I was a little nervous when it was time to get my new Bullet Journal ready for a new year. It looks so clean, fresh and new and there’s a tiny bit of anxiety about messing it up. But as January approached I had to get over that in order to begin using my new […]

These are my 2017 goals in various areas of life. for several years now, I’ve been posting my goals here for public accountability. Last year, I was negligent in posting updates. I promise to do better this time! (Note: my first 2017 goals update, for February, is here. The second, in April, is here.) January […]

I published the goals I set for 2016 but I only updated once on those goals all year. The first six months of 2016, I was still very much suffering from a sort of PTSD – anxiety and depression after the birth of my 27-weeker preemie.  I went to bed early and slept in. I had no […]

I wrote my first post about bullet journaling back in February. I had been using my beloved BuJo for a few months at that point. So it’s my first anniversary using the Bullet Journal! And I still love it, probably more than I did back then. It’s the ONLY journaling habit that has stuck with […]

Disciplining our kids is a real challenge. We question ourselves, trying to meet that balance of being effective without being harsh, adjusting for our individual children’s unique personalities and challenges. But perhaps we overlook the most important aspect: self-discipline. I read an article about John D. Rockefeller recently. While he was a controversial character, one […]

I’m a huge fan of habits. I wrote a book on the topic. But lately I’ve totally fallen off my good habits bandwagon and feeling the ill effects. Part of the reason is because it’s summer. As people who study productivity have noticed, the busier you are, the more you accomplish. I tend to do much […]

I love, love, love my Bullet Journal. As a lifelong paper/journal/calendar/planner addict, I couldn’t find the perfect organization system that met my needs. Until now. Everything I had tried before was either too complicated to learn (GTD anyone?), hard to set up, expensive, time-consuming or so open-ended that there wasn’t enough structure. I have also […]

Joining Modern Mrs. Darcy for this meme. I actually had to think long and hard about this post. Typically, February is a low month for me. I’m usually suffering the effects of light deprivation and feeling sluggish and a bit blue. This year, however, things have been very different, which I’m chalking up to a […]

In part one of “tracking my time“, I said that I spent less time in house cleaning than the grumpy lady in my head thought. I also mentioned that I came up with some strategies to use my time more wisely. Here’s another lesson from the time tracking experiment: do more things in time blocks.  […]

A couple of years ago, I did an experiment, tracking my time for a week. I was motivated to do so after reading Laura Vanderkam’s fabulous book, 168 Hours. Tracking my time was a life-changing, and eye-opening experience and the lessons have stuck with me ever since. The point of time tracking isn’t to squeeze […]