*UPDATE AT BOTTOM* 

When I first saw Project EVO I was just browsing around Facebook-land not particularly looking for anything. But the line “World’s First Personalized Productivity System Designed for Your Brain Type” grabbed my attention immediately. Who doesn’t like a quiz? So there I am taking the quiz, which assesses your brain type based on some questions, and I come up as an Oracle. This kinda made me giggle because I think I’m a pretty intuitive person so it was fun to think of myself as one of those ladies who sees the future in 300. But the more I read about my brain type and its secondary type (which was Explorer) the more I found myself thinking that this was a really, really close description of the way not only my mind organized and prioritized, but also how and when I was my most creative. I knew I had to find out more and I was going to get myself one of these planners right that second.

I reached out to the team and they were in the middle of their Kickstarter Campaign. Things were already rolling, and quickly. People loved the idea that a planner could be made just for you and I could see why. So how did it start? I got to chat with Iris Strauss, the teams Content and Community Manager about how this project has just exploded across the internet.

Project EVO began when our co-founders Arman Assadi and Chad Mureta were at an annual retreat together around four years ago. Arman shared an idea that he knew the world desperately needed — the ultimate tool/framework for people to find fulfillment in their work and lives. Chad brought his vision and helped Arman expedite the process, and from that moment on they officially aligned” Iris shares. From that point the team was assembled like all great teams, through connection and creativity. Beck (Beckett Hanan), the Director of Research and Development, designed the very first Brain Type Assessment (BTA). He has over ten years of experience as a Jungian (I know it sounds fake but its not) typology expert, which comes from the Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung, who founded analytical psychology. There are 4 Brain Types (which also means 4 different kinds of planners); Oracle, Alchemist, Explorer, and Architect. Each one of those brain types also has a secondary brain type that shares certain characteristics and traits. This guy knows his stuff, and I can tell you that the results for the Project EVO BTA will surprise you. Their Kickstarter was so successful that it ended its campaign in the top 1% of campaigns of all time.

Something else that has made this campaign so successful is the collaborative spirit of the process. The entire process of refining Brain Type theory and creating the EVO system has been so collaborative and involved about 10 years of research. Part of this process has included interviewing thousands of people of each Brain Type in order to gather information on the Brain Types and understand how people describe their brains and how to unlock the power of Brain Type to become the best version of yourself. Over 75,000 beta testers have now taken the Brain Type Assessment, and we’ll continue to expand on this as EVO evolves. We want to continually gather feedback and data to improve what we’re doing.” They also have/had the Project EVO Founders Group, which has now turned into Project EVO Collective on Facebook. I joined as a “founder” and watched as they refined each groups productivity strengths and weaknesses. What helped you get things done? Stay organized? Was there a particular time of day? All this was taken in to create the best planner for your type.

And did I mention that there’s going to be an App? “The app is the second component of the EVO Flow System and will be available on both the Android and iOS platforms. It’s going to be integrated with the physical planner—you’ll scan the pages each day so that EVO can track your progress in various areas of your life, make suggestions for how to improve, and gamify your growth, focus, and overall EVOlution.” Until then you can follow them on Instagram and become part of the EVOlution community.

The Team itself, which consists of 6 main team mates, is a lot like the S&C staff. They work hard from afar but always get stuff done, “to get things moving, when the conversation goes down a rabbit trail and someone recognizes that we need to save the topic for a future conversation, someone will say, “Banana!” and we all know to wrap up and get back to the original discussion.” And when they do get together in person it’s like a family get together. Everyone’s excited and everyone gets a hug. “

 

So what does the future of Project EVO look like? “Our dream, and the reasons EVO exists is to help individuals find their unique roadmap so we can each attain the freedom we need to thrive. When we have this unique roadmap, we know where to focus. When we have focus, we can get into flow. When we’re regularly in flow, we are able show up fully ourselves. Flow gives us the freedom to create and reach our full potential,” says Iris. We’re very excited about several projects we’ve got in the works. We picture EVO as something far bigger than “just a planner”— that one component is just the tip of the EVO iceberg. The next things we’re working on are a training system for teams, as well as developing several more assessments. The future of EVO is as big as our imaginations!”

 

The Review & Giveaway

 

This is the Oracle EVO Planner. Pretty good lookin’ right?

So I’m going to show you some of the features so you can understand what’s going on in here.

First, there’s the monthly calendar. There are 6 pages like this with no month’s or date’s. You fill it in yourself and if you’re anything like me you need that feature because maybe you get lazy one month and decide not to fill it out. No paper wasted here. I also enjoy that you “theme” each month. I feel like it really sets the stage for my own focus and keeps me reminded about what I wanted to work on. You can also see that there’s space to fill on some goals, make notes and make check-lists (AND OMG I LOVE LISTS!).

 

Then there’s the Weekly Plan & Review Pages. There are only 12 of these. So if you are an avid planner user you have the option to get on a subscription with Project EVO and decide how often you want a new one. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this to be honest. Part of me felt like I already paid for a planner and what I was getting was only a partial planner. But there’s a reason for that. This planner is a lot more in depth with content then other planners I’ve seen. You’re tracking your moods, eating habits, bills/budget, your contributions (things that you are doing to better something outside of yourself) and overall well-being. That can take up a lot of space. I remind myself too that I am getting the feel and utility of a bullet journal/passion planner without all of the work (I genuinely applaud those that take the time to make those beautiful planners… but I am not equipped). And keep in mind that the App will be out in April 2018 which will be a great way to be able to digitally track your progress.

I really enjoy the Today’s Priorities pages. And did you catch those page markers? So convenient.

On one side you are working on being mindful of yourself. There’s a new quote at the top of the left side every day and there’s space for you to decide what you want your days to be like. Making time to care for yourself is something that I am terrible at. I usually don’t see that I need space until I’m essentially drowning and clawing my way up the walls. So to have space every day to do something that I never make time to do helps me redirect and reprioritize my time. What is the most important stuff to get done? How do I want to spend my time and how do I get there?

In the back there’s free space where you can take note’s or doodle. There’s also a small pocket for you to store odds and ends.

So are you ready to win one for yourself? Because we are giving one away to a lucky winner! Take the fun Brain Type Assessment to see where you fall and enter to win one for yourself!

*UPDATE* I have added “What is your brain type?” as an entry option. We are curious what the majority of our readers are. All you have to do is take the Brain Type Assessment Here and then come back to the article pick what Brain type you are in the giveaway.

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