I spent 6 years working on my business as a side hustle before I ever dreamed of taking my business full time! If you aren’t familiar with the term, a side hustle is when you have a 9-5 job (or equivalent) and then you have a project you are working on in your free time that is your own. Usually, when we talk side hustles, we mean a business we are running on the side as though it were a second job that may one day become our full time gig, but not always. It can also refer to a volunteer project or cause you are passionate about that you never intend to make any money from but just enjoy doing in your spare time. Whatever your side hustle may be, in order to give that project our full attention and really get the most out of it so that it can one day become more if we wish it to, I have a few tips to impart upon you as someone who has been there, done that and built a full time business from it! This is not the story of how I left my full time job for my side hustle, if you want to read that you can here. This post covers the important things you need to know and focus on to successfully balance your 9-5 job and your side hustle so that you can do both effectively!
Get Clear on Your Business Vision
The first thing you really need to understand when trying to balance a full time job with a side hustle is the vision for your side hustle. Is this something you want to make money doing? Is this something you want to become your full time job? What exactly are you trying to accomplish with your side hustle? What key activities do you need to accomplish to make your side hustle happen? You may not have a 5 or 10 year plan laid out for this yet, but having a well rounded sense of what you are doing and why is important!
Set goals
Once you understand your vision, you need to set some goals for your side hustle! Goals in terms of your output and the activities you will perform on a weekly basis, as well as goals for input in terms of results you are seeking. For example, when I started my side hustle, it was just a blog in the beginning that didn’t have much direction or any goals, but once I set the goal to blog three times a week, my blog really started to take off because I was putting in consistent effort. Simultaneously, I had set goals for my blog in terms of monthly page views, at first I set those goals low, 1,000 page views a month, and once I hit that goal, I raised it to 5,000, then 10,000 etc! Setting goals for output as well as input are important to help you keep an eye on your results to ensure you are moving your side hustle along!
Make a simple project plan
When you have a full time job and a side hustle time can get very tight, so I think it’s always best to keep your side projects as simple as possible. Don’t put too much on your plate at one time or else you will get overwhelmed and one or both of your jobs will be negatively affected. For example, if you want to start an Etsy shop, keep your products as simple as possible. Don’t bite off more than you can chew by adding dozens and dozens of different items to your shop. Focus on producing a few items perfectly and promoting them regularly on the social media platform of your choice instead of spending all your time creating new items and leaving yourself no time for promotion.
Block out time to work on your side hustle
Time management is an essential skill you must master if you want to successfully pull off a 9-5 and a side hustle, and I am often asked how I was able to balance my full time job with all my social media promotion, blogging and YouTube video production before I went full time. The answer is that I blocked out time in my schedule to complete my activities. I spent some time a few evenings a week and usually one weekend day to get done my essential activities. Again, because I kept my projects simple and set goals, I knew what needed to be done and set aside the time to do it. If you are setting aside time for your side hustle but find that you aren’t accomplishing much, you may need to simplify your projects so that you have less on your plate.
Track your results
Now, the final thing you need to do to ensure your side hustle is successful is to track the results of the goals you set. You first need to make sure you are doing all the output that you said you would do because action is the only way you will move your business forward. Once you have tracked that you are completing the necessary output activities, you need to check the effectiveness of those activities against your input goals or results. Are you moving the needle week by week and month by month? You can’t expect huge amounts of growth overnight, but as long as you see growth from your actions, you know you are on the right path! But, if you go week after week with little to no growth, you may need to reevaluate your project plan and your output goals to ensure you are actually performing the right activities that will get you the results you are looking for.
Remember, it’s not easy balancing a 9-5 with a side hustle, it takes a lot of determination and clear expectation to manage both and most importantly, to make progress with your side hustle! It took me over 6 years to turn my side hustle into a full time career, mostly because it took me that long to learn all the strategies of online business and marketing that would eventually help me to create the business I wanted to run! If you are still on the hunt for strategies that will help you master online marketing for yourself, I welcome you to sign up for my upcoming Free Webinar Training ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS THE NEW BLACK!
So, you really want to start your own business and claim the title of #GIRLBOSS for yourself, but you aren’t sure you have the required skill set. While starting your own online business doesn’t require a specific resume, I’ve found that their are a few essential skills that tend to separate the successful from the average. Here are the skills I have found to be the most crucial as I run my own business.
Communication
Great communication skills are a very valuable asset for any #GIRLBOSS, but especially for one that deals with online business. In the real world, having strong speaking and writing skills are a necessity but online, they can mean life or death for your business. It’s so hard to communication online. Yes, it’s easy to send a tweet or leave a comment, but it’s hard to get your messaging across on noisy social platforms and through the hustle and bustle of ads and other constant interruptions on websites. You either need to have great public speaking skills so you can kill it on video platforms OR you need to have impeccable writing skills if you want to carve a name for yourself via a blog. If you have the complete package, you are golden, but if not, don’t fret because you can always improve either!
