Mother’s Day Gift Guide: For the Mom with a Business or Sidehustle!
Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and it’s time to start thinking about the perfect gift for the special mom in your life. But if that mom is also a boss lady who runs a business or is building her side hustle, finding the right gift can be a little more challenging. So, I asked my master mind sister’s for help! Many of them are mom’s who either run their own business full or part time, so they know exactly what to get mom to make her and her dreams feel loved and supported. With their suggestions in hand I’ve created a gift guide inspired by the real Boss Mom’s of the Charmed Life Master Mind, to help you find the perfect present to help mom grow her business and take her side hustle to the next level. From practical tools to inspirational needs, these gifts will not only show her how much you care but will also support her entrepreneurial spirit. So, without further ado, let’s dive into our top picks for the perfect Mother’s Day gifts for the boss mom in your life.
Gift Mom the Ultimate Planning and Productivity Tool for Her Business: The iPad
When I asked the Boss Mom’s inside the Charmed Life Master Mind what they wanted to be gifted for Mother’s Day, many of them were in agreement- they wanted digital planning tools! It’s definitely a bit of an investment, but mom absolutely deserves a tool that will support her business on multiple levels and she will put the iPad to good use. If you aren’t sure which model to purchase, I think a good overall business option would be the iPad Air with an Apple Pencil so she can get the most from the device. And don’t forget a case so she can tuck her iPad into her bag to work and plan on the go!
Gift the Mom Boss in Your Life some Peace and Quiet
Another gift idea that came up a few times from the mom’s inside the Charmed Life Master Mind were noise cancelling headphones. Especially if mom works at home, she could really use a pair of headphones to help her disconnect from the chaos around her so she can get focused on her work and creative ideas. The ladies also love the idea of a set of soft sided headphones for sleep, so mom can turn on her favorite guided meditation or sleep ambience at bed time and get a full night’s rest.
The final category of gift ideas that came from the mom’s inside the Charmed Life Master Mind were gifts related to helping mom create a comfortable and functional office to work in. So, if the mom in your life doesn’t have her own dedicated space to work, consider how you can support her passion and carve out that space for her.
I hope you found this Mother’s Day gift guide helpful in finding the perfect present for the boss mom in your life. Whether she’s running her own business or building her side hustle, these gifts will surely help her stay productive and inspired. From the versatile iPad to the ergonomic office chair, these items are not only practical but also stylish, making her workspace a place where she can feel comfortable and confident. So go ahead, surprise her with one of these thoughtful gifts, and show her how much you appreciate all the hard work she puts into her endeavors. Happy Mother’s Day to all the boss moms out there!
Your Ultimate Productivity Companion: How to Use Your iPad for Task Management, Work, Wellness, and Mindset
In today’s digital age, the iPad has become a versatile tool that can help you in almost every aspect of your life. From task management to personal development, this device can be a game-changer when it comes to productivity and growth. In this post, we’ll explore some of the ways you can use your iPad for productivity and personal development. We’ll cover topics such as task management, work, wellness, and mindset, and how you can leverage some of the best apps to make the most of your iPad. Whether you’re looking to stay organized, improve your focus, or enhance your overall well-being, there’s something for everyone in this guide. So, grab your iPad and let’s dive in!
Purchasing a new iPad Pro
A few weeks ago I purchased a new iPad and when I shared it on Instagram with my community many people wanted to know which iPad I bought, which iPad they should buy, and how I was planning to use it, so I am going to answer all those questions in this post.
So, first off, I purchased an 11” iPad Pro, the 128GB model and the 2nd generation Apple Pencil. To be honest, it was hard for me to choose which iPad to buy because for some reason Apple has a large number of iPads to choose from right now, and although I can’t tell you exactly which iPad to get, I do have a piece of advice for you to use that is the guide that I use when I am purchasing new tech, especially Apple products. My advice to myself and to you is to purchase the best model you can afford. I say that because for myself, I am very gentle with my tech gadgets and they last a long time, my last iPad is almost 10 years old so it was time for an upgrade- and I find with Apple products, they are so ahead of the times with the tech that when you buy the best model you can, it ends up lasting even longer. So, if you aren’t sure which iPad to buy, that is my recommendation. When it came to making my purchase, the iPad Pro was the best model available and I bought the size and storage capacity that I thought was right for me. Now, if you know which iPad you want already, I think that is the iPad for you, and if you can’t afford it right now, I do think it’s worth it to be patient and save for the one you want because if you settle I don’t think you will be as pleased with your purchase. So, if you are interested in an iPad that is how I recommend you go about purchasing one, now and in the future.
Now, do you actually need an iPad? That is totally for you to decide. For me, I know the iPad is a luxury, I don’t think it’s something any of us need to be productive or organized, but if you have the desire and means, it can definitely be a useful device. And because I am a rebel personality type, novelty can be a big motivator for change and improvement. I’m more likely to take action when there is an element of novelty involved and the iPad is absolutely a novelty device for me.
So, I bought the iPad with the intention that I was going to improve my productivity and hit some next level goals for myself this year! And to reflect that intention, I ended up ordering my iPad and pencil from Apple online so I could get them both engraved for free with a personalized inspirational message. If you weren’t aware, apple offers free engraving on some of their devices, so if you want to make advantage of that, you will want to order online instead of going in store.
So, now that we know which model I bought, and which model I’d recommend to you, let’s talk about how I am using this device to help me hit that intention to improve my productivity and personal development!
