The first half of the year is now coming to a close, so that means your July FREE Planner Printables and Tech Wallpapers are available for download over in my shop!
I hope you had a productive June and I hope these freebies help you work smarter, not harder this coming month!
xoxo,
How to Manifest a Successful Astrological New Year
As many of you may already know, yesterday was my live stream called How to Manifest a Successful Astrological New Year. If you haven’t heard, today is the start of the Astrological New Year as the New Moon Rises in Aries, the first sign of the zodiac. I love New Years, and luckily, there are a few different New Years celebrations throughout the year. You can make a fresh start or set your goals or intentions for your life at any point in the year, no matter what the day or moon phase but I find that if you can pair the positive and refreshing energy of a significant date with your intentions, that can lead to more substantial success. So, that was the heart behind yesterdays stream!
I was joined by my personal astrologist and tarot goddess Madeleine Joan of Written in the Stars and we paired a discussion of practical astrology with productivity. If you haven’t seen the replay yet- I urge you to check it out if you are interested in making a fresh start for the year or if you are interested in some of the more esoteric philosophies of life. The first part of our discussion goes through each zodiac sign and what specific energies the new moon is activating for you, paired with practical productivity strategy. You can use this information to help you set meaningful goals or intentions and help you manifest success for the year ahead! The second part of the video is an open Q&A where Madeleine and I helped some live viewers get some insight and clarity on questions or directions for issues they are struggling with. Now, I realize that watching someone else get an astrology or tarot reading may not seem helpful to you specifically, but I fully believe that the energy of the universe brings us all messages even through the struggles of others. So, if you choose to watch the second half of the video, keep your ears and mind open to receiving messages that resonate to you! If you feel a sense of synchronicity or alignment with a struggles of another, that may very well be the universe sending you a message as well.
I hope you enjoy this video and I’d love to hear your thoughts on the event and if you’d be interested in me doing more content on the topic of energy and manifestation, especially in terms of how we can harness such concepts for our own personal productivity and gain! Leave me a comment below- I’d love to hear your thoughts!
It may be March but did you know the astrological New Year is right around the corner? Monday March 27th kicks off the official start of the astrological year with the New Moon in Aries and this is a wonderful time to hit the refresh button on your life and energy if you feel like 2017 just hasn’t quite gotten off on the right foot! So, to help you find success and learn what is in store for you this year, I am hosting a FREE LIVE EVENT called HOW TO MANIFEST A SUCCESSFUL ASTROLOGICAL NEW YEAR with my friend, fellow empire builder and master astrologist, Madeleine Joan of Written in the Stars!
Join us on Sunday March 26th at 3PM Eastern/Noon Pacific for a star guided and tarot filled reading to help you maximize your productivity and success this year!
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE PRIVATE WATCH PAGE and make sure to bookmark it for the day of the event.
Feel free to invite your friends and share on social media as well via the event link: bit.ly/2017astrony
Can’t wait to see you all there!
My Entrepreneur Spring Break Playlist {March 2017 Productivity Playlist}
I don’t think I mentioned this, but yesterday was my birthday (yay for me!) and I’ve decided that I am taking the rest of March as my own personal business Spring Break! I always remember in college that my spring break fell around my birthday which was awesome, but ever since then, I’ve failed to really take time off to rest and relax during this pivotal time of year for myself. Well, now that the launch of Empire Building is done, I’ve cleared my schedule and plan to spend a dedicated amount of time focusing on myself and my personal interests. I’m not going to pull back 100% from my business, but I do want to devote most of the hours of the day to doing my own thing. I’m not entirely sure how my days will be spent, but I can say that I really want to focus on meditation, physical activity and reading. I also have some personal home projects I want to accomplish, like organizing and decluttering some spaces that have been neglected. I’m thinking a life purge is in order and I’m looking forward to doing some spring cleaning and letting go of the old to make room for the new!