How to Improve Your Communication Skills: If you need to work on either of these critical communication skills, I have some recommendations for you. To improve your writing, I love the book On Writing Well. It’s a simple guide that can help anyone at any writing level clean up their written communication and start crafting better messages. If you need to improve your oral communication skills, I would suggest joining Toastmasters, which is an international organization that helps people improve their public speaking.
Graphic Design
Design skills are another complete must for a #GIRLBOSS with an online hustle because everything online is driven by design. Your website, your content, and even your products need to have a great design to them in order to turn heads online. Yes, you can always hire out a designer to do this sort of work for you, but if you don’t have the basics down, you are leaving the design, and really the direction of your business, in the hands of a stranger.
How to Improve Graphic Design Skills: When it comes to improving your design skills there are a few things you can do. First, you can get a sense of what your ascetic is by searching through other websites, magazines, and through sites like Pinterest to understand what you like and what you don’t like. Next, I would put together collages via Pinterest to see how different images and design elements work together to create on cohesive vision. If you have a specific project you are working on, like a website redesign or you’re trying to research design for an upcoming project, you can make a board on Pinterest for the project and drop all your inspiration there. Be careful of what you curate because much of understanding good design is knowing that less is more and that a good designer knows how to build a great design with the fewest possible pieces.
Photography
Photography is another skill that is invaluable for a #GIRLBOSS to have in order to run a successful online business. Images are so much of what compels us to connect and purchase products and services online and so any serious #GIRLBOSS should be comfortable behind the camera. Styled photography is a key element of branding that is necessary for a variety of platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, not to mention how crucial it is for your website or online shop!
How to Improve Photography Skills: If you need to up your photography game, I would highly recommend my Digital Styling Lightroom Course. It’s a video based course with 5 modules designed to teach you how to shoot, style and edit great photography for your brand. Definitely check it out if you need to up your photography skills!
Sales
I know the average #GIRLBOSS hates thinking of herself as a salesperson, but you do need to have a basic understand of how “sales” works, in order to close the deal with your customers. The thing you need to know as a salesperson, however, is that sales isn’t really about selling your product. Rather, it’s about selling yourself. A good sales person can sell any product to anyone, they don’t really need to know much about a product, they just need to have confidence in themselves and a charismatic personality.
How to Improve Sales Skills: I know it’s probably not the first book that would pop up if you did a search for tools to help you become a better salesperson, but I’d recommend the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. The book is super old, but stands the test of time, even in the modern online marketplace because it isn’t about the products you are selling, its about the basic principles of selling yourself to another human being.
Personal Development
The final thing a #GIRLBOSS needs to be successful is a desire for personal development. A smart #GIRLBOSS knows that she doesn’t know everything and although she may have achieved much already, she has so much more to become and achieve. I find that the desire for personal development is absolutely necessary if you want to be a good problem solver and leader.
How to Improve Personal Development Skills: This one is simple- say YES to as many learning opportunities as you can manage! Keep up with current news, read the highly acclaimed best sellers, follow other successful #GIRLBOSSES online and of course, engage with as many free business resources as possible. One great personal and business development resource I have for any current or aspiring #GIRLBOSS is a new FREE Webinar ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS THE NEW BLACK where I will be sharing my secrets to creating an online business that defies trends and makes a lasting impact for your life! Feel free to sign up for more information today!
I’m sure their are other skills here and there that would benefit and savvy #GIRLBOSS, but these five are the crucial ones you need to have under your belt in order to really have what it takes to stand out in business, especially online business. If you’re lacking in a skill, definitely prioritize honing it because all of these skills are learnable!
Getting started with your online business can be overwhelming to put it mildly. There is so much research that goes into starting a business, plus information you should know, key strategies to execute and a multitude of possible tools you could use to help make your vision a reality. So, to make this process a bit easier for you as a current or aspiring business owner, I have started a very special Online Business Resource Guide! Filled with the best content, advice, strategy and yes, tools upon tools that I personally use in my successful online business- you are going to want to get your hands on this resource and start digging into the material asap!
So, to make this resource guide as tech friendly and shareable as possible, I have gone ahead and turned it into its own Pinterest Board! Click here to access the Online Business Resource Guide Pinterest Board and make sure to follow board so that you can see all the new resources and content I add to it regularly. I want this to be a living, breathing resource guide that is continually updated with new information as I get it, and I thought a Pinterest Board would be the best method of delivery.
Of course, what’s the good of resources without some guidance? So, I’d also love for you to join me for an upcoming FREE Online Business Webinar ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS THE NEW BLACK that begins on February 21st, 2017! I’ll be hosting the webinar a few times and of course, you’ll have access to a replay, so if you are interested in learning more about getting started with online business, sign up for more information!
