FREE Monthly reset checklist PRINTABLE

Earlier this week I shared my monthly reset and how I handle my finances monthly. I thought I would create a printable for those of you who wanted to make small monthly changes. You can download it here.

How the 2-minute rule has changed my life

When I say this tip has been life-changing, that is not hyperbole. A few years ago, while listening to The Lazy Genius Podcast I heard about something called The 2-Minute Rule. The rule states that if you have 2 minutes, and there is a task that only takes two minutes, go ahead and do that task.

I am a person who frequently finds herself stressed out. I have a busy life, I know that. I have four kids who I homeschool, a full-time job, a husband who travels for work, and I have a lot of interests. 

It is easy for me to get overwhelmed and lost track of tasks. Then I heard about this rule. If you have 2 minutes and a task only tasks two minutes, go ahead and do that tasks. Of course this can apply to other lengths of time as well. But breaking up my day into 2-minute sections helps me feel lestt overwhelmed.

Here are some things I can do in just 2-minutes:

Clean off my bathroom counter. 

Put a load of laundry in the washing machine 

Transfer a load of laundry to the dryer

Take clothes out of the dryer

Load the dishwasher

Unload the dishwasher (or attest one rack)

Pick up the shoes in front of our shoe cubby

Take dinner out of the freezer

Return a text

Return an email

Schedule a social media post

What about you? What could you accomplish in just 2 minutes?

How to survive waking up early

One of my goals this year was to get up earlier. As a working mom who runs a business from her home, it’s hard for me to find time just for me. Much of my day is spent working, schooling my kids, changing diapers, laundry, dishes, more working, cooking dinner and so on and so forth til I crash at 10 p.m.

Tips for adjusting and thriving when facing an early wakeup time

So I decided to get up earlier so that I could have time for me, when I wasn’t working, just doing the things I wanted to do.

It went well. I got up early. I had coffee. I felt great. Until 2 p.m. when I was crying because I wanted to go to bed but it was still the middle of the day.

So I did what I always do when I need tips. I turned to my Instagram and Facebook followers. And they came through!

The best tip I can give you that worked for me is don't sleep with your shades closed. When the sun comes up ... you're up!

Don't drink OR EAT caffeine (hello chocolate) after 3 p.m.

I tend to sleep better when I've had at least an hour of moderate focused exercise (like walking or a slow swim) and like a baby when I've done at least 30 minutes of intense focused exercise. I

The less time I spend on the computer or with my nose in the phone, the better.

You have to be militant about your bedtime. This is YOUR sleep and YOUR health and nothing except an emergency should get between you and your health.

Walking around lunchtime helps.

Get some sun/go outside at least a few minutes daily

Establish a routine in the early hours devoted mainly to YOU so that you will actually look forward to it.

Use the time to center yourself for the day...whatever that looks like for you.

Keep yourself hydrated with water. Your body/brain are 75% water, so if you’re dehydrated, it can cause you to become lethargic and not function to your optimum.

Staying away from sugar seems to help me stay awake and alert.

My tips are a single cup of coffee around 3p and don’t sit down. I stay up and moving all day long. If I sit, I get so tired and unmotivated. I don’t watch tv during the day but usually have music on.

Movement breaks frequently and lots of water, have a snack with lots of protein around 2:30 pm

Just keep at it! Your bedtime will adjust and you’ll find your sweet spot.

It helps me to have a robe and cozy socks/ slippers by the bed. It's so hard to get out of bed if I think I will be ice cold. I also got some water enhancer (like Mio) and chug a big glass of flavored water in the morning. Perks me up almost as much as coffee.

Consistency! Your body will adjust I wasn’t a morning person either but the peace of early morning is amazing. Also, step outside for five minutes, it always wakes me up.

Just keep moving. If I sit still too long I lose my momentum and will be dying for a nap.

Five great habits to start THIS month

Do you hit the end of the month and think “but wait, I didn’t do anything?” It’s easy to get caught in life and feel like it’s just passing.