The first way I am using the iPad is for Task and Idea Management.
Right now, I am doing some parts of my planning process on the iPad since I have the pencil and I want to put it to good use. I have been playing around with digital planning, and I get why people like digital planning. In fact, I recently created some prototypes for a Digital Master Planner that I shared with the Charmed Life Master Mind members. The feedback I’ve been getting from them has been very positive, and of course I am also testing the digital planner out myself, but for the time being I’m not quite converted yet to digital personally. But I will fully admit that I love using the iPad to braindump, brainstorm and plan content. So, for this I’ve been using the digital master planner, and I optimized some of my inserts into PDFs for my iPad that I use in GoodNotes to get my ideas out of my head and onto digital paper. All that has been going well!
The second way I am using the iPad is for work.
Specifically, I use it to write posts in the Apple Notes app. Once I outline things in GoodNotes, I will use the split screen option and write out posts while looking at my notes and outlines. I also have used the iPad to send and manage emails; both my personal and business inboxes as well as my email marketing client. I have actually written and scheduled marketing emails from my iPad and the experience is doable on the iPad although I prefer the functionality that comes with sending marketing emails on my laptop.
I also use the iPad for research. I do a lot of reading and research for my work and so I use the iPad to read ebooks, articles, online publications, the news- I bought a NYTimes subscription so I could get full access to their articles and read them on the iPad which is a nice experience.
I also have the Slack App on my iPad so I can stay connected with my Master Mind, and answer their questions, share content and do coaching with them through the app.
So those are all the specific work tasks I do on the iPad. Some things I am not using it for work wise are design for inserts and graphics, editing audio and video for my YouTube and Podcast, and doing web development. I know some people do use their iPads for graphics and editing and it’s totally usable for those tasks, but because I have a MacBook Pro I find it easier to use my computer to do those tasks than my iPad. I watched a lot of videos on the topic and yes, plenty of people use their iPad for design and editing but most agree its a better experience on a computer, and for those who did use their iPad, it tended to be more useful for those who didn’t have a laptop and who traveled or worked away from their desktop computer. So, for me, I have a laptop, so I don’t need my iPad to be another mini laptop as well. I also tried to do back end work on my websites with the iPad and the functionality is hit or miss on the iPad OS, so that’s firmly something I will stick to doing on my MacBook pro.
The third way I am using the IPad is for wellness!
As I mentioned my intention for this device was for it to help me manifest some goals in my life and some of those goals are wellness related. Specifically, I have been for the last few months working on my fitness and I have a workout routine where I do strength training at home. I use the iPad, specifically the Freeform app, which is this wonderful digital white board app, to organize and plan out my workouts. I do a bunch of video workouts from YouTube and I’m able to pin the videos to Freeform and create my workout schedule that way and it’s actually been helping me stick to this routine because it’s keeping this goal organized for me.
Also in terms of wellness, I have been using the iPad for my meal planning and prep. Again using that Freeform app, I essentially map out my meals and pin recipe videos and articles to my meal planning board in the app. It’s a wonderful way to visually organize your meal planning- I love it!
The fourth and final way I am using the iPad is for Mindset!
The iPad has become my default journal. I’ve created some journals in Goodnotes out of my favorite insert designs and I’ve been journaling so much more with the iPad. I use some of the PDF workbooks I design for my mastermind like my mindset workbook and my astrological insights workbook in Goodnotes as well to journal and complete those activities which is really great.
I also keep a mood/vision board on the iPad in the Freeform app as well. I realize I could also make one on GoodNotes, but I like how that Freeform app allows me to pin videos and articles to the vision board as well as photos- it gives me a multimedia vision board experience.
One final thing I’ve been using my iPad for that I am filing under mindset is that I also downloaded a few chill games to play when I want to unwind. I’ve been playing more games on my Nintendo switch this year as a way to zone out and de-stress my mind and I found a few iPad games that were chill and vibey and relaxing that I downloaded as well. I’ve been playing Zen Sand, Osmos HD, Beatstar, Journey and Monument Valley.
So, that is how I’ve been using the IPad.
My Favorite iPad Accessories to Increase Productivity and Workflow
To help me get the most functionality out of the iPad, I purchased a few accessories for the iPad that I highly recommend. Check out the video below to see these productive iPad accessories in action!
Overall, the iPad can be a valuable tool for boosting your productivity and personal development. With its versatile features and wide range of apps, you can customize your iPad to suit your individual needs and goals. Whether you’re looking to streamline your workflow, organize your schedule, or learn a new skill, the iPad can help you achieve your objectives with ease and efficiency.
By using the iPad as a productivity and personal development tool, you can maximize your time, increase your focus, and stay motivated to pursue your goals. So if you’re ready to take your productivity and personal growth to the next level, consider incorporating the iPad into your daily routine. With a little bit of effort and creativity, you can transform your iPad into a powerful tool for self-improvement and success.
Ambition is a key ingredient to success, and for women, being ambitious is crucial in breaking through gender barriers and achieving their dreams. Highly ambitious women are those who are driven, focused, and committed to reaching their goals, no matter what challenges they may face along the way. Ambitious women know that success is built on good habits and they are always on the lookout for ways to improve. Let’s explore 10 habits of highly ambitious women that can help you develop a mindset of success and step into the highest and best version of your own ambitious self!
They Set Clear Goals:Highly ambitious women set clear and specific goals for themselves. They know what they want to achieve and they create a plan of action to get there. Setting clear goals helps them stay focused and motivated, and provides a roadmap for success.
