Where I’m At #5

“Where I’m at” posts are just random updates about what’s going on in my life at any random time, based on the areas / roles in my life. Any particular goals I’m working on will be highlighted, so you can easily see what I’m actively working on improving. Leave a comment & give me ideas for things you’d like to see me write individual posts about!

planner : I have a lot of projects planned for February! I’m finishing up my digital audit as I’m writing this, which is always quite a relief – I must have deleted a zillion things I didn’t even know I had! I still have to audit 10 years of Google Photos, but that’s another project all its own. (ETA : I realized I should add auditing my PKM to the list too, because the chaos I’ve created there is stressing me out – “actionability … only save things that contribute to current projects & areas … it’s not a museum of knowledge if you don’t absorb or utilize the information!”) Next month’s projects include a “What a Crock-Potluck Revival Party” (we haven’t had a crockpot party in a while, so I thought we’d get back on that wagon), I want to make an “Oh Shit!” notebook (in case I get hit by a dump truck & my husband needs to know things he doesn’t normally care about), as well as planning for fun stuff in warmer weather (travel, tattoos, concerts, etc)
self (body & mind, emotion & education) : Forever working on my eating habits – I’ve been focusing on eating more consistently throughout the day because I have a bad habit of barely eating until dinnertime, and then going a little too crazy (cuz I love my dinner recipes! 😋) I’ve been sleeping kind of crappy because I really like my quiet time in the mornings, and I should probably get back to my exercise routine, but…not right now 😆 My brain’s been doing pretty good lol – Lots of fun ideas abound, feeling pretty chill (albeit a little cabin fever), and learning all kinds of interesting things about blogging!
marriage (relationship & libido) : Not doing too bad here, actually! Humor keeps things interesting lol
mom (BooBoo & Bubby) : The girls are doing pretty good, though I’m sure they can’t wait til it’s warm enough to go outside every day! They’ve been keeping busy drawing, painting, & playing with their dolls mostly. And enjoying a little bit of Legs Marvel Superheroes on Xbox hehe
teacher (K & PK) : They’ve been doing really well with school, though it was hard getting back into the rhythm after the holidays. BooBoo surprises us (& herself!) every day with how well she can read already, and Bubby is getting really good at tracing lines
zB : Having a lot of fun (& driving myself absolutely crazy!) trying to choose which direction to go with everything related to the blog & products to create & everything. I know I’m overcomplicating everything though lol! I’ve been learning a lot about SEO, optimization tools (like Buffer for automating social media posts), and everything in between. (My brain hurts. 🤪)
homemaker (finance, cleaning, gardening, prepping, travel) : Everything’s fine & dandy here! I need to rebalance our general finances, which I keep putting off. Been maintaining the cleaning, but not really making any progress (no time!) And I’m looking forward to travel & garden planning soon!

Currently

eating : crockpot dinners

drinking : hot lime water, & hot grapefruit water (way better than lemon water!)

watching : Hubby keeps trying to make me watch movies. I don’t generally have the attention span for movies. Blink Twice was pretty good. Back to Action was pretty terrible. The show Younger hasn’t been too bad. And surprisingly, the series Maxton Hall has been pretty interesting. And Ripley, omg, that was actually pretty good lol!

reading – Nothing. I haven’t really had much interest in any particular books lately. But I’ve kept up with my Daily Stoic Journal every day!

playing : Board games with the girls, especially Candy Land hehe ☺️

buying : Not much. Went a little crazy on Temu because I really needed a new winter coat. I also ended up with a couple gifts for hubby, gloves, some new eyebrow rings, and a bunch of other things I’ll be surprised to see when they come 😅

listening to : My “Tunes” playlist on YouTube – lots of Green Day & Foxboro Hot Tubs, Reverend Horton Heat, & “Wish I Knew You” by the Revivalists (me & hubby’s dating anthem hehe)

celebrating : Midwinter & Valentine’s Day

pinning : wallpapers, self care, Green Day

planning – projects, a party, goals

feeling – generally good, but a bit restless!

