As the end of the year approaches, I often hear this question from my community:
“How do I set goals that I will actually achieve?”
It’s a question that speaks to the heart of effective planning—wanting not only to dream big but to create a plan you’ll follow through on. If you’re feeling stuck or unsure about how to set goals that truly work, I want to break down some common reasons you aren’t achieving your goals and walk you through the goal setting method I teach and avoids these common pitfalls.
Let’s start with a thought-provoking question: What if the reason you haven’t achieved certain goals before wasn’t due to a lack of motivation or discipline but simply because your goal-setting process wasn’t designed to truly work for you? Many people struggle to reach their goals because they unknowingly fall into common pitfalls:
Setting Arbitrary Goals: Many goal-setting methods encourage us to set goals in predefined categories, like health, career, or finances. While these areas are generally important, focusing on arbitrary categories often leads us to set goals based on what we think we “should” do rather than on what truly matters. When a goal isn’t personally meaningful, it’s difficult to stay committed. My process focuses instead on defining your true priorities, which are unique to you, and using those as the categories to set your goals against.
Mistaking Habits for Goals: It’s common to set habits, like “drink more water” or “work out daily,” as primary goals, but these habits are actually objectives or action steps to take that support a larger goal. For example, if your overarching goal is improved health, drinking more water is a strategy to support that. Reading a specific number of books a year isn’t a goal itself, rather it’s a reflection of the type of person you want to be who may be more informed or considered well read- which is the actual goal you desire. Identifying and linking these habits to a big-picture goal makes it easier to stay motivated and see meaningful progress because you have correctly identified the reason why the habit itself is crucial to your success and self-image.
Relying on Goals to Create Change: Many believe achieving a goal will magically create a sense of accomplishment or transform them into a better version of themselves. The version of themselves who eats right, works out, is great with money etc. In reality, change begins internally and must happen before you achieve the goal. Start by embodying the person you want to become, taking the actions that person would take and then your goals will happen as a natural result of the changes you’ve made.
If you resonate with any of these common mistakes or have used a goal setting method in the past that encouraged these errors to begin with, I am here to tell you that with the right goal setting system you can achieve your goals. Today I want to give you a brief overview of my method and process which has helped hundreds of women set goals they actually end up achieving.
Women like Rose who started using my method years ago and after the first month reported back to me “so far January has been my best month ever regarding productivity, focus, and goal achievement.”
She has been loyal to my method ever since and even purchased the workshops to share with her team because she swears by my method for goal setting and planning!
And Peyton who messaged our accountability group: “I’ve been truly struggling with identifying priorities and narrowing down my goals. I watched the master class and it was game changing for me. Something finally clicked and I was able to identify my true goals and priorities based off my current life situation and I am so proud of this! I think Alexis is a true subject matter expert and I’m so glad I decided to join the master mind!”
Or Karmon who ended up achieving all her goals much earlier than expected one year due to my method and had this to say: “I think this is the 4th of 5th year I’ve goal planned the year with Alexis. The process evolves and refines each year. The break out sessions with the other attendees was a great addition – the additional perspectives and glimpses into others’ goals were inspiring. Definitely the kick start I needed to work on my annual plans. Thanks, Alexis.”
I’m sure you are thinking now, Alexis, what is this unique goal setting process?!
Here’s the step by step process I have used for the last 10 years to set goals that I can achieve and get so much more done than most solo business owners.
Step 1: Choose 1-5 Priorities for the Year The first step in any goal-setting journey is identifying what matters most to you. Think about the core aspects of your life that bring you joy, fulfillment, and purpose—these are your priorities. It could be family, your home, career, or a passion project. By narrowing your focus to 1-5 key priorities, you create a strong foundation for meaningful and impactful goal-setting.
Step 2: Set 1-3 Goals per Priority For each priority, establish up to three specific goals. Each goal should represent an outcome that either raises, changes, or maintains a standard in your life. Make sure these goals are clear and measurable so that you can track your progress. This clarity not only gives you direction but also ensures that every goal aligns with your most valued priorities.
Step 3: Define Objectives for Each Goal With goals in place, now it’s time to create objectives—these are the specific actions that will lead you to your desired outcomes. Think of objectives as your action steps. They should be chosen based on your strengths and interests, so the journey feels engaging and rewarding. And remember, your path can be unique to you; it doesn’t have to follow a conventional approach if there’s a better way that suits you.
Step 4: Assign Objectives Across the Months of the Year Goal-setting is a marathon, not a sprint. Instead of trying to do it all at once, assign your objectives to different months, focusing on just a few at a time. Be realistic here—no more than three objectives per month will allow you to make steady progress without feeling overwhelmed. This pacing is key to creating a sustainable rhythm throughout the year.
Step 5: Use a Functional Planner to Track Your Tasks Finally, your plan will only be as good as your follow-through, so tracking is essential. Using a functional planner (like the Charmed Life Master Planner) allows you to map out each objective, month by month, and track tasks daily and weekly. This approach keeps your goals top of mind, ensuring you make consistent progress toward achieving them.
Why this method works
You are setting goals based on your priorities and where you want to go in life next, not arbitrary goals you feel like you “should” be setting but may not be meaningful for you.
You have a clear roadmap put in place at the start of the year so you can confidently show up in the short term to take actions knowing that by the end of the year everything will add up to the completion of your goal, instead of trying to do it all at once, getting overwhelmed and giving up.
You are limiting the amount of new tasks you can apply to a given month so you don’t take on too much and then fail to complete any single one objective.
You have room for changes and adjustments because your future objectives are penciled into your roadmap but not planned out in depth until you reach the month they belong to. I can’t see the future and neither can you, so our forward planning needs to be a point of reference, not detailed instructions.
Now, it’s one thing to read about the process, but it’s another thing to actually see the activities and steps as you would be performing them all together.
That’s why today I want to give you a look inside my YOU GOT GOALS Planner, including the Annual Review & Goal Prep Workbook!
The video is going to answer another major question I am often asked about my goal planning system…
“Is the YOU GOT GOALS Workshop + Planner only for personal goals or can you also use it for business goals?”
Answer: No, this system isn’t just for personal goals, you can also use it for business goals as well. However, because business goals require more specific types of annual planning including strategic projects, marketing and campaigns, I use another system that is designed specifically for reviewing business data and breaking down business related goals, called the CEO RETREAT!
Both systems are available as on-demand workshops to purchase from my shop individually or as a special bundle.
But of course, Charmed Life Master Mind members get these workshops included in their membership subscription. Master Mind members get to attend the live workshops for direct coaching from me during our class and also get on-demand goal setting support through our private Slack community.
So, if you want to use a goal setting method that increases your chances of success instead of setting you up for unnecessary expectations and failure, I’d love for you to get your hands on one or both of these guided goal planning systems.
It’s Holiday Gift Giving Time and if you are looking for some gift ideas for yourself or the other ladies in your life, you have come to the right place. I know gift giving is a challenge for some people, but I was born with the gift. My friends and family know that I am very anti-gift card and cash presents. If that’s more to your taste, awesome, but for me, I look at gift giving as an art and an opportunity to surprise and delight my loved ones by finding something amazing they didn’t even know they couldn’t live without! Throughout the year when I come across interesting items that remind me of someone close to me, I keep track of it. Sometimes, I don’t have one specific person in mind. Sometimes the person I’m buying for is myself. But I’ve been told many times over that I find great gifts and things most people just wouldn’t think to buy for themselves. So much so that people come to me looking for ideas for gifts to give their circle. And the best part is, my gifts are usually quite affordable. Of course, what is considered affordable varies person to person and budget to budget, but on this gift list you are going to find some great everyday luxuries that retail from $10-$200, most being under $50 with just a handful of items over $100. Each item on this list has been chosen with a specific woman in mind- the one who loves functionality and beauty, and appreciates any little way she can improve or upgrade her life.
I recently upgraded to the iPhone 16 Pro Max from a very old iPhone 8 Plus, so I have been spending an unnecessary amount of time and energy thinking about and browsing iPhone cases. I know I might be in the minority here, but I like my phone to have a wardrobe of gorgeous case options for different scenarios. In researching cases for my new phone, I ended up back with a brand I have used in the past with my last iPhone and was subsequently one of my favorite cases. That brand is Burga. You have probably seen their cases on Instagram, they do lovely designs and a few varieties of protective case styles. Here is the thing, they are expensive, dare I say overpriced, especially when you consider they come from outside of the US- Lithuania I believe- and are not made from any significantly more expensive materials than most cases. In the past I’ve had issues with shipping. My most recent order arrived in a little less than two weeks which is good. But all that being said, the cases are elegant and I love them. Sure, you could find dupes of the patterns online for less, but I couldn’t find any cases that had similar patterns and had MagSafe compatibility. These cases are definitely one of those splurge treats, but also make an unexpectedly fun gift for a friend as long as you know her taste and pick a pattern she’ll love!
Newsflash, diamonds are no longer a girls best friend, in 2024 it’s portable chargers. They are lifesavers and I cannot leave home without one or two thanks to the variety of gadgets we now rely on to live and work. The first type of charger I think we all need to have is a portable wired charger- one with those built in wires and different port heads compatible with a variety of gadgets. I have been using and loving this Veger charger because it’s slim, has a nice sized battery for charging multiple items, and works with most of my gadgets. Yes, I bought the lilac purple version because it’s my favorite color.
