KC Edventures has a fantastic post up with a bunch of links to different sites that offer free ebooks and audiobooks for kids.
Summer Bucket List
Classic View
Grid View
Shared Aug 23, 2012
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Make the Most of Your Mornings: Stop Saying “I’m Not a Morning Person!” (Day 9)
Make the Most of Your Mornings: Stop Saying “I’m Not a Morning Person!” (Day 9)
Sorry that I’m getting this up so late (and past my bedtime!). I had it ready earlier but then had computer issues. Hopefully, tomorrow’s post will be up much earlier again. Thanks for your patience as I adjusted to our new homeschooling schedule this week and tried to figure out where blogging was going to fit in! I’m hoping I’ve got it figured out now after four days into our new schedule… we’ll see! 🙂
Okay, I’m probably going to step on some toes here, but I want to stick my neck out anyway and say this: As long as you continue to say “I’m not a morning person” you never will be one.
We’re all wired differently. Some of us are better at getting up in the morning. For others, it’s a big struggle. But when you convince yourself that you’re just not a morning person, you’re basically committing yourself to failure before you even try.
Don’t be a defeatist!
You might not be able to get up really early. You might not jump out of bed ready to hit the ground running. You might require more hours of sleep than other people. But don’t let those things keep you from trying or seeking to improve.
If I were to declare “I’m not good with money,” that might be true. But that doesn’t mean the fact that I’ve handled money unwisely in the past needs to define me or be used as an excuse for blowing money on things I don’t need or racking up credit card debt.
Having low expectations of ourselves is one sure way to never rise above the status quo. It’s also sure way to live a mediocre, boring life.
So, no matter what you’ve done or been in the past, don’t let that define you. Instead, start taking steps toward where you hope to be. And keep at it, even when the going is rough.
I loved this comment from Kelli@Taste&See:
I didn’t consider myself a morning person for year and years. I’m still a bit of a morning person-in-training.
However, I just wanted to chime in and say that I didn’t know I had potential to be a morning person until I committed to trying it for three weeks. I hated it – truly hated it – for the first week.
By the 2nd week, I didn’t mind getting up quite so much. By the 3rd week, I found that I really looked forward to my quiet time to myself!
Now I’d like to try adding exercise to my morning routine. I expect to hate that for the first week, too. 🙂 -Kelli
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that if you start getting up early every morning you’re going to magically turn into someone who loves getting up at the crack of dawn. Nor am I saying that everyone should get up really early.
What I am asking is that you stop and consider whether your preconceived notions about being a certain kind of person are holding you back from success.
My Day 8 Project Update
Bedtime: Um, so much for getting to bed by 9:30 p.m. But hey, after my shopping fiasco, I did at least make it to bed by 10:30.
My Top 5 Evening Must Do’s: Done!
Wake Up Time: 6:30 a.m.: It felt so late, after four much earlier mornings. And I felt behind all day. At least I know that the early morning wake up times are making a big difference. Now if I can just stick with them…!
Day 9 Project
1. Did you determine your bedtime and 5 Evening Must-Do’s? If so, leave a comment telling us how you did on them last night.
2. Did you determine what time you’re going to commit to waking up every morning for the next three weeks? If so, leave a comment telling us how you did this morning!
3. Did you get in some exercise yesterday and eat a nutritious breakfast? If not, make a commitment today to a specific way you’re going to incorporate exercise and a nutritious breakfast into your day.
4. Consider whether you have preconceived notions about yourself that might be holding you back from success.
Shared Aug 23, 2012
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Freezer Cooking in an Hour: Mini Deep Dish Pizzas & Knock Off Betty Crocker Brownie Mixes
Freezer Cooking in an Hour: Mini Deep Dish Pizzas & Knock Off Betty Crocker Brownie Mixes
Here’s a little peek into the freezer cooking I did tonight:
I baked some chicken earlier in the day and chopped it while I was talking with my mom (she’s been coming over to spend time with the kids every Thursday afternoon after school).