Where are you at? Let me know in the comments below!! 😀

Stop Scrolling! : Mastering Intentional Information Consumption

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Do you ever feel like you’re hoarding information, and not doing anything with it? Saying to yourself “Oh, I’ll totally need to know that someday!”, & that day never comes? All those articles & notes you have saved are really a burden, not a badge of honor, if you never use or even review them! In this post, I’m going to share some no BS tips for using information intentionally to get things done.

Why Information Overload Sucks

Endlessly scrolling through social media or blog feeds sucks the energy right out of your brain. This can then suck the life out of the rest of your day, causing decision fatigue over every little thing (”blue shirt or black shirt – argh!”), & distract you from making important progress in different areas of your life.

The truth is, you don’t need more info – You need a system to make the info you do consume work for you.

Game Plan = Filter Ruthlessly

One filtering method would be to avoid saving anything that doesn’t contribute to a project you’re working on or a problem you’re trying to solve.

Tiago Forte has some good tips for information management (check out his website at Forte Labs). One tip is to keep a list of “Favorite Problems” – complicated life problems that don’t have a simple answer, & which should be edited occasionally to keep it relevant. For example, one of my favorite problems is “How can I create a reasonably profitable business that fulfills my need to help others, without consuming too much of my time?”

Tiago’s CODE framework is another good tip, which focuses on actionability – Capture useful information, Organize it by how the information can be used, Distill it down to the main points, & Express it as a new article or idea. But make sure you keep note of the source!

Build a Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) System That Works

Like many people, I prefer to use a digital notetaking system because it’s easy to organize & search through. An analog system (such as a commonplace book or Zettelkasten) can be useful to help you remember important information, but don’t stop there!

Tiago’s PARA method works well for organizing information. Projects are considered anything you’re currently working on that has a short term end date; Areas are ongoing aspects of your life (household management, personal health, etc); Resources are topics of interest that don’t fit into the first two categories; and Archive is for anything that is currently irrelevant but may be useful in the future. These four main categories can be broken down further and used as folders or tags for whatever system you choose to use – I use a Notion database, but you could also use platforms such as Google Keep, Evernote, or Obsidian for digital note organization.

Another benefit of a digital PKM is that you can easily link relevant notes together, or even link them directly onto a project page (which Tiago refers to as “Intermediate Packets”).

Stay Out of the Info Trap

Set some rules to avoid saving all the things, & stick to it!

Limit how much time you spend browsing new information
Don’t save it if you won’t use it
Review & delete or archive outdated stuff – Your PKM isn’t a museum

Conclusion

Information is useless if you don’t use it.

Audit your info intake today, & turn knowledge into momentum – Share how you’re cutting the clutter in the comments below!

Goal Planning for Actual People

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Now that the new year has begun & lots of people are already fizzling out on their lofty but well intentioned resolutions, let’s get real & talk about goals.

I’ll admit, I’m a serial overthinker. I’ve had elaborate goal planning systems that I’ve worked with to varying degrees of success in the past. Even a slight peek in an online search of “goal setting” will overwhelm you with complicated systems that guarantee your success.

Let’s get real. It’s not that serious.

You can’t give yourself a bunch of new stuff to do. You’re not gonna do it. You know this; I know this. It’ll just stress you out & piss you off, even if you have the most efficient execution system on the planet. Just pick something. One thing. Add other things when it won’t piss you off.

With that said, I’d like to share my simplified goal planning system. Feel free to try it out for yourself, & alter it however it would work best for you!

Annual

To start each year, I like to do some journaling & establish a few things :

Word (or theme) of the year, & why. Of course, this can be changed any time during the year if needed, but I like to have something simple & specific to focus on. Mine trend along the lines of “intention” & “simplify”.
A few questions :
- What would you like to do this year?
- What would you like to have?
- Who would you like to be?
- What would be the single coolest thing that could possibly happen this year?
- What sort of legacy do you want to leave behind when you die?
What does your ideal life look like? The next level version of you? Consider the roles / areas / buckets of your life (whatever you prefer to call them). – How would you like to show up for these things in your daily life? Do you ideally need more or less of anything specific?
Create a vision board. Don’t get too crazy. The purpose of a vision board is to remind & inspire you. Only add images that truly resonate with you. Bonus points if you use your own photos!

