Productivity

5 Productive Habits for the New Year

5 Productive Habits for the New Year

5 PRODUCTIVE HABITS FOR THE NEW YEAR

Last week I shared an AMAZING LIST of 100 Life Changing Actions to Turn into Habits, and now I want to share the habits and strategies that I will be challenging myself to take on in the New Year! When it comes to creating habits, there are many options to choose from, but it really comes down to what you are trying to accomplish and which habits will be able to support you as you make progress on your goals. I also believe that when it comes to selecting habits to change or build, you shouldn’t strive to work on too many at once. In fact, I think it’s best to try things one at a time- trust me, making one small habit change is enough to throw off your entire routine so giving it your complete focus and attention is a best practice.

My Goal: Wake up earlier during the work week.

Habit: Make the bed once you get out of it!

How the habit supports the goal:

(1) Making your bed in the morning is an easy way to start your day productively and motivate yourself to do more. I’m hoping that committing to this during the week will motivate me to want to get more done in my mornings.

(2) Since I work from home, staying in bed or going back for a nap in the afternoon is a serious temptation, but when you make your bed it becomes harder for you to give in because you put effort into making sure your bed looked nice and you don’t want to undo that work, right? That’s the idea!

My Goal: Expose myself to new ideas.

Habit: Finish 1 book a month

How the habit supports the goal

(1) I am not someone who has a hard time going through books, but I do tend to read in spurts so one month I could read 4 books and another I may start 1-2 and never finish any. So for 2017 I want to challenge myself to finish at least one book a month so I am consistently exposing myself to new content and ideas.

(2) Reading is probably the #1 way I learn anything! Of course, I like to enjoy books via Audible.com and listen instead of read. This helps me absorb more information and understand content better. http://bit.ly/audible2free

My Goal: Lower my overall stress

Habit: Perform 1 Self Care activity per day

How the habit supports the goal

(1) I tend to work pretty intensely during the day. I may not always put in 8 hours, but I may accomplish 8 hours worth of work in 4. This leaves my brain mentally exhausted at the end of the day and usually, if I have a lot going on that I’m juggling, stress creeps up on me. Taking time out of each day specifically to do something relaxing for me, is a way I can combat this so I don’t get overwhelmed as often as I currently do.

(2) Making yourself your number 1 priority is a great habit to get into. There are not many things I do every single day, but by doing something for me everyday, I will support this mindset and develop boundaries with other priorities and tasks.

My Goal: Start memory keeping

Habit: Journaling

How the habit supports the goal

(1) I am not someone who has a great record of memory keeping, however, with certain life changes (turning 30 and purchasing my first home) I’ve been wanting more and more to find a way to keep track of memories ongoing. I think the easiest way for me to start doing this consistently may be simply writing about my day in a journal.

(2) This year I tested the waters with journaling and although I wasn’t completely consistent, I was able to record some important events from my year that I can now look back on. To a great extent as well, my monthly blog post Entrepreneurial is my way of documenting my business life regularly, and I am very glad I started that this year and have those posts to look over!

My Goal: Stop forgetting the little things

Habit: Write things down

How the habit supports the goal

(1) I know this may seem very similar to my last goal/habit but it’s a little different. Learning to stop relying on your memory and start writing down details is a hard process. I have come pretty far with this habit already, but I still find myself forgetting things all the time. Tasks, ideas, plans, etc. It’s very frustrating and to combat this I must start writing everything down!

(2) They say you learn better when you write something down, just that one small act helps to improve your cognition. So, I’ve pulled out a desk pad to leave out and even when I am doing passive things like talking on the phone or watching tv or a video, I try to doodle or take notes!

What habits are you planning to implement in the New Year? I’d love to hear about them in the comments, and if you are not sure what habits you may want to change or add to your life, check out my post on those 100 habits for some ideas and inspiration!

xoxo,

Alexis-Signature

Jumpstart Your Goal Setting for the New Year

This is EXACTLY what you need to Jumpstart Your Goal Setting Process for the New Year!

Jumpstart Your Goal Setting for the New Year

I’m often asked about the secret to my success. Why I’m so productive, how I get so much done, why I was able to make myself successful when the odds are stacked against me (and you, the odds are unfortunately stacked against all of us)? It’s hard to pinpoint what I do that makes me different, but after talking to so many of the members in my community, I’ve learned that I have some systems in place in my life that I stick to and use as tools to guide me towards the success I seek. One of those systems is Goal Setting!