They Take Action:Ambitious women take action towards their goals every day. They understand that success is not just about dreaming, but also about doing. They are proactive in seeking out opportunities and taking calculated risks to move closer to their goals.
They Are Lifelong Learners:Highly ambitious women are always learning and growing. They seek out new knowledge, skills, and experiences that will help them succeed. They are open to feedback and use it to improve themselves and their work.
They Manage Their Time Wisely:Ambitious women are experts at time management. They prioritize their tasks and focus on the most important ones first. They also know how to delegate and outsource tasks to free up their time for more important projects.
They Surround Themselves with Positive Influences:Ambitious women surround themselves with people who inspire and motivate them. They seek out mentors, coaches, and peers who can support them and offer guidance when needed.
They Embrace Failure:Highly ambitious women understand that failure is a natural part of the success journey. They don’t let setbacks hold them back, but instead use them as opportunities to learn and grow.
They Practice Self-Care:Ambitious women know that taking care of themselves is crucial to their success. They prioritize self-care activities such as exercise, meditation, and getting enough rest to ensure that they have the energy and focus needed to achieve their goals.
They Build Strong Relationships:Highly ambitious women build strong and meaningful relationships with others. They are effective communicators and know how to build trust and rapport with their colleagues, clients, and partners.
They Are Resilient:Ambitious women are resilient and persistent. They don’t give up easily and are willing to persevere through challenges and obstacles in order to achieve their goals.
They Give Back:Highly ambitious women believe in giving back to their communities and making a positive impact in the world. They are passionate about helping others and use their success to inspire and empower others to reach their own goals.
If you are an ambitious woman with her sights set on creating her own online business for time, location and financial freedom, I have a new resource I’d love to share with you!
E M P I R E is a new FREE business master course intended to help ambitious women learn what it takes to start a lasting business online that gives them the time, location and financial freedom to live their best lives.
Whether you are a career woman who knows she is too creative for a 9 to 5 job, a working mom who wants to create passive income streams so she can work from home and spend more quality time with her family, or simply an ambitious goal getter who knows she could be earning more with less time and effort if she worked for herself, YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT PLACE TO FINALLY MAKE YOUR DREAM BUSINESS YOUR REALITY!
CALLING ALL AMBITIOUS, SELF-STARTING WOMEN OF THE INTERNET LOOKING FOR THEIR DREAM JOB AND A LIFE OF TIME, LOCATION AND FINANCIAL FREEDOM:
For a while now, you have been fantasizing about a job that aligns with your purpose, skillset and passions.
A job where you wake up excited to get to work each morning.
A job where you absolutely love the work you do.
A job where you have control over what you work on.
A job that is future-proof.
A job where you can invest time and energy to create greater and greater stability and financial freedom in your life!
Ladies, let me be clear!
Your Dream Job Does NOT Exist. You Must Create It!
And in your heart you already knew this.
You already knew that the only way to do what you love and have total control over your work, how much you work, where you work, and how much you earn is to start your own business online.
That’s why you follow so many social media accounts filled with Female Entrepreneur Inspo.
That’s why you spend your down time scrolling through Pinterest decorating your future home office.
That’s why you watch videos on YouTube about how to use social media platforms for business or how to create a business plan.
That’s why you were drawn to me and my community where I often share about my own journey through Entrepreneurship, as I’ve been navigating a business for nearly a decade in the ever changing digital space.
I’ve created my upcoming business master course with precisely you in mind, because I have been where you are now, so I know what you need to get started on your journey!
E M P I R E is a new FREE business master course intended to help ambitious women learn what it takes to start a lasting business online that gives them the time, location and financial freedom to live their best lives.
Whether you are a career woman who knows she is too creative for a 9 to 5 job, a working mom who wants to create passive income streams so she can work from home and spend more quality time with her family, or simply an ambitious goal getter who knows she could be earning more with less time and effort if she worked for herself, YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT PLACE TO FINALLY MAKE YOUR DREAM BUSINESS YOUR REALITY!
When I work with students from within my community it is inevitable that they will come to me believing they have one issue to work on for their productivity, and through our time together, I am able to identify that they are actually struggling with something completely different.
This is so common!
Most of us have a hard time clearly understanding where we are struggling with our productivity and because of that, we often seek out information and strategy that when we put it to use, isn’t making a difference to us.
It’s because we are focused on the wrong aspect of our productivity.
For as long as I’ve been making productivity and planning content, one thing I have always wanted to do is create a resource to help my community clearly identify what their productivity issues really are so they can spend more time focusing on what will help them make a true impact in their life.
So, if you feel like you are not as productive as you believe you can be, or you are putting in effort but still struggling to get the outcomes you desire for your life, the Productivity Assessment Workshop is a resource you do not want to miss!
THIS WORKSHOP IS FOR YOU IF:
→ You feel like you aren’t as productive as you would like to be. You know there are strategies and tools to fix this but you aren’t sure where to start.
→ You feel frustrated researching techniques on your own and want to know exactly what you should work on improving.
→ You’re feeling confused. You take a lot of productivity and planning advice you hear but it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference.
→ You feel overwhelmed. You just want to feel more in control of your time and life without having to read every new book and follow every trendy new strategy.
IN THIS WORKSHOP YOU WILL:
✔︎ Assess your productivity based on self-reported feedback, NOT an arbitrary standard.
✔︎ Answer a simple set of 50 questions, 10 for each of 5 productivity categories.