Periodically

Every couple months I also like to do a “Level 10 Life” & “Role Review”. Beside a list of my life roles, I rate my satisfaction with each on a scale from 1-10, & I will sometimes choose what to work on based on my lower scores. If I feel the need to elaborate, I’ll do a brief review of each role by writing down how I feel (good or bad), why, & what I’d like to improve.

Each of these practices are intended to get you contemplating different goals that you could work on. Could being a key word because you really should only be focused on one thing at a time, so I encourage you to pick something that would have the greatest positive impact on your life, & aligns most with your values. Then…

Plan Your Goals

Define the goal. What exactly do you want? What is the ideal end result? Why? Is this a task based project, a habit forming lifestyle change, or both?
Create a plan & a system. What action steps can you take to move toward that ideal end result? Only give yourself functional tasks that will contribute real progress toward your goal. What systems or habits can you implement into your daily life to ensure you make consistent progress? And how can you keep yourself accountable?
Execute the plan / system.
Reflect weekly, and monthly. Ask yourself “Am I making progress here? How, or why not? How can I improve next week / month?” This is an essential step, so don’t skip it!
Pivot, if needed.

That’s it. That’s what every single goal planning system boils down to. Don’t worry that you’re forgetting something – If it’s important, you’ll realize that & pivot thanks to your regular reflections! Just live your fucking life, & don’t overcomplicate it. (There’s a good goal idea!)

What would you like to work on this year? Let me know in the comments below – Maybe I can help!

Morning Routines That Actually Work: How to Start Your Day With Purpose and Power

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I know that I don’t know WTF I’m doing throughout the day if I don’t follow my morning routine. I jump around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to figure things out. It’s exhausting & disorienting, which is a terrible way to start the day. That’s why I developed my ever evolving morning routine, & in this week’s post I hope to help you do the same!

Why Morning Routines Matter

My husband always wakes up cranky, groggy, & feeling like shit. He stumbles off to the kitchen to make a smoothie, & then reads depressing news on his phone for like an hour before sometimes making breakfast for the kids & then struggling to figure out what to do with his day. He’s inevitably cranky fairly often. He refuses to create a better morning routine.

Starting the day with an intentionally beneficial routine can set the tone for a productive, engaged, & fulfilling rest of your day! A set routine can reduce the decision fatigue of trying to figure out what you’re doing at any given moment. It can also help ensure you’re finding time to work toward your goals!

Some Challenges…and Solutions!

Poor sleep hygiene. Sleep is pretty essential, so perhaps you also need a useful evening routine (though that would be another post altogether). The goal is that you can wake up early enough to accomplish the routine you want or need.
Lack of motivation. Your routine should motivate you! If it seems like a drag to do, you need to switch your activities up a bit so that it feels beneficial.
Distractions. Limit them as much as possible. Put your phone on “do not disturb”, don’t even think about checking social media (or depressing news feeds!), & get up before your family members if at all possible.

You can always find a way around any challenges that arise if you’re open to creative & adaptable solutions!

Design a Routine That Works for You

Before diving into the design process, there are 2 things I want you to keep in mind :

KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) Don’t overwhelm yourself with all kinds of stuff to do. You’ll set yourself up for needless frustration.
Remain adaptable. Some days you may find yourself with an hour, others may leave you with only 5 minutes. Figure out your bare minimum activities, & work from there.

So, what would you like to focus on in your mornings? What would help situate a positive mindset for the day ahead? Do you need to prep your clothes, healthy drinks & snacks, & task list? Do you need distraction free time to get some work done before the kids get up? Do you need time for self care?

