If you’re following me onInstagram, you’ll notice that my feed has been looking a lot different lately. We moved! Really far. In December, Charles and I sold all the furniture we owned. On January 1st, we hopped in our car and started the trip from Oklahoma City to Washington, D.C. Talk about a fresh start to the year! Moving to D.C. was so much more stressful than I anticipated, but also incredibly rewarding.
I wish I had the systems in place to be able to focus on my blog writing goals in the midst of a big change like that, but you guys, I just didn’t have the energy. Perhaps it’s because I make writing a blog post into something bigger in my mind than it actually is in real life. Or perhaps it’s just that it’s a lot of work and I don’t have the habits and practice yet.
I found that the more time went on, the harder it was to actually come back to this happy little space. I was pretty focused on saying goodbye (at least for now) to the people we love and establishing ourselves in a very different environment. But now that we’re feeling more settled in, and I’ve had a chance to reevaluate what I want this space to look like and what my goals for it are, I’m coming back feeling refreshed and excited.
I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the move so I thought I’d answer the big ones here.
What on earth made you decide moving to D.C. would be a good idea?
Besides possible insanity? Grad school! And career options. Charles wants to work in the field of international relations and unfortunately there’s not a lot of international relating going on in Oklahoma. Washington D.C. is the best place for both grad school and any future jobs he would be interested in, so when he got into his top school we decided to make the move.
We’re SUPER bummed to be way farther way from all of our friends and family, who are primarily in Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Missouri. Making the decision to leave wasn’t easy. But ultimately we knew that we’d have a lot more opportunities here and that it would be an enjoyable experience for us. But don’t worry. We applied for a travel credit card and have been working on accumulating some free miles.
Do you like it in D.C?
We LOVE it here. Seriously. We live in a great neighborhood in Arlington, VA, just across the river from D.C. Everyone we’ve met has been incredibly helpful and friendly. And there are beautiful dogs everywhere to smile at and occasionally pet.
What do you miss about Oklahoma?
Besides our family and friends? And the waaaayyyy lower cost of living? We miss our church a whole lot, and also incredibly convenient Chick-fil-a’s everywhere. There are some here, but there aren’t any close to our home and not as many drive-thrus.
What have you guys been up to since you got there?
The first month was a whirlwind of adjustment that involved getting parking permits, registering our car, finding a nearby grocery store, remembering which metro station to get off at for work, establishing healthy routines, and so on. I shared about a lot of it on my Instagram stories. Check out mystory highlights if you’d like to see more about what it’s like moving to D.C!
Let me know if you have any other questions about our move, living in the D.C. area, or anything else and I’d love to answer those in future posts!
The flowers this Spring have been so amazing. The desert girl inside me will never stop being awestruck by the fact that these things GROW out of the DIRT. Can you believe it? Amazing.
April Goals
I try to set goals every month to keep myself focused on the things that matter to me. I usually don’t quite get it right. Usually I err on the side of thinking I can do more than what’s realistic or feeling overwhelmed and not setting goals at all. But each time I DO set goals, I get a little bit better at it and feel like I’m taking steps to make my life feel more intentional.
Moving to D.C. definitely put a wrench in a lot of my goals, but I knew it was a season that I just needed to focus on getting us here and settled in. Now that we are (sort of) feeling that way, I can’t wait to dive back in to some of my goals.
It’s a fresh month, so let’s do some dreaming!
I love Natalie Bacon’s post on goal setting. I like to use her eight life categories to give me focus and help me realize if I’m neglecting a particular area of my life.
This month I have one BIG goal (writing). As a result, I chose goals for the other categories that were slightly challenging but realistic with my big goal in mind. Here they are!
Environment
Hang the remaining pictures in the apartment
Career
Write 50,000 words of blog content
Health
Eat 5 servings of veggies a day
Relationships
Connect more online by actually commenting
Money
Stick to our food budget. Moving to D.C. has definitely changed our budget a lot!
Personal development
Finish at least 2 of the nonfiction books I’ve started and haven’t finished yet
Fun
Start Friday Adventures. More on this soon!
Service
Sign up to be pet foster parents
Big goals in your neck of the woods?
Reading what others’ goals are is one of the most fascinating and motivating exercises for me. Did you set any goals this month? I’d love to hear them! Share in the comments!
Do you feel totally lost when it comes to goal setting? I wrote a post with some of my best hard-earned experience here. There’s also a free workbook you can download to help you focus!
Have you heard about the Danish happiness magic called hygge? It’s been having a moment in popular culture the last few years and it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Practicing hygge can be a great way to add a bit of happiness to your everyday life, especially if you struggle getting through the dreary months of fall and winter. Here are a ton of ideas to add more hygge to your life, plus info on the best hygge books to read to get you started.
How to pronounce the word hygge
First things first. Hygge is definitely a tricky word to pronounce! The ‘y’ is a vowel that we don’t really have in English. It sounds a bit like hoo-guh. The best way I’ve heard of pronouncing it is to make an “eeee” sound (like in read), but then round your lips so that they make a little ‘o’ shape. You might feel stupid doing it at first, but that trick really helps! But if you decide not to make the weird vowel sound and just say hoo-guh instead, no one will judge you!
