One of the best parts of the holidays is having a chance to rewire some synapses and get a fresh take on how you’re facing your academic challenges. We’ll be featuring some resolutions and plans to make your goals reality in 2017, but first you need to do some shopping.

An Awesome Planner: Academic planners have come a long way from the day planners of yore. Last year my labbies and I got Passion Planners to demo and they were so beloved that we got them again this year. The brainchild of Angelia Trinidad, a spunky recent college grad who was realizing she had few tools to set goals, hold herself accountable and plan big projects. Calendars, flow charts and post it notes weren’t sufficient so she designed The Passion Planner. This awesome all-in-one lets you set some goals for the new year, guides you through dividing goals into actionable items and does it all in a snazzy leather bound notebook. It’s pretty much the most awesome thing ever. The folks at Passion Planner are so sure you’ll love it, they will let you download some free pages to give it a whirl. As the genius of this product has caught on, other products have hit the market that may suit your style a bit better so give a look to Panda Planner (for folks who have more action items daily), Hustle Daily Planner and a few others reviewed here.

A Grownup Bag: Earlier this year Buzzfeed came out with a drool worthy list of bags that will get you from the office, to the gym, to all your meetings without having to break out that ‘extra’ tote bag, or God forbid, plastic bag you keep around when you have too many papers to carry. These backpacks, messenger bags and briefcases are so much better than a ‘real’ briefcase that your dad use to sling around with him. Having used them for so long, I’m always a bit wary of Timbuk2 bags. Their unstructured bottom tend to form a black hole that will suck in paperclips, keys, small children and leave you rifling around in there for too long, but the Kroeus Commuter Bag provides structure similar to my beloved but discontinued Evernote bag.

The Better Moleskin: Brace yourselves, friends. It may be time to stop buying the moleskins. And it is not easy for this squirrel-type person to write those words. Indeed, they may well get me fired. The Edge for Scholars team has a penchant for giving these academic powerlifters of notetaking away as every opportunity. This year, the offering of Livescripts smart pens and notebooks is finally offering some real competition to the moleskin in electronic note taking. It gives you a normal looking moleskin, a pen that doesn’t make you want to stab your eyes out and some easy software. Likity splitzy you’ll be having an electronic copy of your notes. A worthy competitor is Rocketbook which offers you a chance to add magic – you microwave the darn notebook  to erase it and can start all over again.

Office Bedazzlement: If you’re wondering if maybe it’s time to update that coffee cup from the 1991 ASCB meeting you keep office pens in, the answer is “please, God, yes”. You live in your office typing grants and manuscripts. Up your office swag by visiting the good folks at See Jane Work, Poppin, and Muji.

Most Importantly: A subscription to the (sometimes) weekly The Edge for Scholars newsletter. Valued at over $25,000 you can now get a subscription for free because we are friends. This buddy will pop up in your mailbox and introduce you to a growing range of voices from academia giving you the lowdown on negotiating, grant writing, being a boss, and all the other fun stuff no one told you when you went into academics. Sign up here. We won’t sell your address or other creepy things. Promise.

ANY OTHER GREAT IDEAS?? Comment!

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