Once you come up with some ideas for what you need, you should figure out how much time you typically have available. It can also help to set times for certain activities throughout your routine – For example 10 minutes for journaling, 20 minutes for exercise, & so on.

Quick Ideas for Morning Routines

My routine gets changed whenever I feel like it. If I’m not looking forward to it, it’s time to switch things up. Here’s what it looks like right now :

Get lemon water & say good morning to Alexa (she tells me the weather, a joke, & plays some lofi music)
Review my inbox of thoughts, notes, & tasks from the previous day, & organize them appropriately
Plan my day
Journal & exercise
Get dressed
Get some coffee & a snack, & watch a quick YouTube video before starting my tasks for the day (which usually includes a focus hour to work on this blog!)

A routine focused on self care could look like this :

10 minutes body : cardio / yoga / strength
10 minutes mind : journaling / reading / learning
10 minutes soul : meditation / prayer / being outside in nature
heart : call or text a friend or family member

If you’re focused on productivity, your morning routine could include :

Get tea / coffee
Review plan for the day
Quick exercise
Get dressed / quick shower
Quick journaling / braindump
30 minute deep work session

Burned out? Cut it back to the essentials & build from there :

Get water; Make tea / coffee
Review plans for the day, timeblock if necessary, & consider meal plan
Stretch or meditate for 5 minutes

Pick one, hack it, make it yours!

Consistency & Setbacks

The key to consistency is to avoid overwhelm. Adjust your morning routine as extensively & as often as you need, to make sure you’re setting yourself up for a pleasant day!

You could track your consistency with a simple calendar, & reward yourself for your small wins – A week of sticking to our habits deserves a luxurious $10 hot cocoa supreme (or a cheap bottle of wine lol)!

Don’t beat yourself up for missing a day – Fuck your senseless guilt & just try again the next day! Persistence over perfection!

Conclusion

Morning routines are essential for starting your day on the right foot. Stay adaptable & compassionate with yourself, & design a routine that works for you at different times in your life. Pivot, & adapt as needed!

Share your current routine, or any challenges you encounter, in the comments below – I’d love to hear from you!

And here’s a free printable brainstorming space if you’d like, created with Canva – Just download, resize if needed, & print!

Where I’m At #4

Where I'm At

“Where I’m at” posts are just random updates about what’s going on in my life at any random time, based on the areas / roles in my life. Any particular goals I’m working on will be highlighted, so you can easily see what I’m actively working on improving (and see that I do try to practice what I preach). Leave a comment & give me ideas for things you’d like to see me write individual posts about!

Hi everyone! It’s been a rough month for my family – we all got COVID mid-November, & apparently we’re all still dealing with the aftermath. Yeah, seriously. My kids’ pediatrician told me I was probably misdiagnosed with a sinus infection because she said they’ve regularly seen some COVID symptoms lasting up to 15 weeks. So there’s that.

On a better note, our holidays were lovely, & I hope yours was as well!

Let’s get into how December went for me…

planner : I actually just switched up my Notion setup a little bit! My main dashboard is now a gallery view of the PARA method, with “Projects” being the equivalent of my planner. “Areas” are the equivalent of the roles you see here, with each area having a separate page & each relevant page having a section for tasks & notes. I like it a lot so far! Also, I’m really excited to move into a new journal! I’ve made an entire year fit into an A5 Stalogy for the second year in a row, & that poor notebook is about to explode!

