I always try to make it very clear that I will always be open and honest with y’all. When the article about Erin Condren surfaced earlier this week, I was disgusted & shared my thoughts on Instagram the day I found out. While my opinions on that still have not changed. I have been conflicted in what to do going forward & how to adequately phrase my thoughts:
First & foremost, I DO NOT condone the behavior or actions of Erin Condren.
It’s been hard to disassociate the person from the brand because part of the reason I loved the brand so much was the person. & I know many people feel the same. As you all know, if you’ve been following me for a while or probably just by looking at my page, is that I am very brand loyal. You know if I love a brand then I instantly turn into a collector of all things that brand.
I honestly don’t feel the same way that I used to about Erin Condren because of all of the recent PR events on matters that are extremely important (especially to me) & I honestly feel a disconnect from the #plannercommunity as well right now because all that I have seen lately is people attacking each other. This community is supposed to be uplifting, inspiring, and encouraging. Or at least that’s why I signed up for it..
I do agree that Erin Condren, the company, has a lot of work to do. I have lost respect for Erin Condren herself & almost all of my admiration for the brand. BUT the company and new CEO has taken the responsibility of its namesake without making any excuses for it and is taking corrective actions.
I am separating the person from the company because it is not the company that I disagree with. The company includes amazing employees that I work with or have gotten to know and absolutely love. The company also includes the planners and accessories that I have invested my own money in (and a LOT of it), as many others have. I am going to continue to use the products that I currently have because I still love the products – my opinions on the products themselves don’t change because of any this. & my affiliation with the company will also not change. As long as I use any product, I will always continue any affiliation program if given the opportunity.
However, the disconnect that I feel with Erin Condren is going to change my planner stack & my planner related content is going to change because of it:
- My main planner is going to be my GM Agenda. Prior to all of this I was already conflicted on not having half hours and going to a horizontal with the ECLP, but I am an hourly person & the EC hourly layout was just not going to work for me anymore. & this is where I feel the “disconnect” because as of right now, I don’t want to try to continue to use a LifePlanner as my main planner because I no longer feel the “need” to make it work & I REALLY hope that makes sense. The “need” to make it work came from how I felt about the brand.
- My MM will continue to be used for on the go planning, content planning, and now as my wallet.
- My financial agenda will still be the same. I preordered a Cloth & Paper Agenda in March or April that is actually coming in this week that I will be using for my financial agenda but it will contain all of the same inserts & items that are in the clear agenda (from my videos on YouTube).
- For work, I will continue to use the 2020 Cloth & Paper Minimal Spiral Bound Planner but I will be using my 8LOTUS Minimal Daily Hourly Planner Inserts & while I am working form home, I am going to use them in my GM Agenda to make it easier & when I go back to work, I will probably use the Clear Agenda from Amazon that is currently holding my Finance Inserts but I haven’t fully decided yet. I will also continue to the EC Academic Planner for my trainings and certifications.
- I created a Home Binder that I need to record a video on, but I combined both of my EC Vision Journals & put them in a binder.
I encourage everyone to respect what others want to do & keep in mind that there are people who might not be able to afford another planner or just don’t want to throw away their money. I personally respect whatever decision anyone makes, I understand both sides. I just ask that if someone continues to use their EC products that they have spent their hard earned money on, then don’t attack them for that.
With that, I will continue to share my updated content. I know there is a lot of people who have stated that they will unfollow those who continue to use Erin Condren products, if you choose to unfollow me then I completely understand & would like to thank you all for following along. But I do ask that we all keep in mind there is MUCH MORE going on in the world right now & we should be focusing our efforts on that. Which is also why this will be the last time I discuss the “EC Controversy.” We can all agree to disagree, but I am going to continue to share important information, use my platform to discuss more pressing matters & continue to share content.
Thank you all SO MUCH for your continued support. I am SO grateful for ALL of you.
Well said @laplans I respect your thoughts on the topic as well as your decisions to do what’s best for you. Ultimately everyone has to do what works best for them and not be harsh to others who don’t share their own opinions.