Of course, I’ll need some great tunes to listen to while I work on these projects, so today I’m sharing my Entrepreneur Spring Break Playlist with some of the songs I’ve been loving lately that seem to always empower me to get up and moving!
I hope you have a wonderful week and enjoy this playlist! Even though you may not be able to take a Spring Break, I’d love to know how you’d spend some extra personal time and maybe even how you can incorporate some simple activities into your days this week to take advantage of the Spring Break energy in the air! Let me know in the comments!
Successful Launch, Chanel Birthday Unboxing & Meal Prep {Work Week Vlog 5}
In case you missed it, yesterday I posted my latest Work Week Vlog to my YouTube Channel! This vlog is another week in my life episode that shows you the behind the scenes of my life and business from Monday to Friday. In this episode, I am focused on the successful completion of my launch for the upgrade of Empire Building, I unbox and haul a few different fashion and beauty related purchases, share the birthday presents I’ve purchased myself and meal prep!
As you may already know, I work for myself full time as an online entrepreneur. I create and sell digital productivity tools, including digital courses, info products, printable productivity inserts, and ebooks. The best part about my business, to me, is that my income is mostly passive- meaning, when I make sales, I don’t necessarily need to do anything in order to process orders. I have intentionally built my shop as a self-serve area where orders are automatically processed and customers have immediate access to their purchases. Of course, this type of business means I have a very flexible schedule, however, I do tend to keep pretty regular business hours, as I do usually have a steady stream of work associated with the content creation and digital marketing I do to keep my business growing.
These vlogs are my attempt to share a deeper look into my business and the way I live so that any aspiring entrepreneurs or business owners can see how I spend my time, how I plan out my work, and how productive I really am! Of course, I do like to share fun lifestyle goodies as well. As they say “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!”
I hope you enjoy this video and if you do, please consider clicking through to my YouTube channel and supporting me and my content by subscribing!
3 Life Saving Productivity Tips You Can Learn from SCRUM
As some of you may already know, I recently read the book SCRUM: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time by Jeff Sutherland and JJ Sutherland! Now, this is a productivity book that has been suggested to me many many times, and I’m glad I was finally able to fit it in because it really is quite a gem of a book. In my mind, SCRUM picks up where my perennial favorite Getting Things Done by David Allen leaves off. Where GTD is all about organizing tasks and being efficient, SCRUM focuses on teamwork and project management. Now, while not everyone works as part of a team (myself included) their are a few strategies found in SCRUM that I think should be used by EVERYONE who is trying to move projects and goals forward- no matter what type of work you do. Let’s review:
In scrum, the concept of Inspect & Adapt is used almost like a mantra for checking your work. In the book, the author describes previous methods of project management used within the technology sector that essentially ignored the concept and led to project management disaster. When you check your work as you go, insuring that what you are working on it is functioning and still part of the goals of your project plan, you know you are moving forward and have little to tweak or go back to once you reach the end of the project. No matter what work you do, this concept applies because we should always make sure that what we are working on is actually functional and still necessary so we don’t waste our time on tasks that don’t matter or don’t work! Every time you complete a task, make sure the next item on your list is still relevant as well and you will avoid doing more work than necessary.
The 80/20 rule is a concept that I’ve relied on for a long time and it’s an essential rule for various businesses and situations. The 80/20 rule means that 20% of your effort will end up producing 80% of your real results. It’s interesting to think about, isn’t it and almost unbelievable but true! When I worked in sales and marketing we learned that 20% of our products drove 80% of our sales, and 20% of our customers did 80% of our total business. So it makes sense that most of what we do to achieve a project or goal really doesn’t have a heavy weight on the outcome. Instead, it’s the essential 20% of tasks that really achieve our ends for us. Now, this is something that fascinates me personally because I am always striving to understand what exactly the 20% is in my business so I can cut out the excess fat of the other 80% of my work that is really either a waste of time OR just minimally moving the needle. In order to evaluate this for yourself, when you start off with a project plan, I suggest identifying the key tasks that need to be completed in order for your project to come to a minimal form of completion that fulfills the basic goals of your project. Then make a weighted list of other tasks that would be nice to complete if you have time once the minimal work is complete. That way you focus your time and energy on the essential parts of your project and set aside tasks that you would like to do if time permits!