self (body & mind, emotion & education) : I’ve really been struggling with my diet & exercise ever since I first got sick; that’s a real challenge for me – picking back up after illness. (Something for me to work on!) I’ve really been enjoying journaling & writing my blog posts; haven’t been terribly interested in reading any books lately (I keep trying to read Tim Ferriss’ 4 Hour Workweek because I like his writing style & some of his ideas, but I just can’t stay interested.) Emotionally, I’ve been pretty up & down because of being sick. Bleh.
marriage : We’ve been rediscovering old ways to have adventures, considering the weather. It’s been fun going “window shopping” & spontaneous restaurants for dinner!
mom (BooBoo & Bubby) : The girls have been great, despite having a very persistent cough. Their favorite Xmas gifts included some Magna Tiles, Miraculous Dolls, & Furblets lol
teacher (K & PK) : We’ve been taking it easy this month, to prep for & enjoy the holidays. We’ve worked through the curriculum a little bit when they felt like it, but most of this month’s education centered around the science of the changing seasons, measuring ingredients for homemade treats, playing games, & doing holiday worksheets.
zB : Had to move some things around because I was really struggling to maintain focus this month, & I wasn’t sure if I’d have enough posts ready for the month, but I somehow managed to pull everything together & I’m excited to share those with you!!!
homemaker (finance, cleaning, travel) : I don’t even wanna talk about the finances this month LOL – I just keep telling myself “tis the season!” I’ve gotten a lot more cleaning done with us not focusing so much on school, so that’s good. And I’ve been trying to plan some interesting adventures for these cold & snowy months – We’ll see what happens!
witch – Nothing going on here; I really should try to find some time to at least meditate more regularly, though I do a little bit every night.
reseller – Absolutely nothing going on here, besides a couple of sales. I’m still very much in limbo about how I want to go about my whole resale business right now & in the future. It’s just not a priority.

Currently

eating – Lots of soup!

drinking – Hot lime water 😋

watching – Beast Games, Xmas movies, Lincoln Lawyer, & finished Royal Pains just in time for it to leave Netflix!

reading – Blog posts

playing – “Beat the Parents “ & “Would You Rather?” (card games from the Dollar Tree that I got the kids hehe)

buying – All kinds of stuff we don’t need, just cuz it’s discounted post-holiday (we really need to put the brakes on! LOL)

listening to – Rain!

celebrating – My youngest is turning 4! 🥳

pinning – self care, journaling, homeschool stuff, & Green Day lol

planning – Kiddo’s bday, goals

feeling – Excited for a new year!

How was your December, & what are you looking forward to in January? Let me know in the comments below!!

And if you’d like, feel free to use this free desktop background I made on Canva for whatever you’d like (I was just screwing around while I was sick, hehe) 😘

See you next week!!

Punk Rock Guidelines for Manifesting a Life You Love

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While daydreaming & scripting may make your wishes feel more attainable, nothing is going to get you where you want to be quite like actually doing something about it. Here are some punk rock guidelines to consider when manifesting a life you love.

Define your vision of success for your life

Nevermind what society, family, friends, acquaintances, or that guy at work who’s always looking at you funny thinks. What makes you feel fulfilled?

Find radical focus & clarity

No fluffy BS – Get crystal clear about your vision of an ideal life. You could even try making a vision board with only things that truly resonate with your authentic self.

Embrace selective apathy to remain focused

Be picky with what you give a fuck about – You may find that you stress yourself out about stupid shit, when you could be focused on making progress toward your goals in life.

Manifest by doing, not waiting

Scripting & visualization are good starting points for an action plan. Just make sure you do the work by taking action on the plan. Small steps daily add up to huge changes in the long run – “It doesn’t matter how slow you go, so long as you do not stop” – Confucius

Create an “I don’t care, I’m doing it anyway” list

Make a list of things you’re sick of putting off for “a more opportune time” or “more research”, & commit to trying one thing for each month of the year.

Reframe past failures into fuel

“Whatever doesn’t kill you can only make you stronger.” While that’s a load of crap half the time, you have to try to spin as much of the BS life throws at you as possible. Look for lessons to learn & ways to grow through tough times.

Edit your life’s playlist

Just like a playlist of your favorite music is unique to you, so is your life. Choose which “tracks” you’d like to “play” more or less often, such as your education, career, hobbies, & relationships, and create a lifestyle that is authentic to you.

Stay true to your vision

Whatever you set your intention to, stay stubborn in accomplishing it. Commit to the fact that any obstacle can be overcome, you just need to figure out how.

