Money Saving Mom®

Guest post from Jenny of Plain Grace

I love pretty planners and planning pages. Although I have printed off a number of different designs and formats, they have never been “personal” enough for me.

I wear a number of hats from homemaker to homeschooler, wife and mother, friend and blogger. Each one of those roles carries with it varied tasks and chores and I need a planner that will work for me without trying to force me into some preconceived time slots or category headers.

I was pleased to find Money Saving Mom®’s Customizable Daily Docket. I like that I can open the document and add my own headings and repeated chores and tasks to check off each day.

But I wanted to make it just a little more personal and colorful.

Using Photoshop Elements, I figured out a way to totally customize my Money Saving Mom® Customizable Daily Docket.

Customizable Instructions:

The first thing I did was open the document in Photoshop Elements.

I then checked or unchecked any boxes to make them look the way they do in the screen shot. Then I clicked “OK.”

Then I started “decorating.” I used the shape tool to make colored rectangles over the headers and then the text tool to add my own text. I used some brushes to decorate my Daily Docket as well.

You can see I added personal headers to the bottom: Bible Study, Blog and Inspiration. The section half way under “Our Menu” I added “Tomorrow” to keep a list of things I needed to either write down on tomorrow’s docket or remind me of any preparation for the next day.

Once I was finished, I saved the picture to my computer. I then printed the customized pages out for the year and took them to the office supply store where I had them coil bound for around $5.00.

Now I have completely personal and customized daily planner!

Jenny has been married to her husband Chris for 21 years and they have seven children — teen to toddler. I blog at Plain Grace about her messy and blessed life as a wife, mother, homeschooler, picture taking, Nutella eating, cowgirl boot wearing, Jesus loving, child of God.

Guest post from Jamie of From His Presence

Have you had something happen recently that has derailed you? Maybe it was a bad diagnosis, the death of a loved one, or even a divorce? Unexpected disasters can wreak havoc on your plans, and sometimes… it’s hard to recover.

I had one of those unexpected events happen in 2013. Before “it” happened, I was so motivated! I felt like I had direction and vision for each part of my life. I was writing goals every week (and achieving some of them). I was working hard and was “in the zone.”

Then “it” struck, and I got punched in the gut. It wasn’t anything I could have anticipated or prepared for, but it impacted a huge part of my life. Suddenly, many things that had been important no longer were. All I could do was hang on. I clung to my faith in God, and made it through one day at a time, one breath at a time, and some days, one crying spell at a time.

This thing derailed me.

That situation happened awhile ago, but I’m only now starting to recover. When I realized recently that New Year’s (my favorite time of year) was almost here, I began to think about setting goals for the year.

Honestly, at first I could not think of even one thing that I wanted to set as a goal for 2014. But, over the course of about three days, I was able to get out of that rut and think of some inspiring goals. As a result, I am actually feeling motivated again for the first time in months!

Have you been derailed by a heavy blow? Would you like to get your mojo back too? If so, how about trying the same things that helped me?

Here’s what I did:

1. Brainstorm a few possibilities before you commit to any specific thing.

When I couldn’t think of any specific goals that inspired me for 2014, I started to ask myself, “What are some things I could just consider doing in 2014?”

There was no pressure in asking myself that question, so it opened the doors of creativity again. I wrote down several things that might be good options. Then, before I knew it, a couple of those ideas grabbed hold of my imagination and sparked excitement in me. I took that newfound excitement and set specific goals around those ideas.

Will you allow yourself to dream a little? Forget about the hard times you’ve been through recently. What kinds of things would change your 2014 from average to amazing?

After you let yourself dream, think about those amazing ideas awhile. Then, why not set some goals around the specific things that excite you? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

2. Start with a manageable time period.

Does thinking about the whole year make you feel overwhelmed? If so, then start with a time period you feel comfortable with — whether that’s one week, one month, or one quarter.

I started with just goals for the week I was in. That was all I felt I could handle!

However, a funny thing happened. My goals for the week inspired me to write goals for January. January’s goals gave me the courage to set goals all the way out through March 31. Then, after that, I was so motivated that the whole year no longer seemed overwhelming.

Now I have a list of exciting, challenging, and reachable goals for the whole year!

3. Celebrate the little wins.

Motivation breeds motivation. Everything you accomplish is important. Whether your goal is to clean your bathroom, do your laundry, or exercise three times, let yourself celebrate as you achieve each thing! Even writing down your goals is a little win. So reward yourself. Congratulate yourself. Enjoy the feeling of taking your life back.

One of the first weekly goals I set was to make and upload five YouTube videos. I only got two of them done, but I celebrated those two. Those two videos were evidence of more motivation than I had had in a long time!

I was taking my life back, and am thrilled about it–even though it was just a little win!

This year can be a new beginning for you. Even if an unexpected disaster has derailed you, you can get back on track!

Dream a little. Start with a manageable time period. Celebrate the smallest accomplishments! If you will do these things, then I believe that you too can find your “zone” again.

What steps can you take today to get back on track?

Jamie Rohrbaugh is a wife, financial analyst, Sunday School teacher, musician, and unlikely worship leader from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her passion is to encourage and equip people to live powerful lives and to function in their gifts. She blogs at From His Presence about how to live ordinary life in God’s manifest presence.