Now, the second type of charger I think we all need to have is a portable MagSafe Charger as long as you have a MagSafe compatible phone and case. Now that I have the iPhone 16 Pro Max, I can use this amazing feature. So, all I have to do is stick this Anker charger to the back of my phone, turn it on and viola, I can charge while on the go, while talking on the phone and I don’t have any wires or bulky charging apparatus’ to deal with.
Whoever came up with these wireless LED touch control lamps is an absolute genius. I have never been one to gravitate to table lamps because they just seem so impractical. You have to make sure you have a plug for them in the vicinity of where you want the lamp, and if you don’t, you are either out of luck or need to use an ugly extension cord. On top of that, they just sort of permanently live where you put them, but what if you want to move it around? Or you only need a lamp in a specific place sometimes? Impractical. But these wireless lamps are fantastic. I own a few varieties of these lamps, but this is my favorite because it’s pretty tall compared to some other wireless lamps and a chic silhouette that manages to look both classic and modern at the same time.
For the longest time, I did not understand why people used body oils until I discovered oils like this that came in a spray form. Regular bottles of oil that come with a pump or even no dispenser at all can get messy and make it hard for you to evenly distribute product on your skin. Spray oils are fantastic and easy to use and now I get why people use body oil. I’ve just recently started using this Caudalie oil because I love the brand and the smell was so delightfully herbaceously bougie.
If you’ve been following me for a while you may know I don’t use fillers or botox (at least not yet- if ever). I prefer using manual tools for facial massage to lift, tighten and stimulate collagen production naturally. One of the newer tools in my routine are these Cryo Sticks. You keep them in the fridge and use them to de-puff your face and tighten your pores. Icing your face has become such a big thing in the last few years and it does really seem to make a difference in the short term to the quality of your skin.
When it comes to home decor, one element I always feel like I don’t have enough of are trinket dishes. How often do you put little things down on the table or countertop and they get misplaced, knocked off or simply roll away and you can’t find them. Trinket dishes are necessary, but of course basic ones will not do, I need lovely little works of art like this cloud trinket dish. I love that it comes in silver and gold chrome finishes because I think those will stand out gorgeously.
I am not exaggerating when I say that these hair pins by Deborah Pagani have been the find of the decade for me. They are elegant but sturdy, and are the single hair accessory that I can use to hold my hair in place for the whole day without worry. Hair ties always fail me, but the DP Hair Pin does not! I credit these pins for how I got my hair to grow out so long so quickly, because once I switched away from using elastics on my hair, length just kept accumulating unchecked! They are just so safe and gentle on my hair and help me create an easy protective style for my locks.
While everyone else is busy fighting over Stanley tumblers, I am living in my bliss bubble with my Simple Modern 50oz mugs. Yes, I own a couple, but for good reason- they keep my water amazingly cold for what feels like forever, they are more spill proof than Stanley’s, and I can fill it up once and drink it all day and feel like I got all the hydration I needed. Okay, sometimes I drink two in a day. The only downside to the 50oz size is that it’s more for home than travel because it doesn’t fit into a cup holder. And that’s why I also have a 40oz tumbler for on the go, but I use my 50oz by far the most.
Are you interested in getting the best sleep of your life? Trick question, of course you are, and that’s why you need a pair of sleep headphones. This option is one part sleep mask and one part bluetooth headphone. Put it on at night, connect it to your phone or tablet, and play some relaxing sleep music with delta waves from either Youtube or Spotify and you will have the best quality sleep. When I wear mine, I fall asleep quicker, I stay asleep longer, and I wake up less frequently.
I’m ashamed to admit it, but until recently, I did not keep my jewelry organized in one central location. I had bits and pieces all over, usually kept in their original bulky boxes and I couldn’t see everything I owned in one place. So, I finally purchased one of these travel jewelry cases and I love it. What is great about this specific style, because there are many options you can buy, is that this size and shape is great for home use or travel. It fits a good amount of jewelry inside comfortably and it looks pretty discreet.
I actually own three Marshall Speakers. An Acton III, an Emberton II and this Willen. Some might think this is overkill, but each speaker serves a distinct purpose in my life. The Acton is a great non-portable home speaker that I can connect with my devices including my smart TV, but I mostly use it to listen to music that fills my house with a great quality sound. The Emberton is a portable model that I have used in the past as my office speaker to listen to music while I work, but right now I have it wirelessly connected to the smart TV in my bedroom and it acts as a soundbar which is great because you know how bad the sound is on most flat screen televisions. The speakers are normally in the back, which means the sound is pointing the wrong direction, and so you need something like a soundbar or sound system to get great front facing audio. My Emberton does the trick and can still serve other uses for me. But the Willen, this little guy is my portable little champ. I always travel with it. I take it to the beach, the pool, to other people’s homes. I’ve taken it to restaurants and used it while sitting out on their patio seating where you can barely hear the music playing from the interior of the restaurant (genius). Although the Emberton is another portable model, the Willen is more portable. It has a strap on the back which means you can attach it to things like a beach chair, or the strap of your bag. It’s awesome, I love it and it connects to your phone and you can take bluetooth calls through it as well. It’s also water and dust proof (so is the Emberton) so you don’t have to worry about it. Plus the battery life is solid, I think something like 15 hours. Charges with USB-C, it’s like essentially perfect.
What woman could say no to a luxury lip balm? I love the Baume Essentiel because it’s more than just Chanel’s normal lip balm. First it’s huge so you get a lot for the price and it lasts forever. Second its a multi use stick, so it can be lip balm, and a face highlight or a blush and even an eye shadow. I normally stick to the color Transparent and use it as my lip balm and a sheer but glowy highlight, but if you choose one of the colorful shades it can be a blush and shadow.
I am so glad that minimal clean looking nails are back in fashion. Technically, they never went out of fashion because they are classic, but with the rise of the quiet luxury aesthetic, neutral nails are back in. Nothing says quiet luxury, clean girl, neutral classic nails like Chanel’s Ballerina, the perfect wash of nude pink that gives you that your nails but better vibe.
I am not a gym girlie. In the past when I had a gym membership, I used it for the unlimited tanning and massage beds. I much prefer home workouts. I don’t mean I want to build a home gym, instead I prefer to have a few key pieces of equipment at home that I can use to do a variety of exercises. In the past, this equipment was your standard run of the mill hand weights and kettle bell. I try to get them in a cute color so I don’t hate the sight of them, but the options are limited. That’s why when I found Bala I was in shock and awe. If you aren’t aware, Bala is a brand of workout equipment that is beautiful and functional at the same time. I have a few of their pieces, but the two I love the most and recommend are the Power Ring and the Beam. The Power Ring is a reimagined kettle bell that is so much more functional because you can use it with one hand or two, and because of the shape it sits and fits on various areas of your body during different workouts. I might put it around my neck and sit it on my shoulders to add weight while lunging. I might lay it on my abdomen while doing bridges. I can put my arm and leg through it so I’m not limited to holding it in my hand. It’s a very flexible and functional piece of workout gear. Next, the Bala Beam, this is essentially an EZ Bar, so I can use it as a dumbbell, one or two handed. Its ergonomic design means it also sits on my shoulders, hips or legs for different workouts in a circuit. The best part of these pieces are that you can just leave them out if you want almost like home decor, because they don’t look like what they are, they look like sculptural decor elements.
I don’t use an alarm clock to wake up in the morning but if I did, it would be this one! These sunrise alarm clocks wake you up gently with both sound and light which really helps you manage your circadian rhythm. If you have a hard time waking up in the morning, or wake up startled by a fog horn of an alarm on your phone, you could definitely benefit from this sunrise alarm clock. I know you may already have something you use, and this might feel like an unnecessary purchase, but sleep is so important to your productivity and an alarm like this can really help you build more positive sleep and wake habits.
My beloved Le Cruset Enameled Cast Iron Braiser is by far my most used piece of cookware. You can use it like a frying pan or like a dutch oven. Alas, Le Cruset is a heritage brand with a premium price tag, so my next best pick for you is from the brand Lodge. Still great quality cookware, similar shape and of most important it’s enameled cast iron (not the same as regular cast iron) so it’s easier to care for and retains heat beautifully. I fully believe that food cooks and tastes better when it’s prepared in enameled cast iron.
I avoided purchasing an electric kettle for the longest time. It felt like an unnecessary kitchen gadget when I could boil or microwave water. But oh my goodness, an electric kettle really upgraded my life. You’d be surprised how often they come in handy. I use mine for tea, instant coffee, powdered drink mixes, making stock from bouillon, sterilizing, heating milk, and making hot compresses. I definitely get my use out of that kettle and I can’t wait to upgrade mine to this charming gooseneck version.