✔︎ Learn the 7 Core Productivity Competencies and how developed you are in each.
✔︎ Clearly identify what areas you need to work on in order to see and feel an improvement in your overall productivity
✔︎ Create a simple action plan for how you will address any areas you feel need improvement.
STOP wasting time working on the wrong elements of productivity and planning.
START getting clear on where you need to develop time and task management skills!
Now isthe perfect time to check in with yourself and see where your baseline productivity score is at by taking the Productivity Assessment!
Once you know where you are at, I can better help support you to improve with targeted strategies and information!
Today I to walk you through how I create my annual business plan for the new year to give you a sense of the process I go through and the tools I use.
Now before we get into the step by step process, I want to take a moment to discuss why business planing is so important and the achievements that are possible when you have a solid plan laid out ahead of time.
If you are an existing member of my community, you already know that planning is super important. Not only does it help you to remember what it is you want to get done, it also helps you get clear on details and generate strategies for how you will accomplish your bigger or longer term goals. Planning ahead gives you the ability to save time and effort because you can take the things you need to do, prioritize them and organize them in a way that makes accomplishing the tasks much more efficient. We waste so much time in our days just deciding what to do next. And if you are jumping from task to task without following a plan, you could be wasting up to 30 minutes of time in between each task that you switch to. Not to mention the procastination and perfectionism that can creep in when you get to work without a plan for what you are doing and why. Without a plan, it’s possible to spend a full day working, without seeing a clear impact or payoff for your effort, which I think has to be the worst feeling in the world!
But thankfully that’s not something I experience anymore. Especially when it comes to my business, I show up to work knowing exactly what I’ll be working on each day, and I can clearly see by the end of the day the fruits of my labor and the momentum I have built with my time and focus.
When you have a plan you get so much more done in less time!
In fact, in 2022 alone, thanks to my Business Planning System, I was able to:
• Write and self-publish a best selling book on planning • Create the first season of a Podcast • Film 40+ Youtube videos • Publish 20+ Blog Articles • Create 75+ Instagram Posts • Write 70+ Marketing Emails • Launch 2 New Business Programs • Taught 12 Master Classes, 12 group coaching calls, and 12 more monthly planning classes • Design dozens of new Planning and Productivity Tools • Thrive in my business for the 8th year! • Grew my savings and investment accounts • Deepen my Personal Development • Complete a Coaching Certification Program • Read 25+ books • Establish a Regular Self-Care Routine • Spend plenty of time with people I care about • Plus more things I don’t have the desire to catalogue for the public
Results like this aren’t achieved by accident.
They aren’t the results of luck or good timing.
Achieving your goals and creating the results you want to experience in life is something that takes careful consideration and planning.
So, that is what I am going to show you today, and to be honest, I think you are going to be surprised at how simple this process is.
Now, if you saw my 2023 planner setup video you know that I use a customizable planner system where I keep my business plans combined with my overall life plans and goals.
I have a dedicated section of inserts in my planner that come from the CEO Strategy Planner. The CEO Strategy Planner is a bundle of over 60 business planning inserts designed to help online entrepreneurs and creative business owners turn their big picture business goals into manageable daily tasks.
If you don’t have a copy of the CEO Strategy Planner yet, I’d highly recommend it, but just know that the process I am walking you through today is the process laid out in the CEO Strategy Planner. And if you’d like to see a video of me actually filling in my Business Plans for the year, I will also link you that video as well to watch.
The first part of the CEO Planner is the Executive Summary.
The Executive Summary includes foundational information about your business, your target market and your brand vision. Now, this information may seem really basic, but it’s actually very important that you set these parameters because it’s the framework that you build your business within. One of the major issues I see business owners experience is that they don’t set these parameters for themselves or aren’t clear on them, and then they end up going all over the place with their business.
So, it’s important to decide the following elements of your business.
First, Your business name, so what you call your business or brand, the name customers and followers will come to know you by.
Second, you need to decide your business values, so what values are important for you as you build your business, what are you committed to cultivating through your business and offers.
And the third element of your executive summary is the business manifesto- this is a statement for the purpose and direction of your business, essentially the why for your business and the impact you aim to achieve through your work.
So, that’s the basic identity of the business you are building.
From there you can decide your target market, and the following are the elements of deciding your target market that you need to decide at the state of the year.
First, what your business sells or how it earns income, what’s your plan for that, write it out. Next, who are your customers (this is also known as your ideal customer avatar), these are the people who need what you have to offer and who you will be pursuing through your marketing.
Then, what outcomes do you produce for your customers, so when your ideal customer buys what you are selling, what value are you brining to them, how is working with you benefiting them.
The final target market question you need to decide on and clarify is how do you market to your customers. So, what marketing strategies will you use, which platforms, how frequently will marketing happen, all that needs to be settled and decided at the outside of the year. This is huge because marketing is a key element to sales online, and without these guide-rails, it’s so easy for a business owner to go all over the place with their business and marketing, or fail to develop consistency with their marketing which is just as bad. I’ve seen it happen, unfortunately it happens very often, but getting clear on your target market is going to help you do a better job of marketing and selling for your business.
Next, we have the brand vision and this is meant to be a place where you can map out your business vision for the next 10 years.