What is hygge?
You’ve probably heard at least some definition of hygge already since it’s having a moment in pop culture right now. It’s a Danish word that explains how they survive the loooooong winters every year. More precisely, it’s defined as“a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.” There’s not really an English translation for it. The closest word we have might be “cozy,” though that doesn’t encapsulate everything. Hygge is about an attitude or feeling of contentment, coziness, and peace. It’s an experience and a state of mind.
You don’t have to be familiar with the term to experience it, and the fun thing is that people will experience hygge in all sorts of different circumstances. For one person, a hygge moment might involve lighting a candle and curling up under a blanket to read a good book. For another, it might involve gathering friends or family around a board game at the kitchen table.
This is the first book I read about hygge. I listened to the audiobook on my commute, which was fun since the author read it himself. It’s always such a treat when authors narrate their own books! This book was particularly enjoyable because it gave me some ideas to savor cozy moments in my own life, but it was also a peak into the Danish culture. I didn’t know a lot about Denmark before reading this, so it was fun to learn more about the beautiful country! It’s a quick read, which is great if you need an easy book for your Goodreads Challenge! Meik Wiking also happens to work at a happiness think tank in Denmark, so there’s a fair amount of (non-boring) research put into it as well. I would definitely start here if you’re wanting to read more about hygge.
This was a much different read than The Little Book of Hygge, but still incredibly enjoyable. Each page has a quote from a Danish person sharing their own personal experience of hygge. It really opened my eyes to the variety in the concept, which makes it a lot easier to apply to my own life. The design of the pages felt very Danish to me, with lots of white space and muted colors. A lot of the photography was also beautiful to look at. This definitely feels more like a coffee table book than something you would read through like a novel or biography.
I just stumbled across this fictional hygge book and it sounds like a really fun winter read! Here’s the publisher’s summary:
It’s autumn in Yulethorpe and everyone is gloomy. It’s cold, drizzly and the skies are permagrey. The last shop on the high street – an adorable little toy shop – has just shut its doors. Everything is going wrong for Yulethorpe this autumn. Until Clara Kristensen arrives.
Clara is on holiday but she can see the potential in the pretty town, so she rolls up her sleeves and sets to work. Things are looking up until Joe comes to Yulethorpe to find out exactly what is going on with his mother’s shop. Joe is Very Busy and Important in the City and very sure that Clara is up to no good. Surely no one would work this hard just for the fun of it?
This looks like a really fun book to get you through a long winter. It’s filled with all sorts of cozy projects to inspire hygge feelings. The reviews describe the photography as being beautiful. I might just have to get my hands on this one. It would also make an amazing Christmas gift for anyone who has a rough winter ahead of them.
While this isn’t a book strictly about hygge, I’ve heard a lot of really good things about it and it’s been on my TBR for a while. Here’s a summary from the publisher:
When she was suddenly given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, journalist and archetypal Londoner Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: the happiest place on earth isn’t Disneyland, but Denmark, a land often thought of by foreigners as consisting entirely of long dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries.
What is the secret to their success? Are happy Danes born, or made? Helen decides there is only one way to find out: she will give herself a year, trying to uncover the formula for Danish happiness.
From childcare, education, food and interior design to SAD, taxes, sexism and an unfortunate predilection for burning witches, The Year of Living Danishly is a funny, poignant record of a journey that shows us where the Danes get it right, where they get it wrong, and how we might just benefit from living a little more Danishly ourselves.
My favorite hygge tips
The awesome thing about hygge is that, with a little intentionality, it’s really easy to start enjoying. Here are some of my favorite ways you can start practicing hygge right away.
Candles. Candles everywhere.
According to the Danes, candles should be unscented. They’re to be enjoyed for the sight and the ambiance. As an America, however, I have to admit that I’m a huge fan of scented candles. Why deprive yourself of good smells to go along with your soft lighting?
No overhead lights.
Speaking of soft lighting, overhead lights are a no go when it comes to hygge. The light in a room is something that people pay a lot more attention to in Denmark than they do here. It’s crazy how much the lighting in a room can affect you without you realizing it. Try turning off the lights in the ceiling and turning on a few lamps instead. I promise that the atmosphere will instantly feel cozier.
Soft music.
I’m not great at remembering to play music when I’m just hanging out around the house. I forget how much music can change the mood of the room. Try finding a cozy fall playlist or some peaceful piano music to listen to. Whatever makes you enjoy the moment most.
Little things to help savor everyday moments.
The awesome thing about practicing hygge is that it doesn’t require a complete life overhaul. It just requires doing a little bit more of what you already love and savoring the experience. That might mean making an event of watching a show by pulling out your favorite blanket, making a cup of tea, and grabbing a couple squares of chocolate first. It’s not hard, but it goes a long way in making you feel happier.
Put your phone down.