When I think of luxury items, I don’t necessarily think of designer labels and high price tags. I think about what items would be a benefit to my life, that will be versatile and last me a long time. This Cashmere wrap definitely checks all the boxes for a fabulous luxury addition to your wardrobe. A wrap like this is a great wardrobe staple that will never go out of style, and bonus, it’s not just a wrap! You can use this as an oversized scarf or blanket, great for traveling or just getting cozy on the sofa. Cashmere is such a warm, luxurious fabric, and with proper care it’s long lasting, unlike many other wraps or blankets made from synthetic materials that feel fabulous on day one, but after use and cleaning become an itchy, shedding mess.
As part of my productive, healthy lifestyle, I take vitamins and supplements! And using a pill organizer is a great way to keep on track of the habit and ensure you take your pills daily. Most pill organizers and pill planners as they are often called are basic and plastic. But this compact is chic and elevated. Great for travel or just leaving at home. I adore it and it’s not necessarily something you would think to pick up for yourself or give as a gift.
I hope this Charmed Life Gift Guide has inspired you to add a little everyday luxury to your gift-giving this season! Whether you’re shopping for the beauty enthusiast, the productivity lover, or the woman who just enjoys a touch of elegance in her daily routine, these carefully chosen items are sure to make her feel seen, special, and pampered. Each item on this list was selected with the goal of blending beauty and functionality—gifts that are delightful, practical, and unique enough that she might not even know how much she needed them until now. So, as you wrap up your holiday shopping, remember that the best gifts come from the heart, with a little added charm.
Have you ever wished you could attend a magical school where you learn the secrets of mastering time, focus, and productivity? Well, your invitation has arrived!
This October, I’m thrilled to invite you to The Charmed School of Self-Mastery—an enchanting, free five-part productivity challenge designed to help you become a master of your life. Each week, we’ll release a new video lesson inspired by the magical world we all know and love, paired with powerful productivity techniques to help you create your best life.
Whether you’re a busy professional, a planner lover, or simply someone looking for structure and support, The Charmed School of Self-Mastery is your magical opportunity to level up your productivity skills and transform your life.
How It Works
Each Wednesday in October, I’ll be sharing a new video on my YouTube channel at 12 noon. These lessons will cover essential productivity strategies, and you’ll earn magical items as you complete the weekly homework assignments.
What You’ll Get:
Access to a private page where you can watch the video replays
Downloadable worksheets to help you apply the lessons
A fun and magical experience where you collect virtual “magical items” for completing your homework
Exclusive productivity tips designed to help you create more time, focus, and momentum in your daily life
Let’s dive into the magical curriculum that awaits you at The Charmed School of Self-Mastery!
The Charmed School Curriculum
Week 1: Welcome to the Charmed School of Self-Mastery
In this introductory lesson, I’ll explain how the Charmed School works, what you can expect in the coming weeks, and how to get the most out of this magical experience. You’ll also receive your first magical item for completing the homework assignment: a Wand, symbolizing the power to make your dreams a reality.
Homework: Identify one goal you want to achieve this month.
Magical Item: The Wand (because wands help you create instant results).
Sign up and start collecting magical items today!
Week 2: Divination Class – How to Create Your Weekly Plan
In Week 2, we’ll focus on the art of planning your week to ensure you stay on top of your tasks and goals. Inspired by Divination, this lesson will teach you how to predict your week’s future and create a clear path to achieving your goals. You’ll learn my top tips for effective weekly planning, from time blocking to prioritizing tasks, so that you can confidently navigate your week with clarity and focus.
Homework: Use the worksheet to create your weekly plan.
Magical Item: The Crystal Ball (because planning helps you predict and create your future).
Sign up and collect your Crystal Ball!
Week 3: Charms Class – Time Management Techniques for a Magical Schedule
Time is one of our most valuable resources, and in this lesson, you’ll learn powerful time management techniques to help you make the most of it. In Charms class, I’ll teach you strategies to help you prioritize, manage your time, and ensure you’re working efficiently. If you’ve ever felt like you need more hours in the day, this lesson will help you reclaim your time!
Homework: Apply the time management techniques from the video to your schedule.
Magical Item: The Time Turner (because these techniques will help you create more time in your day).
Sign up and get your Time Turner!
Week 4: Transfiguration – Setting Boundaries and Avoiding Distractions
Are you easily distracted or interrupted when trying to focus on your work? In Transfiguration class, we’ll learn the art of setting boundaries with others and creating an environment that supports your productivity. Whether it’s dealing with constant interruptions or social media distractions, this lesson will teach you how to maintain focus and transform your workspace into a distraction-free zone.
Homework: Use the worksheet to identify your biggest distractions and set boundaries for the week ahead.
Magical Item: The Cloak of Invisibility (because it will help you stay hidden from distractions when you need to focus).
Sign up and grab your Cloak of Invisibility!
Week 5: Defense Against the Dark Arts – Mastering Your Mindset
In the final week, we’ll explore the magic of mindset work. Defense Against the Dark Arts class will teach you how to defend yourself against negative self-talk, limiting beliefs, and other mental obstacles that can hold you back from taking action. With a strong and positive mindset, you’ll learn how to build momentum and keep yourself motivated, even when things get tough.
Homework: Practice positive affirmations and journal about any mindset blocks you want to overcome.
Magical Item: The Patronus Charm (because a strong mindset is your shield against negativity).
Sign up and learn how to cast your Patronus Charm!
Join the Magical Productivity Experience!
This is more than just a challenge—it’s your opportunity to bring a little magic into your everyday life. If you’ve ever wanted to master productivity, time management, and mindset with a dash of enchantment, The Charmed School of Self-Mastery is for you!
Ready to join?
Enroll in the Charmed School today by [Clicking Here] to start collecting your magical items and transforming your life. Every Wednesday, a new lesson will unlock, and with each one, you’ll become more powerful in managing your time, energy, and goals.
Can’t wait for you to enroll for a magical and productive month!
Why I Don’t Recommend the 12 Week Year as a Female Productivity Guru
Hey there! Today, I want to chat about a popular productivity approach that you might have heard of—The 12 Week Year by Brian Moran. While this book has definitely made waves in the productivity world, I’ve got a few thoughts on why it might not be the best fit for women, especially those of us juggling multiple priorities.
What’s the 12 Week Year All About?
First, let me give you a quick rundown of what The 12 Week Year is all about. The author, Brian Moran, noticed that when people set annual goals, they often coast through most of the year, only to kick into high gear during the last 12 weeks. You know that last-minute hustle before the year ends? Moran believes that by focusing on shorter, 12-week sprints, we can keep that momentum going all year long and get more done.
Why the 12 Week Year Might Not Be Ideal for Women
While the idea of breaking down goals into more manageable chunks sounds great, I have a few reservations about the 12-week planning structure, especially for busy women like us. Here’s why:
Hustle and Burnout Culture: The 12 Week Year leans into a hustle mentality, which can be a fast track to burnout. Sure, taking action is super important, but living in a constant state of urgency can be draining—especially when we’re already managing so much.
Pressure on the Nervous System: This constant push can actually overwhelm our nervous systems, making it harder to stay productive in the long run. That’s why I’m all about a more gentle, sustainable form of productivity that works with, not against, our natural rhythms.
Masculine vs. Feminine Productivity: The strategies in The 12 Week Year seem to be designed with a more masculine approach in mind, where work often takes center stage. But for many women, life is about balancing work with family, health, community, and so much more. We need a productivity strategy that reflects that.
Capitalism Over Quality of Life: The book’s approach might be great for business goals, but when it comes to improving our overall quality of life, it falls a bit short. Productivity should be about making our lives better, not just increasing our output.
Limited Representation of Women: There’s only one example of a woman using the system in the book, and it’s all within a work context. The goals discussed are mostly performance-based, which doesn’t always fit with the holistic, multifaceted goals many of us are working toward.
What I Do Agree With
Now, don’t get me wrong—there are some things I like about The 12 Week Year:
Lack of Execution: Moran is spot on when he says that most people don’t follow through on their plans because they don’t feel that sense of urgency.
Parkinson’s Law: He also touches on a great point about how tasks tend to expand to fill the time we give them. By limiting our timeframes, we can push ourselves to be more efficient.
Compelling Vision: Having a clear, compelling vision is crucial for staying motivated, and this is something I emphasize in my own planning methods.
Weekly Planning: Moran and I both agree on the importance of weekly planning—not just as a to-do list, but as a strategic plan that guides our actions.
Commitment is Action: Commitment isn’t just about setting goals; it’s about taking consistent action to achieve them.
Why My You Got Goals Method Is Better Suited for Women
After working with so many incredible women on their productivity and planning, I developed the You Got GoalsMethodology, which I believe is a better fit than the 12-week sprint approach.
Annual Goals with Quarterly Milestones: Instead of focusing only on 12-week sprints, I’m all about setting annual goals with quarterly milestones. This way, you can manage multiple priorities across the year while keeping things balanced.
Managing Multiple Priorities: Annual goals give you the flexibility to plan for the right times to tackle different tasks, ensuring a more sustainable approach to productivity.
Long-Term Planning: Women often have goals that require longer timeframes, and annual planning allows us to look beyond just 12 weeks, which is often necessary for the kinds of goals we set.
Mindset Integration: My method also weaves in mindset work, helping you feel a positive sense of urgency and accountability without the stress of a ticking clock.