And then Silas helped me grind up some flour while I mixed up the homemade pizza dough.
The Deep Dish Barbecue Chicken Pizzas were a little time intensive to put together.
Gratefully, I had some extra help in putting the pizzas together. I think someone likes their cheese. 😉
I also made up a pizza with the extra ingredients.
Silas took this picture himself and I thought he did a pretty good job.
The Deep Dish Barbecue Chicken Pizzas turned out beautifully and the family declared them to be delicious. I’m happy to have some yummy grab-and-go foods in the freezer — perfect for a quick snack or lunch.
I also mixed up a double batch of these Knock Off Betty Crocker Brownie Mixes. I’m anxious to make them and see how they turn out.
Have you done any cooking or baking for your freezer this week?
Shared Aug 23, 2012
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My Dillon’s Shopping Trip (apparently, I’m pretty out-of-practice when it comes to using coupons!)
My Dillon’s Shopping Trip (apparently, I’m pretty out-of-practice when it comes to using coupons!)
Yesterday’s Dillon’s Shopping Trip
Bag of Tyson Chicken Breasts — $6.99
6 boxes of Hefty OneZip Bags — $0.99 each after the Buy 10, Get $5 Off Promotion — used 6 $0.55/1 coupons here and here = free after coupons and promotion
4 bags of Nabisco Oreos/Animal Crackers — $0.99 each after the Buy 10, Get $5 Off promotion — used 2 $1/2 coupons = $0.50 per bag after coupons and promotion
2 bags of cheese — $1.79 each
1 dozen eggs — $2.50
7 boxes of Nature Valley & Fiber One Bars/Thins — $1.99 per box after the Buy 10 Get, $5 Off promotion — used 2 $0.40/1 coupons (doubled), used 2 $0.50/1 coupons (doubled), used 1 $0.50/2 coupon (doubled) = $9.33 total + got back a $3 catalina for buying 6 boxes of GM bars = about $0.91 per box (would’ve been less if they would have had all the boxes in stock that I had $0.50/1 coupons for — I’m going to check another store!)
1 SmartBalance Butter — $1.99 after the Buy 10 Get, $5 Off promotion — used $1.75/1 coupon = $0.24 after coupon
1 BirdsEye frozen veggies (not pictured) — $0.99 after the Buy 10 Get, $5 Off promotion — used $0.35/1 coupon (doubled) = $0.29 after coupon
1 Dial hand soap — $0.88 — used $0.35/1 coupon (doubled) = $0.18 after coupon
1 package of Goldfish crackers (not pictured) — $0.99 after the Buy 10 Get, $5 Off promotion
Total plus tax: $27.59 + got a $3 catalina back for purchase six boxes of General Mills cereal bars
If you’ve noticed, I haven’t been doing much coupon-shopping recently. I took the summer “off” from many different normal activities — including using coupons. I was feeling rather burnt out after a busy winter and spring and a laid-back summer was the perfect antidote.
But when my friend emailed me yesterday and told me about the really hot Buy 10, Get $5 Off deals at Dillons, I knew it was time to get out my coupon box again. So I consulted Frugal Fritzie, revved up the printer, and made my list.
After Jesse and Silas headed to a men’s meeting yesterday evening, I finally got my shower in for the day (yes, I know, that’s terrible, isn’t it?!) and headed out to Dillon’s with the two girls in tow and my envelope of coupons.
I was excited to get some smoking hot deals again! And I did get some great deals, but I ran into a few snags along the way…
Problem number one: By the time I got around and go out the door, it was pushing 8:30 p.m. No sweat, I figured. My list wasn’t too long, the store should be deserted, and I’ll just run in and run out really quickly.
Problem number two: The shelves were empty of some of the best deals. Again, I just re-worked my plan and figured out how to pull it off so that I was
Problem number three: Somehow I thought the Dial soap was a part of the Buy 10, Get $5 Off deal. So, while I counted and re-counted to make sure I had 20 participating items, one of the items wasn’t participating — which meant I only had purchased 19 items. But I didn’t realize this.
