Sprint 5 Goal Recap

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!!

Where I’m At #2

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 topics you’d like to see posts about!

planner : I keep toying with the idea of analog planners, but they’re so impractical for me right now! I miss my Happy Planner & my bullet journal, but everything’s still working so well for me on Notion that it doesn’t make sense to fix something that isn’t broken! I did create a horizontal weekly layout with a memo section for my mini Happy Planner, but I mostly use it to get a focused overview of my appointments, goals, & meals for the week. I guess it helps gain some perspective.
self (body & mind, emotion & education) : Not much going on here, except for with my diet. I’m trying to follow a “mindful eating schedule” I created with ChatGPT. I like it a lot so far, but I have some trouble with tired / stress eating around dinner time. For example, I may have eaten too many brownies this evening & kinda wanna crawl into a hole right now lol oops. Progress, not perfection – I will try not to do that again tomorrow!
marriage (relationship & libido) ; Going pretty good. I’ve been enjoying working on improving my libido, and working with sexual energy more in my life. Hubby’s enjoying the journey too lol! Next week I will try out the “Radical Intimacy” course on DailyOm, and I’ll let you know how it goes
mom (BooBoo & Bubby) : The little monsters are good. BooBoo is starting to read like a pro, and Bubby still loves her dolls. Both girls want Furbits for Xmas (😱)
teacher (K & PK) : School has been going pretty well. I love ChatGPT for helping me with ideas for lesson plans!
zB : I’ve been enjoying my writing journey quite a bit, and I’m learning a lot! I love it!!
homemaker (finance, cleaning, gardening, prepping, travel) : Still gotta plan a little family cabin trip. Hopefully I can get that situated this week. Working on a cool “Friendsgiving” party for this month (charcuterie board & board / card games), and a chill family Thanksgiving dinner.
witch : Nothing going on here. I celebrated Samhain with a day full of journaling though, which was very much needed.
reseller : BLAH! Still mad at resale, still haven’t done anything about it.

Currently

eating : Brownies lol

drinking : Rosé, lime water, coffee with pumpkin spice creamer & occasionally a shot of Trader Vic’s Macadamia Nut Liqueur 😋

watching : Outer Banks, Nobody Wants This, Agatha All Along (OMG I love it lol)

reading : Good Morning Good Life by Amy Landino

playing : Bingo Showdown & Candy Crush Saga

buying : Nothing, so help me god

listening to : Green Day, Reverend Horton Heat, Lofi, other stuff my family members hate LOL (though I did sing Barbie Girl in the car with BooBoo the one day, that was pretty cool hehehe ☺️)

celebrating : the rest & reflection time of year nearing

pinning : self care, Green Day, planners, Xmas, crochet

planning : Thanksgiving & Friendsgiving

feeling : tired! Hopeful, stressed

Where are you at? Let’s chat in the comments!!!

Creative Productivity & The Art of Planning

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_{Image credit : Pixabay}

I’ve been a “planner girl” intermittently for as long as I can remember. My enthusiasm for planning began with a Lisa Frank binder in elementary school and continued with a free notebook in college. I started journaling at age 12 and have maintained the habit consistently since then.

In 2012, when my father had his first stroke, I needed a highly flexible planner to manage everything I had to do for him. That’s when I discovered the “Bullet Journal Method” on Pinterest, which captivated me for several years.

Planning is a fundamental element of success in any endeavor. Whether you’re launching a business, achieving personal milestones, or simply trying to improve your daily life, effective planning is crucial. This post will discuss the importance of planning and provide practical tips to help you develop & refine this vital skill. In a future post, I’ll delve deeper into my detailed and unique quarterly goal-setting system.

Moreover, planning offers clarity and direction, whether for daily tasks or long-term goals. Without a plan, life can seem overwhelming. By breaking things down into manageable steps, planning turns ambitions into actionable tasks.

What do you specifically need a planner for? Write a list on a piece of paper. Are you a student? Does your job require a separate planner or notebook? Do you need to manage medications, household chores, doctor’s appointments, or a side job? How about improving your health, strengthening family bonds, or tracking finances? Choose or create a planner that suits your needs and make sure you know what you need to keep track of and prepare for.

Next, decide on your planner – digital or analog? Your preference might lean towards one or the other. For a long time, I was a paper planner enthusiast. I’ve used the Bullet Journal, Happy Planner, and traveler’s notebook systems. I loved to decorate, customize, and adapt things to my needs. But recently, I’ve been trying to simplify my life, including my planner system. I’ve found that I rarely refer back to my old planners, and their main purpose was to leave something for my children when they’re older. But why would they want my to-do lists mixed in with memories? Thus, I’ve switched to digital planning, specifically using Notion. I find it more functional, less wasteful, and inexpensive. Now, I keep separate journals for memories and pictures for my kids, keeping my day-to-day tasks digital for easy deletion. Often times, less is more.

Once you’ve chosen your planner and know what you need it for, start filling it in. Prioritize appointments, meetings, bill due dates, and other important events. My weekly and monthly planning includes dinner plans, work schedules, homeschooling and extracurricular activities, cleaning goals, and spontaneous adventures. Don’t forget to include some fun!

Depending on what your needs are, there are lots of productivity tools to help you organize your tasks. A “kanban board”, for example, is a visual tool used to show what tasks need to be done, are in progress, or done. Another example is the “Eisenhower Matrix”, which is often used for prioritizing a long list of tasks.