Every year come December I begin the process of goal setting for the year ahead. It’s a pretty simple process really, that has evolved over the years for me. I started by just keeping a list of “New Years Resolutions” as many of us do! Then, after realizing that I rarely completed many of the tasks on the list, I switched up my methodology and created action steps that would help me achieve the goal. My processed has refined over the years and turned into a complete goal setting/project planning process where I literally map out everything I’d like to achieve for the year on a timeline and keep project plans handy to ensure I’m making progress. I know this may sound like I have the contents of my days prescheduled for a year in advance, but that’s really not my style. I use a framework for deciding, breaking down and managing my goals that is simple, logical, and fits directly into my planner, which is the best part, really!

Eventually, I codified my process. First, for my own memory since this is an annual undertaking, and second, to share my process in an easily digestible form with the rest of my community. What resulted is known as YOU GOT THIS: A Strategic Goal Setting and Planning Guide to Help You Achieve Your Goals and Organize Your Life! It’s a PDF Workbook you can purchase from my shop RIGHT NOW and work through over the next few days and weeks to prepare yourself for a successful year ahead. It’s a streamlined 31 pages in length with 9 worksheets/checklists to apply the lessons in the book to your goals and life, PLUS I include a very handy Resource Guide with extra links to additional educational tools and planning supplies that I recommend for anyone who is truly looking to go deep to ensure a successful year!

So, if you haven’t picked up your digital copy of the workbook yet, click here to get started and feel free to check out this video I made introducing the workbook! If you already own YOU GOT THIS, I’d love to hear your thoughts about it in the comments. I’ve heard nothing buy good things so far from this best selling productivity tool, and I’d love to hear how it worked out for you!

xoxo,

Alexis-Signature

Shop Smarter, Not Harder Before My Annual Holiday Sale Ends Tonight!

the-charmed-shop-holiday-graphic

If you haven’t been over to The Charmed Shop lately, things have gotten a bit of a frosty makeover for the holidays to celebrate the BIGGEST Annual Sale in the Shop! Today is Cyber Monday, which means it’s the last day of the sale and the last chance to take advantage of some of my awesome sale specials and extra discount codes!

Of course, up until now, the discount codes have only been shared with my subscribers, but I don’t want to leave my loyal blog readers out in the cold either, so if you are interested in purchasing something to help you work smarter, not harder in the new year, here are the codes for some extra discounts to the already discounted prices in the shop!

the-charmed-shop-holiday-codes

Keep in mind that these codes and the extra sale savings EXPIRE at Midnight Eastern Time tonight! So if you want to get your hands on my Printable Charmed Life Planner, my Best Selling Goal Setting Workbook YOU GOT THIS, or a Productivity Master Class, head on over to The Charmed Shop NOW!

Thanks to EVERYONE who has already purchased during this year’s Holiday Sale! This has been by far the most successful sale in The Charmed Shop to date, and thanks to your generous love and support, I have even more resources to invest into my business for 2017! So you can look forward to bigger and better things for your productivity in the New Year with the help of yours truly. Keep your eyes peeled for a very special project I am working on in December to get YOU more involved with the future of my channel and business- I’ll be sending an email out very soon about that!

xoxo,

Alexis-Signature

 

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, So How About a Few Freebies From Me to You?

31 Things to Do in December

Hello My Charmed Ones!

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of Year! Holiday Season! And I have a few Tech and Planner Freebies to share with you to help kick December and the last leg of 2016 off right! Click here to get your Planner Freebies, the 31 Days of Merriment & Cheer Monthly Task List as well as your December 2016 Dashboard. Both are available in A5 and Personal Filofax equivalents from The Charmed Shop!

december-tech-wallpaper

Don’t forget your Tech Wallpapers as well! I have a nice seasonal design for you that is a little bit different than the other designs this year, but I just love it, don’t you? Download yours here on The Charmed Shop!

I hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving if you are in the US and you know I love when I see your photos on Instagram sharing how you are using and loving your monthly freebies, so make sure to use #CharmedGTD if you post a picture on Instagram or Twitter, and feel free to tag me @MissTrenchcoat as well so I can see you photos and give them a big heart 

xoxo,

Alexis-Signature

Holiday Hits {Productivity Playlist 2016}

Holiday Hits Productivity Playlist

Happy Holiday’s My Charmed Ones!

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, I thought it would be timely of me to share a Holiday Hits Playlist with you to get you into the Holiday Spirit! You’re going to be Fa, la, la, la, la-ing all week through your turkey-coma and LOVING every minute of it. So, without further ado, here is my Spotify Playlist for you to enjoy!

I hope this playlist helps you get into the Holiday Spirit! Let me know what other tunes you think I’m missing, down in the comments and I just might have to add them to my playlist so we can ALL enjoy!

xoxo,

Alexis-Signature

The Charmed Shop Holiday Sale Preview {PLUS Free Printable BONUS}

The CHARMED SHOP Annual Holiday Sale PREVIEW!

The week is here! Thanksgiving Day is just 3 SLEEPS AWAY and the Charmed Shop’s BIGGEST ANNUAL SALE is about to begin.

NOW IS THE TIME to start making your holiday shopping list for the special friends and family in your life that you will be gifting to this year AND don’t forget #1, YOURSELF! While you are out shopping this weekend and over the next few weeks generously thinking of others, you don’t want to forget about picking up a few essentials for yourself. The end of the year is always a stress-filled, action-packed season, and it’s so easy to loose track of time and your own priorities when you are feeling the weight of a never ending to-do list on your back. Commit to Working Smarter, Not Harder this season and give yourself the GIFT OF PRODUCTIVITY with some of these planning essentials!

Here is a Special Preview of what you can expect from The Charmed Shop’s Annual Holiday Sale that starts Thursday November 25th and ends Monday November 28th!

PLANNER & OFFICE ESSENTIALS

Printable Meal Planning Bundle Now On Sale!

Meal Planning Bundle: Available in both A5 and Personal Size, this bundle of printable inserts for your planner is everything you need to streamline your meal planning process for JUST $10!*

Printable Planner Holiday Decor Bundle on Sale!

Holiday Deco Artwork & Printable Stickers: Personalize your planner for the Holidays with a Printable Holiday Sticker Design AND the Most Wonderful Time of the Year Printable Artwork that makes a perfect cover, divider set or dashboard for your planner. Just $10!

Printable Office Wall Art Now On Sale!

Printable Inspirational Wall Art: During the Holiday Sale, ALL WALL  ART IS 50% OFF, No coupon code required.

Best Sellers 

2017 Functional Planning Bundle

The Charmed Life Planners & Functional Planning Bundles are BY FAR some of the best selling planner supplies in The Charmed Shop! Get your complete Printable Charmed Life Planner or Bundle Now Available in Full US Letter/A4, A5/Half Letter & Personal Size Filofax Equivalents, just $25 for the Charmed Life Planner or $35 for the Whole Functional Planning Bundle with your Choice of Planner and Project and Task Tracking Inserts as well!*

PRODUCTIVITY MUST HAVES

The Work Smarter, Not Harder Bundle, 2 Info Packed Productivity Master Classes for 1 Affordable Price!

The Work Smarter, Not Harder Bundle: My Two Popular Video Master Classes bundled together for one great price JUST GOT EVEN BETTER! Get yours for just $50 and get your productivity and goals in order for 2017!

The Charmed Life Personal Development Master Class is On Sale!

The Charmed Life Master Class: My signature self-guided personal development master class that will teach you my 10 Charmed Life Secrets and how to apply them to your own life, is just $49 during the sale!

Best Sellers 

YOU GOT THIS Strategic Goal Setting Workbook is on Sale!

• The YOU GOT THIS Strategic Goal Setting Workbook: If you DO NOT have this printable, action-oriented goal setting tool, you are seriously missing one of the ALL TIME BEST SELLING resources in The Charmed Shop. Get yours for just $19 before the New Year so you can map out your goals and FINALLY have a clear path to achieving them!

BUSINESS BOOSTERS

empire-building-charmeddslr-bundle-400x400 architect-path-bundle

Online Business Course Bundle: Looking to start an online business in 2017? Have a current online platform you would like to turn into a business? The Online Business Course Bundle includes EVERYTHING you need to build your brand, following and income streams online! Get the Bundle for just $277 or choose the upgraded Bundle that includes one-to-one consulting calls with me for just $547!