The shopping trip took me quite a bit longer than I was expecting and long gone were my visions of getting home before 9 p.m. so I could get to bed by my bedtime. Oh well, life happens sometimes, I told myself.
But since we were running late, I called Jesse who was on his way home from the meeting. He said he’d meet us at the store since he wanted to pick out some ice cream for an evening snack.
I went through the lane, had a very coupon-friendly cashier, and paid for my groceries. But the total just didn’t sound right. I waved off the feeling at first while we met up with Jesse and Silas.
The nagging feeling of having paid too much was still there, so I pulled out my receipt and immediately figured out the problem: the $5 hadn’t been taken off for one of the Buy 10, Get $5 Off promotions. I really didn’t want to pay an extra $0.50 for each of those nine items, so I headed back to the checkout lanes and two really kind cashiers helped me look over my receipt.
We couldn’t figure out what went wrong where, but we counted and re-counted the items and realized I had only gotten 19 items. They graciously offered to let me purchase one more item in order to get the $5 off.
I ran over to pick up a package of Goldfish crackers and went back to the checkout lane where the helpful cashiers were waiting for me. One of them started ringing up the Goldfish crackers and then I realized that Jesse had already taken my other groceries and the kids out to the car — along with my wallet and Dillon’s card.
We stopped the transaction and I ran out to the car to get the Dillon’s card. The cashiers were so patient and amazing about all of this. I kept apologizing and they kept saying, “Don’t worry about it; it’s no big deal. It happens all the time!”
I finally got everything squared away and walked out with my groceries — only to realize that Jesse had already gone back into the store with all the kids and he had the keys! So I stood at the entrance for what felt like a very long time (in reality, it was only about 10 minutes) while they picked out ice cream, checked out, and finally met back up with me again.
So much for my quick shopping trip — and my bedtime. But I did get some great deals and the cashiers were amazingly helpful, so it could have been a whole lot worse! 🙂
Mostly, it just cracked Jesse and me up. Apparently, I’m pretty out-of-practice when it comes to using coupons and scoring bargains at the grocery store. And I hope to rectify that over the next few months as I really want to get my coupon mojo back!
Do It Yourself: Honey Limeade Popsicles
FoodDoodles.com shows you how to make homemade honey limeade popsicles.
Do you have a fun and frugal DIY idea to share? I’d love to hear about it! Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.
Pinterest Experiment: 100-Calorie Chocolate Mug Cake
I find a lot of great ideas on Pinterest… but pinning something doesn’t do anything unless I actually, you know, try the idea. So I thought it’d be fun to challenge myself to do at least one Pinterest experiment every week — and blog my results.
I can’t promise that I’ll always have a Pinterest Experiment post up each week, because you know how I sometimes get distracted or on blog tangents. But I’m at least going to try. By the way, you can follow my personal Pinterest account here, if you’re interested.
I saw this yummy-looking 100-Calorie Two-Minute Mug Cake on Pinterest recently.
100 calories? 2 minutes? Chocolate? Sign me up.
I’m pretty positive that the end result was a little more than 100 calories. I did use applesauce, but I substituted a whole egg for the egg white — because I couldn’t bear to just dump the yolk down the sink. And I substituted 2 Tablespoons raw sugar for the stevia. Finally, I added in some chocolate chips and sprinkled the cake with powdered sugar.
It was still pretty low calorie, I’m guessing. It wasn’t spectacular, but it was certainly edible. I think I’d try half applesauce/half oil or butter, if I made it again. It just tasted a little on the bland and not-sweet side.
Or, maybe some extra chocolate chips and another Tablespoon of sugar would help, too? Possibly a scoop of ice cream and some chocolate syrup also? Oh wait, that would probably negate the low-calorie-ness altogether, though. 😉
Have you tried any ideas or recipes you’ve found on Pinterest recently? If so, I’d love to hear how they worked out for you. Feel free to leave your blog link in the comments if you blogged about your experiment!
