Review: The Spark Notebook

I was recently contacted by Kate at Spark who offered to send me a Spark Notebook as a thank-you for a post I did on them awhile back. Of course I said yes!

The Spark Notebook had a very successful Kickstarter campaign last year, and now that I have one in my hands it's even more obvious why these are so popular. This year they have a new Kickstarter campaign on right now for the 2016 Spark Planner, which is a dated 12 month version of the notebook. The Kickstarter for the planner has less than two weeks left and has already surpassed 10 times their goal! Run over and grab one while you still can.

I can see why these books are so very popular. They are classy, professional looking, and of the highest aesthetic quality. It has a hard cover, but the material on the cover feels like rose petals so it's not your typical board cover. The white paper is thick and smooth so you can use any pen you like. The corners are rounded, and there are two placemarkers of different colors (grey and blue) so you can mark your current month and week.

The book measures 5 3/4 by 8 1/4 inches, so it's small enough to carry around with you and big enough for plenty of writing space. The Spark Notebook has 6 months worth of planning, goal setting, tracking and journaling packed into each book. The Spark Notebook is undated so you can start any day of the year and use it for a full six months. Or, you can only use it when you need it; no wasted pages when you are on vacation.

I'm not going to give away all the secrets of this book, but I'll tell you the structure:

There is a page at the very beginning of the book to write your theme for the year, and your top goals. Next there is a page to record your achievements, which are so important! What good are goals if you don't acknowldege when you've reached them and celebrate? It's great this page is put right up at the front of the book for maximum visibility when you need a reminder of how well you're doing.

Then there is a monthly section with month on two pages calendars.

Each month has monthly goals, and a 30 day challenge for each month. There is a tracker where you can fill in the days you do your target activity, for an easy visual on whether you are keeping your commitment.

Next is the weekly section, with weekly planning layouts, weekly goals and reviews.

Every week there is a new thought-provoking journaling prompt designed to dig deep into your sense of purpose and motivation.

At the back of the book there are lots and lots of pages for notes and sketches.

Their website has a Users Guide with tips on how to use your Spark Notebook. There are examples and suggestions for how to use each type of page.

There is a new version of the Spark Notebook for 2016 with new journaling prompts, so you can start your year with new inspiration and motivation.

Many thanks to Kate for sending me this Spark Notebook!

Disclaimer: I received this notebook as a free sample to review. I am otherwise not affiliated with the company in any way, and I do not receive any commissions or funds from sales.