So, where do you see your business in the next year, in the next 3 years, 5 years and 10 years? It may not seem important to have this mapped out, and you don’t need to go in depth with this, but it helps to see how your business can be evolving in the future over time. I think it helps you see that you don’t have to build out your perfect business this year, it doesn’t all have to be done immediately- it’s not really possible to do that, but often businesses fail because they try to do too much in a short period of time and it ends up sinking them. So, think about where you business going over time, think about what the logical evolution for your business might be and how you could be adding and layering things into your business over time to create a more sustainable business that lasts.
Now, you might be thinking- Alexis, you’ve been in business for years now, don’t you already have this information written out? Yes that’s true, but every year I like to repopulate this information fresh because it helps me create a clean slate or fresh start feeling with my business. It also helps me to get refocused on what I am building with my business because it’s so easy to get distracted by other things or think you want different things for your business and this executive summary or creative business plan as I call it, helps me choose and decide what direction i want to go for in the year and commit to it.
Next, we get to Yearly Business Planning and the first part of this is the yearly overview.
Here I will first lay out my income target for the year, which I will also break down into quarterly targets. I base this information off of some mathematical equations that I work through during my business goal setting process and all of the information I populate into my yearly business plan from this point on is information that I generated during that goal setting process. If you would like to set your business goals using my process, I will leave a link to the THIS IS YOUR YEAR BUNDLE which is a four part series of workshops that walk you through setting your personal and business goals and mapping them out into action plans across your year.
So, the next part of the yearly business plan is my quarterly objectives which are really more like milestones for my business goals. So I will list out three specific outcomes I want to reach by each quarter of the year.
Then I get to the yearly objective overview. So this is a list of what I am creating this year in four specific categories that I use to track all of my business objectives and tasks.
The four categories are Products or Offers, List Building, Marketing and Development.
So I will make a list of the new offers I want to create this year and/or any updates to existing products I want to complete.
Then I make a list of all the list building initiatives I want to undertake- so all the projects I want to complete this year to help grow my list, and that is mainly focused on my email list, but it can apply to growing any list technically- for instance your followers on Instagram are a form of your list in my opinion. So, what do you want to complete this year to grow your list, write your ideas out.
The next category is Marketing, where I will list out all the marketing related projects I want to work on- funnels, marketing campaigns, launches, content marketing etc, I list those.
And finally development- what business development do I want to do this year? This can be anything from web development, new technologies, growing a team, and even my own personal development as it applies to helping my business grow. I’m currently in the process of undergoing a Master Life Coaching Certification and I consider that a development project that impacts my business for instance.
Again, I want to reiterate, that the information I am populating in these categories is actually information that I mapped out during my annual business goal planning workshop. So, this is not just information I came up with on the fly, these are specific targets I developed during my business goal setting and planning process, and so it’s not information I’m brainstorming on the fly-I have deliberately chosen each of the projects I list out on this objective overview.
Finally, the last part of my yearly business planning process is that I assign each of those objectives I just listed out across the months of my year so that I know exactly when I will be working on each of the projects I laid out.
One of the reasons you want to do this is so you know what you are working on each month. But another big reason why you want to do this is to ensure you have enough time to do everything you anticipate. And I recommend and follow the rule that I focus on no more than three objectives. So, creating a new product or working on a marketing campaign or designing a new funnel-I can only do a total of three of those projects per month.
So, that is it- that is how I create my annual business plan. I hope this information helps guide you as you create your business plan for 2023. Please please please– don’t just start the year without a plan- take the time to do this essential work and I promise, you will get better results when you lay out a plan like this.
If you need more guidance and step by step instruction on setting your business goals and mapping out these plans, please checkout the THIS IS YOUR YEAR bundle and if you are a paper planner user who wants to organize your business plans and tasks inside your planner, check out my CEO Strategy Planner, it has been a game changer for my business organization and I really couldn’t run my business without it!
I hope it’s been helpful to you to see my process broken out and to understand how I use these yearly business planning inserts from the CEO Strategy Planner. Once I have these plains laid out, I break down my plans more specifically into actions for the current quarter so I have a 90 day plan made, but that is going to have to be a topic for another video so if you want to learn more about how I turn this yearly business plan into a 90 day quarterly action plan, let me know!
If you are a current or aspiring business owner and you are looking to find clarity on your business, in order to get started making better business plans- you need my FREE Business Planning Clarity Journal filled with prompts you can use to get in touch with your inner guidance to create that business plan that helps you reach the success you desire. The Journal is free, click here to download it now!
Watch the Video: How to Create Your 2023 Business Plan
I hope you are having a wonderful start to 2023. One month down, eleven more to go!
This past weekend I sat down to plan February in a live session with the Charmed Life Master Mind.
My monthly planning routine is an essential part of my overall functional planning process and it was great to take some time and walk my master mind sisters through it and answers their questions on how I plan both my life and business in the monthly spreads of the Charmed Life Master Planner.
Here is a recap of the Monthly Functional Planning Routine:
Step One: Perform a monthly review to analyze how the prior month progressed
Step Two:Perform a brain dump to get your thoughts, plans and ideas out of your head and onto paper.
Step Three:Populate your monthly calendar spread with important dates to remember.
Step Four:Keep on track with your goals and projects by filling in your Monthly Tracker with your monthly objectives, weekly actions and daily action items.
Step Five: List all other additional tasks due this month onto the Master Monthly Task List.
Step Six: Assign tasks from your objectives to the weeks of the month you plan to work on them to ensure you have the time set aside to complete all expected work.
So, I definitely want to encourage you to carve out about 30 minutes for yourself, sometime in the next few days, so that you too can map out your monthly plan for February.
