Master your money. Get organized. Take back your time.
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…]
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…]
We all want to be more productive.
Maybe your to-do list is so long that you can’t finish everything. So you want to get it all done in the time you actually have available.
Or you simply want to blast through the stuff you have to do so you can have more time for the things you want to do.
Either way, you could definitely use some time management tips that will cut wasted time and effort and maximize your efficiency.
And there’s one productivity hack that truly productive people turn to religiously — task batching.
So we’re looking today at what task batching is, why it works, how you can get started, and how you can take your task batching powers to the next level. [Read more…]
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…]
Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.
Mark Twain once famously remarked the following:
If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”
From this pithy comment was born a productivity mantra — “Eat that frog!” — popularized by Brian Tracy. Tracy penned a short but powerful and widely read book, Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time.
The idea is this: A frog is a completely unappealing item on your to-do list — that project you can’t bring yourself to start, that chore you hate, that phone call you don’t want to make, etc. And Tracy’s advise is to grit your teeth and just do that action item as the very first task you handle that day. Then, the rest of your day can only be better.
What if you’ve got two frogs? Tackle the biggest, ugliest one first. Then turn your attention to the second one.
But should you really eat that frog? Is Tracy’s advise honestly the best way to get things done and maximize your productivity? [Read more…]
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 sound familiar, you’re probably way, way 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 its time to stop being so accessible! It’s time to find that perfect balance of being a warm, generous person while taking care of yourself and prioritizing your time.
Here’s how you do it . . . [Read more…]
For many of us, a break can often feel like a frivolous luxury.
You feel like stuff is piling up while you’re vacationing. Like you’re letting down your boss, your family, or yourself if you have some “me time” for a few hours. Like you’re slacking off if you stop working for a full lunch break or even just a 10-minute breather mid-morning.
If you’re a parent, you’ve probably heard this phenomenon labeled as “mom guilt.” But that nagging sense that you simply can’t take a break is a feeling shared by many women (and men).
But, boy, do you need a break!
So today, I’m looking at why taking breaks is an absolute must, how you can beat the guilt, and what steps you can take to maximize the benefit of your breaks. [Read more…]
If you’re like most people, you’re probably a bit disappointed and frustrated right about now.
It’s a few months into the new year, and you’re already losing traction on at least one of your new year’s resolutions. You’re not where you hoped you’d be, or you’ve thrown in the towel already.
The problem for many of us is that we set ambitious goals that are nearly impossible to achieve. Think about it:
And once you mess up just one time, it’s tempting to get sucked into self-doubt that leads to even more mistakes.
But you can break this ugly new year’s resolutions pattern.
You can make big changes in your life. In fact, you can do it without any of the stress and self-flagellation. The trick is to realize that it’s rare that people successfully make those big changes overnight.
That’s where the magic of micro-actions comes in. [Read more…]
New Year’s Day is right around the corner! And if you’re hoping to make the most of it, there’s no better time than now to start planning for a fresh and exciting year.
But to make the most of the year ahead, it’s essential that you stop and see where you are. That you take a good, long look at this year that’s wrapping up. That you see where you’ve found your happiness and where you want to make some changes in 2018.
If you’re ready to start off 2018 on your very best foot, let’s start by taking stock of your year in 2017. [Read more…]
Just like that, 2017 is almost over.
And with a new year comes the desire to make new year’s resolutions. Your big hopes for the future become your big goals for the upcoming year. You want to improve your relationships, take your career to the next level, get healthy, or finally tackle that home project you’ve been putting off forever.
But actually accomplishing those goals? That’s another story!
A few months — or even a few weeks! — into the shiny new year, you may find yourself throwing in the towel on those dreams.
So what’s the solution?
Setting yourself up for success with a step-by-step action plan from the get-go. [Read more…]