Looking for more productivity and planning strategies that work for women?
If this resonates with you and you’re looking for productivity and planning strategies that really work for women, I’d love for you to join my Charmed Life Master Mind. Inside, you’ll get access to my complete productivity and planning philosophies, including my You Got Goals Workshop series and the You Got Goals Planner. These tools are all about helping you set and achieve your goals in a way that feels good and sustainable.
If you’re just getting started, you can purchase my annual goal-setting and planning workshops separately. But when you join the Master Mind, you get so much more—a resource library with hundreds of classes, inserts, workbooks, recordings, and more. Plus, we have three live calls per month, along with on-demand coaching and accountability from me within our private group coaching community.
Have you used planners in the past but then felt disappointed when they didn’t make you anymore productive or help you to make much more progress than you expected. If that sounds like you or that is the situation you currently find yourself in, you are not alone.
So many women come to the planning community looking for a planner to be their ultimate productivity sidekick. They do some research, look at some planners, watch some reviews- they choose the planner they feel most excited about- their unicorn planner, they get it home, they spend all this time setting it up exactly as they want with all the information they need inside, so excited that they now have achieved planner peace, and then they start using the planner and they still have just as much to do, they are spending the same amount of time doing it, and they aren’t seeing any more results than usual. The planner is not making them more efficient or strategic with their time and tasks- they are just as overwhelmed and busy as they always have been, and they still don’t have time for the goals and priorities they say matter to them!
Yes, the planner helped a little bit. It helped them remember the tasks they said they wanted to do and it helped them remember their appointments, most of the time, when they actually checked it. Perhaps you can relate to the excitement of setting up your planner and then the reality that you have a hard time checking back in with it. This happens much more than you think! Getting a planner and filling it out once doesn’t mean you are going to suddenly have a reliable planning routine.
So, if this sounds like you, you are in the right place and I want you to know that if this happened to you in the past, I totally know why it happened.
Because most planners aren’t actually planners. Most planners are simply a paper based reminder systems. Think about it. Most planners on the market give you a pretty standard system of inserts. The inserts might look a little different, they may be laid out in a different way or use a different font or style, but the vast majority of planners out there to buy are essentially the same system.
They give you a yearly reference calendar, maybe two years of reference calendars so you can check dates.
They give you a monthly spread, usually a boxed grid style where you are meant to write in some events or due dates, but not very much because the boxes only hold so much. So, you can fit in some birthdays, trash day, holidays, drs appointments, maybe some important due dates.
Then they give you either a daily or weekly agenda spread. A weekly agenda may have lined sections for each day of the week, maybe a task list on the side or be broken out into boxes. A daily agenda might include a daily hourly schedule.
Then at the end of the planner, you may get some notes pages, or contacts pages- some very brief reference section.
That system of inserts inside most planners is giving you a step by step process for how to use the planner. So, it’s saying put events here, put tasks here, put appointments here. This is your day. Right? That’s a system to help you remember, not a system to help you be more productive or strategic.
Just writing down a to do list isn’t making you more productive. Having an hourly schedule doesn’t make you more efficient or help you achieve your goals. It may make you initially feel more productive- which is part of the neuroscience behind planning- which is that the physical act of writing out or typing out a to do list or schedule makes your brain feel more at ease. But your brain feels that way whether or not you actually do the tasks and follow the schedule, or not. So, with most of these planners, you write out some tasks, you feel better, you may then move on with your day and ignore that list in your planner because you feel better just because you wrote the tasks down.
But what if you come back to that list- those reminders you wrote down. How do you tackle the list? I guess you just choose a task from the list that you feel like doing because on that list there is no prioritization- there is no clear objective for the big picture you want to accomplish. There is no strategy. And so what happens is most people take the easiest task off that list and do that. They sift through the list and they choose what they feel like doing. And then at the end of the day, the list still has some tasks on it and 9 times out of 10 those tasks were the important things that actually needed to get done. But they have been pushed off for tomorrow now, right?
And so you come back to your planner the next day, and you see these tasks and you add some more for the new day and you choose again. But because there is no structure or strategy for this list, you look at the items and say to yourself “I don’t feel like doing these things- I didn’t have the energy for them yesterday and they seem even more urgent today and I feel like that’s a lot of pressure on me right now, so I am going to do something else.” And so you take another easy task off your list, and every time you check off something easy, you get that hit of dopamine- and that hit of dopamine makes you feel like you are getting things done, you are checking boxes lady, you are feeling productive. But guess what? At the end of the day, those big scary urgent tasks are still there, and the longer they sit on your to do list ignored, the bigger and scarier they become.
Have you ever done this? You’ve left something on your to do list for so long that you are irrationally scared to approach the task?! I know I have done this many times, so I am not immune to this situation either- it’s human- it’s neuroscience. The longer we avoid something the more pressure we feel and the more pressure we feel the more our brain turns on the fight for flight mode and we generally avoid the task and pretend it doesn’t exist. Instead of just doing it and getting it out of the way which is what would actually make us feel better and solve the problem.
Okay, so we have all this, we have an existential threat created by our planners just because we are using this system of inserts that aren’t really meant for planning or doing, they are meant for remembering.
Go ahead, look inside some of the planners in your stash- look at some planners at target or staples, or online- this system of inserts is repeated over and over and over. You think their are thousands of planners in the market, but their aren’t- their are just multiple sizes and variations on this one system!
Darn, what are we supposed to do?
How do we get a planner that actually helps us plan and avoid situations and downwards spirals like this?
Because we are ambitious ladies here- we have things to do, we have goals, we have families, we juggle priorities and responsibilities like a boss and we don’t have time for a planner that isn’t helping us do more in less time, a planner that isn’t helping us get clear on what we need to do to be successful.
Well, this is where I found myself circa 2014. Premade planners were not doing it for me- so I started designing my own inserts to create a planning system that actually helped me get my ideas out of my head and onto paper, helped me to organize those ideas strategically, and then helped me schedule and track it all so that I was getting things done!
That three phase system became the basis for a my personal planning philosophy that I call Functional Planning.
Functional because it helps you get everything you need and want to do out of your head and onto paper so you can organize that information strategically, and then schedule and track your work to it’s successful completion.
Step 1, Step 2, Step 3- this is how we plan functionally.
Functional planning is based on research backed time, task and personal energy management strategy. Plus, it incorporates actual neuroscience so that as you follow through with functional planning techniques, you are actually training your brain to think more productively and strategically about your tasks and how you spend your time.
For years, I have been obsessed with the concept of Functional Planning and I’ve been sharing my journey here on Youtube and on my blog and social platforms, as I research, design and create functional planning tools to help you create the strategic plan for your life.
The culmination of this work is my signature Functional Planner known as the Charmed Life Master Planner.
I created the first iterations of the Charmed Life Master Planner back in 2015 and every year since I have evolved the design to incorporate the newest research and technology so that your planner becomes the single greatest productivity tool in living your best life.
And for anyone who may be new to me and wondering about the name of the planner. In 2015 I designed a unique month on two pages, vertical week on two pages planner that I called the Charmed Life Planner, and that was all it included, monthly and weekly pages because that’s how planners are sold right. But I also sold the Charmed Life Planner in a bundle with project planning inserts and I called that bundle the Functional Planning Bundle.
And I sold the planner like that, until 2018 when I added a third and final section to the bundle that I call the Brilliant Ideas section- which are the ideation inserts- brain dump, brainstorm and notes pages. Once I added that third section, really completing the planner and the functional planning system- I started calling it the Master Planner. It was the one planner to rule them all! So, I merged the two names. Charmed Life Master Planner because my brand name is Strange and Charmed, my shop is the Charmed Shop, I’m all about living and teaching others how to live a more Charmed Life. And Master Planner because this one was it- this system was the embodiment of Functional Planning mastery. So that is the history of the name of the planner!
The Charmed Life Master Planner is a first of its kind Functional Planning System. System because the inserts included in the planner walk you through a specific process for getting your ideas out onto paper so you can prioritize them because we know we can’t do it all at one time, we have to make choices and select what is most important and put first things first and second things second.
Then the system guides you into organizing your tasks into strategic project plans so you can create a step by step process for achieving an objective, goal or outcome you desire. Finally, the planner gives you a variety of calendar pages so you can outline your plans for the year with a big picture overview on the yearly views, and then drill down to the monthly view, and into the weekly and daily views if you need that much detail- it’s up to you!
The concept is that you create this big picture plan for your year, break it down into action steps and you can track and schedule those tasks down from the macro view to the micro view, so that each day you know exactly what you have to do to move your life forward, and as long as you do those few essential tasks each day and week, you have made necessary and impactful progress. This is all based on neuroscience and productivity research that tells us that humans see their time and plans as unique structures- so it’s important to have multiple views in your planner to mimic the way you see time in your mind. This is known in science as chronoception- which is your perception of time. And this is also based off the science of what is known as time-space synesthesia, which is the way some people, including myself, perceive time as part of their physical space.