EXTRA DISCOUNT CODES

As I mentioned in my post last week, the Holiday Sale includes two options. A public sale option, that I’ve outlined above where anyone can go to the shop and purchase the special discounted products, and a private option for those on my email list. If you are subscribed to my list, as an insider you will ALSO get access to special COUPON CODES for up to 33% off your total purchase in The Charmed Shop! So, if you want ADDITIONAL SAVINGS on EVERYTHING you purchase during the Holiday Sale, get on my list ASAP by filling out the form before and don’t forget to confirm your subscription to my email list or you will miss the codes!

Subscribe to My List!

* indicates required




TO DO & FREE PRINTABLE BONUS

The Sale is still a few days away, but I don’t want you to miss out on these great discounts because they are seriously a once a year occurrence. So, to help you prepare for your busy week ahead, I have some helpful tips for getting yourself prepared, plus a FREE Printable Bonus for you.

  1. Get on my email list (form above)
  2. Check out this video playlist that covers some of the different options and items on sale 
  3. Print out this FREE Holiday Shopping Check List to keep track of everything you need to purchase for yourself and others this holiday season!

I hope you have enjoyed this Holiday Sale Preview and that you have some ideas for what you don’t want to miss out on in The Charmed Shop this week! Remember, if you want to save even more this week, you need to be on my list, so don’t forget to sign up! 

xoxo,

Alexis-Signature

*Sale price is already running.

5 FREE Resources to Help You Plan a Joyful and Low Stress Holiday

5 FREE Resources to Help You Plan a Joyful and Low Stress Holiday

5 FREE Resources to Help You Plan a Joyful and Low Stress Holiday

With a little over a week until Thanksgiving Day in the US, I thought now was as good a time as any to share some of my best seasonal Holiday productivity tips and tricks to help you get organized over this busy and often stressful period of the year. Yes, the holidays are wonderfully magical as they remind us of the love, family and gratitude we have in our lives, but holiday celebrations don’t come without their own brand of challenges. Coordinating people, meal plans, multiple events and holiday wish lists can be a struggle for many of us, but hopefully, I can help make it a little more productive and enjoyable for you with these 5 FREE Resources to Help You Plan a Joyful and Low Stress Holiday!

  1. First things first, if you have not snagged yourself my FREE printable 30 Days of Thankfulness list for you planner, do so now! You will want to frame everything you do during this season in a sense of gratitude, and this planner insert is a great way to keep that idea fresh in your mind.
  2. If you are someone who struggles with stress and anxiety during the holidays, my video The 5 Steps to a Stress Free Holiday, is going to be a resource for you.  Definitely watch it and take some notes to keep with you on the strategies I share to help you prevent and overcome stressors as they arise during the next few weeks.
  3. This next resource is an AMAZING planning tip that I learned about right before last Thanksgiving and it really helped me keep my Thanksgiving planning and prep very streamlined. If you are hosting any dinners or family get togethers during this time check out this video on How to Plan for Thanksgiving! I promise, the strategy shared applies to more than just Thanksgiving!
  4. After you have watched the video from resource #3, if you are still looking for some great tried and true recipes that I rely on for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, here is a blog post filled with my favorite recipes! Most, if not all, will be served as part of my holiday dinners this year!
  5. Finally, we can’t forget about holiday shopping. It can be stressful, expensive, and time consuming, but with in this video, I share some of my Must Have Holiday Shopping Apps to make the process a little easier and even a little bit enjoyable!

I sincerely hope you found these resources valuable as you begin to get into the thick of your holiday planning! If you have any other resources or tips you would like to share, please feel free to add them below in the comments so we can all benefit. One last thing I thought I should mention, is that I have started a Holiday Themed Board on Pinterest called Christmas is Coming! I’ll be sharing more resources and recipe ideas there if you’d like to follow along- and don’t be surprised if you see a resource you suggest pop up as a pin as well!

xoxo,

Alexis-Signature

Practical Tips for Getting Things Done

Practical Tips for Getting Things Done

Practical Tips for Getting Things Done

It’s time for another link roundup! Here are my picks for this month’s best reads around the web to help you with your Personal Development, Productivity and Business! Enjoy!