If you aren’t in the habit of monthly planning yet, I know it might feel like there is a massive learning curve, but the more times you go through this process month over month, the better you will get at it and the more clarity, confidence and motivation you will feel moving into the fresh month.
Important Dates to Include on Your Monthly Calendar
For a bit of reference, here are some important dates you may want to be aware of for February 2023:
Thursday, February 2nd | Groundhog Day
Saturday, February 4th | JournalingMasterclass inside the Charmed Life Master Mind @ 2pm ET/ 11am PT
Sunday, February 5th | Full Moon in Leo
Tuesday, February 14th | Valentine’s Day
Monday, February 20th | President’s Day, New Moon in Pisces, and Galentine’s Party inside the Charmed Life Master Mind @ 7pm ET/ 4pm PT
Tuesday, February 21st | Mardi Gras
Wednesday, February 22nd | Ash Wednesday
Saturday, February 25th | CEO Power Hour inside the Charmed Life Master Mind @ 11am ET/ 8am PT (This is the monthly planning session!)
I hope you found this information to be a helpful reminder to get you started creating your February Plan!
And, if you’d like to get into my inner circle Charmed Life Master Mind and plan with me on a monthly basis plus get access to dozens of classes, resources and tools to help you create the Master Plan for your balanced and successful life…
✔︎ You have reviewed your progress from 2022, celebrated your wins, made peace with your shortcomings and let go of anything you don’t need to take with you into 2023.
✔︎ You know what your goals are for 2023 for both your personal life and business.
✔︎ You have a plan laid for what you need to do to make your goals happen and have set aside the time to complete the work.
✔︎ You feel like your life is together. Like the successful, productive and organized person you know you are.
2023 IS YOUR YEAR!
→ You can walk into 2023 with a well organized plan to get things done OR no plan and not enough time for you to finish your to do list.
→ You can have a balanced daily routine with room for all the areas of your life OR feel rushed and overwhelmed day to day pushing aside your personal goals yet again in favor of other priorities.
→ You can live life at an intentional and productive pace OR deprive yourself of sleep, space and self care to cram in every single task for the day.
Which situation would you prefer?
MAKING 2023 YOUR BEST YEAR YET IS YOUR CHOICE!
I know which choice I would prefer, which is why for the past decade I have intentionally dedicated time at the turn of the New Year to set my goals, map my plans and get my life and vision organized!
And guess what?
Because I spend a little time planning my vision for the year, I achieve more with less time and less stress.
I want you to embrace this process as well because I know first hand through my own experiences, as well as working with hundreds of women from my community, that this works!
And I believe you intuitively know this works as well, but you just haven’t found a system and a process that yields consistent results for you.
That’s why it’s time you choose THIS IS YOUR YEAR!
THIS IS YOUR YEAR is my step by step process for outlining your vision, setting the right goals and breaking those goals out into actionable steps you can take throughout the year to achieve those goals and experience your best year!
THIS IS YOUR YEAR is a series of four goal setting workshops, replays of live classes I taught exclusively to my inner circle master mind, that will help you organize and prepare your life and business for a productive year ahead.
The bundle includes the video modules, slides, workbooks, my 2023 You Got Goals Planner, and bonus guided meditations.
I’VE ALSO JUST ADDED A NEW BONUS MODULE TO THE BUNDLE
The 2023 VISION BOARD PARTY Workshop | Learn how to create and use a Vision Board to manifest your goals this year. This video module teaches you the neuroscience of how Vision Boards work, provides the step by step for how to create your own, and explains what to put on your Vision Board based on your unique personality. The video module also includes a Vision Board Builder PDF that you can print and use to add style and intention to your Vision Board!
THIS IS YOUR YEAR IS EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS IN 2023!
And I want to remind you that there is nothing wrong with you and your life right now!
You are not lacking.
You are not behind.
You don’t need to change your life based on external expectations or comparisons.
You are completely whole and worthy right now exactly as you are.
If you are like me, I truly crave the feeling of ease and comfort of knowing that I have a plan for the year that allows me time for work and space to play.
I love my life, I experience deep gratitude for it, and at the same time, I want to experience more of what life has to offer me.
There is nothing wrong with being grateful for what you have and at the same time desiring more or even different experiences.
I set personal goals because I want to better myself and create a better life for myself and those around me.
I set business goals because I want to reach and help more women like you identify and experience their potential in life as well.
But those experiences don’t happen by accident.
You need a vision, a direction and a plan to fit them into your life.
7 Ways to Use Your Planner to Manifest Your Best Year!
Today I am sharing 7 ways to use your planner to manifest your best year ever!
If you think your planner is simply a tool for time or task management, you are missing a tremendous opportunity to use your planner to help you manifest and realize the life of your dreams. For years I have been using my planner a little different than the average person might, because a significant portion of my planner is more than just calendars and agenda inserts. I customize my planner to include spiritual elements that truly help me stay in alignment with what I want for the year. So, here are my best tips for how you can set up your planner to help you manifest success this year.
Strategy #1: Make it a mindset shift
My first tip here is that you need to make the mindset shift for yourself that your planner and planning isn’t just about keeping track of what to do and where to be, instead its about setting the intention that your planner is going to be an energetic placeholder for your goals and that whatever you write inside it is like placing an order with god/spirit/or the universe. So that is step one- deciding and setting the intention and shifting your mindset- that your planner is more than mere paper and metal and leather or whatever material it’s made out of- this is now a mystical energy generator that’s holding the power and potential for you to take action on building your dream life.