I feel like we can’t be reminded of this enough. If you’re feeling like you never have peaceful moments that you can enjoy, chances are you’re just missing them. Hygge and phones don’t mesh very well — though I’m not saying it’s impossible! If you’re wanting to practice hygge more though, start by putting your phone down a bit more often. It’ll do wonders in making you feel more present and peaceful.
How to hygge with friends
One of the neat things about hygge is that it can be done completely alone or with friends. Here are some great ideas for fostering hygge with friends.
Watch a comedy
Normally screens can make hygge challenging, but I can’t think of a better way to savor a moment with friends than with laughing. I don’t watch a lot of comedies (okay, none), so let me know if you have good ones you’d recommend!
Play a game
Board games are definitely coming back in style and there are so many fun ones to choose from! I’ve heard great things about Ticket to Ride, but the classic ones like this oneare always fun too! Charles and I have been enjoying this card game lately.
Listen to an old-fashioned radio show together
There’s a skill on Alexa that you can use to play old radio shows together. It sounds like a really unique and cozy activity!
Have a soup potluck
Invite a few friends over and have each one bring a pot of their favorite soup. It’ll be a great way to spend time with friends and try some new recipes at the same time!
Learn a craft together
Is your friend awesome at knitting beanies? I seriously can’t thing of a more hygge activity than that. Invite her over and ask her to teach you. Maybe you’ve both wanted to scrapbook (does anyone do that anymore?) or you could all buy macrame kits and learn together (people are definitely doing that still!). This onelooks like lots of fun!
Hygge at work
Creating an incredibly enjoyable work environment was something that, crazily enough, never even occurred to me. I guess I’ve had the mentality that work is work and it’ll never be cozy. I loved reading how people in Denmark practice hygge in their workplace environment. Sadly for us Americans, most of us aren’t allowed to burn candles at work, but here are a few other ways you can practice hygge without burning candles.
Nature is very hygge. If you ever have a chance to bring nature in, do it. I love these tiny little pots that would fit on a desk perfectly.
Have a killer work playlist
Find something that makes you feel cozy, happy, or inspired. I listen to this playlist when I just need a bit of white noise. This is a great playlist if you enjoy cozy-sounding acoustic music.
Spend lunch outside, weather allowing
I have zero windows in my office, which is kind of a downer. It’s especially hard in winter, when I show up at work when it’s still dark and leave with only an hour or so of sunlight left. Bringing some walking shoes to change into and soaking up some vitamin D during my lunch break would definitely be a good hygge activity.
Bring pictures to work
I love visiting other people’s desks and seeing pictures of their family. It’s a great conversation starter, plus it always feels good to be reminded of your loved ones when you’re slaving away at the office. If you don’t have any pictures that make you happy at work, bring some in! If you haven’t brought in any new ones in a while, freshen them up a bit.
Plan a work potluck
It’s easy to wait for the designated people to organize lunch activities, but a work potluck doesn’t have to be difficult at all. Coordinate with different people you work with to bring in something special for lunch. You could even make it a weekly or monthly thing. There’s something special about connecting over food.
Things for your hygge wishlist
I currently have myself on a spending freeze, so I won’t be buying anything new right now, but these things are definitely on my hygge wishlist.
I mentioned fairy lights for office decor, but fairy lights make for great hygge home decor too. I love the idea of clipping pictures of your loved ones to them.
We actually have two and I love, love, love them. They’re super soft and cozy. Bonus: it makes for a great backdrop to your Instagram photos. See here, here, and here.
Potted plants
Having potted plants in your home is a great way to add style, and they’re good for so many other reasons, like purifying the airand boosting your mood. I love the mid-century modern plant stands that are trendy right now.
Unless you hate reading anything, then reading a book definitely counts a hygge activity. You can check out my personal fall reading listfor inspiration if you’re not sure what to start with!
Listen to an audiobook while crafting
There are so many good audiobooks out there, it’s hard to suggest just one or two for a cozy evening. Wuthering Heightsis a great fall read, all moody and gothic. I’ve been enjoying TheChief Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny. They might actually be the coziest books I’ve ever read.
Light all the candles
I think it’s actually impossible to talk about hygge without talking about candles. It’s a central tenant to the philosophy.
Snuggle up with a pet
If you don’t have your own, borrow a friend’s! (just maybe ask first). There’s something extra warm and comforting about having a dog or cat snuggled up next to you.
Bake something
Baking is very, very hygge. If you love baking, consider this your excuse to get back in the kitchen.
Hygge on a budget
Another cool thing about hygge is that it doesn’t have to be expensive. Here are some free or cheap ways you can add more hygge to your life.
Learn to crochet
Crocheting is super peaceful and relaxing, and it’s really inexpensive to start. All you need is aball of yarnand acrochet hook. You can rent a book from your library that’ll teach you the basics. My favorite way to learn is by watching YouTube videos. If you’re brand new to the world of crocheting, it’s better to find an easy pattern before you buy the yarn and hook, otherwise you might get the wrong kinds.