The final concept of SCRUM that I think is essential for anyone to use in their own work is impediment removal. Meaning that as soon as you see or experience a roadblock to your work, an issue, a setback, that you deal with it as soon as possible. In the SCRUM framework, the manager has the responsibility to remove this impediments, so if you do work for someone else, make them aware of issues immediately. But, if you work for yourself, you are going to have to get your hands dirty and deal with the problem. That doesn’t always mean that you will have a perfect solution for it- I think it’s reasonable to evaluate your situation and decide to sidestep the issue completely if it doesn’t have any bearing on your project (sometimes issues come to us as distractions, not actual problems), but taking action immediately means you can move quickly through your tasks without having this issue hanging over your head or having to make accommodations for it.
I hope you found these tips insightful for your productivity! If you haven’t read SCRUM yet, I would recommend checking it out, here is a link where you can get it online and if you want to get it as a free book on tape from Audible, here is that special link I used to get 2 FREE audio books instead of their normal offer of one! Let me know what you thought of the book and these tips down in the comments.
Mastering Project Management | 3 Tools & Tips to take an Idea from Concept to Completion
Yesterday on my YouTube Channel I shared a fresh installment of my 3’s a Charm series that I think you are going to love! In case you don’t recall, 3’s a Charm is my new series where I will take a specific productivity concept or situation and provide three different tools, tips or resources to help you work smarter, not harder! In this installment, I am talking about Mastering Project Management and sharing three tools and tips on how to complete your projects, even big time consuming ones. Definitely check the video out when you have a moment and let me know what you think!
I hope you enjoy this video and I’d love for you to share your personal insight into some tools, tips and resources you use for project management in the comments below! Of course, if you have any questions or need additional insight, leave me a question and I’ll see how I can help!
How to Complete Personal Tasks and Goals if You Struggle with Competing Priorities
This week on my YouTube Channel, I started a new Q&A series to address the productivity issues experienced by my community. This is not a traditional Q&A series where I might take questions from a variety of individuals and answer them in one video, instead I’m taking one reader submitted email and breaking down their situation and how I would approach fixing the problem via a video response.
Dear Alexis,
I am struggling with finding time to do PERSONAL tasks during the week. I work from home as part of a team, I have goals and productivity standards to meet, and also a baby! So, I tend to accumulate personal tasks to do for myself on the weekend, but most of the time I end up accomplishing only a few of them. I would also like to blog more during the week, and not only on the weekend when I just want to switch off and spend time with my family. I noticed that in the past months I focused my attention on being productive at work, but I have to be productive with myself too. An example of my focus on work only: I call the baby sitter only to dedicate myself to work. Not for doing something personal. I feel like I am wasting money and time when I do not use for work the hours when the baby is not with me. This is not good, not only for self care but also for being productive at work as well.
Thank you so much for your work and help.
Cle
Now if this situation ressonates with you and you find yourself constantly pushing off personal tasks because of competing priorities, definitely check out my response in the Q&A video!
I would also highly suggest checking out my Planning for Success Master Class. The video master class is info packed and walks you through my process for setting priorities, goal setting, managing tasks and creating routines to support your time management. It also includes many other productivity tools and strategies to ensure your life is running smoothly and successfully. If you’re interested in the class, I’ll go ahead and leave a link down below in the description box for where you can find it on the charmed shop.com.
Thanks so much to Cle for submitting this great question to me as part of the video Q&A! If you have a productivity related question or issue that you’d like me to answer in a future Q&A video, feel free to email me and it may be featured in an upcoming video!
February FREEBIES: Dashboard, Monthly To Do List & Wallpapers
Let’s get our February planning started with some free printable planner inserts and new calendar tech wallpapers, shall we?