Strategy #2: Choose your word for the year
The second strategy or activity I want you to do with your planner is to create a word for the year and write it somewhere inside your planner. Your word for the year is meant to be a theme for what you want to manifest this year, and along with the word, think about and list out inside your planner what that word means to you and how you intend for that word to manifest for yourself. If you want, I have a template over on my Instagram account that I was sharing for creating your word of the year- you can totally screen shot that and print it for your planner if you’d like. My word for this year is brilliance and my intention for that word is that i want to manifest more creativity and wonderful ideas for my life and business this year. I also want to manifest brilliance in the form of light and beauty. I want to bring more light to my community and uplift them, and I also want to work on my physical body to make myself look and feel more beautiful and brilliant that way. For example, I literally bought Crest White Strips for the first time in years because I want my teeth to be whiter and more brilliant. So thats an example of how my word of the year is aligned with my intentions and ultimately my actions!
Strategy #3: Set your goals
Strategy three is that you need to set your goals and keep them listed out in your planner. Many people goal plan but they keep their goals elsewhere to reference, but that makes no sense to me. I want my goals front and center in my planner- and in fact my goals are one of the first pages of my planner, because these are things I actually want to happen, not just things it would be nice to get if and when I have the time.
For me, the vast majority of my plans and objectives for the year revolve around these goals and making them happen. And if you’ve been a member of my community for a while, you have likely seen that I am someone who gets a lot accomplished and makes her life happen, and I attribute this to the fact that my goals are the keystone to the way I live and work and move through life. So, set your goals for the year- if you want to set your goals the way I do, you can purchase my THIS IS YOUR YEAR bundle with my You got goals workbook and workshop as well as the CEO Retreat classes where I walk you through my goal setting process for both my life and my business.
Strategy #4: Create a vision board for your planner
Next, strategy number four is to create a vision board for inside your planner. I have a whole video on how to create a vision board for your planner that I’ll leave linked for your reference, but you essentially want to take those goals you set and turn them into images that evoke the feeling of achieving that goal. To do this, I search images online, most come from pinterest but anytime I see an image that evokes a strong emotional reaction for a goal I generally save them to my phone or computer. So, I will assemble all these images and print them out and create a collage with them. This year I ended up created the collage on photoshop and then printing it out on sticker paper and then stuck it to the dedicated vision board spread in my Master Planner. But however you want to do it- as long as you have goals turned into images, and those images make you feel good about the goals- and you put them in a central location in your planner to review daily- you are set. And that reviewing of the vision board daily is an essential part of this strategy as well. We aren’t just going to make the vision board and leave it there- instead we are going to spend a few minutes looking at it everyday as part of our daily planning routine! That’s how we can use the vision board to activate the receiving of the goals in our subconscious.
Strategy #5: Keep lists of affirmations in your planner
Strategy five is to keep lists of affirmations and positive self-talk in your planer as well. So, in my planner I have a divided section called Mindset and in this section I keep lists of affirmations that I’ve written out that inspire me to get in alignment with my goals. Generally, what I do with these lists is after I hang out with my vision board, I turn to these pages and read them out to myself and they make me feel super positive and inspired to create my plan and complete my work each day. If you struggle to keep motivated and inspired, a practice like this of using a vision board and affirmations will help you remain self-motivated consistently.
Strategy #6: Write a list of things you want to manifest each month
Strategy six is, every month, write yourself a list of things you want to happen and things you want to manifest and keep it in your planner. Another section of my planner is my Manifest section, and here I just have some simple notepaper, and what I will do every month is write out a complete list of all the things I’d love to happen and I write them out as though they have happened.
So, I might write “This month I earned $20,000. This month I reached x weight, This month I gained 1 million new followers” And sometimes I switch it up and I will say something like “I am so happy and grateful that this month I was featured in a national magazine.” Or “I quickly and easily gained 1 million new followers this month.” So, for every line I write I am writing in an affirmative that the thing has already happened. I already received it, it’s already done energetically.
This technique is also known as scripting and some people say you should do this every day, but I like to do it like a big wish list at the start of the month and then mentally let it go. I don’t micromanage this list by any means, and it’s okay to me if the things I write down don’t happen in the month- the interesting this is that I sometimes get what I ask for but in a different month. So this becomes like a landing page for what I want and my intentions beyond just achieving my goals because on a day to day basis I may think of new things I want to manifest so this is how I open myself up to receiving it.
Strategy #7: Use your best planner supplies and stationery
Last but not least, strategy seven. I know this is a strategy that you did not see coming but I promise you, it’s so important for your mindset and getting more of what you want this year using your planner. Strategy seven is you need to use all of your best planner supplies and stationery that you’ve been hoarding away and waiting to use for a special occasion. Guess what? Today is the day you are going after you goals and manifesting your best life, so it’s definitely a special occasion kind of a day! Got it! Stop holding onto your favorite pens, highlighters, sticky notes, inspo cards- whatever stationery supplies you’ve been hoarding- you need to use them and know that you are worth it, your plans are worth it and there is always more where that came from! Using those supplies you’ve been saving it going to unlock new levels of productivity and abundance and receiving for you because you are showing up and saying okay, today is worth me investing in, what I’m doing today no matter how big or small is worth the expense or sacrifice of some pretty planner things. I am worth it, my planner is worth it, my goals are worth it, my to do list is worth it!