Today I am going to be sharing with you five things that I do every month to make it my most productive month ever.

Make a budget.

Did you really think I would start with anything else? But making a budget gives you control over your month and your money.

Because it's telling your money where to go before the month begins. Each month is unique. So each budget needs to be unique to that month. So sit down and figure out what all you have going on add that to your expenses. And make a unique budget.

New to budgeting? How to make your first budget

Plan your month.

Pull out your planner and get ready. So at the start of the month I grab my planner and my phone and I get with my husband and I say "hey dude, what do you have going on this month?"

And we write down any appointments, any dates, anything we have going on. We go ahead and get it in my calendar so there are no surprises.

We can line up childcare, rearrange work schedules, whatever we have to do to keep everyone's life running as smoothly as possible. And then we take this time to plan a date night. We plan time together. Even if it's a date night at home. Or we plan family outings.

Being intentional with your time is so important.

Need to organize your planner? 17 lists you can keep in your planner

Change your air conditioner filter.

I don't know who needs to hear this, but you need to change your AC filter. It's probably really gross.

Do it every month. Or get a filter you can clean and reuse. Simply vacuum it and you're good. They're very inexpensive.

There are also services that will send you filters each month. Endless options. But do it because if you don't the air you're breathing is gross.

Dump your phone and back up all your photos.

I do a phone dump every month. I airdrop everything from my phone to my desktop and then back it up on my external hard drive.

I know they're in the cloud, but I'm always scared something will happen. I have had literal nightmares about losing all of my photos.

I also like to make a photo album using ChatBooks. I love ChatBooks. (No. This isn't sponsored. They don't know who I am but. But they could send me some money.)

There are a couple of ways you can do this. You can have your photos automatically uploaded from your Instagram account. And they will send you a book automatically after every 60 photos. Those books are around $10.

Or you can upload the photos directly from your phone to the app. That's what I do.

If you want to get $10 off your first Chat Book click here. You get $10 I get $10 and everyone will live happily ever after.

Purge your clothes/toys/decore

And finally take some time to purge your clothes, or home or toys or anything that's making you feel overwhelmed.

I don't mean a full scale, top to bottom whole house purge. What Imean is if you're putting your clothes away one day, take a really quick inventory of your closet and see what you actually wore. When you're putting your kid's clothes away see what looks worn or torn or what they've outgrown and donate and sell those items they've outgrown that still look good. Get rid of everything else.

That way you're not hanging on to things will nilly. For no reason. Keep a basket in your kids' room and when they outgrow things toss them in the basket. When the basket is full donate.

Thanks for hanging out with me. I hope you'll subscribe to my email newsletter. And have the best month ever.

Seven tips for getting more stuff done: Productivity tips for big life changes and the easily distracted

Have you ever found yourself at the end of the day exhausted, spent, with more on your to-do list than hours in the day? 

We've all been there. Recently I got a comment on one of my YouTube videos asking how I got it all done. 

I laughed a little. I wish I could tell you I have it all together as a mom and business owner. I wish I had it all together, that I cracked the secret to productivity and that my home was perfectly managed and stress-free. But it's not. 

However, I have learned a few things about productivity... and giving yourself a little grace. 

1. Stop doing so much

I understand this doesn't sound like a productivity tip. But it is. Stick with me here, okay? 

You're putting too many things on your to-do list. If you're getting to the end of the day and you have a bunch of unfinished items in your list you probably put too much on your list. 

I heard a really wonderful quote this week from author Emily P. Freeman, "The sky is only the limit if you are an airplane. You’re not. You’re a human person." 

This comes down to STOP. Stop trying to do so much. Stop trying to push too hard. Give yourself space in your day. 

2. Accept where you are in life

I am a mom of littles. I have a four-year-old and two-year-old, while this limits some of my time, I still have more flexibility than I would if I was caring for a newborn nursing around the clock. 