“Act as if”

Embody the ideal you’re striving for now. Today, & every day. If you want to be an artist, live as an artist would in your eyes, & create something daily. “Fake it til you make it”, if you must (that’s what most people do!)

Celebrate the little things

Be sure to acknowledge your progress with pride. Every step forward is a step in the right direction!

Conclusion

Actively create a life you love – Dream it, do it, own it, & revel in it. Every chance you get.

Which ideas resonated most with you? Let me know in the comments!

7 Unconventional Goal Ideas for the New Year (start now!)

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New Year’s resolutions are stupid. People pledge to do this thing that they don’t have an actual system for, & change that thing for 2 weeks, & it doesn’t work. Let’s get real about personal growth & plan outside the box this year, shall we? Here are 7 unconventional goal ideas for the new year to contemplate executing now.

“Don’t Do” Bingo

Get a blank bingo grid (or use the one I made, at the end of this post) & fill the boxes with habits, relationships, or activities you want to let go of. If you feel satisfied that you’ve moved on from something on your bingo card, mark it off. When you get a “bingo”, you should treat yourself to a concert or something to celebrate your determination & self respect!

Theme

Instead of goals, choose a theme for the year. Be more intentional with how you show up for your daily life using this theme as a guide for your actions & decisions.

Feeling goals

What do you want to feel more of this year (peace, joy, etc)? Brainstorm activities to bring more of these feelings into your life!

What is your signature strength?

What is your signature strength? Are you particularly good at writing, teaching, or making people laugh? Consider ways to use this strength more intentionally in your daily life.

Set monthly challenges for yourself

You could experiment with different lifestyles by trying a special diet for a week, a scheduled “do nothing day” each week, or a digital minimalism month with no social media one week, no electronics after 10pm another week, & so on. You could also commit to dabbling into learning about a different topic you’ve been interested in each month, like a new language, skill, or hobby – dabbling lessens the pressure of mastery!

Plan mini adventures

Monthly, if possible! A hike or a bike ride & then out for lunch is always fun. Or you could check out a local historical spot you’ve never visited. Museums, zoos, & art galleries are often open year round, and you can camp out at some national parks for free (or cheap!)

Start a gratitude box

Get a big empty jar or cigar box, & add small notes or mementos to it throughout the year. Whenever you need a little boost of gratitude, pop it open & review your deposits!

Conclusion

That are a lot of fulfilling ways to set goals that don’t involve the rigidity of typical systems. Think outside the box & expand your horizons!

What unique goals do you have for the coming year? I’d love to hear them in the comments below!

And here’s a simple “Don’t Do Bingo” card, if you’d like to use it 😊

Where I’m At #3

Where I'm At

“Where I’m at” posts are just random updates about what’s going on in my life at any random time, based on the areas / roles in my life. Any particular goals I’m working on will be highlighted, so you can easily see what I’m actively working on improving (and see that I do try to practice what I preach). Leave a comment & give me ideas for things you’d like to see me write individual posts about!

planner : Trying to refresh my whole system ahead of the new year because I feel a bit stagnant. I’m testing out a simplified morning routine, a more insight driven journaling routine, and a more simplified goal planning system.
self (body & mind, emotion & education) : Ugh. So my whole family had COVID for a week or so, right? I had worse symptoms than everyone else (I’ll spare you the details lol), and then I developed a sinus infection, which I’m still dealing with. So, everything’s a bit blah for me right now, but I’m trying to take it a bit easy while also trying to get back on track with everything.
marriage (relationship & libido) : We’re doing alright. I’ve been too sick to focus much on us, but we’re getting through it.
mom (BooBoo & Bubby) : The kids are still a bit sneezy & tired, but tis the season lol.
teacher (K & PK) : The girls are doing great with school! BooBoo hates phonics, but she enjoys surprising herself when she can read certain longer words! Bubby can pretty much count to 20, & is working beyond that already! And her fine motor skills haven’t gotten pretty impressive!!!
zB : I’m pretty proud of the progress I’ve made with my passion project 🥰 I have my business plan all situated, and goals set for next year. I’m excited to see where this journey will take me, & I hope you’re excited to join me!!
homemaker (finance, cleaning, gardening, prepping, travel) : Yeahh. Lol. Finances are doing good! I’ve been testing Betterment’s high interest savings & investment accounts, and I’m pretty pleased! (I’m interested in other options too though, if anyone wants to share!) Everything else is kind of…unimportant right now. Except for Xmas decor hehehe!
witch : Nothing going on here. I’ve just been trying to meditate my way through my sicknesses.
reseller : Effortlessly made a couple sales on eBay, but I’m not really doing anything here either.

