Finding Focus

Earlier I wrote about my planner addiction and what a temptation all of the cool stuff in the stationery store is to me. I love planners, you guys. LOVE THEM. The thing is though, most planners have one fatal flaw that keeps them from working the way we think they’re going to. Can you guess […]

I don’t know what is wrong with me sometimes. The other day, I was walking through Michaels, on my way to buy a new sketchbook for my design projects (I go through three or four a year), when I saw a rack of discounted planners. I was momentarily distracted by all of the pretty planners […]

I use Microsoft Word when creating my ebooks for Amazon Kindle, because I am able to easily format my ebooks in a way that Kindle can read them. Word allows me to make my Kindle ebooks easier to read and more interactive for you, my readers. Another great feature in Microsoft Word, since Windows 10, […]

There’s something about my love for all things creative, my fascination with finding the perfect planner, and bullet journaling. I love the look of bullet journals. I love that I get to have different colored pens and I get to draw stuff. Therein lies a big problem with bullet journaling for me. The pens, the […]

Cloud storage services like Google Drive have been an absolute life saver for work from home entrepreneurs like myself. The best part? Services like Drive are free! So how do you make use of cloud storage and sharing services like Google Drive? I’ve already shared a little bit in other parts of this site about […]

The right music really gets me moving and feeling productive. When I’m writing or creating other content, I try to not listen to any music with words, or else it makes it harder for me to concentrate on writing. My darling offspring introduced me to Spotify last year sometimes, and I have fallen in love. […]

Summer is upon us, friends! I know most of you dread it because it wrecks havoc on your productivity. The main problems with summer and being a WAHM, from what I can tell, is a combination of a few things: The Kids don’t have a regular schedule and are home all day long. By the […]

Guess what I’ve learned over the course of 47 years on this earth? There’s no such thing as a perfect schedule or someone who is able to stay on task perfectly throughout each day. When it comes to stretching ourselves to be more productive it’s important not to undo any strides we make by beating […]

I have a serious problem sometimes. Maybe I should say “Had” a serious problem. Although to be honest, it still crops up from time to time. Steven Pressfield in War of Art would call it “Resistance”. Maybe Gretchen Rubin would call it a bad habit. It’s procrastination, my friends.  Mixed, to be honest, with self-loathing, […]

Maybe this is a bit of wisdom that comes with age — the biggest danger I see for me and for others in getting things done and managing our time best is not so much in being lazy, but in doing the wrong stuff. For me, productivity is all about doing the right stuff and […]

If you’ve heard anything at all about business, blogging, or working from home, you’ve probably heard the word “Niche” before.  Usually, it’s used together with “marketing”, “business”, or even “blogging”. So, what is a niche?  It is a very narrow market or specialty within a larger field.  That sure clears it up, doesn’t it? A […]

If you’re like me, you’re all about building better habits in your life.  Our habits have the power to shape our futures and determine our success or failure in life. All that is well and good, but how do you actually go about building better habits in your life? Here are a few tips to help you in […]

Google Calendar. I think our entire family structure would descend into chaos without it. Okay, maybe not. That’s a bit of an exaggeration. However, the orderliness of our family life now that I have five adult kids who all live at home is heavily reliant on Google calendar. Let’s talk for a bit about how […]

The ability to link my Evernote together, and to create links within my Evernote notes is a function I use often to enhance my productivity and functionality. I’ve written earlier about how I use my Evernote setup to organize my notes and notebooks by priority and not topics. This has been huge for helping me […]

I’ve written before how I order my Evernote notebooks and notebook stacks to enhance my productivity and stay on task. Well, another use for Evernote is to keep track of those tedious but necessary details of life. Case in Point: Dealing with the Hospital. In April 2015, many of you know that two of my kids […]

Google Keep is Google’s note-taking app, introduced in March 2013. It’s similar to apps like Evernote and One Note. Each of these kinds of apps has their own strengths and weaknesses, of course. I like to use a mixture of them in ways that work best. In this post, I’ll be writing about how I […]

