Plan Based

PLAN YOUR LIFE The Write Way

Take control of your schedule with the help of these nifty (and fully analogue) organisers and planning tools. By Zoe Belhomme.

Studies show that the best way to commit something to memory is to write it down. That’s right: good old pen and paper is making a huge comeback when it comes to planning and productivity, and we are so here for it. Check out some of the next-gen planners to help you get your to-do list, commitments and personal goals on the right track.

BEST FOR: Reaching your goals

PASSION PLANNER Passion Planner’s organisers are a great way to lay out your daily and monthly schedule, as well as take stock of your short-, medium- and long-term goals. This planner includes prompts to identify things you’d like to achieve, then helpfully breaks them down into reachable sub-goals. You choose a “game-changer” every month, one of your goals that you’ll work towards throughout the month, keeping you accountable and on track. There’s also ample space for notes and planning, as well as weekly, monthly and biannual prompts to help you reflect throughout the year on how you’re doing. Available in calendar, academic and undated formats, they’ll also send PDFs to anyone who'd like to try it out before they buy. passionplanner.com

BEST FOR: Staying Positive

HAPPINESS PLANNER The Happiness Planner is a mindful daily journal with an emphasis on being happy and finding positivity in your day-to-day life. It asks you to identify the areas in life that make you happy or unhappy to become more aware of your needs, and through daily gratitude practices, slowly change any negative mindsets that might be holding you back. These eye-catching pastel planners (which also come with a matching pen and paper clips!) will take you through a full 365 days, but if you just want to try it out, a 100-day, undated version is also available. thehappinessplanner.com

BEST FOR: Setting Daily Priorities

FULL FOCUS PLANNER This hardback planner doesn’t look out of place at work or in a meeting, but it offers its owner much more than just a place to jot down notes. From leadership guru Michael Hyatt, this planner is customisable to your specific needs, providing online tutorials to help you build a scheduling system that best works for you. You’ll find the standard goal-setting fare, as well as pages for recording your daily rituals, weekly previews, quarterly reviews - a full focus view of your life as you go through the year. This one differs from other planners as it’s a subscription model; every quarter you’ll be sent a new planner designed to optimise your life. fullfocusstore.com

BEST FOR: Sticking To Your

Fitness Routine

COMMIT30 FITNESS JOURNAL If you’ve got a big race or fitness event coming up, this planner breaks down into movement, nutrition, and mindfulness sections to help you stay on track in the lead-up to the big day. With a similar colourful layout to its predecessor, the Commit30 planner, this fitness-specific version features calendars to schedule your training, meal planning and shopping, as well as space for setting your own 30-day challenges. This version comes with customisable rows to track everything from steps taken to carb intake. commit30.com

If you’re looking for something to really help you feel better in the long-term, a private class at O:RIN may just be just what you’re looking for…

This January, our only resolution is to set realistic, sustainable goals that make us feel our healthiest and happiest – and that’s exactly what O:RIN is here to help us with. This Pilates, Gyrotonic and Yoga studio offers intimate classes to help you reach your potential. It sets out to provide, not just physical improvements, but also mental and emotional clarity.

Pilates & Gyrotonic. Private & Group Training. O:RIN, Unit 6, 19F, Westlands Centre, 20Westlands Road, Quarry Bay, 5726 1669

EXTINCTION REBELLION Famous for their large-scale civil disobedience rallies, Extinction Rebellion (XR) is a grassroots climate action movement that has risen to global prominence in just a year and a half. We speak to the XR HK collective, facilitated by member Olivier Delalande, to learn more about the city’s unique environmental challenges. By Carla Thomas. SPOTLIGHT:

Q What is Extinction Rebellion? Extinction Rebellion (XR) is an international climate change movement that uses non-violent actions and civil disobedience to halt mass extinction and minimise the risk of social and ecological collapse. It was created in April 2018 in the UK, and since then more than 70 countries on six continents have started groups of their own. We are a global movement of mothers, builders, doctors, teachers, musicians, employees, business owners and farmers... Everyone is needed and everybody is welcome.