There are seasons of your life when you will have less time, less flexibility and less energy. I recently had a baby and my kids and I are transitioning to a new community school.  So I have given myself permission to slow down and do less. 

Do the same for yourself. Respect where you are in life. 

3. Create a top five list

I do this single day. Every day. Even the weekends. I sit down and create the top five things I need to do on a daily basis. These are my biggest priorities, both business and personal. If nothing else gets done it's fine as long as these things are accomplished. 

4. Develop daily checklists

Daily routines are important for so many reasons. They set our day and create a sense of accomplishment even on rough days when everything feels like it's falling apart. 

Mine is very basic. I do one load of laundry, run a load of dishes, clean my kitchen (this takes 20 minutes tops!) and plan and cook dinner. In total, this takes me about 45 minutes a day. 

5. Time thyself

Have you ever sat down at your computer to work and gotten lost in a project? Suddenly all your work time was used up? 

This is particularly necessary when working online. It is so easy to get sucked into email, social media, perfecting graphics. Not to mention Pinterest. Seriously, I am not going to go there right now (see 6!). 

Set your timer. Give yourself a limit for tasks you know should only take you a certain amount of time. If it only takes you 20 minutes to clean your bathroom or send out your weekly sales email, then set the timer on your phone. When it buzzes. You are finished. Walk away from what you're doing and move on with your day. 

6. Limit your distractions

I got sucked into the Pinterest vortex this week. I got home from church Wednesday night, bathed and fed my kids, put them to bed and then sat down to answer an email and check for one recipe on Pinterest. Next thing I knew it was 2 a.m. Seriously. 2 a.m. 

Delete apps that distract you from your phone or give yourself a time limit for areas where you know you get sucked in. 

7. Write things down!

Oh my goodness. I am the worst at this. Trust me, you can tell yourself that you will remember an event, project or job but you won't. Just write it down.

I write down appointments, to-do lists, goals, blogging ideas, business ideas, meal plans and conversations I need to have with my husband while he is out of town. 

I know obsessively writing things down may seem like it would take more time, but trust me, this saves me hours. 

How to set weekly goals and why setting frequent goals matters

I used to be a fly by the seat of my pants individual. And then I realized that that attitude was the cause for my frequent stress, frustration and situational anxiety. I cannot suddenly transform myself into a super organized person, but I can do some small things that will bring a little more calm to my life.

One of those things was setting small, weekly goals for myself.

Every week I sit down on Monday morning and quickly jot out my goals for the week. I share those goals (well most of them) on Instagram every Monday. 

Why do I do this? Because, weekly goals matter. And I need the accountability. (And I want to inspire you to set your own weekly goals.)

Let's talk about why setting weekly goals matters. 

1. They make your BIGGER goals more manageable. 

Maybe way back in January you had the idea to start a blog. Or start budgeting. Or lose 50 pounds. Those are all excellent ideas. But they're so broad. 

By breaking up your goal into smaller, weekly chunks, it goes from an idea to a habit. 

So instead of "I want to start a blog" it becomes: this week I pick a domain name. Or this week I come up with five post topics. Or this week I come up with an email freebie to grow my list. 

See? It takes a BROAD goal and turns it into a daily thing you can tend to. 

2. Weekly goals provide focus. 

Have you ever hit Friday afternoon and felt like you accomplished NOTHING? Me too. That's why picking five things to focus my week on helps me feel and be more productive. 

3. They filter out distraction. 

It's really easy to get sucked into unimportant things that don't really matter. But if I have a quiet minute I can pick up my planner and see what tasks I need to cross off my list. 

4. They keep you motivated. 

Do you have a Thursday slump? I do. By the time Thursday afternoon comes I feel really done for the week and I just want to kick back. But if I have a plan or a list of things I want to accomplish I feel the motivation to keep pressing forward. 

What about you? Do you set weekly goals? Tell me your strategy.