Shared Aug 22, 2012
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Make the Most of Your Mornings: Eat Something Nutritious (Day 8)
Make the Most of Your Mornings: Eat Something Nutritious (Day 8)
If you have a lot you’re juggling right now, it’s easy to feel like you don’t have time to eat nutritiously in the morning. But, as I’ve written about recently, you can’t expect your body to run efficiently and productively if you’re not fueling it well.
Instead of grabbing a doughnut and latte at the drive-thru or just altogether skipping breakfast, here are some suggestions to help you make eating a healthful breakfast a priority:
1. Have a Plan
If you don’t have a plan for what you’re going to eat for breakfast, it’s much easier to just grab a pop-tart or something else that isn’t too nutritious.
Take 15 minutes on the weekends to plan out your breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners for the following week, and it will help your mornings run much more smoothly, not to mention saving you unnecessary trips for takeout!
2. Keep It Simple
It’s better to eat the same nutritious breakfast every morning, than to eat junk or nothing at all. There’s nothing wrong with keeping things simple! Find something — or a few things — that work for you to pull off for a quick breakfast and then stick with them.
3. Prep Food the Night Before
If you struggle to eat a nutritious breakfast, consider making breakfast prep part of your Top 5 Must-Do’s plan for before bed. (By the way, if you followed point number one and actually have a plan, it shouldn’t take too long to prep something the night before!)
When breakfast is already prepped in the morning, not only does it help you to wake up and feel like you’re already ahead, but it also will help guarantee that you eat something healthful before jumping into your day.
A few make-ahead breakfast ideas: Fruit Salad (or chopped up fruit), Hard-Boiled Eggs, Baked Oatmeal, or Overnight Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal in the crockpot.
4. Make Food for the Freezer on the Weekends
If your weekdays and nights are packed, you might not have time to prep much food, but see if you can carve out an hour or two on the evenings to make some food for your freezer. As I’ve said often here, freezer cooking can make your life so much easier — and save your sanity, too!
A few freezer-friendly breakfast ideas: Whole-Wheat Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Waffles, Breakfast Burritos, Easy Morning Glory Muffins, Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets, and Homemade Egg McMuffins
5. Find Some Quick-Fix Favorites
If you don’t have time to prep food ahead of time and your freezer is bare, find a few breakfast ideas you can fall back on that are nutritious and can be made in a short amount of time.
A few quick-fix breakfast ideas: Peanut butter on Whole-Wheat Toast, Pick-Me-Up Smoothies, or Scrambled Eggs.
What are your favorite quick and easy go-to breakfast recipes?
My Day 7 Project Update
Bedtime: Made it to bed at 10 p.m. last night. I won’t give you my laundry list of reasons why I stayed up 30 minutes past my bedtime, but I will say that I’m going to make a point to be in bed before 9:30 p.m. tonight. I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow!
My Top 5 Evening Must Do’s: Done!
Wake Up Time: Got up at 4:35 a.m. this morning! I’ve been amazed at how going to bed at a decent hour is allowing me to get such great rest that I really haven’t been dragging much in the mornings — well, at least not after I actually get out of bed and take 10-15 minutes to really wake up! 🙂
Day 8 Project
1. Did you determine your bedtime and 5 Evening Must-Do’s? If so, leave a comment telling us how you did on them last night.
2. Did you determine what time you’re going to commit to waking up every morning for the next three weeks? If so, leave a comment telling us how you did this morning!
3. Did you get in some exercise yesterday? If not, make a commitment today to a specific way you’re going to incorporate exercise into your week on a regular basis.
4. What’s your plan for making sure you’re eating a nutritious breakfast every morning? Leave a comment and tell us about what’s working for you or what you’re going to experiment with.