Stock up on library books
I’ve been making a lot more trips to the library lately and it’s so worth it. I always feel a thrill of excitement coming home with new books. I also don’t feel incredibly guilty if I don’t finish a book because I didn’t spend a ton of money on it.
Use fireplace white noise
There are lots of apps you can download for white noise, not to mention the fireplace on Netflix. When my neighbors are noisy, I just tell Alexa to play fireplace sounds and the atmosphere is instantly more peaceful.
Get board games from a thrift store
I discovered that a lot of thrift stores have great board games when I needed one for a school project. Sometimes a piece or two is missing, but you can get a great board game for just a couple bucks. Hard to beat!
Buy candles from the Dollar Tree
The Dollar Tree has a tooooon of white un-scented candles that you can get for a really affordable price. Check them out, or stores like them, to kickstart your candle stock.
How do you plan to hygge?
Have you been practicing hygge already? What’s the one thing that gets you in the hygge mood? Any hygge books I should know about? I’d love to hear! Leave a comment and let me know.
Have you ever wondered how to set goals and ACHIEVE them? I’m sure you have. Everyone has set at least one goal they want to achieve in the near future. Goals are what drive us forward and give us the motivation to keep growing. They’re so important to personal development. But many of us have gotten so discouraged with goal setting because goals are hard to follow through on. If you’ve ever felt discouraged or like you shouldn’t set another goal, this post is for you.
I’m pretty much the queen of setting goals and then forgetting about them. I like to dream big and think about alllll the possibilities. But there isn’t enough time in the day to go after all the goals I can dream up. I’ve learned a lot over the years, and have set some pretty big goals AND accomplished them. If I can do it, you guys definitely can too. Here’s all the best tricks on how to set goals and achieve them, from someone who sucks at follow-through.
If you’re serious about going after that big goal so close to your heart, I have something that can help. Just enter your email in the form below and I’ll send you a worksheet to help you work through all the steps we’re talking about in this post.
Get my free goal setting worksheet!
Get the worksheet to help you walk through all the steps you need to set goals and then achieve them!
Find your why
This is a really important first step in setting goals that will stick and where I often fail. I decide I want to do something because it sounds good, I know I’m “supposed to, ” or everyone else I know is doing it. Don’t do this to yourself! It’s goal suicide. The only surefire way to guarantee that you won’t follow through on a goal is to not know your reason for why you want to do it.
Dig deep and think about what you’re really going after. Keep asking yourself why, because the first answer that you get to is probably not going to be the truest answer.
Here’s an example:
Goal: Eat healthier.
Why?Because I know I need to eat healthier.Why?Because I’m supposed to.Why?Because it will make me feel better.Why do you need to feel better? Because I’ll be happier.Why do you need to be happier? Because it’ll make my life better and make all the people around me happier too.
See what I mean? Keep asking yourself follow-up questions until you come up with an answer that will truly matter to you and make a difference in your life. If you don’t have a strong why, it’ll be hard to follow through.
Think about what you’re really going for
Maybe when you were asking yourself why, you discovered that you didn’t really have a good answer for why you wanted to go after your goal. That’s great news! That’ll make it so much easier to set a goal that will stick. Maybe your goal was to lift weights so you could have a hotter body, but at the end of the day, you knew that wasn’t going to be enough to get you to the gym every other night. But you know exercise is important, right? So reevaluate what kind of exercise it is. Maybe you can sign up for a Zumba class with a friend. Your goal would be to get healthier so you can feel better AND spend more time with your friend. So much more uplifting and motivating right? And I have a feeling it’s more in line with what you really value anyways.
Know HOW you’re going to reach your goal
It’s not enough just to have the goal of getting in shape. You need to know HOW. Is it going to be lifting weights? Going to Zumba? Taking a long walk by yourself every night? The how is almost as important as the why. Make it as enjoyable and realistic as you possibly can. You’re not going to get in shape in a month, so don’t expect yourself to work out three hours a night until that happens.You’re also not going to get in shape with the vague idea that you’re going to work out a couple times a week. The more specific and actionable your plan is, the more likely you’ll be to follow through and achieve it!
Know your tendency
I’m going to borrow from Gretchen Rubin for this one. I think her four tendencies can be SO helpful when it comes to goal setting. Here’s a summary of each tendency:
Obliger: respond to external expectations. An obliger is more likely to do something if it’ll let someone down if they don’t.
Questioner: motivated by internal expectations (everything has to make sense to them!). A questioner is more likely to do something if they can really see the value in it.
Upholder: respond to outer and inner expectations. An upholder is likely to do something if they see the value in it OR if it will let someone down if they don’t.
Rebel: resists both internal and external expectations. A rebel is more likely to do something if they WANT to.
Here’s why knowing your tendency is helpful. A questioner isn’t going to be motivated to get up early and meet their friend to run if they don’t see the point in running. An obliger isn’t going to get that one thing done that they’ve always dreamed of but never told anyone about because no one’s checking in on them. Knowing your tendency can help so much in figuring out how to set goals in a way that will work particularly well for YOU.
You can find more about the four tendencies in Gretchen Rubin’s book here or here.