On an additional note, Frontier DSL has been the bane of my existence for the past couple of weeks. Well, Frontier in general, really.

Currently

eating : soup! 🍜

drinking : tea ☕

watching : YouTube, cuz I can’t stream anything else with how terrible my internet’s been! Lots of Moe Sargi, and some bigfoot videos lol

reading : Nothing. I keep trying to read the 4 Hour Workweek, but I just get so burned out on it!

playing : Bingo Showdown & Candy Crush

buying : Xmas gifts! And bday gifts for hubby & bubby!

listening to : YouTube

celebrating : Xmas, Yule, & bdays!

pinning : yoga, Green Day, homeschool

planning on taking it a bit easy so I can heal

feeling : Sicky 😫

Where are you at right now? Let me know in the comments below!!

Super Simple Methods For Prioritizing Your Tasks

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If you’re overwhelmed by endless to-do lists, I’m sharing my top methods to help you prioritize and simplify your day.

Tools

The only tools you truly need for managing your tasks & schedules are a calendar & a task management system. Personally, I’ve been using Notion for both – A calendar database for scheduled appointments as well as daily task lists, and a separate task database influenced by the GTD & the Eisenhower Matrix systems.

Daily Task Prioritization

Each day, my task list is divided up by “morning”, “afternoon”, & “evening”. This is a version of the “Time Boxing” method that I started using with the Happy Planner, and it’s been immensely helpful. To schedule my days, I simply add tasks to the “box” when I can work on those tasks during the day.

I then effortlessly prioritize the order in which I actually do those tasks using Franklin Covey’s ABC method :

A = Must do
B = Should do
C = Would like to do

From there, I sometimes number them to prioritize what order I will actually do these tasks. The major benefit of this system on Notion is that I can easily drag & drop the items in the order that I want to do them. If I didn’t have time during the morning, I can easily move them to another block of time later in the day.

Managing General Tasks

For tasks that don’t have a deadline, I manage them in a separate Notion database that I call my “GYST” (Get Your Shit Together) list. Notion database properties come in handy for this system, as it is heavily influenced by the GTD method & the Eisenhower Matrix method.

The base of the database is a “Master List”, which I never look at because everything is organized into different views from there.

Anything & everything goes into my “Inbox” tag : next steps for my blog, purchases made throughout the day, anything that I need to remember. I review & organize this information every morning before I set up my daily task list.

There are several other tags I use too (”Someday Maybe”, “Waiting On”, etc), but for the purposes of this post, we’ll be focusing on my “Next Actions” list – this is for things that need to be done sooner than later.

I have a formula set up that will tell me where to put certain items based on the “Eisenhower Matrix”. For example, if I click that a task is “urgent” & “important”, it will tell me to put it in the “Next Actions” list as “Urgent” priority. Another example is if it’s “not important” & “not urgent”, it will suggest the “Someday Maybe” list.

Other GTD inspired properties I use include the energy I assume the task will take, the time I assume it will take, the context (such as home, errands, computer), & any associated links (such as project pages). These are for me to be able to easily pick something to accomplish if I find myself with some free time.

Conclusion

It may sound a bit complicated, but it’s really not. I’ll try to set up a customized Notion page with all of my essential databases soon so that I can share it with everyone, & you’ll see how useful Notion can be! Of course, these systems can be adapted into most apps or analog notebooks, and personalized however you need, but I feel like Notion is the simplest & most useful tool for managing my productivity right now.