Personal Development

Productivity

Business

As always, I hope you’ve enjoyed these articles and I’d love to read anything you found informative this month, so please feel free to leave links in the comments below!

xoxo,

Alexis-Signature

The #1 Secret No One Told You About Productivity!

The #1 Secret No One Told You About Productivity

The #1 Secret No One Told You About Productivity!

No matter how much I write about productivity, I still receive numerous messages each week by loyal members of my community who are swamped with too much to do and too little time to do it! They feel overwhelmed, they want to focus more on the things they love and they want to know the secret to my productivity. I can completely relate to feeling like you are cagged in by your work and a slave to your schedule, but the truth is their is only one productivity tip that will help you, me or anyone else tame our workloads. This tip isn’t much of a secret, unless of course, no one has ever told you about it, so today, let’s unpack this #1 Secret No One Told You About Productivity!

What is the #1 Secret No One Told You About Productivity?

The biggest secret about productivity that you may not know is that You Can’t Do It All! I know, I know, this goes against everything we have been taught to believe about human ability and persistence, not to mention every girl power message I’ve heard for my last 30 years on this Earth, but it’s true. No one single person can do everything. Yes, I do believe you can achieve all the things you want to achieve in life, but you certainly won’t be doing it alone and if you’re clever, you’ll find ways to hack your daily life and to do list so that you are focusing on the key tasks, routines and decisions that will support your quickest route to success. Now, I want to come back to this point on hacking your life to optimize your success in just a moment, but first, I want to give you some practical strategies for taking this productivity secret and using it to your advantage!

If I Can’t Do It All, How Does Everything Get Done?

You’re probably asking yourself, if I can’t do it all, how does everything get done? You do important work, you have lots of important priorities, and much of what you handle must be done, right? Absolutely! Much of what you handle probably does need to get done, but not necessarily by you. So, if you find that you have too much on your plate, you put in the work and still find that everything isn’t getting done, you really need to start doing two things.

You Need To Delegate And Delete!

First, you need to take a look at everything you do, all your priorities, projects, work, and personal obligations. You need to have a complete understanding of all the elements that take up your time because you will need to Delegate some and Delete others. To delegate, you need to understand what tasks on your list can be completed by someone else. I know many of us, especially the type A’s out there, have a hard time giving over control of tasks to others because we want to know something has been done right, but if something does not require your hand to complete it, you need to assign it to someone else. This could mean an assistant at work, a spouse or child, or even hiring help like a cleaning service or handyman. Not every option is going to be available for every one of us, but wherever we can, we should try to delegate important tasks to someone who is capable of completing the task, even if it means we have to train them how to do it and then reap the time benefits in the future.

Once you do that complete evaluation of your obligations, you will certainly find that you have some things you are doing that can be deleted from your to do list altogether. Like I said earlier, most of what you do probably needs to get done, which means some of what you do can be let go of completely to help you lessen your load. Think about all your extras first, like voluntary obligations outside of work or home. It’s great to be a team player and responsible member of your community, but if you are overwhelmed by everything you need to do and frequently find that you are missing important tasks, you really need to delete any priorities that you signed up for. This doesn’t mean you can never add them back in, but be honest with yourself about what is truly important and be ruthless with anything that takes up your time. Of course, it won’t just be voluntary tasks that you need to delete. Ask yourself what tasks are repeatedly missed or forgotten. Sometimes when we frequently push a task off it means its not actually required to be done. Any extras like this should be deleted from your list until you have reached equilibrium with your time and tasks.

Optimizing Success By Hacking Your Productivity!

Like I mentioned earlier, all of us can improve our productivity and succeed in achieving more of what we want if we optimize our lives with a few hacks here and there. If this sounds interesting to you and you’d like to learn these tips for working smarter, not harder, I’m very pleased to announce that my Planning for Success Master Class is now available! This Master Class and Q&A replay are four information-rich hours of actionable strategies designed to solve your most pressing productivity issues. Included with the class are numerous downloads and worksheets to help you put the strategies taught in place for your specific situation. This class is a tremendous value filled with the precise information you need to optimize your daily life for productivity, but don’t take my word for it! Here is what students from the class are saying:

“The Planning for Success Master Class was so timely for me! I am in constant struggle (more now than ever) with time management and project/tasks all being priority that this class gave me major amounts of tools and guidance that will allow me to gain some sanity again. As a business owner, wife, mother and a person who wants to be all things to most people, this class gave me perspective to what is manageable and plan-able! It has been what is missing in my many years as a professional. I am so glad that I can watch the master class and q & a as much as I want in order to help me build better planning habits. I loved this class and it was time and money well spent! Thank you Alexis!”