Use more than one strategy
While knowing your tendency can be a huge help for coming up with a strategy for reaching your goal, I’ve found that it’s even better to use multiple strategies. If you want to start running, then schedule a time to run with a friend AND read up on the health benefits of running. You can also use things like the strategy of pairing. This might look like doing an unpleasant task while doing something pleasant. Like filling out boring paperwork while listening to your favorite album, or only watching your favorite show when you’re running on the treadmill.
Only work on one or two things at a time
This is my least favorite goal-setting advice and I’m definitely preaching to myself right now. But seriously, it’s really helpful if you only have one or two big goals at a time. The majority of this year, my primary goal has been to get this blog up and running. (P.S. It worked!) Meanwhile, I ignored the beckoning of other pretty goals while I focused on the big one, like learning how to be an awesome cook and launching a freelance editing business. But now that I have the blog up and running, I’m diving into the goal of launching my editing business while I maintain and grow the blog at a slower pace. Sadly for my husband, the excellent cooking skills will have to come later.
Find accountability
This works best if your tendency is Obliger, but I think accountability is great for anyone (excepting perhaps rebels, but maybe even then). Accountability doesn’t have to be this super formal or structured or intense thing. Maybe it’s a once-a-month coffee date to talk about how your goals are coming along. A great way to find accountability is to hire someone, whether that’s a personal trainer, business coach, or web designer. It’s their job to help you achieve your goals.Investing money into something can sometimes make you more committed to achieving it.
Break it down into tiny steps
Now that you’ve gotten your why and your what, figure out all the things that are going to need to happen for you to get there. If having a plan makes you feel large and in charge, write down every single thing you need to do to achieve your goal. I’m talking a reeeeeallly long list. If you have goals that will take more than a month or two to accomplish, you might have hundreds of things on this list. This can feel really overwhelming before you start, but I’ve found that it gives me a sense of focus and control.
Here’s an example. If your goal is to start a blog, your list might start off something like this:
You can get as detailed as you like for this. It helps in knowing exactly what it’s going to require for you to go after this goal. Sometimes it helps to work backwards. So say your goal is to run a half marathon with your friend next year but you’re not currently able to run a mile. Working backwards, your list might look like this:
Run a 10k
Train for a 10k
Run a 5k
Train for a 5k
Sign up for a running group
Ask a friend to join a running group
Choose a 5k training program
Buy running shoes
Do whatever feels most intuitive to you, or try more than one thing if you’re not sure.
If looking at the long list of all the things that you’ll have to do makes you feel totally overwhelmed and paralyzed, just skip this step. Write down the next 3-5 things and start with those.
Set milestones
Having big goals can feel daunting and impossible. I’m a big fan of setting milestones and celebrating each of them along the way. Some people plan on rewarding themselves for milestones. I’ve found that I’m more motivated if the milestone IS the reward. Put another way, I get the most motivation by actually achieving the mini-goals. It helps me keep going after the next one.
Surround yourself with inspiration
You really want to remind yourself WHY you want it. This is super important, especially for the longer goals. Set up things to remind you WHY you want it (remember that why we talked about earlier?) This might look like a reminder in your phone or a note in your calendar. You could create a cute printable of an inspiring quote and hang it on your wall. Keep that ‘why’ that you worked so hard to come up with close to your heart. It’ll help you stay focused. I love to follow inspiring people on social media for random bursts of inspiration. It helps me remember what my goals are, and when I see other people doing it, I feel empowered and realize that I can do it too.
Track your progress
I saved this for last, but this is the secret ingredient that is MOST motivating for me personally (after finding my why). I don’t know why this is, and it’s almost a little embarrassing. I just really love sticker charts. Not the ones that you literally put on your wall (though you do you). I’ve discovered that there’s a lot of sticker charts in the grown-up world.
savings goals in Mint
coach.me
The streaks in the Bible app
the % finished in Teachable courses
There are so many more out there. Some people track their goals in their bullet journals, which is definitely something I’m planning on doing soon. Others
Think about how you’ll feel if you accomplish it
How will accomplishing this goal make your life better?
Now go set goals and achieve them!
I hope that some of my tips and ideas will help you as you’re setting your own goals. I’m like a sponge when it comes to thinking about goal-setting, so if you have ideas I didn’t mention, LET ME KNOW. I’d love to hear them in the comments 🙂
If you’re serious about setting goals and achieving them, check out the free worksheet I created to go along with this blog post. It will help you work through all the stages of goal-setting we talked about and by the time you answer all of the questions, you’ll feel so much clarity and empowerment to go after the things close to your heart.
Happy goal setting, friends!
Get my free goal setting worksheet!
Get the worksheet to help you walk through all the steps you need to set goals and then achieve them!
Hi, friends! I might be biased, but I think September is a really good month. My birthday is in September. My husband’s birthday is in September. We met in September 11 years ago. He proposed in September 2 years ago. I guess what I’m saying is that you can expect good things in September. I’m sharing all of my September goals today, but first, an August recap!