Q What are the aims of XR? There are three main aims of XR HK. One, ask the government to declare a climate and ecological emergency and communicate the urgency for change. Two, urgent action from the government to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025. And three, the forming of a Citizens’ Assembly on Climate and Ecological Justice, which will work alongside the government to clearly represent and communicate all Hongkongers’ needs for our city’s future in the face of this crisis.

Q Why does Hong Kong need its own XR movement? Hong Kong is a major international transportation and trading hub; people, endangered species, goods and finance from all over the world pass through the city. As a society, we must recognise the importance of these flows and their destructive

nature. Our air pollution and local wildlife extinction are left unchecked. XR Hong Kong enables public knowledge while urging policymakers to act without any further delay.

Q What are some of the unique environmental challenges Hong Kong is facing? Hong Kong does not have a strategy in place to replace fossil fuels with decarbonised energy for its electricity consumption. Their adopted strategy is to replace one fossil fuel with another (in this case, coal with natural gas) which, while less carbon-intensive, is ultimately counterproductive. In order to seriously attempt to stabilise the climate, we must commit to not build any new fossil fuel infrastructure.

with anyone diametrically opposed to the climate crisis. People are generally curious and agree that there is a problem, take the flyers and give us a thumbs up!

Addressing this crisis also requires us to keep in mind that the ecological and social aspects cannot be considered separately. The poorest people are the ones contributing the least to this crisis and yet they will be the ones affected the most.

Q What kinds of actions has XR Hong Kong taken so far? We’ve held several “die-ins” (a form of protest where protestors lie on the ground to create disruptions) in busy areas such as Central and Mong Kok and also held a funeral march for the Earth. We’ve also had more specific actions, for example at the Brazilian Consulate when man-made fires were raging in the Amazon rainforest. More recently, we organised a public screening of short documentaries at Central Piers. Bystanders were invited to watch them and have a conversation with us. The reception from the public was thoughtful and positive. We have never had a problem

Q What’s the biggest misconception people have about climate change and climate change activists? That our governments are dealing with the situation and will address it adequately - so far, they have not. Science tells us that our global greenhouse gas emissions need to halve by 2030 to avoid catastrophe. And yet in 2018, global emissions went up by 2.7 percent. We are now on track for a global increase of 4°C - 5°C in temperature, far from the commitments made in the Paris Agreement (an international climate change agreement signed by 195 nations in 2016) to limit it to 2°C.

A misconception about activists is that you cannot engage in ecoactivism unless you are living your life in a perfectly environmentally-friendly way. We need to recognise that we are all caught up in a toxic system which can make it incredibly hard to make choices that do not have a detrimental impact on the environment. That doesn’t mean you can’t join a group like XR and make a huge difference! We welcome everyone, and are totally opposed to the idea of blaming and shaming: we all do our best with our personal choices, but we recognise that what is needed more than anything is systemic change.

Q What are some of the ways that people can take a stand against climate change? Are there any small but meaningful steps that people can take in their everyday life to make a difference? In a nutshell, and to use a quote we particularly like: “Live simply so that others can simply live.” Practically speaking, that means challenging our consumerist culture on a daily basis and reducing our overall consumption of clothes, household goods, electronic gadgets and more.

More specifically, the two main ways one person can reduce his or her impact on the planet are to adopt a plant-based diet and stop flying, or fly less.

Q How can readers support XR HK? Come meet us! We meet every Monday, and this is a good way to get to know more about us and share your own concerns and feelings about this crisis. You can also join us if you feel you’d like to do something to address it, or follow our social accounts on Instagram (@extinctionrebellionHK) or Twitter (@XRHongKong). Donations to Extinction Rebellion’s global platform also helps XR to fund their actions.

For more info visit facebook.com/ extinctionrebellionHK, or learn more about Extinction Rebellion’s global movement at rebellion.earth.