Here’s my zine for this winter – If you’d like a copy, just print & cut according to these instructions! Enjoy!!

Here’s my zine for this winter – If you’d like a copy, just print & cut according to these instructions! Enjoy!!


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


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


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!
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!
You can always find a way around any challenges that arise if you’re open to creative & adaptable solutions!
Before diving into the design process, there are 2 things I want you to keep in mind :
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.
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 :
A routine focused on self care could look like this :
If you’re focused on productivity, your morning routine could include :
Burned out? Cut it back to the essentials & build from there :
Pick one, hack it, make it yours!
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!
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” 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…

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!!


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.
Nevermind what society, family, friends, acquaintances, or that guy at work who’s always looking at you funny thinks. What makes you feel fulfilled?
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.
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.
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
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.
“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.
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.
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.
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!)
Be sure to acknowledge your progress with pride. Every step forward is a step in the right direction!
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!


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.
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!
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.
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? Are you particularly good at writing, teaching, or making people laugh? Consider ways to use this strength more intentionally in your daily life.
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!
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!)
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!
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” 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!
On an additional note, Frontier DSL has been the bane of my existence for the past couple of weeks. Well, Frontier in general, really.
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!!

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

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.

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 :
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.

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.
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!

I figured this post would be most useful now, before the holidays get too crazy. In other words – IMPLEMENT IT NOW BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!!! LOL

Every day I do dishes, laundry, & cook food. Except Sundays. On Sundays, I do nothing. And I don’t give a fuck. It’s nothing religious; it’s simply self care.
Why Do Nothing? Because I’ll burn out if I’m constantly doing things, & so will most people. Even nature takes a break once in a while. So I try to avoid the sickness & sadness by scheduling time to do “nothing”.
A Do Nothing Day is a self care boundary I’ve set with myself & my family. It’s a day full of journaling, yoga, reading, meditation, and whatever other self care activities can refill my cup of energy for the week. If I miss a Do Nothing Day, everyone knows it because I’m dragging myself along all week as a cranky mess. The dishes & laundry can wait, & there’s plenty of easy to prepare food in the house between the freezer, pantry, & leftovers in the fridge that I shouldn’t have to cook a damn thing.
When to do nothing depends on a person’s schedule, of course. I’ve found that I can generally get out of doing anything on Sundays because it seems like most people don’t like to do things on Sundays.
A “staycation”, a “solo retreat”, a “do nothing day”… There are lots of names for making time to keep your head from exploding. A “staycation” can mean forcing yourself out of your usual routine for a day or more, as if you were going on vacation, but not even leaving your town. Or house, if you so please. A “solo retreat” can mean the same thing, but structuring your time to focus on self care. I like the idea of a “Do Nothing Day” because it’s a weekly date set with my peace of mind.
What refuels your energy? This is different for everyone of course, but consider things you don’t often have time to do otherwise. Some examples could be playing video games, reading a book, or writing in your journal. You could structure your day (or days, depending on how burned out you feel) by setting aside certain times for certain activities, or by including nourishing foods at set times throughout. Or you could just go with the flow, just make sure you don’t get sucked into an activity that drains your energy at a certain point (like video games or watching tv does to me…& most people who are being honest with themselves lol).
So, pick a day & adapt it as needed. Don’t give up on it – you won’t regret it & you know that! Let me know in the comments below what kinds of things you do, or would like to do, on a Do Nothing Day, and let me know if you’re having any trouble with the idea (I’d love to try to help!)
Enjoy the calm amidst the storm!!