I do hope you enjoy the resource guide, and I can’t wait for you to dig into the content I have there for you to explore and learn as much about running a successful online business as possible- no matter what stage your business is currently in!
Hello Charmed Ones! I’ve got an announcement for you today that I hope you are as excited about as I am.
I’ve been working on a new FREE Online Business Webinar for you called ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS THE NEW BLACK and it is officially open for registration today!
I feel incredibly blessed to run my own online business and live the entrepreneur lifestyle that affords me a variety of luxuries. I’m not talking free swag bags or expensive clothing and accessories- those things are great, don’t get me wrong, but they aren’t the reason I love being an entrepreneur and they certainly aren’t the reason I spent years hustling to make my business happen. The most important luxury that my business affords me, and the reason I put so much into my work, is the ultimate luxury that everyone wants more of but many don’t seem to have enough of– TIME!
Yes, TIME! Running my own online business gives me ultimate flexibility over my schedule and lifestyle that I would never get working for someone else. To me, what makes being an entrepreneur, and specifically an online entrepreneur, the best job in the world is the freedom I get from being my own boss, setting my own hours and intentionally designing a business that is tailor made to fit my goals.
If you spend just a few minutes browsing the web, you will find that this point of view on business and entrepreneurship is certainly not unique- in fact entrepreneurship has become something of a major trend especially online. The idea of making money working from home or anywhere really is the tremendous opportunity that our digital age provides, but the fact remains that the low barrier to entry into the online business world means many will make an attempt to start their own business but most will fail. Most, but not all!
There is something special, something very important that successful online businesses have in common that keep them thriving and outlasting the string of trendy businesses that are constantly appearing and disappearing through the seasons. So to give you the best foundation possible for a successful online business I want to share the insights I’ve learned over the past 8 years that have set my business apart, against all odds!
Join me for this FREE Webinar event that begins Tuesday February 21st, 2017 and will run through March 7th! By registering below you’ll get access to the webinar, which I will be hosting numerous times within this two week period, as well as special offers, downloads, and of course, the webinar replay!
If you’re ready to live the Entrepreneur Lifestyle and achieve the ultimate luxury of time, CLICK HERE to sign up for ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS THE NEW BLACK and learn what it takes to build an online business that fits your style!
One month down, eleven more to go, the new year has officially started! I almost feel like it’s useless to count the months down because they just keep recycling anyway to no end, but one point of significance I would like to point out is that this post represents a completion of a full year of Entrepreneurial posts and the start of round two. A full year has passed since my first installment of this monthly public entrepreneurship journal and I’m very pleased that time and time again, you within my community comment on how much you enjoy these posts. So, I guess I’ll just have to keep doing them! After I wrote the outline for this post, I actually went back into my archives and reread last January’s post, and it’s so interesting to me that some of the things I was struggling with last year came back up with this installment. Namely a sense of introspection and solitary reflection. As I will go on to explain in this post, I do think this is just par for the course for me and January. It can be a challenging month for various reasons and I do hope that if any of you felt the same way, this post provides you will a sense of comfort that it isn’t just you who is struggling to get into their groove and workout a sense of uncertainty and unease. So, let’s jump into my review of the month.
What I Did
1. Put myself first: Without a doubt my focus for the month of January was me. This wasn’t the original intention of the month, but pretty early on into the New Year I realized that I was going through something mentally and emotionally that needed time to play itself out. So, I chose to be graceful with myself and loosened my expectations for what I would get done and work on this month. It definitely helped me make progress with myself, even if I wasn’t giving my full attention to my other priorities.
2. A lot of Soul Searching: Because of aforementioned struggle, I ended up doing a lot of soul searching. I spent a lot of time with myself thinking, practicing self-care and putting my attention on matters that concerned my immediate wellbeing and mental health.
3. Participated in an Online Summit: I said no to a lot this month, both to myself and others, but one thing I did say YES to was participating in an online summit called the Go For It Summit. It’s organized by one of my Empire Building Alums and although I was being very careful with what I agreed to do this month, I felt like my participation in this event was so in line with my overall goals for 2017 that I had to say yes! I gave a great video interview and the summit, which is going live in early February, is open for registration if you are interested- it’s FREE. Click here if you’d like to sign up!
What I Didn’t Do
1. Make any videos for YouTube: This was probably one of the biggest shocks for me this month. I knew I was going to take a week or two off at the start of the year because that is what I usually do, but ending the month with no videos was unplanned. It wasn’t that I didn’t try to film- I did a few times, but for one reason or another, I was displeased with the footage or in one case, the footage was corrupted. I just didn’t end up having the mental energy to force myself to create a video against the flow, so I just let it be what it was going to be.