_{Image Credit : Google Search}

Daily, weekly, and monthly reviews can also be beneficial. The frequency of these reviews depends on your needs, but regularly evaluating what you did well and what you need to improve is a good practice.

Remember, flexibility is key in planning. Life is unpredictable and your plans may need to adapt. Embrace changes and adjust your plans accordingly. Finally, celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how small. Every completed task brings you one step closer to your goals. Just remember that planning is not a one-time task but an ongoing process that requires dedication and adaptability.

Just for fun, here’s a little zine I put together about three of the different planning types I described earlier. You can print it out for free, resize it to the paper size you use if need be, & this infographic shows you how to fold & cut it into a proper mini zine. Enjoy!!

What planning tips & tricks do you like to use? Share them in the comments; I’d love to nerd out together!! 😊

On Productivity and Useful Apps

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While I continue to recover from that dirty ol swish, I’d like to take a moment to discuss productivity. Different things work for different people, so I’ll share what works for me, hoping that it might give you an idea of something that’ll help you.

I wasn’t really taught how to organize anything as a kid, especially my time, but I always craved some sort of structure outside of school. So, I started reading books about it as a kid, & I’ve gotten pretty good at it over the years! This article is mostly about my business, but covers my personal time as well. Please note- I’m not getting paid to mention the following apps, I just find them that useful!

My most useful tool isn’t an app at all, & it will have its own post in the future. I highlighted my business notebook in a previous post, and mentioned that it works better for my business needs than a “bullet journal“; but I’ve been using bullet journals for my personal needs for 3-4 years now! I use it to keep track of monthly events & appointments, plan my dinners for the week, track my bills & checking account, maintain daily to do lists & habits, and more! I even made a separate bullet journal for my recipes. So, visit the website and keep an eye out on my blog here to get an idea of how this system might work for you!

I used to use a very visually pleasing notepad app on my Nook, but something happened & they discontinued the app, suggesting that users try either Google docs or Evernote as a replacement. I opted to transfer my old notes to Evernote, & have been using it ever since. Evernote is almost as awesome as the old app, just not as visually impressive as the old app, as far as organizing notes goes. There are some restrictions with the free service (which is what I use), but it’s still super useful. You can save almost any type of media (including personal notes), organize everything by tags & categories, and access everything either through their app or their website. I use it for my business to maintain checklists, bookmark things from the web, & organize ideas.

To keep myself moving, I use a method commonly known as “time blocking” – setting aside specific times to do specific things, & nothing else. Kind of like making appointments to do certain things. I’m a little lenient with these blocks, however, in that I tend to set periods of time to do things (such as doing housework or creating products for the shop, for an hour straight), but I use a stopwatch to monitor myself. If something comes up while I’m doing something, I stop the clock.

Breaks are important so that you don’t burn yourself out, physically and/or mentally. So, between tasks, I tend to play a couple games on my tablet or do some yoga & meditation for set periods of time, depending on how long I’d kept myself busy.

I also use a time-tracking app called Jiffy. With Jiffy, you can either use it as a stopwatch or log your activities after. With the free version, you can create 3 categories, which can be divided into “work” & “non-work”; you can also add notes to each entry. Jiffy takes the information you entered & creates graphs, so you have a more visual representation of how you’ve spent your time.

Just DO it!

The hardest part of doing anything is getting started; but if you just get started, momentum will eventually get you where you want to be. Make time for whatever is important to you, and just DO it, if even for only 5 minutes! Stay as organized as possible, reevaluate when you feel stuck, and take worthwhile breaks once in a while. You’ll thank yourself.

What productivity apps and/or techniques do you use?? Let’s chat in the comments below! 😄

And don’t forget to check out my shop at zen BLITZ 💚🕉💜

How I Keep Things Organized With My Business Notebook…

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While I love my Bullet Journal (which I’ll have a post for in the future!), I knew I’d need a three ring binder for my business adventure. This way, I can keep things organized by tab, and I can move & remove pages with no problem!

Here I’ll share which tabs I’ve found most useful, & what for…

The first few pages are uncategorized. I keep a daily to do list, which I also use for random notes; I like being able to recycle the page when I’m done with it. Also uncategorized is my monthly business plan (which turns into my analysis page at the end of the month), and breakdowns of my business processes (production, sales, marketing, & bookkeeping).

Current projects : Whatever I’m working on in any of my business processes. Currently that means : info page for the product I’m listing next, notes for this very blog post, instructions & notes for crochet lanyards, and a brainstorm for my next series of products!
Blog / Social media : Mostly brainstorms for things to post on social media, including topics to blog about. Also an index of my posted blogs.
Financial : Cash flow reports, notes on overhead charges, my pricing formula, and a list of the sales & discounts in my store. (Here, have 10% off by using code SPREADLOVE)
Time & Activity Logs
Ideas : Brainstorms, & notes about trends. Also, instructions for ATCs, ideas for my steampunk / renaissance festival outfit, & a list of the creative endeavors my boyfriend & I are working on together.
Accomplished : Finished projects, so they can be rearranged before they’re listed in the store. Also houses my past monthly analyses, which should have their own tab soon.
Listings : The project sheets for each of the listings in my Etsy store, in order.

A paper & pen notebook works best for me in most situations…

…though I do use Evernote quite a bit too (another post for another time.) I actually think my binder is more versatile than even the cloud!

Do you have any notebooks? What for? Let’s chat in the comments below!

And don’t forget to check out all the new stuff in store at zen BLITZ!