Reader Tip: Inexpensive Diapers at ALDI
Gina from Oaxacaborn emailed in the following tip:
The other day I was at ALDI and realized that their diapers are only $4.99/pack everyday! The store near me stocks sizes 3 – 5 and there are 36 diapers in the size 3 package, which makes them less than $0.14/diaper. (Sizes 4 and 5 have slightly fewer per package.)
I should also mention that although my daughter instantly develops rashes using any namebrand diaper, she hasn’t had any reactions to ALDI diapers — they are perfect for her sensitive skin. Great for overnight as well! -Gina
How to Eat Beans Every Night
The Prudent Homemaker has a post up on how to eat beans every night. While you probably don’t want to serve beans every single night, there are some great ideas in her post that would be great for keeping your grocery budget low.
What other ideas do you have for budget-friendly bean recipes?
For more ideas, check out my post on How to Live on Beans and Rice for a Week.
Good Reads: Love Does by Bob Goff
I’m not even sure where I first saw Love Does mentioned. I think it may have been one that Amazon recommended I’d be interested in, based upon other books I’d purchased from them in the past.
Wherever it was, the first time I saw the book, the title and description immediately drew me in. And so, in an uncharacteristic move, I bought the book.
I’m so glad I did.
Bob Goff is a unique, one-of-a-kind man. You’ll pick up on that just by reading the introduction.
He loves life, he loves people, and he’s not afraid of outlandishness or extravagance when it comes to showing love to others. His big heart is contagious.
I often plow through books at a very rapid pace. But I slowly worked my way through Love Does, often reading just a few pages or less at a time. I was touched, inspired, challenged, convicted, and blessed.
Loving others isn’t just words we say; it’s the life we live. It’s giving of ourselves, it’s bringing joy to others, it’s being available to others, it’s dropping everything to be involved in others’ lives. It’s caring, it’s giving, and it’s sometimes doing crazy stuff, all because we love someone else.
If you have a chance to read Love Does, I’d highly recommend it. You might not agree with all of the finer points of Bob’s theology and you might think he’s a bit over-the-top, but I can almost guarantee you can’t help but be challenged to examine how you love others.
See more book recommendations I’ve posted this year here. You can also see all books I’ve read so far in 2012 here.
Have you read any good books recently?
OVER-SPENDING EVERY SINGLE MONTH?Grab these FREE Budgeting Sheets!
Click here to download!
Shared Aug 21, 2012
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Make the Most of Your Mornings: Get Your Heart Pumping (Day 7)
Make the Most of Your Mornings: Get Your Heart Pumping (Day 7)
Exercise is often one of the thing that tends to get pushed to the back burner when schedules are busy, but starting the day with a little exercise is one of the best ways to wake you up and make you feel energized for the rest of the day. If you’re dragging along and feeling like you’re lacking energy and enthusiasm for life, exercise just might be the best antidote.
I know it’s not the most exciting things to get up and do in the morning, but exercise is one of those things that you never regret doing. Instead of making excuses as to why you can’t find time to exercise, start thinking of ways to you can fit some exercise into your morning.
Your health is worth the sacrifice of a little time, sweat, and effort. And I promise you’ll feel better the rest of the day!
If you struggle to regularly exercise, here are some suggestions to consider:
1. Check Out a DVD From the Library
If you can’t afford to pay for a gym membership or a trainer, check out the workout DVDs at your local library. Typically, they have quite a large selection to choose from. Some of my favorites are by Jillian Michaels (more intense workouts) and Leslie Sansone (these are great for beginners or those looking for low impact exercise).
I’ve found exercise DVDs are a great way to mix things up — especially if my current routine seems like it’s becoming a bit mundane. And it’s a lot less inhibiting to work out in your basement or living room, rather than in a group of people at a class at the gym!
2. Watch Exercise Videos Online
Can’t make it to the library? The internet is goldmine of exercising videos and resources. YouTube is a great place to start if you’re looking workout videos. Also, some of my readers left other online resources on my Facebook post here this morning.