Now, this is something I’ve only ever really discussed privately within my Master Mind, but I experience time a little differently than some other people do. I actually see time around me like a ring around my body. And because of this synesthesia I experience, when I plan, I need to be able to see time laid out visually, as opposed to seeing it as a list. And this factor has played heavily into how I design my planner inserts, because some people, like myself, have a very visual experience of time, and most planner systems do not provide the right layouts for people like me to see their plans in a way that allows them to make an accurate prediction of what they will be able to accomplish with their time. So, if you experience time space synesthesia like me, or you just consider yourself to be a very visual person, the Charmed Life Master Planner includes inserts that most planners don’t include, so it is a more functional system for anyone who is neurodivergent in any way.
Every year, I work to refine these inserts and this system, really making the system as accessible as possible to the greatest number of women because I know and believe and am living proof that this process, once you learn it will take you from overwhelmed to organized. It will take you from chaos to clarity. And it truly helps you work smarter not harder.
For years the Charmed Life Master Planner was only available as a set of print at home inserts.
Then in 2018 I turned it into a book bound planner that you can purchase on Amazon.
In 2022, the planner got a huge makeover in terms of style- all the same great function, but I just had to give her a makeover, the girl was 7, she needed it!
Then in 2023 I unveiled the next evolution of the system – The Digital Master Planner!
So, the Charmed Life Master Planner comes in three versatile formats:
Print at home inserts that you can use to create your own custom planner system in the binder of your choice
A Digital Planner PDF hyperlinked and compatible with a variety of PDF annotation applications and tablets
A Book Bound undated version so you can keep your year together in one easy to use book and never waste inserts again
Each version includes over a dozen elegantly designed inserts based on productivity and neuroscience research to help you capture your plans and ideas, define strategic objectives to work towards and to track and allocate your work each day. The Master Planner is truly a tool intended to help you take your goals and tasks from to-do to done!
No matter which planner format is compatible with you, the printable inserts, digital planner or book bound, the Master Planner is the productivity system and tool you need to actually start getting more done!
It’s that time of year again – time for a mid-year reset. I absolutely love the idea of a mid-year reset because we’re halfway through the year. If you’re anything like me, you started January 1st with huge goals and plans. However, life inevitably gets in the way, things shift, and you might find yourself off track. Now, as we approach the halfway point of the year, it’s a fantastic opportunity to realign, re-strategize your goals, and reset your plan.
Why a Mid-Year Reset is Essential
If you didn’t set goals at the start of the year, don’t worry – that’s totally okay. The transition into the new year can be incredibly busy. Often, we have the best of intentions to set goals, but if it doesn’t happen in January or by February, we feel like we need to wait until next year. That’s simply not true! This mid-year halfway point is a perfect chance to clarify the goals you want to achieve, make a plan, and organize your life to support those plans.
Don’t Have Goals Yet? No Problem!
Full disclosure: this post isn’t going to dive into the specifics of goal setting and planning. If you haven’t set your goals yet but want to follow my process, I recommend purchasing my You Got Goals Planner and workshop series. As a special treat, use the code 2024RESET at checkout to get 50% OFF. This will help you set the right goals now to carry you through to the end of the year!
The Power of a Mid-Year Reset
My approach to a mid-year reset is inspired by an amazing quote I heard years ago: “Six months of hardcore focus and alignment can put you five years ahead in life.” I truly believe this is true. If you can get clear on your goals, align your life with them, and put in the work, you can achieve in a matter of months what most people take years to accomplish.
The Four Stages of a Mid-Year Reset
This guided mid-year reset activity consists of four stages. For each stage, I’ll share some thoughts and specific activities for you to work through. I recommend setting aside at least one hour to complete this process in one sitting. Once you get the ball rolling, you’ll build momentum that will help you complete it sooner. When we break things into smaller pieces, we often either don’t finish the process or it takes much longer than it needs to.
Make sure to grab your goal materials and plans for the year, plus extra space to write and go through the activities – a notebook or a notes app will work just fine.
The four stages we’ll work through are:
Goal Reset
Vision Board Reset
Goal Life Realignment
Goal Life Organization and Reset
Phase One: Goal Reset
In this phase, we’ll take a close look at our annual goals and the plans we’ve made so far. This step is crucial to ensure we are moving forward with the goals that truly matter to us.
Activity: Reviewing Your Goals
Start by reviewing your list of goals for the year. For each goal, complete the following prompts:
Assess Progress:
What progress have I made on this goal so far?
What is left for me to do in order to accomplish it?
Identify Obstacles:
If no progress has been made, what obstacles have stopped me from taking action?
Is this still something worth prioritizing this year?
Commit to Goals:
Which goals am I committed to pursuing for the next six months?
What objectives do I need to achieve to complete them?
From here, assign 1-3 objectives to each remaining month of the year. This will act as the outline for your monthly planning.
Understanding Objectives
If you’re not familiar with my goal-setting terminology, an objective is the action plan for how you will achieve a goal. If the goal itself is what you want, the objective is how you will make it happen. Objectives take one of three forms:
Project Plan: A series of steps that you complete to get your desired outcome.
System: Similar to a project plan, but instead of working through the process once, systems are repeated on a recurring basis.
Habit: A single action you take on some recurring frequency.
For each goal you decide to move forward with over the next six months, you may have a number of different objectives to accomplish it. Take all those objectives and assign 1-3 per month of the year. Some objectives, like systems or habits, may need to be assigned to more than one month and that is perfectly fine.
Moving Forward
Once you know which goals you are committed to pursuing for the rest of the year, you can move on to Phase Two: The Vision Board Reset.
Phase Two: The Vision Board Reset
Creating a vision board for my goals has been an essential part of my process for years. Here’s why: when we can see the things we desire over and over, it not only reminds us of what we are working towards but also helps us get into the energy of that desire. It activates our creativity, our problem-solving abilities, and regulates our nervous system around the idea of trying new things to get new results.
I like to use the mid-year reset as a time to get back into the excitement of my goals by creating a new vision board. Whether or not my goals list has changed, it’s just nice to freshen things up and bring in a new excitement and energy around our goals.
How to Create Your Vision Board
Envision Your Goals:
Take each of your goals one by one and think about what you envision for this goal.
What would it look like for you to live in the reality where you have achieved it?
Search for Images:
Use Pinterest or other online resources to find images that resonate with your vision.
Save the images to your computer.
Create Your Vision Board:
Make two versions of your vision board: one landscape orientation for your computer and iPad background, and one portrait orientation for your phone and planner.
Use tools like Photoshop or Canva to create your vision boards. Alternatively, you can print your images and create a physical collage.
Tips for an Effective Vision Board
Get Clear on Your Future: Ensure the images reflect the future you envision when you achieve each goal.
Choose Inspiring Images: Pick images that seriously inspire you.
Avoid Faces That Don’t Look Like You: To maintain relatability, either choose images with no faces or blur out the faces.
Create Multiple Versions: Having different versions for various devices and places ensures you see your vision board frequently.
With your new vision board created, it’s time to move on to Phase Three: The Goal/Life Realignment.
Phase Three: The Goal/Life Realignment
In this phase, you will identify the habits you need to put in place to support your goals and create your ideal weekly and daily schedules to make room for each of your goals, ensuring dedicated time and space to work on them.
Habits for Goal Achievement
There is a quote attributed to Aristotle that I love: “You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.” When it comes to achieving your goals, they are not just tasks you experience once; you need to develop the right habits that make your goals a consistent part of your life.
For each of your goals, get clear on which habits will help you achieve them and make them a permanent part of your life.
Additionally, I recommend incorporating the following seven success habits, which I call the Self-Mastery Seven. These are daily habits for success, and while you don’t need to do each one every single day, your life and goal achievement will benefit from doing them most days of the week.
Mindset Work: Engage in activities like visualization, affirmations, journaling, or meditation. You don’t need to do all of them daily, but doing one of these most days of the week will improve your mindset, which plays a major role in achieving any goal.
Movement: Aim for 150 minutes of zone 2 cardio a week, which translates to 30 minutes, five days a week, of a workout at roughly 60-70% of your maximum heart rate. This has significant science-backed benefits for managing your wellness and personal energy.
Planning: Consistently plan before taking major action. Setting your top three priorities and scheduling your day will make you more focused and productive.
Cooking: Prepare and eat home-cooked meals most of the time, as they are generally more nutritious and cost-effective.
Learning: Engage in continuous learning through reading, taking courses, watching instructional videos, or listening to educational podcasts.
Connection: Reach out and talk to people, develop intimate relationships, and share your innermost thoughts and feelings with trusted individuals. This significantly helps in reducing stress.
Sleep: Prioritize getting a good night’s sleep. Protect your sleep like it’s the most important thing you can do each day, as it truly is. Most people are sleep-deprived, which has the same effect as being drunk. Better sleep is crucial for every area of your life.
Next, let’s talk about creating your ideal or default weekly schedule.
If you’ve never heard me discuss the default weekly schedule, it is the master outline for what I do across an average week. Whether you realize it or not, you likely already have a loose weekly routine because we all fall into patterns. Taking control of this weekly routine allows you to create an intentional schedule that gives you time and space for everything that matters in your life.
While it’s true there aren’t enough hours in a day to fit everything, when we zoom out to the week, we have 168 hours to play with. To utilize your week strategically, think about the major categories of tasks you do—for work, home, personal goals, etc.—and time-block them across your week.