August Wins
relationships – plan a fun date night with my husband
We didn’t plan anything out super far in advance, but we went out to dinner a few times and it was tons of fun.!
money – get our food budget under control
We tried using only cash for food, and while we weren’t always successful (kept leaving the cash at home), it made us much more aware of how much we were spending on food.
career/blog – get ahead and implement my blog course
I got somewhat ahead, though not as far as I would have liked, and I did start implementing strategies. This course has been such a huge help in knowing what areas I can improve and what action steps to take. I have a lot more to work on!
personal development – focus on improving my prayer life
This is one of those things that you never really feel like you’ve “arrived.” The most important thing is that I actually spent time talking to the Father.
environment – clean out iPhone pics and organize bookshelves
Womp womp. I didn’t clean out my iPhone pics. But I DID organize my bookshelves, which felt really great! (Psst! Read more about how to organize your bookshelves here!)
As I mentioned before, it didn’t really feel like I was doing anything that was a HUGE service by donating clothes. I had to be more organized and drive much further out of my way to bring my clothes to this ministry, but it was so worth it. I love their mission and I’m glad I was able to contribute!
Goals to save for later
It happens. Sometimes we don’t reach all our goals. These are the ones I struggled with this month.
health – clean out my beauty products
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to figure out all of my skin allergies so cleaning out my beauty products will have to be saved for another day.
environment – clean out my iPhone pics
I have even more than last month.
September Goals
Each month, I’m setting goals in 7 basic categories. I’m doing this so that I can make sure that I’m developing all the different areas of my life. It also helps me when I’m planning. Sometimes when I sit down to write out my goals, I draw a complete blank! Categories help me think of the things that are important to me and make sure I’m not neglecting anything. As you can see, some months I’ll lean more heavily into certain categories
health – eat breakfast every day
Confession: I don’t love eating breakfast. Unless it’s a carb-filled delight half-way through the morning. Another confession: I get super hangry if I don’t eat breakfast. It’s going to be better for my health and my happiness if I start eating breakfast every day.
relationships – text and email back on “first touch”
I can’t remember where I first heard of this, but having a “one touch” policy could seriously help me in texting and emailing people back. I’m really bad about reading something, telling myself I’ll think about a response and write back later, and then forgetting to write back. I shared about this in my post about my least favorite habits, too. I’m gonna work on this, you guys!
money – try different budgeting websites
I’ve been using Mint for years, and since I’m way more obsessed with personal finance than my husband, I forced talked him into using it when we got married. Now that we’ve been married for a little over a year, I’m wondering what else is out there and if there’s grass greener on the other side, or at the very least something that we BOTH like using. Hit me up with your best suggestions.
career/blog – start my editing business
This is something that I’ve wanted to do for years! I love editing. I do it for fun. With that in mind, it’s the perfect side hustle for me. I’m really excited about this, even knowing it’s going to be a lot of work to get it all started. Let me know if you’re in need of a proofreader!
personal development – practice a rest day
I’ve talked about honoring the Sabbath for years. I wholeheartedly believe that when God told us not to do any work one day a week, He meant it for our GOOD. And yet I never take Him up on that offer. I’d really like to start taking one whole day off each week and trusting Him to provide all of my needs.
environment – clean out my iPhone pictures
Eventually this is going to happen… maybe this month! 😉
fun – read for fun!
I stopped reading for fun while I was working on my English degree and just haven’t totally gotten back in the groove of it. But now I don’t have any homework deadlines looming over me so I can get back to that reading life that I adore.
service – meet a foreign exchange student
My husband and I are partnering with my alma mater to help out an exchange student for the semester. I’m really looking forward to this! I love meeting people from other cultures and doing my best to make them feel welcome.
How about you?
What do you guys have going on this September? What are your goals? Leave a comment and let me know!
Daily routines are the building blocks of life. It’s how we ensure that the important stuff always gets done, like having food on our table. Having a solid routine can make or break your productivity. It helps eliminate unnecessary stress and makes life so much more peaceful. If you haven’t given much thought to what your daily or weekly routines are, here’s your chance. I’m sharing how to create routines you’ll stick to today.
You might be thinking that I’m one of those superhumans that can decide I’m going to have a routine and then magically I’m doing it. I’m so not. I’ve had to fight tooth and nail to come up with routines that stick. But you know what? Over time, it’s become easier and easier to establish solid routines that take the thought and stress out of daily life. Here’s my best advice.
#1 – Baby Steps
If you’re thinking about ALL the things you want to start doing, cool your jets for a sec. I’m glad you’re feeling motivated, but trying to do it all at once usually doesn’t work and only leads to frustration and burnout. Don’t try to add too many things at once. If you’re like me, there’s a million things you want to improve. But if you spread your focus too thin, you won’t be successful at any of them. If you want long term success, you’ll have to play the long game. Remember, good routines start with baby steps.
#2 – Think about your values
It’s going to be a lot easier to stick to a routine if you know why you’re doing it. It’s easy to get sidetracked with all of the things that you ‘should‘ be doing. But what do YOU want? What matters to you? Only you can answer that.