Of course, I love to see pictures of your planner inserts and wallpapers at home on your planners and tech gadgets! If you share a picture, please use #CharmedGTD so the whole community can see your setups and of course tag me @MissTrenchcoat as well in your pictures on Twitter & Instagram!
Happy February Planning!
My Morning and Evening Routines (PLUS My Routine Essentials!)
Since I shared some ideas on developing your own Morning and Evening Routines yesterday, I thought it would be nice to share my personal routines with you, including some essential items that play an important role in keeping me in line on a daily basis. If you recall from yesterday, I believe it’s important for you to define a routine that works for you personally, and I hope yesterday’s post has given you some clarity. It always helps, however, to see examples from others, which is what I intend to do for you today. Without further ado, here are my routines!
{7:30 am} Wake Up and Stretch: I normally wake up without an alarm at around 7:30 am as my husband is getting ready for work. When I wake up, I like to stretch a bit before I get out of bed and may reach for my phone to check messages and the news as well.
{7:40 am} Drink Water: I keep a tumbler of water next to my bed and will start sipping on it when I wake up, usually before I even get out of bed. I am always thirsty and so getting hydrated immediately is a big priority for me.
{7:45 am} Turn on Meditation or Sound machine App: As I get out of bed in the morning, I like to put on either a guided meditation or sound machine app to help me wake up my mind and start the day on a positive, inspired note.
{8:00 am} Make Bed: Once I’ve got my meditation on or once it’s complete (depending on how I feel that day), I will get out of bed and make it.
{8:05 am} Dress: Once my bed is made, I like to change out of my pj’s and into my outfit for the day. My daily uniform is usually comfortable leggings and a utility blouse, tunic or light sweater. I’ll also pop on a pair of house shoes or slippers because my home office has hard wood floors and I don’t like when my feet are cold!
{8:15 am} Morning Hygiene: Once I’m dressed I start my morning hygiene washing my face, brushing my teeth etc. On some days this is pretty quick and on others I will take more time to put on makeup and do my hair.
{11:00 pm} Refill Water Tumbler: The first thing I do when I am getting ready for bed is to refill my water tumbler and bring it upstairs to my bedroom. Usually I head upstairs to end my evening and prep for bed between 10:30 – 11pm depending on what I’ve done that evening. On weekends, however, this can vary.
{11:05 pm} Evening Hygiene: Once I’m upstairs, I will start my evening hygiene practice which includes taking a shower or bath, removing my makeup, and cleansing. I take my showers at night so I can relax, get into bed nice and clean, and fall asleep faster.
{11:30 pm} Self Care: Once I’m clean and in my robe, I like to do some sort of self-care activity before bed. This could be a home facial treatment, listening to a podcast or book on tape, or giving myself a face and neck massage. (mask, cream, haircare)
{11:45 pm} Pajamas & Hair Prep: Once I’m done my self-care (or after a little while if I’ve turned on a book or podcast) I switch into my pajamas and prep my hair for bed. Since I have very long hair, I must either braid it or put it into a high bun on the top of my head to keep it tidy while I’m sleeping. If not, it makes it uncomfortable for me to sleep because my hair goes all the way down my back and makes it hard for me to move around and get comfortable.
{11:50 pm} Essential Oils & Crystals: Right before I get into bed I will turn on my essential oil diffuser and arrange some crystals on my bedside table. They are always on the side table, however, I like to make sure that everything is tidy and that the crystals aren’t being covered so I get the optimal affect of having them by my side as I sleep!
{12:00 am} ASMR Video & Eye Mask: I like to be in bed ready to sleep by no later than midnight. Once my oils are on and I’m in bed, I will put on a night mask to help me sleep as I am very sensitive to light, and if I need it (which I do most nights) I will turn on an ASMR video with my earbuds on to help me drift asleep.
In order to make this post a maximum benefit to others, I would love if you would share your morning or evening routine in the comments so we can see some more examples that could possibly help others in the community develop their own routines. I hope you won’t hesitate to leave us your thoughts and actions below!