Morning Routine: Include your mindset work and daily self-care.
Recurring Tasks: Set aside time blocks for your grocery run, meal planning, and meal prep.
Workouts: Schedule your exercise sessions.
Connections: Allocate time for one-on-one interactions.
Rest: Include rest periods.
Life Essentials and Goals: Dedicate time blocks for life essentials and deep work on your goals.
Creating a themed workweek can be helpful, whether you work for yourself or in a job where your tasks vary. A default template for when you work on each category of tasks helps you stay focused and achieve better results.
Use this template as the skeleton of your plan when planning your weeks. Batch tasks and leave room for white space, so if something unexpected comes up, you have time for it without ruining your plans.
Creating Your Ideal Daily Schedule
Just like the default weekly schedule, you should have a version of your ideal day, noting when you will do certain habits or essentials. Since many activities are done daily or most days, set aside time in your daily routine for them.
Only schedule habits into your daily routine if it’s something you should do most days. Think about adding time for the Self-Mastery Seven mentioned earlier. Once you have this ideal daily routine, it becomes the template for how you move through your day. While it won’t always be 100% accurate, and some days will require adjustments, having this template will help you establish strong routines that make you a more organized and successful person.
Once you know what habits you need to work on, you can start adding those habits to your existing routines and create this time-blocked default weekly schedule to work from.
Phase Four: Goal/Life Organization
Now it’s time to get to the fourth and final phase of this mid-year reset process: Goal/Life Organization!
In this phase, we will cover what needs to get organized in your life to support the achievement of your goals. We’ll look at how your environment is currently set up and how it may already be supporting or perhaps hindering your goals. When I say environment, I mean three things: your physical environment (home, office, spaces where you live and work), the people in your environment who are impacting and influencing you, and your mindset (self-talk and limiting beliefs).
The way I see it is this: there is a reason you don’t have your goal yet—it’s because your environment isn’t optimal for you to take action. It doesn’t make it easy and stress-free for you to show up and live your life. So we need to ask ourselves some hard questions to see what needs to change so we have an environment conducive to achieving our goals!
Evaluating Your Current Environment
First, evaluate how your current environment either supports or hinders your goals. Look at your physical environment, the people in your life, and your mindset. What is working and what is not? Identify elements of support in each area and areas of hindrance that need to be fixed.
With that brain dump of ideas out of your head, let’s start getting more specific. Which areas of your home, office, or other personal spaces need organizing or optimization to bring you into alignment with your goals and ideal life?
Optimizing Your Physical Environment
One strategy I recommend for everyone is to get a handle on your wardrobe by choosing a Daily Uniform Template. Then, organize your closet so that your uniform is prioritized and the excess you don’t wear is moved or decluttered. Getting dressed in the morning is one of the most stressful points of the day for a woman. Research shows women are stressed out in the morning trying to choose what to wear, even with closets filled with clothes. A Daily Uniform Template solves this. It’s essentially deciding on a formula for dressing that works with your body shape, personal style, and the formality you dress for daily.
For example, my template for summer is a tank top, linen button-down, and linen pants or shorts. In the winter, I wear wool joggers and cashmere sweaters. Knowing this, I have cleared out clothes I don’t wear, pieces that don’t fit this template, or can’t easily be integrated with it, and streamlined my closet. This makes it quick and easy for me to get ready in the morning, and I know it will make it easier for you as well!
Beyond the closet, think about what you need to change in your physical environment to get the most from your space. Do you need to better organize files in your office? Reorganize the closet in the spare bedroom? Find a better storage solution for your towels in your bathroom? Identify the areas that need to be addressed. Some issues may have simple solutions like purchasing an organizational tool, but others may be projects requiring time to reorganize a space. These changes won’t happen overnight, but clearly identifying them means you can schedule time over the next few weeks to address them.
Evaluating the People in Your Life
Next, think about the people in your life. There is a quote I love that says, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” If you are trying to hit specific goals, you need to surround yourself with people who have also hit those goals or at least people with goals they are also going after.
On the flip side, if you have people in your life who are negative, unsupportive, or just not on a journey for personal growth, you may need to set boundaries with them, especially if they drain your time and energy more than necessary.
Ask yourself who in your life is bringing you stress and draining your energy. Take steps to set limits with them and protect your energy, so you have more energy for your goals and for interacting with like-minded individuals who are also working on their goals and dream life.
Sometimes, finding people on a similar journey is difficult, which is why I have the Charmed Life Master Mind where women in my community can learn, find accountability, and get coaching together to help them achieve their goals and create their best lives.
Improving Your Self-Talk
Finally, let’s address your self-talk. The way you speak to yourself is a major factor in your success. You are either your greatest hype person or your biggest critic. Your words and thoughts can motivate you into action or spiral you out of control. We need to get our self-talk to a more positive place by identifying the limiting beliefs we need to replace.
When you think about your goals, what limits do you see to your potential? A good way to identify limiting beliefs is to ask yourself why your goal might not work out. The answers will reveal the beliefs you need to face and replace. For each limiting belief, find some evidence or an affirmation that challenges the negative belief.
Here are a few examples:
Limiting Belief: I can’t get healthy; my whole family is out of shape.
Evidence: There are so many people who came from unhealthy families who made a change and ended up inspiring their families as well!
Limiting Belief: I can’t start a business; this niche is already too saturated.
Evidence: A saturated niche means plenty of business opportunity if I show up in a unique way.
Limiting Belief: I’m in my 40s and still not married; I’ll be single forever.
Evidence: People get married and divorced at every age; the right person for me is out there somewhere, also looking for me.
Once you have this evidence or affirmations, use them with your mindset work scheduled as part of the Self-Mastery Seven Success Habits!
Watch the Mid-Year Reset Video
Congratulations!
Once you have worked through this process, you have completed your Mid-Year Reset! You now have a clear vision for the next six months, a fresh vision board, realigned goals and life, key habits identified, template weekly and daily schedules in place, and a plan to organize your environment for success. Well done!
Join the Charmed Life Master Mind!
If you loved this post, gained valuable insights, and wish for more resources to help you plan and organize your life around achieving your goals, you belong inside the Charmed Life Master Mind!
The Charmed Life Master Mind is a planning, productivity, and personal development community designed for ambitious women. Here, you can learn, gain accountability, and receive coaching to help you show up as your best self each day, achieve your goals, and live your best life!
What You’ll Get in the Master Mind
Live Classes & On-Demand Tools: Access a mix of live classes and on-demand tools to enhance your planning and productivity skills.
Community Support: Join a supportive community where you can find inspiration, solutions, and coaching from me and other like-minded women.
Daily Inspiration & Coaching: Get daily inspiration and coaching as needed to keep you motivated and on track.
Why Join?
You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. If you lack growth-minded people in your life right now, the Charmed Life Master Mind can be the community you need. Share your journey, struggles, and celebrate your wins with people who also want the best for you—including me! I’ll be there to mentor and coach you as often as you need it.
Remember, six months of hardcore focus and alignment can put you five years ahead in life. Massively up-level your life this year by joining the Charmed Life Master Mind and getting the support and tools you need to make a quantum leap with your goals!
We are currently in the transition period between two months, and so this is the time I like to perform my monthly planning routine. Today, I thought we could plan together and I could guide you through my step my step monthly planning routine.
Why You Should Use a Monthly Planning Routine
In the hustle and bustle of daily life, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, scattered, and constantly chasing after tasks. However, there’s a powerful tool that can transform the way you approach your days and help you reclaim control of your time: the monthly planning routine. By dedicating time each month to organize, prioritize, and strategize, you can unlock a host of benefits that will not only boost your productivity but also enhance your overall well-being.
1. Organize and Manage Your Task Load
A monthly planning routine allows you to take stock of all your commitments, deadlines, and projects. By laying out everything in one place, whether it’s a digital calendar or a trusty planner, you can gain a clear understanding of what needs to be done and when. This organization is key to preventing important tasks from slipping through the cracks and ensures that you can approach each day with intentionality and purpose.
2. Focus on Your Priorities and Goals
A monthly planning routine provides you with the space to reflect on your long-term objectives and break them down into actionable steps. By identifying your top priorities for the month ahead, you can align your daily activities with your overarching goals, making progress towards them with each passing day. This sense of purpose and direction is invaluable in helping you stay motivated and on track, even when faced with distractions or obstacles.
3. Balance Your Workload to Avoid Overwhelm
One of the biggest challenges in today’s fast-paced world is finding balance. A monthly planning routine empowers you to take control of your workload and distribute tasks in a way that prevents overwhelm. By strategically allocating your time and resources, you can ensure that you’re not putting too much pressure on yourself at any given moment. This balanced approach not only reduces stress but also allows you to maintain a sustainable level of productivity over the long term, preventing burnout and exhaustion.
4. Enjoy the Month Without Missing Important Dates or Feeling Stressed
Finally, a monthly planning routine affords you the opportunity to fully enjoy each month without the constant worry of what you might be forgetting or missing out on. By proactively scheduling events, appointments, and deadlines, you can free up mental space to be present in the moment and savor life’s experiences. Whether it’s a family gathering, a weekend getaway, or simply some well-deserved downtime, knowing that your responsibilities are accounted for allows you to fully engage with whatever the month has in store.