One of the best skills you can ever develop as a human being is the fine art of acting vs reacting. This is one of those things you learn more and more as you get older. That is if you’re willing to listen to life’s lessons sent your way. A professor in college used to urge […]

I’ve found that using Google Keep, synced with Google Drive and Calendar, allows me to easily sort and organize my recipes, menu planning, and shopping lists. Let me tell you how. The Basics of Google Keep and Google Drive Recipe Archiving I already use Pinterest to pin recipes I want to try. I think most […]

A recent report I read revealed a shocking statistic about financial emergencies. It reported 47% of Middle-Class Americans couldn’t cover a $400 emergency on their own.  They would need to borrow the money via credit cards, family loans, or other means. An odd rush of emotions came through as I read Neil Gabler’s excellent article in the […]

Is living by faith and setting goals at odds with one another? These are topics I’ve wrestled with in the past. Maybe you have too. The Two Sides of Living By Faith or By a Plan Is it too rigid for us to set goals and write out missions statements when we, as Christians, are to […]

In the old analog days before digital took over (THANK GOD), we used to mood board literally. It went on a literal board. If you’ve watched much HGTV, you still see analog mood boards at work. The Designer pulls out a large board, puts it on an easel, and on the board, we have images […]

Evernote is one of my favorite cross-platform note-taking apps, but it is so much more than that. Truly, Evernote is the key to not only keeping my life organized but helping me get more done with less stress. Let me show you how you can get more done using Evernote too. Read on. The Evernote […]

When you work away from home (or even if you work from home and are super busy), sometimes expenses can creep in that eat up whatever cash you’re earning, pulling that money away from what it’s meant to be spent on. I’m talking food, commuting, childcare, “stress-spending”, “treating yourself” and so forth.  Being a passionate […]

We all probably realize we need better focus in our lives to take care of what we feel we need to do or should be doing. The real issue for most of us is how to maintain that focus. Here are a few tips I’ve learned in my life. Some Mental Downtime is Good for […]

You may have heard it said that if you are aiming at nothing, you’ll hit it every time. Although life isn’t as perfect and linear as we’d prefer it to be, having goals in mind can help you stay on track, making progress towards the end you have chosen. This sure beats meandering through life […]

Do you struggle with finding your files on your computer? Let’s talk a bit today about how to set up some folders to improve your workflow and help you find items easier. Think of it as a little spring cleaning in your digital world. The Default Folders No matter what operating system you’re using, most have a […]

From time to time I get asked how I organize my thoughts before writing or while brainstorming. The answer is mind mapping. Let’s learn a little bit about what is mind mapping and how to use it. Mind Mapping for Better Brainstorming When I first started writing, I just wrote and wrote and wrote. Yet, […]

Oh, the 21st century is a great time to be alive. Continuing Education has never been easier, especially if you’re on a tight budget. Modern technology offers us some really amazing tools and resources for continuing education or just brushing up on some skills with online courses. In this post, I’d like to share a […]

Crafting my own personal mission statement has been one of the best things I’ve ever done. My personal mission statement has saved me much time, money, and frustration in my life. I think many of us when we hear the phrase “mission statement” don’t think of ourselves. You think of a large organization or business. Yet, […]

You might have heard about bullet journals and bullet journaling and wondered, “What is bullet journaling anyway?” Bullet journaling is a planner system that can be pretty much anything you need it to be. That’s the beauty of bullet journals and bullet journaling. You use your creativity to make the system entirely your own. I […]

On social media a few weeks ago, a friend asked about my creative process. She asked, My daughter wants to be an artist. Can you write about how you create art? Are there steps you follow? My creative process usually varies with the kind of project I’m working on.  Usually, if I’m doing something for a client, […]