With a simple calendar & a task management system, you can be the most useful person in your life! 😜

What do you use to manage your days? Let me know in the comments below!

Sprint 5 Goal Recap

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I’ve altered my goal planning system quite a bit over the past few months, and one major change I’ve adapted is using the idea of “6 week sprints”, where I work on certain goals for 6 weeks, and then take 2 weeks to wrap things up & prepare for the next sprint. I like sharing my progress with you all, so here’s a recap of “Sprint #5”…

(I definitely took on too much this past sprint – Live & learn!)

Body

I was feeling pretty rough about my physical state. I had been taking medication that caused me to gain 25+ pounds in the course of only about 6 months (despite my physician’s assistant insisting it wouldn’t), and I was ready to start working it off. I managed to maintain a doable exercise routine : 2 days with 15 minutes of cardio, 1 day with 15 minutes of bellydancing hehe, 3 days of arm workouts (it’s a pain point for me), and 1 day of yoga or tai chi; plus a quick workout with my kids for their homeschool days, and a few minutes of yoga to end each night. And 5 squats every time I go to the bathroom (which, surprisingly, really slimmed my thighs!) As far as diet, which I consider more important than exercise, I was initially trying to just be mindful & include more water, produce, & protein in my daily meals. I did fairly well at first, but discovered a lot of problems toward the end. So, this is something I’ll be working on during the next sprint, while I continue my enjoyable exercise routine!

Wife

My husband—boy, do I love him, but he drives me fucking crazy sometimes! He’s retired, so we spend an awful lot of time together. Which is a good thing, but I do appreciate my space. And with two young kids, it’s a lot of finagling.

So, I spent the sprint contemplating marriage advice that I occasionally forget about (patience, compassion, all that good stuff), and journaling my way through difficult emotions as they arose (instead of getting upset). I managed to improve our communication & improve his attitude as a result. I also made a point to be more affectionate & open, using things I learned from the Tantra course I took earlier this year. Everything turned out great! Now I need to maintain it without being a main focus, as far as goals go.

One thing I do still need to work on is my libido. I’ve always had low energy in this realm. So, next sprint I’m going to try to work on that (& I’m sure Hubby will be grateful lol!)

Reseller

Ugh.

I realized I don’t really care about resale anymore. At least, not the way I’ve been doing it. I can’t find the time, energy, or motivation to prep inventory, let alone list daily. So, this goal really didn’t go anywhere. However, I did realize I need to restructure my business plan so that I can do something with this path. I don’t have a massive amount of inventory to taking up real estate in my home, but I do have more than I’d feel comfortable donating. The original idea of starting the resale business was to have fun working with Hubby, but he’s more of an “in person” kind of seller. So I need to restructure to offload the inventory I have (which I’m dreading) so that I can get him focused on working with other items in the warmer months. Yeah. I don’t know. lol. I gotta figure something out though.

Ikigai

On a lighter business note (LOL!)… I started journaling about what I wanted more of in my life, and how I can try to make some money from it. I came to the realization that I love writing & I love helping people. So I need to figure out how to make money doing these things – My passion project. I resituated my blog here (though there are definitely more improvements to be made!), and did a ton of research on the directions I want to go with this “Ikigai” project, including useful products & eventually coaching. I’m kind of just enjoying the process & seeing where it takes me right now. I hope you’re enjoying it with me!!

Next Sprint

So, the main things I’ll be focusing on for my next sprint are my diet & my libido. Hubby’s been nagging me about taking a trip (since I had to scrap plans I’d been working on for months because he wasn’t ready for it, but I digress); so, I’ll have to plan a simple cabin camping trip for the family sometime soon. I should also work on my business plans, both for resale & my Ikigai. I’ll update on these when I can ♥️

How have your goals been going this year? What are you contemplating for next year? Let’s chat in the comments below, or feel free to shoot me an email at zenblitz@yahoo.com if you’d like to say hi in private!!