Creating Your Monthly Functional Planning Routine
If you are interested in creating productive and functional planning routines in your life, I do have a monthly planning workbook you can download and use to following along with this process. I use this workbook to help me create the outline of my monthly plan before transferring the final information into my Charmed Life Master Planner. I find that using a workbook like this helps me to get my ideas out of my head and onto paper more easily without worrying that I might make a mistake in my planner. This is especially helpful if you use a paper planner and it’s not easy to move things around, or if you use a planner that doesn’t have a lot of different inserts for planning and organizing your ideas- this workbook has some different spreads you can use and then transfer the final information into a simpler planner if that is what you use.
First, make sure you have 30-45 minutes blocked off to complete this process. If you are new to monthly planning, it might take you a little more time to complete, but over time as you perform this routine, you will find that you become quicker and the process gets easier.
Set the vibe. For best results I recommend working in a clutter free area, grabbing a drink, lighting a candle and/or put on a relaxing playlist.
Grab your planner, writing utensils and any other bits you like to use to plan and let’s begin.
The Step-by-Step Monthly Functional Planning Routine
Step One: Monthly Review | In this step we will review the month that is ending for patterns that can help you to plan better moving forward. There are four prompts in this section:
1. What in the last month worked?
Wins
Healthy choices you made
Major tasks you accomplished
Boundaries you set
A new skill you developed
Decisions you faced and made
Obstacles you overcame
Self-care you made time for
Mindset work
Objectives or Goals you hit
New Habits or Routines You Integrate
Successful Planning and Execution of Plan
2. What didn’t work?
Tasks you avoided
Habits you didn’t stick to
Plans that didn’t work out
Routines that didn’t work
Things that overwhelmed you
Perfectionism that creeped in
Procrastination
3. Which incomplete tasks from the month need to be migrated to the new month?
Tasks you planned to do in the prior month,but didn’t accomplish and now need to be completed in the following month. Not all tasks will need to be migrated to this new month. You can defer tasks to a future month where it makes more sense to complete the task, or you might just need to delete the task all together because the opportunity has passed.
4. What have you learned overall to help you become a better planner?
How to plan better
How to motivate yourself
Tasks you enjoy
Tasks you don’t enjoy
What needs to be shifted or reworked in your life or plans
Step Two Brain Dump|Use the following prompts to help you get your thoughts, plans, dreams and ideas out of your head and onto paper with a brain dump. These four questions will help you pinpoint priority tasks that should have your primary focus in the month ahead and help you set boundaries so that you avoid unnecessary obstacles and make time for actions that will bring you in alignment with your best self.
Q1: What do you need to get done in the next month
Q2: What would make next month feel productive and successful
Q3: What drains on my time and energy do I want to watch out for and avoid in the upcoming month? What is my plan for dealing with them?
Q4: How do I plan to show up as my highest and best version of self this new month?
Step Three: The Monthly Calendar |Populate key dates into your monthly calendar. Consider holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, events, due dates, appointments and any other days of significance that you need to be aware of this month.
Step Four: Monthly Tracker | Use the Monthly Tracker to outline all your goal related tasks for the month in one place. Each month you can plan for 3 projects, 5 weekly action items or systems and 6 daily action items or habits.
Step Five: The Monthly Master Task List |Populate the Monthly Master Task List with any additional tasks due this month that are independent of your goals and objectives.
Step Six: Task Allocation |Review your monthly tracker and master task list to choose three priority tasks to allocate to each week of the month. This ensures that you have split up your work across the weeks of the month so that you have enough time to complete your work. If you find that you have too many priorities this month to properly allocate tasks, you may want to consider cutting down your objectives for the month so that you do not overwhelm yourself.
Step Seven: Monthly Manifestation Journaling |Use the following set of prompts to journal out what you would like to happen in your life this month. Think of this process as though you are creating a wishlist of all the ways you would love to be surprised and delighted by life this month!
Prompt 1: What outcomes would you love to manifest this month?
Prompt 2: What unknowns, questions or worries can you surrender to God/Spirit/The Universe, knowing trusting and believing that they will act on your behalf and ensure you have a path ready to your goals?
Prompt 3: Write a list of affirmations to support you in believing that these outcomes are already yours.
Create a Monthly Plan With Me
If you need more motivation to complete your monthly functional planning routine, feel free to use this video as encouragement. It walks you through the complete process provides additional insight on some of the more complicated prompts and gives you time to complete each activity in the planning routine.
Creating a Consistent Monthly Planning Routine
Once you complete these steps you will have not only a functional and efficient plan for the tasks you will accomplish this month, but you also will have shifted your mindset and opened yourself up to believing that you will get the things you want from life this month. Moving forward you will use this monthly plan to guide the tasks you work on each week, using the monthly tracker to move forward your goals and your monthly master task list to act as a focused to do list that you can plan your days around. Don’t forget to come back to those affirmations you wrote out frequently. Rereading those affirmations aloud a few times a day will help you to continue to shift your mindset in ways that will make it easier for you to take action and accomplish your goals!
Make sure to bookmark this post and come back to it each month to plan, and of course, grab the workbook to help you make the most of this process. As you use this process month over month you will see how the consistency compounds and helps you find more balance and focus in your life.
If you are looking for more planning strategies, I have one more thing that may interest you. I have a free On-demand workshop called How to Plan for a Balanced and Successful Life that will teach you more about planning and executing on your plan successfully.
So if you want to learn more about how to set up a planner to help you get organized, how to establish a regular planning routine, and how to get more done in less time- this free workshop is precisely what you need!
Happy Leap Year! Today, February 29th, is a rare gift—an extra day added to our calendar. While the calendar provides us with this bonus day every four years, it serves as a powerful reminder that we can, in essence, create more time in our lives every day. In this blog post, let’s explore strategies and techniques that can help you add more time to your daily routine, making each day more meaningful and productive.
1. Mastering Time Blocking: One effective way to create more time in your day is through time blocking. Instead of letting tasks scatter randomly throughout your schedule, allocate specific blocks of time for focused work. This minimizes multitasking, enhances concentration, and ensures that each task receives dedicated attention.
Example: Set aside a block of time in the morning for your most important and challenging tasks when your energy is at its peak.Use the Weekly Schedule template in the Charmed Life Master Planner to create recurring time blocks for essential activities.
2. Prioritizing with Purpose: Not all tasks are created equal. Prioritizing with purpose involves identifying the most impactful and meaningful tasks that align with your goals. By focusing on what truly matters, you ensure that your time is spent on activities that contribute to your overall success and fulfillment.
Example: Use the Eisenhower Matrix to categorize tasks into urgent/important, important/not urgent, urgent/not important, and neither urgent nor important.Use the Eisenhower Matrix in the Brain Dump section of the Charmed Life Master Planner to quickly prioritize a list of tasks.
3. Embracing the Pomodoro Technique: The Pomodoro Technique involves breaking your work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short 5 minute breaks. This method boosts productivity by fostering intense focus during work intervals and providing brief moments of rest to recharge.
Example: Set a timer for 25 minutes, work on a specific task with full concentration, and then take a 5-minute break. After four rounds of these 30 minute pomodoro’s, take a 15 minute break. After eight pomodoro’s take a longer 30 minute break.Map out your pomodoro tasks on the weekly or daily agenda pages of the Charmed Life Master Planner.
4. Strategic Delegation: Recognize that you don’t have to do everything yourself. Strategic delegation involves identifying tasks that can be outsourced or assigned to others, freeing up your time for activities that require your unique skills and attention.
Example: At home, delegate everyday tasks and chores to other members of your household to free up time to work on bigger home projects and personal goals. At work, delegate routine administrative tasks to an (virtual) assistant, allowing you to concentrate on high-value work.Use the Brainstorm section of your Charmed Life Master Planner to list out tasks to delegate for members of your household and/or co-workers or assistants.
5. Digital Detox and Mindful Moments: Constant connectivity can be a time drain. Schedule periods of digital detox to disconnect from devices and engage in mindful moments. This practice can enhance focus, reduce stress, and create a sense of spaciousness in your schedule.
Example: Designate specific times each day for a digital detox, even if it’s just for 15 minutes of quiet reflection.Use the Ideal Day template of your Charmed Life Master Planner to schedule in periods of mindfulness and detox from tech and screens.
6. Optimizing Your Morning Routine: Start your day with intention by optimizing your morning routine. Incorporate activities that energize and prepare you for the day ahead. A purposeful morning routine can set a positive tone and create a buffer of time for self-care.
Example: Include activities like meditation, exercise, and planning in your morning routine to kickstart your day on a productive note.Use the Ideal Day template of your Charmed Life Master Planner to craft your ideal morning routine to set your day up for success!
Conclusion: Leap Into an Abundance of Time with the Charmed Life Master Planner
In today’s fast-paced world, where time often feels like a scarce resource, the concept of creating more time may seem elusive. However, as we celebrate this rare Leap Year day, we’re reminded that with the right strategies and tools, we can indeed carve out more meaningful moments in our daily lives if we have the right strategies and the right tools!