3. Experiment With New Things
If you don’t enjoy exercising, it’s probably just because you’ve not yet tried enough different kinds of exercise options. There’s pretty much something out there for everyone, so keep trying things until you land upon something you love.
4. Find a Workout Partner
Teaming up with someone else can be a great way to be more successful when it comes to fitness. Either find someone to meet you for a morning jog, to come over and do that exercise DVD with you multiple times per week, or find someone who will text or email you and see if you followed through with the goals you set for exercise each day. There are also many different online accountability forums and Facebook groups (or you could start your own!).
Jesse and I have been doing P90X together and we’re finding that it makes it much more fun than doing on your own. Plus, we’re both helping to inspire each other through the difficult parts — we have fun teasing each other when we mess up or have trouble pulling off some of the workout sequences! 🙂
5. Set Small Goals
A lot of people want to lose weight or run a marathon, but wanting to do something won’t get you anywhere. You have to actually set a goal and break it down into bite-sized, realistic pieces if you want to be successful.
So set some fitness goals and then figure out what tiny steps you can take this week to help you get where you want to be in six months from now. It’s amazing how motivating the act of putting your goals on paper and breaking them down into small pieces can be. You can do this — one step at a time!
6. Multi-Task
If you’re not Type A like me this probably seems crazy, but I find that if I’m doubling up my exercise with something else (listening to an audiobook, praying, working on my Scripture memory, mapping out articles in my head, reading a good book I’m reading during my warm-up walk on the treadmill, etc.), I enjoy it a lot more and it feels like I’m killing two birds with one stone.
7. Be Realistic
If you’ve never exercised before, don’t expect that you’ll be running five miles in a few weeks. Start slowly, set small goals, and focus on the progress you’re making (even if it seems tiny) instead of being discouraged by the fact that you’re not where you want to be.
You’d rather slowly build up your endurance and stamina then to try to do much more than you’re capable of and end up burning yourself out before the first week of exercise is over with.
8. Track Your Progress
Each week, keeping a log of the workouts you do, how much time you worked out for, or how many miles you ran. This will inspire you to keep going, will encourage you as you see yourself growing stronger and building endurance.
Try using online trackers such as MyFitnessPal, SparkPeople, or Nike+. All of these have cool features that make logging your exercise time more rewarding.
9. Reward Your Success
What motivates you? Set some goals and plan some rewards along the way. Maybe you decide to put a quarter in a jar every time you exercise for 25 minutes and then you can use this money on a little special treat (coffee at the coffee shop, a used book from Amazon, etc.) every few weeks.
10. Remember That Something is Better Than Nothing
If you only have five minutes in the morning to exercise, then exercise for five minutes. Sure, you’re probably not going to get the benefits of a 45-minute workout in five minutes, but you can definitely work up a little sweat and get your heart pumping with a short and intense workout.
Do what you can do with the time you have. Something is always better than nothing when it comes to exercise.
My Day 5 Project Update
Bedtime: Made it to bed by 9:36 p.m. Woot — I’m slowly making progress in the right direction!
My Top 5 Evening Must Do’s: Done!
Wake Up Time: Got up at 4:55 a.m. this morning!
Day 6 Project
1. Did you determine your bedtime and 5 Evening Must-Do’s? If so, leave a comment telling us how you did on them last night.
2. Did you determine what time you’re going to commit to waking up every morning for the next three weeks? If so, leave a comment telling us how you did this morning!
3. If you already have an exercise plan that you follow each morning, leave a comment telling us about it. If you aren’t currently exercising in the morning, consider if you have a 5 to 15 minute slot you could devote to exercise. Leave a comment telling us if you’re committing to exercise every morning (or evening, if that works better for you).
Do-It-Yourself: Make a Cardigan From a T-shirt
Blooms n’ Bugs shows you how to make a summer cardigan out of a t-shirt.