So, those are seven strategies to manifest your best year ever using your planner. I want to hear which of these strategies you are going to integrate. I recommend them all but I don’t think you necessarily need to do all of them at once. Don’t overwhelm yourself, choose whatever seems the most practical for your life and see how it makes you feel and the results you end up getting when you start doing things a little differently than before.
Watch the Video 7 Ways to Use Your Planner to Manifest Your Best Year
10 Time, Task + Energy Management Strategies to Manage a Long To Do List
The following 10 strategies will help you to organize and manage your to do list so that you are optimizing your work for time, task load and the amount of energy you have in a day!
Strategy #1: Schedule Tasks
As you evaluate your to do list, identify which tasks need to be completed at or by a certain time and make sure you have clearly set aside that time for them. It’s not necessarily more productive to schedule all of your tasks for specific time frames, but it is important to do when due dates are involved with a task. For any work that needs to be done at a specific time (ex. meeting) what is the prep work you need to do in order to be ready at that time? Also schedule that work in ahead of your scheduled task.
Strategy #2: ID + Block Time for Projects
If you are working off a long to do list for the day or week, ultimately some of those tasks will belong to the same project. So, identify those items first so you are clear that this is one of the main objectives you are working on, and you can also take a moment to ensure that you aren’t missing any important tasks that go along with this project as well. Then block off specific time to work on that project and those tasks together- this will ensure you can go deep on the project and do it well
Strategy #3: Set Your Top 3
Setting your daily Top 3 is a planning strategy I recommend to ensure you are prioritizing your work and key tasks. Which three tasks on your to do list are the most important to complete today? Things which, if they don’t get done, it will cause issues or delays. Clearly ID these three priority tasks and get them done as soon as possible in your day
Strategy #4: Use the 80/20 Rule
The 80/20 rule is a task management principle that explains how only 20% of our tasks lead to 80% of the results we get. This means that there are some tasks we can do each day that have a bigger impact than others, so to save ourselves time and energy, we should ID and complete those few key tasks before worrying about the 80% of tasks that have nominal effects on our results. Hopefully, your top 3 list is comprised of these tasks, but any additional can be listed out on your daily to do list to be completed as soon as possible as well
Strategy #5: Batch Your Tasks
Some tasks on your list will likely be very similar to each other and to optimize your workflow, it would be a good idea to batch these tasks, which means you work on them together at the same time so you are doing the same general activity over and over. Examples: Creating posts for social media, running reports, making phone calls. When batching your tasks, ask yourself if there are any other similar tasks you can add into this process, even if they aren’t on your list for the current day or week, you may be able to spend a little more time working on them now, and save yourself even more time in the future.
Strategy #6: 3D’s: Delegate, Defer + Delete
Remember, you are not responsible for doing all of the work on your to-do list! Which tasks can you delegate to someone else? Which can you defer for another time that might be more optimal for working on the task? Which tasks can you simply delete off your list because they aren’t a result driver?
Strategy #7: Manage Habits
Some of the tasks on your list may actually be habits you are working on, so don’t simply leave them on your to do list to be done whenever, pause and figure out where in your daily routine these habits make the most sense to be accomplished. When a habit sits on your to do list, it’s just another thing to do, but when you assign it to a place in your daily routine, it has a purpose in your life.
Strategy #8: Mindset Check
Our mindset is a major factor in determining how much work we are able to act on each day and how productive our day ends up becoming. So, ask yourself, which tasks on your list will you feel much better once they are accomplished? These tasks may be things we should consider prioritizing because often doing a difficult thing first gives us mental relief and removed roadblocks to our productivity. Yes, you are going to have to do the things that intimidate you, but once you do them you will feel unstoppable!
Strategy #9: Energy Audit
Your personal energy level is going to be a major factor in how much work you can accomplish in a day, so check in with your energy level to understand which tasks you can reasonably expect to complete today. Also consider what time of day your energy is highest and lowest. It would be a good idea to schedule more energy intense activities during your peak energy times, and allow yourself to work on lower intensity work during times when you know your energy will be waining.
Strategy #10: Create Your Workflow
Once you have organized and evaluated your to do list according to the previous nine strategies, decide the most logical order for you to use to work on this list. This may mean that everything doesn’t get done today and you are intentionally moving tasks to the next day or another week, but all of this is part of creating a good plan that sets reasonable expectations and avoids creating overwhelm.
How to Use These Strategies
When it comes to creating a to-do list, I prefer to create lists for the month, and then choose items from that list to apply to my week. This prevents me from keeping too long of a list and it also helps to drill down to the context of my current months priorities. Once you have your monthly to do list, I recommend using the 10 strategies to filter the tasks you need to do for the current week and identify the tasks for you to do each day. If planning ahead for the week works for you, great! But if you find you set your task list for a day and then things don’t get done and need to be transferred to the next day, this becomes a problem if you have pre-planned your week. So, unless things are scheduled for a specific day on purpose, don’t feel the need to fill in every day of the week ahead of time.
Using these recommendations, you are going to start to see that you begin to plan more strategically and intentionally, and stop taking on too many tasks that aren’t necessary. The hard truth for most of us is that we put too many tasks on our list and then fail to prioritize them, so that we are always expecting not to get everything done and when we continue to push tasks off day after day, we accept it. But you can teach yourself to recognize priority tasks. You can learn how to block off time to do deep work. You can practice batching tasks and checking in with your mindset and energy to determine what is reasonable for you.
So give these strategies a try- understand that there is a learning curve with this, but the more you execute on these strategies the more you will integrate and utilize them.