The Charmed Life Master Planner is the ultimate functional planning tool to help you organize, master and multiply your time, not just today, but every day of the year.
Imagine that feeling of extra time and space in your life coming more than just once every four years! It can be a regular occurrence for you when you use the Charmed Life Master Planner with these simple strategies!
And if you are ready to take a bigger leap in your life to improve your productivity and unlock new levels of success for yourself, you belong inside the Charmed Life Master Mind!
Get the Charmed Life Master Planner – both the print on demand and digital PDF versions- for FREE when you enroll in the Annual Membership option of the Charmed Life Master Mind.
Use the code PA50OFF for $50 OFF the Annual Membership option for a limited time.
Don’t let another day pass you by without taking action towards your dreams. Join the Charmed Life Master Mind today and take the leap forward towards a life of abundance, fulfillment, and success!
Transition times—they sneak up on us in the midst of our busy lives, catching us between tasks, appointments, or even just mundane moments like waiting in line or during commercial breaks. These pockets of time may seem insignificant, but they hold the potential to be valuable moments for personal growth and productivity. In this post, we’ll explore the concept of transition times and suggest productive activities to make the most of them.
Understanding Transition Times
Transition times encompass those moments when you find yourself in limbo—whether you’re commuting, waiting for an appointment, or simply taking a break between tasks. These intervals are typically too short to dive into significant tasks but often long enough to feel like wasted time if not utilized purposefully.
Instead of idly scrolling through your phone or letting your mind wander, consider embracing transition times as opportunities for engaged activity. By having a plan for how to spend these moments, you can transform them from mundane pauses into valuable periods of personal enrichment.
Productive Activities for Transition Times
Read or Listen to a Book: Carry a book or download audiobooks to your device. Use transition times to immerse yourself in literature, whether fiction for relaxation or non-fiction for personal development.
Learn Something New: Tune into a podcast or online class during your commute or downtime. Take advantage of the wealth of educational content available to expand your knowledge on various topics.
Organize Photos on Your Phone: Use transition times to declutter and organize your digital life. Sort through photos, delete unnecessary files, and create albums for easy access.
Respond to Quick Emails: Clear out your inbox by tackling short, straightforward emails during transition times. It’s a productive way to stay on top of communication without dedicating large chunks of time.
Mindset Work: Practice affirmations, journaling, or guided meditation to nourish your mental well-being. Transition times offer ideal moments for quick mindset exercises that can boost your mood and productivity.
Make a Plan: Take a few minutes to jot down goals, tasks, or ideas for the day ahead. Having a plan in place helps you stay focused and organized, even during brief intervals of time.
Braindump: Release mental clutter by jotting down thoughts, ideas, or to-dos onto paper or a digital device. Transition times provide a perfect opportunity for a brain dump, clearing space for fresh inspiration.
Brainstorm or Mindmap: Use transition times to brainstorm ideas or create mind maps for upcoming projects. Engaging in creative thinking exercises can spark innovative solutions and insights.
Take a Nap: If you’re feeling fatigued, consider using transition times for a quick power nap. Even a brief rest can recharge your energy and enhance cognitive function.
Embracing Productivity in Transition Times
Transition times don’t have to be wasted moments in your day. By adopting a proactive approach and implementing productive activities, you can make the most of these intervals and turn them into opportunities for personal growth and self-improvement.
As you integrate these strategies into your routine, consider exploring further productivity techniques and strategies. Join the Charmed Life Mastermind to gain access to exclusive resources, coaching, and support to optimize your time management and productivity. Let’s transform transition times into moments of empowerment and progress together-giving you back more of your time!
Unlock the potential of your time and embark on a journey towards greater productivity and fulfillment. Join the Charmed Life Mastermind today and elevate your productivity game to new heights.
As we transition into March, it’s time to embrace the energy of growth and renewal. In this monthly planning guide, we’ll explore key dates, planning prompts, and tips to help you organize your to-do list and make the most of this transformative month.
March 2024 Events & Holidays
Saturday, March 2nd @ 2pm EDT: Systems of Personal Organization Masterclass
• Attend a masterclass focused on enhancing personal organization skills for increased productivity and efficiency.
• Commemorate Easter with family and friends, embracing themes of renewal and rebirth.
March 2024 Astrological Transits
Mercury Enters Aries March 9th
• Prepare for assertive communication and dynamic thinking as Mercury moves into Aries.
New Moon in Pisces March 10th
• Set intentions for emotional healing, intuition, and spiritual growth under the influence of the New Moon in Pisces.
Venus Enters Pisces March 11th
• Embrace compassion, empathy, and creativity in your relationships as Venus enters Pisces.
Sun Enters Aries March 19th
• Welcome the energy of initiative, courage, and action as the Sun moves into Aries, marking the beginning of the astrological new year.
Mars Enters Pisces March 22nd
• Channel your energy into creative and imaginative pursuits as Mars enters Pisces.
Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Libra Monday, March 25th
• Navigate endings and closures gracefully during this transformative Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Libra.
March 2024 Planning Prompts
Reflect on February:
What were your successes and challenges last month?
What lessons did you learn, and how can you apply them moving forward?
Set March Objectives:
Define your goals and priorities for the month.
Break them down into actionable steps to ensure progress.
Key Dates Awareness:
Note important dates in your calendar, including events, deadlines, and appointments.
Set reminders to stay organized and prepared.
Embrace Seasonal Themes:
How can you embrace the themes of growth and renewal in your personal and professional life?
Identify areas for growth and opportunities for renewal.
Review and Revise Systems:
Evaluate your current organizational systems and workflows.
Identify areas for improvement and implement changes as needed.
Organization Tips for a Balanced and Productive March
Utilize a Digital Calendar:
Keep track of key dates and appointments with a digital calendar that syncs across devices.
Time Blocking:
Allocate dedicated blocks of time for specific tasks and activities to enhance focus and productivity.
Prioritize Tasks:
Use tools like the Eisenhower Matrix to prioritize tasks based on urgency and importance.
Regular Reviews:
Schedule regular reviews of your goals and progress to stay on track and make adjustments as needed.
Monthly Planning Prompts
What thoughts, plans, dreams and ideas do I need to get out of my head and onto paper?
What were my victories or wins from the prior month?
What are my objectives this month?
What important dates do I need to be aware of this month?
Who or what am I celebrating this month? List the tasks and time blocks associated with these celebrations.
What projects do I need to move forward this month and when can I reasonably expect to work on them?
What incomplete tasks from last month do I need to prioritize for completion this month?
Who else needs my help this month and what time and actions am I willing to offer? Set firm boundaries for expectations and give yourself time to reflect before you make commitments.
Navigate March with Intention
As you embark on your March journey, embrace the opportunities for renewal and growth that await you. With careful planning, reflection, and organization, you can make the most of this transformative month and move closer to your goals. Happy planning!
Create Your Functional Monthly Plan Now
Introducing the MonthlyPLAN Functional Planning Routine PDF Workbook
Are you tired of the endless to-do lists that leave you feeling overwhelmed, overworked, and ultimately unfulfilled? Do you find yourself randomly picking tasks off a list without a strategic approach, only to end your day without the satisfaction of meaningful accomplishments?
Say goodbye to the chaos and hello to a new era of productivity with our MonthlyPLAN Functional Planning Routine PDF Workbook. Crafted with precision and backed by years of research, this digital workbook is not just a set of pages; it’s your key to unlocking a more organized, balanced, and fulfilling life through Functional Planning.
The Power of Monthly Functional Planning:
In a world where time is our most precious resource, the MonthlyPLAN empowers busy, overwhelmed women to take control of their tasks and achieve true productivity. This isn’t just another to-do list; it’s a comprehensive system designed to transform the way you approach your daily life.
What’s Inside?
The MonthlyPLAN consists of 8 meticulously crafted pages, with 7 dynamic worksheet pages that guide you through the process of creating a monthly functional plan. Each page is a step toward reclaiming your time, energy, and sanity.
Key Features:
1. Strategic Organization: Tired of chaotic to-do lists? Our MonthlyPLAN Workbook ensures your tasks are prioritized, organized by objective, and aligned with your goals, allowing you to work smarter, not harder.
2. Realistic Expectations: Bid farewell to the never-ending cycle of unmet expectations. This workbook helps you set achievable and balanced goals, fostering a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
3. Overcoming Overwhelm: Research shows that traditional to-do lists contribute to overwhelm. The MonthlyPLAN Workbook is the antidote. By following the guided steps and utilizing the worksheets, you’ll break free from the chains of chaos.
4. Increased Productivity: Watch as your productivity soars to new heights. The MonthlyPLAN isn’t just a tool; it’s a transformative experience. By dedicating time to your monthly plan, you’ll witness a positive shift in your ability to get things done.
5. Buy Once, Plan Forever:The MonthlyPLAN Workbook is undated and can be used month over month to guide you through your monthly functional planning routine. Make your plan inside the Workbook and then transfer the tasks to the planner of your choice. The instant download PDF can be printed or used in a digital notebook app on your tablet device.