– Beth, MO

“The Planning for Success Master Class was a truly great experience! As someone who has run workshops and training, I am in absolute awe at Alexis’ planning, delivery and thoroughness. It has been incredible value for money and I hope that many more will be able to experience this amazing product. I have been given so much information and feel so inspired! Alexis has managed to address most of the organizational, time management and motivational issues that have been plaguing me. I am in-between careers and had hit a dark and sticky rut. This workshop has not only showed me the way forward, it has also turned all the lights on! Many of the concepts were new to me so it has helped to go through the video more than once. It is invaluable that I am able to keep referring to it and I can see how it will all become second nature with some practice. The Q&A session is also extremely interesting. Alexis’ generosity with her time and information sharing are what make her such a great Mentor. I was a fan, now I am a convert! Thank you!!”

– Maria, Australia

“The Planning for Success Master Class was amazing! I have been feeling overwhelmed and almost paralyzed lately in regard to achieving my goals and completing projects. This Master Class provided me with a clear and manageable blueprint that I believe will help me to begin living my life fully again. The value I received from the Planning for Success Master Class was far greater than what I paid for it. Thank you for being so generous with your knowledge and your time. And, I think your online presence is both impressive and beautiful; how you manage to communicate with complete strangers you can’t even hear or see, with such a high level of compassion and grace, is beyond amazing!”

-Cynthia, NV

Don’t let your dreams and goals sit by the wayside any longer! Sign up for the Planning for Success Master Class and join the countless members of my community who’ve benefited from this informative and actionable class!

xoxo,

Alexis-Signature

The 3 Quick Tips For Feeling Productive Right Now!

Feeling Overwhelmed? These 3 Quick Tips will have you feeling productive ASAP

The 3 Quick Steps for Feeling Productive RIGHT NOW

Overwhelm can strike at any moment and turn a seemingly organized, well-planned day into a downward spiral of confusion and self-doubt. When this happens, it’s so important that you quickly recognize the pattern and take immediate action to halt and reverse it. You can take back your day no matter how deep a spiral you have fallen into, but you need to take these 3 quick steps to get you feeling productive right now!

Step 1: Turn off Distractions

When I get overwhelmed, even the slightest distraction can cause me to panic, so I need to make sure everything that makes noise or has an alert/alarm is silenced. Silence your phone, kill the music, and turn off your computer’s audio and display. If you can’t avoid all noise completely, put on a pair of headphones or put in some earplugs to give you peace and quiet for a few moments as you gather your thoughts.

Step 2: Do a Brain Dump

When your head is spinning out of control and can’t focus on a single task to work on, you need to make space in your mind by performing a brain dump. Take out a piece of paper and a pen and just start listing out everything you are thinking about that is causing you stress or overwhelm. The items don’t even need to be task related. Jot down those negative thoughts, what they are saying and how you are feeling inside. By writing it down, you are figuratively transferring that energy out of your brain and onto the paper. This works well with anything that comes to your mind that for one reason or another, your brain just won’t let go of. So write it, dump it out and get your brain clear to focus.

Step 3: Breathe

Hopefully by this point, you have significantly reduced any distracting noise or screens around you and have completed a brain dump to get everything out of your head and onto paper. Before you get back to work and process through your to dos, take a moment to sit and breath in the silence. Close your eyes, sit comfortably and inhale deeply through your nose, exhaling from your mouth. Breathe in for five seconds, hold your breath for 2, and breathe out for 7 seconds. Repeat this process for at least five minutes before getting back to your work.

I hope these tips help you to regain your control and sense of productivity when overwhelm strikes! Let me know in the comments if you have any other tips or suggestions that you use in this situation. 

xoxo,

Alexis-Signature