Creating Goals Archives - Prioritized Living

How to Use a Budget Binder to Manage Your Money

Even if you have the simplest financial situation, managing your money isn’t always that simple. Add in loans, retirement plans, maybe some kids or even a small business . . . and it gets complicated fast.

After all, your financial life is multi-faceted.

You may have multiple sources of income, savings accounts, retirement or investment accounts, bills for your home, bills for your family, expenses that are coming up, and things you want to do with your money.

How do you keep it all straight and get it all done?

A budget binder, like My Budget Binder from Prioritized Living, is a fantastic tool for mastering your finances. It takes the mess and stress of money management out of the equation and gets you moving toward your financial dreams.

So what is a budget binder? And what benefits does it offer you in managing your household’s money?

[Read more…]

How to Stop Being Too Available (Without the Guilt)

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

Does this sound familiar?

Your phone rings, and you pick it up right away.

You get an E-mail or text alert and stop what you’re doing to respond.

Somebody asks you for a favor, and your answer is always “yes.”

If any of these behaviors is routine for you, it’s likely that you are too accessible.

Being available for a friend or being willing to pitch in is a truly admirable quality. But constantly living your life that way comes with a cost.

You can never be everything to everyone. So people are invariably left disappointed.

And things you would have liked to have accomplished — or even those things you promised other people you would do — well, they never get done.

So it’s time to stop being so available! It’s time to find that perfect balance of being a warm, generous person while taking care of yourself and prioritizing your time.

So how can you learn to say no, set boundaries, and lovingly stop being too available? [Read more…]

Forget Spring Cleaning! How to Keep Your House Clean All Year Long

Raise your hand if you’ve done an exhausting cleaning marathon in the days leading up to a visit from family and friends.

Or if you’ve wondered when the last time was that you cleaned the bathtub, refilled your washer fluid, or mopped the floor that you’re pretty sure is supposed to be three shades lighter.

Or if you just can not seem to get everyone in your home on board with what needs to be done when and by whom.

Sure, you could hold out for spring cleaning. But that just seems like a great way to turn beautiful spring days into drudgery. And what about the dirt and mess the rest of the year?

It’s time to stop thinking that you need to choose between succumbing to an endless chore list and accepting the reality of a messy home!

There’s a third option — strategically distributing your household chores throughout the year so you can enjoy a clean, organized home year-round . . . without nagging, complicated systems, and that massive time-suck.

Fortunately, it’s incredibly simple to customize a fool-proof, year-long family chore chart schedule and system that will beautify your home and keep it that way for good!

Here’s how . . .

[Read more…]

How to Reach Your Goals Faster

You feel completely stuck.

Maybe it’s taking forever to make progress on your big goal, and you’re losing motivation.

Maybe your progress was good until you came screeching to a halt.

Or maybe you’re struggling to take that very first step.

Setting a goal, working toward it, and reaching it can be a definite challenge. And it’s no reflection on your character or strength of will if you find yourself stalled before the finish line.

Sometimes all you need to reach your goals quickly is a change of perspective and some simple tools.

Wondering how to reach your goals faster? Work through these 9 powerful steps. [Read more…]

15 Ways to Recharge Your Batteries This Weekend

Is this your week? Your Monday through Friday draaaags on while the weekend is over before you know it.

But the time you have between end-of-day Friday and wake-up time on Monday is actually about 60 hours. And those 60 hours are yours.

If 60 hours seem too unwieldy to manage, try breaking it down into chunks. Time management expert Julie Morgenstern’s strategy is perfect here:

And when you’re ready to plan your chunks of time, choose from this list. Those 60 hours will feel like a much-needed break from your busy week! [Read more…]

How to Make a Habit Stick: Secrets & Tools to Reach Your Goals

All of us are creatures of habit. Those hundreds of little things we do on autopil0t and even our bigger routines make up our habits.

Of course, hopefully, most of those actions are good habits! But each of us has not-so-great habits we’d like to eliminate . . . or replace with better ones. And there are good habits we’d all like to adopt. But how?

First things first . . . how long does it take to make a habit? For the simple stuff, it can be as little as just 21 days! On average though, research shows it’ll take you 66 days to create a habit.

So, if you want to start and build a habit, you need a few tips and tricks to get you across that finish line two months down the road. And maybe a tool to keep you motivated along the way!

Ready to take your desired habit from pipe dream to reality? Here’s what you need to make it happen! [Read more…]

How to Get Clarity on Your Fuzzy Goals

Have you ever taken a look at your life and wondered why you never reached that one particular goal?

What was it that stopped you from getting there? And could you start now toward fulfilling that dream?

Surprisingly often, what’s holding you back is an astoundingly simple problem — lack of clarity. And the fix is wonderfully simple! Here’s why you need to get clear on your goals (and how to do it): [Read more…]

It’s Time to Take Some Time Off (Without the Guilt)

As a business owner, die-hard numbers girl, and a productivity junkie, I obsessively track my time at work. After all, it pays to know how many hours go to marketing, client work, invoicing, training, etc. And analyzing those hours is invaluable in assessing the value of each client and in pricing my services.

But, when I looked into my numbers a few weeks back, I noticed something shocking: Even though I was well into May, the number of hours I hadn’t worked amounted to just two (work) days off this year.

Two days off in nearly five months. During that time, I’ve seen national holidays, day care holidays, contractors milling around my home, a bad cold (that got passed around the whole gang), a mini vacation for my family, and more. But I’ve compensated by sacrificing my personal time on nights and weekends.

And most of those times I was working . . . I didn’t have to. There was no looming deadline or immediate need for me to tackle whatever project I was doing toward building and sustaining my business.

I just didn’t bother to take time off!

So I recently forced myself to close up shop on a Thursday. It was amazing! With beautiful weather, my son and I threw coins in our town’s fountain, laughed over ice cream at a streetside table, and strolled the town before hitting the library together.

But what about you?

When was the last time you took a day off for real? When you left work behind for an entire day to enjoy your family or relax on your own?

If the idea sounds laughable — or if playing hooky has you racked with guilt — consider this . . . [Read more…]

How to Practice Self-Care (and Why It Matters)

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

Self-care sounds like a glorious luxury.

Focusing your attention on your own well-being instead of your kids’ extra-curriculars, your never-ending to-do list, your job, your obligations, and so on? What on earth would that be like?

But practicing self-care matters. It’s the difference between really living and simply surviving from one moment to the next.

In fact, this year, my husband and I — weary from a period of too many projects, too much stress, too many obligations, and a vibrant preschooler (whose energy I’d like to borrow!) — decided to make self-care a requirement for ourselves.

Around that same time, I coincidentally read an incredible new book by one of my favorite authors, time management guru Julie Morgenstern. My goal in reading the book was to make sure I was using my time as best as possible to be a great parent.

But Morgenstern’s book, Time to Parent, actually challenges readers to make time not only for raising a human but for being a human as well. (I highly recommend picking up a copy!)

So today I’m talking about what self-care is, why you (desperately!) need it, and how you can incorporate it easily into your life with astounding returns on your time investment! [Read more…]

How to Plan & Create Your Unique Retirement Adventure

Your grandparents’ retirement is a thing of the past.

The Employment Benefit Research Institute 2017 Retirement Confidence Study shows that Americans preparing for retirement are planning to do things differently — retire later, keep active, and even continue working to some extent.

A new type of retirement is on the horizon. And, if you’re planning to exit the workforce in 20 to 40 years, your golden years might be the adventure of a lifetime! Here’s a look at how life after retirement is changing and how you can start planning your own unique future . . . [Read more…]