This week’s menu
Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets
Breakfasts
Homemade Instant Oatmeal, Cereal, Toast, Eggs, and/or Fruit
Lunches
Lunch at church function
Snack-y lunch
Cheese quesdillas, carrot sticks, apple slices
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches from the freezer, veggies, apple slices
Mini Deep Dish Barbecue Chicken Pizza Muffins, raw veggies, peaches
Leftovers x 2Snacks
Fruit/Veggies
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Baked Oatmeal
No Bake Energy BitesFreezer Cooking in An Hour (I’ll post details and photos on how this goes on Thursday.)
Knock Off Betty Crocker Brownie Mixes
Mini Deep Dish Barbecue Chicken Pizza Muffins
No Bake Energy Bites
Homemade Breadsticks in the Bread Machine
Dinners
Dinner with extended family
Pizza, tossed salad
Barbecued Meatballs, Bread Machine Bread Sticks, steamed broccoli, fruit
Marinated Pork, Fruit Salad, Bread Machine Bread Sticks, Molten Chocolate Lava Crockpot Cake
Chicken Noodle Soup, Whole Wheat Pumpkin Scones
Breakfast for Dinner: Harvest Apple Spice Pancakes, scrambled eggs, homemade fried potatoes
Dinner with extended family
What’s on your menu this week? Share details and/or your link to your menu plan in the comments.
10 goals for this week
Last week’s goals:
Family/Marriage/Mothering Goals
1. Finish reading Stuart Little aloud to the children. Start a new read-aloud book.
2. Begin our Fall homeschool schedule.
3. Write a love note to Jesse.4. Have a date night on Thursday.
Personal Goals
5. Start and finish reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
, Satisfy My Thirsty Soul, Running For My Life, Eats, Shoots, and Leaves, and
Love Does.
6. Exercise at least five times.Homemaking Goals
7. Try at least two new recipes. {Only tried one.}
8. Start a new handwork project.(I started a new knitted scarf. I’ll show you pictures next week if it turns out!)Business Goals
9. Write at least two articles for other blogs/sites. {Only got one completely finished}
10. Do the final edits to my new ebook on self-discipline (more details coming soon!)
Here are my 10 goals for this week:
Family/Marriage/Mothering Goals
1. Finish reading Missionary Stories From Around the World. Start reading The Borrowers aloud to the children.
2. Write a love note to Jesse.
3. Read together with Jesse at least four nights.
Personal Goals
4. Start and finish reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
5. Listen to two chapters of Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard.
6. Exercise goals: Follow P90X workout schedule (I’m starting this with my husband this week! Day 1 down and it was a lot of fun to do together!)
Homemaking Goals
7. Try at least two new recipes.
8. Finish knitting the scarf I’m working on.
Business Goals
9. Write at least two articles for other blogs/sites.
10. Do the final edits to my new ebook on self-discipline (more details coming soon!)
How did you do on last week’s goals? What are your goals for this week? I’d love to have you share your progress on last week’s goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you’ve blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let’s cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives! You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.
Shared Aug 20, 2012
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Make the Most of Your Mornings: Create a Realistic To-Do List (Day 6)
Make the Most of Your Mornings: Create a Realistic To-Do List (Day 6)
Last week, we talked about the importance of creating a to-do list that was based upon your yearly, monthly, and weekly goals. If you’ve not read that post (or you’ve not set down and mapped out some specific goals), can I encourage you to do that today? It just might rock your world! Now, onto today’s post…
We all have a lot we need to do each day. And, if you’re anything like me, you probably have a whole lot more that you want to do in each day, too.
I was just telling my husband yesterday that I have so much that I want to do that it’s a problem. I have a laundry list of new skills I want to learn, things I want to teach my children, place I’d love to visit, subjects I want to research in-depth, projects I want to attempt, people I’d like to reach out to and befriend, ministries I want to support, books I hope to read, character I want to work on… there are so many, many good things in life to choose from that putting together a daily to-do list can seem daunting.
But here’s the truth we all have to accept: none of us can do it all. Collectively, we can do a lot with our lives and make a huge impact in this world. Personally, we can make a big difference over the course of our lifetime. But we all only have 24 hours in each day.