Is being physically healthy really important to you? Maybe start with the rhythm and routine of meal planning and grocery shopping. Is deepening your spiritual life really important to you? Consider having a ritual in which you pray, meditate, or read sacred text. The important thing is that you think through what’s most important to you and work on that first.
#3 – Think about your cornerstone
What’s going to make the biggest impact on your life? Put another way, what’s the one habit or routine you can develop that will make doing the rest that much easier? Are you chronically sleep-deprived? Maybe you’re hangry and exhausted every single afternoon. Or are you always scrambling to get to work on time? Do you always feel guilty for not praying or meditating like you want to? Any of these areas would be good places to start.
Here are some common cornerstone habits:
Getting more sleep
Waking up early
Eating healthier
Getting your clothes + lunch ready the night before
Making your bed every morning
Pick ONE that will make a big impact and work on adding that routine to your daily life.
#4 – Know yourself
This is an important and often neglected tidbit. It’s so easy to envision the ideal version of yourself and then put unrealistic expectations on yourself. I’m not saying don’t shoot high and believe you can change, because you definitely can. What I’m saying is that it really helps if you get in touch with yourself. What excites you? Are there tasks that you dread? What comes easier to you and what will you need to work for?
For example, are you a morning person (a lark) or a night owl? Knowing this and embracing this about yourself can help you set up the best routine for you. If you’re a lark, stop trying to stay up late to read. If you’re a night owl, consider scheduling your workouts for a time that aren’t first thing in the morning.
#5 – Build on current rhythms
One of the best ways to start a new habit is to use “If this then that” mentality, often called habit stacking. If you cook dinner, then do the dishes. If you brush your teeth, then wash your face. Routines are essentially just habits that are stacked together. Here’s an example of habit stacking for an evening routine. You probably brush your teeth before bed every night. Now, while you’re brushing your teeth, pick out your clothes for the next day. After you’re done brushing your teeth, you can pack a quick lunch. As a night owl, I find that I NEVER want to do these things in the morning. Stacking habits into my pre-existing evening routine makes my morning routine so much smoother.
#6 – Make it enjoyable
This tip has gone such a long way in helping me establish routines, particularly my morning one. When I started waking up early to read for fun, it was a game changer for me. Before, I couldn’t convince myself NOT to snooze the alarm if I was just going to wake up and do what felt like chores, even if it was something I valued like reading my Bible or exercising. But waking up to read? Count me in.
I only spend about 5-10 minutes reading in the morning before I start the rest of the routine, but it’s enjoyable enough for me that I was able to establish a routine that has stuck. Try thinking about something enjoyable you could add to your routines. Instead of dreading them, you’ll have something to look forward to.
Types of routines you should consider
Wanting to establish routines but drawing a blank? Here are some crucial areas where you can create routines to improve your life.
Morning routine
Evening routine
Food routine
Cleaning routine
Exercise
A final note
Remember that the most important part of setting routines that stick is that you keep at it. Don’t be discouraged; habits are hard to change! If you keep working at it, eventually you’ll get there and your routines will be the building blocks for a happy, productive, peaceful life.
Looking for more ideas about habits and routines? I’ve curated some of the best on this Pinterest board. Make sure to follow it here.
Juggling to do lists and daily tasks is rough. Add going after big dreams that you’re not sure you have time for into the mix? Forget about it. I’ve been feeling like I need a tool to help me focus on getting done the things that matter to me most. Enter the Productivity Planner. I’ve been hearing about it everywhere so I finally decided to make the plunge and purchase it for myself. It’s been great you guys! Here’s an honest review of what I loved, what I’d change, and whether or not it made me more productive. The short answer? Yes. They’re not paying me to write this Productivity Planner review, but if you click one of my affiliate links, I might get a few cents from Amazon.
How it works
There’s a few pages at the beginning of the Productivity Planner that have productivity advice from experts like Stephen Covey and Tim Ferriss. Read these. The advice is gold and it stands for the foundation of how the rest of the planner is set up.
The planner is designed for a classic 5 day work-week. At the beginning of each week is a weekly planning page where you fill in the most important tasks of the week. Following that is a page for each day of the week. Each day, you’ll fill in the date and list your most important tasks of the day, as well as how long you think it’ll take you to do each one. You fill in a little bubble for each 30 minute block of time you spend on the task. At the end of each week is a Weekly Review, in which you write out what went well, what you didn’t complete, what you learned, and what you need to do next week.
It actually lays flat just like this, which I love.
Who it’s Great For
The Productivity Planner is awesome for someone who feels like they have a lot on their plate. It’s designed to help you prioritize the most important things and stay on task. It helps break down big, abstract-feeling goals into small, actionable steps.
How to Make it Work For You
Of course, like anything in life, you’ll get out of it what you put into it. I’d be remiss in my Productivity Planner review if I didn’t tell you that. It doesn’t make you more productive if you don’t use it. Here are some other tips I picked up on from my first month of using it.
