood tracking. Because I started tracking from the beginning of the month it felt good to watch my progress. Everyone has their up and down days and it's okay to accept that. Sometimes it's not pattern related, but sometimes it is. A very interesting area to just keep an eye on. Along with that was the "Habit Tracker" circle. This guy was all about tracking habits. These can be big or small. I chose ones that were health related and honestly, coloring in those little rectangles seems to help with motivation. I will take it!
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Page 12 and 13 focus on sleep tracking and gratitude. Since I generally get plenty of sleep, I haven't routinely filled this tracker out, but can definitely understand why some may want to track this data. The gratitude log on the other hand is something I absolutely love. Writing down and being intentional about the things we are grateful for can make for a huge mindset shift, and as a mom and educator find it extremely important. Similar to the "Gratitude Jar" form last month, the layout is a bit different, but the concept is the same and I love it. I can't wait to see the sunshine ray look it gives off when complete!
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Because this month's theme is acceptance, we received two prompts regarding the topic as the world pressurizes us to be perfect. Because there is no such thing, it was really powerful to write down and reflect on where I am most confident, and what compliment I wish I would get. It never ceases to amaze me how words and feelings just start flowing when you put the pen to paper. Just taking a couple of minutes to be intentional and get these feelings off my chest really takes a load off! Opposite of the acceptance prompts was a "Break Up With Perfect" activity. With a pretty bordered area, we are welcomed to create catch phrases to respond to our inner perfectionist's expectations and demands. Honestly I didn't dig really deep for these responses, but again let the pen hit the paper and words and doodles just started flowing.
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Page 16 and 17 featured a "Reference Letter" prompt and a beautiful "Acceptance" quote. While I struggled a bit to complete the reference letter based on the things that make me, me, I ended up with more of a pep talk instead. As this is a journal for yourself and no one else, that is 100% okay, and it should be utilized however you see fit!
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Hooray for more coloring activities! After last month's coloring exercise, I was hopeful we would receive another one, and here we are with this lovely turtle. Taking a minute or two to add a bit of color everyday, it is fun to watch the turtle evolve, and so extremely relaxing! Next to the coloring page we were greeted with the layout for a vision board. Because I've seen these all over Pinterest, I am familiar, but am terrible at printing pictures and things such as this. My vision for the future is showing how I can stay motivated for my family, and how to train our newest member of our family (especially after he peed on our carpet twice today). Looking at these prompts and pictures and reminding myself why I'm doing what I'm doing is very motivating and keeps me trekking on when things get hard.
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Similar to last month, we again received a recipe, this time for Lemon Oregano Pesto. Because my family just doesn't care for pesto, we are going to again skip, but one of these months will try it! On the opposing side we have an "Affirmations" page with fun shapes to fill with meaningful affirmations. The Silk + Sonder app has lots of ideas if you are stuck, but this was pretty easy to fill out, and a great reminder for myself when I flip through the journal each morning.
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Not only does this planner keep you organized, positive, and collected, but it also is fun! Featuring a puzzle and riddle, this isn't all about business, and keeps your brain working in a multitude of ways. Opposing the fun is something a little less fun - the "Monthly Expense Tracker". Simplistic in design, I already track my expenses on a Google Doc, so felt it redundant to enter here, but can see how it would be beneficial to have all in one place.
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Getting into the nuts and bolts section of the planner, it was nice to see they take a few days in June and give you space for those as well as July. Because I filled out my separate June journal, I went ahead and skipped them in here, but liked the thought. With space for meal plans, health plans, shopping lists, goals, and to dos, this really has it all in one easy to find place.
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Placed in the middle of the schedule section of the planner is another lovely quote and a place where we can jot down how what we are "Currently" doing. Another great area that you can revisit throughout the month, this is a great way to track down feelings and gauge recurring patterns. Something that could definitely be helpful!
Totally adorable, yet reminding me of newborn days, our new family member "Buxton" started off the morning snuggling my feet while I scoped out my daily plans in my Silk + Sonder journal, but his mindset swiftly changed into playtime as you can see here! Just look at that sweet face though!
The Verdict
Summer is busy, and while it is my favorite season of all time, it is also the most stressful one. As I mentioned above, I was diagnosed with anxiety a few years ago, and though I haven't suffered from a panic attack in a couple years, I still have to use coping strategies to keep it from edging in too far. Utilizing the Silk + Sonder planner has been really helpful in clearing my head, organizing my thoughts, and being really intentional with how I want my mindset to start the day. I really appreciated this month's "Acceptance" theme, and was impressed by the beauty and thoughtfulness this month's design encompassed.
I allocate about 20 minutes a day to this journal and flip from front to back reflecting, adding to, and processing what I have previously written. By the end of the month my brain feels much more organized and stable. The beauty of this planner is remarkable, and the packable size means I can tote it around in my purse. Being extremely impressed with all aspects, I am really looking forward to discovering more about myself, all while staying organized and offering myself a little daily quiet time and important self care. I'm already excited to see what they have in store for August!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, you'll receive August as your first month. A note from Silk + Sonder on shipping:
You can expect your SILK + SONDER issue to arrive 2-5 days before the 1st of every month.
Check out our list of the best women's subscription boxes for 2020 to see which boxes were recommended by MSA readers like you!
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