Setting goals is one thing; actually achieving them is quite another. How many of us write out our goals and New Year’s resolutions at the start of each new year, only to not even remember what most of those are by the end of the new year? Keeping those goals and New Year’s resolutions before […]

I am a goal orientated person. Now, this is not because I consider myself to be very organized or particularly productive. In fact, I think it’s more of the opposite. I know that, if I don’t keep goals in front of me, I usually get nothing done. I’ve posted in the past about having long […]

When talking about not using websites as glorified classified ads, yellow pages, or flyers, I’ve mentioned before that one of the benefits of today’s interactive websites is easy non-techie editing so you can have a conversation with your clients. I’ve beat this particular drum for years when advising my web design clients on how to […]

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: we all have the same 24 hours in a day. When it comes to trying to achieve our goals, it’s not enough for us to decide to start doing certain things (such as working out more, eating better, creating an emergency fund, etc.). We also have […]

A reader asked me, Your post on “saying no” hit home for me. I don’t handle saying no well. I say yes and then regret it. I feel like a jerk if I say no too many times to people or events. Then I burn out quickly if I have too much going on. I’ve […]

I post quite a few articles on getting things done. I’m always making goals, to-do lists, and trying to press forwards. However, when it comes to goals, schedules, to-do lists, and productivity in general, there are a few common misconceptions and complaints I’ve heard. Misconception #1: Productivity Means Less Time for People and Relationships This […]

In recent years, I’ve been learning more than I ever thought possible about exercise: the proper way to do it, the value of it, and so forth. I’ve been amazed at how some of what I’ve learned specifically about exercise also applies generally in all of life. Take for example the concept of rest and […]

Frequently, I get asked to do things, help with activities, given offers for employment or volunteering, and otherwise opportunities to invest my time and money in a good cause. That’s when it’s most difficult to make decisions: when you know the cause is a good one. If you had an unlimited amount of time and […]

What do I mean by parenting with the end in mind? By Parenting with the End in Mind, I mean to decide where you want to end up, at the end if this parenting journey, and come up with a plan, step by step for how to get there. This is basically the same as […]

As the saying goes, the good really is the enemy of the best. One of the most frustrating parts of life, for me, is the fact that there doesn’t seem to be enough time in each day to do what I want to do or feel like I need to do. No one has the […]

The problem with New Year’s Resolutions, you may have found, is that they often result in failure a short time after you created them. I don’t know about you, but I’m great at writing out a list of ambitious goals and New Year’s resolutions, only to have them end in disappointment and failure. As I […]

When it comes to setting any kind of goals, I always take the time to pray about those first, seeking out God’s wisdom in setting my goals. God promises to give us all wisdom if we ask Him for it, so ask away! (see James 1:5). When it comes to praying about your goals, there […]

Over the years, learning what works for me and what doesn’t, I’ve drastically pared down my system to consist mostly of a sheet or two of goals to achieve annually, and then smaller goals and to-do lists that I craft from week to week. This works well in conjunction with my calendar for appointments and […]

Life changes, and so do our priorities. Although at our core, I think we tend to value the same thing overall, I know that how I enacted that has changed over the years. For example, as I’ve grown and matured in the Lord, and as I’ve grown and matured in other areas (being a wife, […]

When it comes to WAHM ideas, that is, ideas for moms to make money at home, most of them seem to involve selling some multi level marketing product that is far overpriced, endless home parties, or maybe making crafts and hoping to sell them either online or at craft fairs. Very few people talk about […]

In my home, we often joke around about ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or as my kids call it, “attention deficit oh look, there’s a squirrel…”). My kids and I tend to be easily distracted but highly creative individuals. The Highly Creative part lends itself well to being a WAHM (Work at Home Mom) but […]

On Monday, I talked a little bit about why goals fail. Today, my post is going to zero in a little bit on one of those points: how to make your goals part of your every day life. In our family, we created some long term goals for different things. One of those areas was […]