Tip #1 – Do the MOST IMPORTANT thing first
Each day, I would write down the most important thing for the next day in the #1 spot… and then promptly ignore it. My flexible nature definitely was not here for rigidly following yesterday’s taskmaster, even if it was myself. I always want to do the easiest or most satisfying thing first, not the most important. Which leads us to the lesson that…
Tip #2 – The most important thing is usually the hardest thing
I’m not sure why that is, but it seems to be true for me every single day. I open my planner and see what’s listed for #1 and immediately want to skip to the next tasks, even though I KNOW it’s the most important. The many days that I let myself do this, I often didn’t end up coming back around to the most important task of the day. That’s why it’s so important to do it first. If you don’t prioritize it, it won’t get done.
Tip #3 – The Productivity Planner Works Best for One Goal or Project
At first I was using it as just a general planner and including things that I wanted to get done at work, on the blog, and around the home. I began to realize that I didn’t have enough room to write everything down each day. Also, while life isn’t perfectly compartmentalized, I certainly have some pretty definitive boundaries for when I work on what. I only work at work while I’m at work, and I don’t really need to use up precious Productivity Planner real estate for that. Home life and blog life aren’t as clear cut, but I don’t struggle as much with staying productive at home. I don’t need to write down that it’s my night to cook dinner. My stomach won’t let me forget that.
As such, I decided that the best way to use the Planner is to keep it for blog tasks only. The Productivity Planner has been huge in helping me stay on top of things that could easily slip to the wayside.
Tip #4 – Don’t overestimate how much you can get done in a day
Am I the only one who gets overeager when thinking about what I want to get done the next day? I start writing down what’s more like a wish list than a to do list. And then when I don’t get to everything, I beat myself up for never getting the things done that I want. Using the Productivity Planner to prioritize the list helps so much because at the end of the day, I’ll at least have gotten the most important thing done, even if it’s not everything I hoped for.
Tip #5- Break tasks into smaller chunks
One of the biggest issues I had when I started using it was that I would write down big tasks that would take 2+ hours each. Even if I had enough time for them all, it was demoralizing looking at such ominous to-dos. Instead of starting on the tasks right away, I would stall and the day would get away from me.
By breaking tasks into chunks of 30 minutes, 1 hour tops, I feel motivated to jump in and just get it done. The excitement I feel for finishing one task energizes me for the next, and before I know it I’ve completed all the things that are super duper important.
Here’s a concrete example for how this works. Normally I would write down the task, “Write blog post,” which seemed pretty straightforward. But now I break the task into several smaller tasks such as:
Outline post
Write rough draft
Edit and add links
Create social media graphics for the post
It feels less daunting when I sit down at my computer to write and I’ve actually been finishing a lot more posts this way.
Tip #6 – Don’t underestimate how much you can get done in 25 minutes
Estimating how much time something will take can be really tough, especially at first. I was surprised to discover that I really underestimate how much I can get done in 25 minute chunks. It doesn’t feel like a big commitment, but I can crank out a lot of work when I stay focused. This makes it easier to follow tip #5 and only schedule in small chunks. The small bursts of energy seriously do wonders for your productivity.
Tip #7 – Plan the next day’s activities the night before
Remember how I said that when I sit down to blog and look at my first and most important task, I don’t want to do it? That’s really problematic if I don’t write my list the night before. Because if I’m writing the actions right before I’m about to execute them, suddenly the most important doesn’t feel so important anymore. I’ll write what I feel like doing in the #1 spot. Writing out the list the day before is such a huge help.
Tip #8 – Don’t be afraid to take action
When I’m working on a project, I always fall into the trap of doing way too much research. I felt a little defensive writing that, because a big part of me feels like there’s no such thing as too much research. My problem is that I’ll research things fooooreeeeever and never take action. Having action items with time goals attached is helping me do a better job of avoiding the trap of passive action. There’s only so far you can get with research and planning before you need to start doing things.
Tip #9 – Have some grace for yourself when things just don’t go according to plan
There have been multiple days when things come up and I don’t finish a single task on my list. This can feel like such a bummer. It’s been helpful to remind myself that it happens. Just try not to let it derail your whole week. The sooner you recover, the better. Give yourself a little grace and move on.
Tip #10 – Don’t forget to celebrate the wins!
Once I complete something big, I always kind of gloss over it and move on to the next thing. I really love that the planner makes space for you to look back and celebrate your wins. It’s really encouraging to see how much all those little blocks of time add up. Don’t forget this step. Being grateful for past wins is the fuel to keep you going.
The Final Verdict
So would I say that the Productivity Planner has actually helped me to be more productive? Definitely. It’s been instrumental in prioritizing tasks and coming up with a strategy to get stuff done. But at the same time, I only get out of it what I put into it. I still have to work hard and stay focused in order to be productive. If you have big dreams you’re going after and need help prioritizing those, this planner can definitely help you in that.
Have more questions? Feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email. I’d be happy to help in any way I can!
Hi, I’m Kelsey! I live in the DC area with my husband and two cats. I currently spend my days working from home, reading all the books, and enjoying home life in our new-to-us 1940s condo. Read more about me here.
