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 […]

Last week we held a family meeting to discuss the goals we had all set last January. Most of us got at least half of our goals accomplished, and my husband was especially pleased to have hit his biggest goal. I did well on mine too, although much of the progress came late in the […]

This has been a hard year. Have I said that lately? Perhaps yes. But it’s just true, and I’m not one to run from truth-telling even if it’s not always sweetness and light. Yet, there are a lot of things I’m proud of, both personally and inside my family. Things to celebrate. We all beat […]

I’ve written about my love of good morning routines before. It was my early rising habit for the past several years that has made it possible for me to maintain this blog, write several ebooks, work on learning a second language and meet other personal goals while raising seven kids. This past year, my good […]

I posted about my goals for the year here, and updated in March and April, but haven’t since. The year is more than half over, it’s certainly time for an update. One of the goals I set was rather difficult to measure. It was this: I want to be better at: listening to my gut and having courage. […]

A couple of months ago, I read this article about how complaining damages the brain. An excerpt: When we complain, our brains release stress hormones that harm neural connections in areas used for problem solving and other cognitive functions. This also happens when we listen to someone else moan and groan. “It’s as bad as secondhand smoke,” […]

Reading the books Willpower and The Paradox of Choice convinced me that too many choices are paralyzing and they deplete our willpower. Reducing decision fatigue is a way of avoiding this problem. Hence, I’ve actively looked for ways to make fewer decisions in my life. To automate mundane things so I can be more effective […]

Modern Mrs. Darcy recently posted about “what’s saving my life right now” during the second half of the long, dreary winter. In her words: “To beat back the gloom, today we’re sharing the things—big or small—that are saving us right now.” Fun – and I need a reminder of what’s working in my life. Things have […]

It’s 3 weeks since my premature baby’s homecoming, and I’m finally getting a bit of sleep. Josiah has made huge progress this past week in adjusting to life at home and despite my current whopping case of mastitis, breastfeeding is getting easier. Things were very stressful for a couple of weeks, and I went to […]