My budget-friendly beauty basics

I love lipstick and mascara just as much as the next person. But I cannot, cannot, cannot spend a bunch of money on makeup. I'm not shaming women who do, but I just have too many other things that take priority when it comes to my dollars. 

However, I don't want to look like a scary woman at the grocery store. So I am talking about my FAVORITE budget-friendly beauty products. 

Each thing on my list is $10 or less and I have used them all for YEARS (with the exception of one product, which my readers actually recommended to me!). 

You can find a complete list of these products here!

Seven tips to getting more done during the day

Have you ever found yourself at the end of the day exhausted, spent, with more on your to-do list than hours in the day? 

We've all been there. Recently I got a comment on one of my YouTube videos asking how I got it all done. 

I laughed a little. I wish I could tell you I have it all together as a mom and business owner. I wish I had it all together, that I cracked the secret to productivity and that my home was perfectly managed and stress-free. But it's not. 

However, I have learned a few things about productivity... and giving yourself a little grace. 

1. Stop doing so much

I understand this doesn't sound like a productivity tip. But it is. Stick with me here, okay? 

You're putting too many things on your to-do list. If you're getting to the end of the day and you have a bunch of unfinished items in your list you probably put too much on your list. 

I heard a really wonderful quote this week from author Emily P. Freeman, "The sky is only the limit if you are an airplane. You’re not. You’re a human person." 

This comes down to STOP. Stop trying to do so much. Stop trying to push too hard. Give yourself space in your day. 

2. Accept where you are in life

I am a mom of littles. I have a four-year-old and two-year-old, while this limits some of my time, I still have more flexibility than I would if I was caring for a newborn nursing around the clock. 

There are seasons of your life when you will have less time, less flexibility and less energy. This month has been very difficult for my family and me. So I have given myself permission to slow down and do less. 

Do the same for yourself. Respect where you are in life. 

3. Create a top five list

I do this single day. Every day. Even the weekends. I sit down and create the top five things I need to do on a daily basis. These are my biggest priorities, both business and personal. If nothing else gets done it's fine as long as these things are accomplished. 

4. Develop daily checklists

Daily routines are important for so many reasons. They set our day and create a sense of accomplishment even on rough days when everything feels like it's falling apart. 

Mine is very basic. I do one load of laundry, run a load of dishes, clean my kitchen (this takes 20 minutes tops!) and plan and cook dinner. In total, this takes me about 45 minutes a day. 

5. Time thyself

Have you ever sat down at your computer to work and gotten lost in a project? Suddenly all your work time was used up? 

This is particularly necessary when working online. It is so easy to get sucked into email, social media, perfecting graphics. Not to mention Pinterest. Seriously, I am not going to go there right now (see 6!). 

Set your timer. Give yourself a limit for tasks you know should only take you a certain amount of time. If it only takes you 20 minutes to clean your bathroom or send out your weekly sales email, then set the timer on your phone. When it buzzes. You are finished. Walk away from what you're doing and move on with your day. 

6. Limit your distractions

I got sucked into the Pinterest vortex this week. I got home from church Wednesday night, bathed and fed my kids, put them to bed and then sat down to answer an email and check for one recipe on Pinterest. Next thing I knew it was 2 a.m. Seriously. 2 a.m. 

Delete apps that distract you from your phone or give yourself a time limit for areas where you know you get sucked in. 

7. Write things down!

Oh my goodness. I am the worst at this. Trust me, you can tell yourself that you will remember an event, project or job but you won't. Just write it down. I use a plain Jane notebook and this planner from Mead to help me remember. 

I write down appointments, to-do lists, goals, blogging ideas, business ideas, meal plans and conversations I need to have with my husband while he is out of town. 

I know obsessively writing things down may seem like it would take more time, but trust me, this saves me hours. 

If you're looking for some resources to help you launch your at home business I suggest checking out the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle 2016. 

There are several wonderful Work-At-Home related books that I recommend. And a blogging planner that you could easily convert to keep up with your freelance work.