Our time is limited and our energy is finite. Thus, we have to pick and choose the best from among the good. And we have to realize that what might be the best for others will not necessarily be the best for us.
1) Decide Your Personal Priorities
Determining what to put on our daily to-do list begins with deciding upon our own personal priorities for the season of life we’re currently in. I recommend choosing no more than five to six priorities. These are the things you will wrap your life around and what will be the basis for the majority of everything on your to-do list and all of the yearly, monthly, and weekly goals you set for yourself.
2) Start With the Basics
Before you try to save the world, you need to focus on making sure you (and your family, if you have one) have clean clothes, food to eat, and proper hygiene and rest. You’ll be a lot more effective at your efforts in other spheres of life if you make sure that you take care of the basics first.
So, think through what must be done in the course of your day. This is not what would be nice to have done, but those things that are actually necessities. For the record, the list of necessary things that must be done in a day is usually fairly short for most of us.
If you’re caring for someone who has life-threatening illness, have a special needs child, or have a lot of little ones, then most of your day is likely going to be made up of basic things. While they might mostly seem menial and mundane, remember that taking care of the basic needs of others is a very important thing to be investing your life in — even though it’s exhausting work. Remind yourself of what would happen if you weren’t doing it and you’ll realize just how important your tasks are!
3) Pick a Few Bite-Sized Pieces to Tackle
Once you have the basics on your to-do list for the day, if you still have a little wiggle room in your schedule, pick a few bite-sized pieces of your goals to tackle. These will typically be things you can accomplish in 15 or 30 minute slots, so keep this in mind when breaking goals down into bite-sized pieces. If you can’t accomplish the bite-sized piece in 30 minutes or less, it probably needs to be broken down further.
4) Prioritize Your List
I’ve found it helpful to prioritize my to-do list by marking each item with numbers in the order of priority I need to accomplish each task. I don’t always follow it to a tee, since sometimes a block of time will open up during the day and it will be perfect for tackling a specific item on my list — even though it’s out of order. When that happens, I just go with the flow and am happy to have another item crossed off the list, regardless of the fact that it’s out of order.
That said, as much as possible, I encourage you to focus on getting the hard tasks done first. “Eat your frogs” early in the day and you’ll have a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment to carry with you the rest of the day!
5) Keep it Short & Simple
As I’ve talked about before, if you want to set yourself up for success, you need to keep your to-do list short. If you put 56 items on your to-do list at the beginning of the day, you’ll probably give up before you even start because you’ll feel overwhelmed at defeated.
It’s better to plan to complete a few things and actually follow through with those things, then to set out to accomplish 102 things and just run around in circles all day trying to start a bunch of different things and finishing nothing at all.
Free Printable Daily Dockets and To-Do Lists
Looking for some helpful printable daily dockets or to-do lists? Here are a few free printables to check out:
We have a number of free household customizable management planners available to download, including a customizable daily docket.
Ann Voskamp has a free Daily Planner available for download.
Download and print a free Weekly Household Planner and Goal Sheet from Only a Breath.
Download a Daily Plan of Attack Worksheet.
Print free Home Management Binder pages from Amy Bayliss.
My Day 5 Project Update
Bedtime: Made it to bed by 9:38 p.m. Woot — I’m slowly making progress in the right direction!
My Top 5 Evening Must Do’s: Done!
Wake Up Time: Got up at 5:04 a.m. this morning!
Day 6 Project
1. Did you determine your bedtime and 5 Evening Must-Do’s? If so, leave a comment telling us how you did on them last night.
2. Did you determine what time you’re going to commit to waking up every morning for the next three weeks? If so, leave a comment telling us how you did this morning!
3. If you haven’t done so already, pick 1-5 goals that you’d like to accomplish in the next year and break them down into monthly and weekly pieces, if possible. Start looking for opportunities to add in bite-sized pieces to your daily to-do lists, as you’re able. Let us know what these goals are in the comments section.