2. Use my planner much: Back in December I was so excited to start using my planner for the New Year, but once January came, I barely touched it. In fact, I had to force myself to use it at time to outline work I needed to do. Again, this all has to do with my own personal struggle with the month, and I know I will be back in my planner soon, but with no clear direction for how I was spending my time this month, it wasn’t necessary.
3. Finish any projects: I’m not sure if I regret this or if I’ve just accepted it, but I didn’t finish any projects this month. Now, I didn’t have any that were due, but it was weird for me not to complete something in a month.
What I Learned
1. January is a tough month: I think as the years go by, I am beginning to see that January is a tough month for me, and I bet others as well. I think after the high of the holidays in Q4, once the new year hits, I fall into a lull. I’ve always said that productivity is like a wave, it ebbs and flows, and for me, Janauary is just a low energy, low productivity month. It makes sense if you think about it- the start of anything is always the hardest part, why would the start of a year be any different?
2. I don’t want to keep doing what I’ve been doing: After all the soul searching I did this month, I think the biggest thing I realized is that I don’t want to keep doing what I’ve been doing with my life and business. I think after so many years of hustling to make my business work and pushing myself, I am seeing that I’ve built a pretty self-sustaining business. Despite doing very little public facing work this month, I still ended up earning a very good passive income, and that’s the point right? I built this business so that I would make money without having to do much. This month has proven to me that I can pull the reigns on the pace I’ve been keeping and focus on projects that will continue to support the ongoing growth of my passive income streams.
3. Uncertainty is normal: As a type A personality, I struggle with accepting uncertainty. I like to know what is going on and where I stand, but this month was a sort of limbo for me. It really upset me early on in the month, but once I realized that the uncertainty was a struggle I had to face by allowing it to just be, I just accepted it. There is still a lot of uncertainty clouding my mind right now, but I can’t let it upset me because it will end up wasting more of my time.
Again, I hope you have found this post insightful and if anything in particular stood out to you, feel free to tell me about it in the comments. I’d so love to know how your month has progressed, so feel free to share some details as well!
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!
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!
Morning Routine
{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.
Evening Routine
{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!
How to Develop a Productive Morning & Evening Routine
All of us have a morning and evening routine, whether or not we want to acknowledge it. As humans we tend to do the same things repetitively and automatically, but this doesn’t mean we are doing the right things or the most productive things. Learning to control our habits and routines is a crucial step to living a more productive life, but this process doesn’t have to be complicated or require us to add a bunch of different to dos to our lists. My philosophy on routine building is to start with what you are currently doing, eliminate the unnecessary and swap time wasting tasks for productive ones. So let’s get started helping you develop your own defined and productive morning and evening routines!
What do your morning routine and evening routines look like right now?
Think about all the things you do in the morning between the time you wake up and leave for (or begin) work and then all the things you do in the evening in order to prepare yourself for sleep. Make a list to help you work out all the details, but most importantly, ask yourself why you do each item. I don’t doubt that the majority of tasks on your list are important, but, I do question whether everything you do is necessary to be completed in the morning before you begin the bulk of your day. Some examples of common unnecessary tasks performed in the morning and evening include:
Preparing/Planning meals: unless you’re cooking breakfast or setting up dinner in the crock pot to cook while you go to work, your morning is not the time you should be meal prepping, nor is your evening. Ideally, your lunch should already be prepped and in the refrigerator waiting for you and if you’ve waited until the morning of to decide what dinner is going to be, you have significantly increased the chances that no matter what the answer is, the result is going to be take out. Try prepping the meals for the next day while you prepare dinner so you are using your time in the kitchen wisely.
Choosing clothes: These should have been laid out the evening before, not the morning of.
Working out: Despite all we hear that working out in the morning is the best thing ever, there isn’t much scientific research to back that up and some research has found that working out in the morning when your cortisol levels are naturally at their highest doesn’t work well for some people. Likewise, nothing makes it harder to sleep than a late night workout before bed, so plan for your physical activity during peak daylight hours if you are really interested in improving your health.
Cleaning up: The habit of leaving messes to sit until the morning is one that you desperately need to break, but that doesn’t mean you should stay up late doing chores. Try to pick up after yourself during the day and you’ll save yourself a lot of time and trouble.
Completing work tasks: If it really can’t wait until you get to work, you’ve dropped the ball. Try not to spend your evenings or mornings on tasks that belong to your 9-5.
Watching TV: News is one thing, but waking up and turning on the tv or falling asleep with the tv on is another terrible time wasting habit that can cause morning stress or evening restlessness. Same goes for your computer and tech gadgets. I won’t say you can’t check your phone before bed or when you awaken, but don’t let it keep you up or keep you from getting out of bed on time.
What’s missing from your morning or evening?
As we evaluate what we are currently doing as part of our unofficial morning and evening routines and what unnecessary tasks need to go, we also need to put thought into what we are missing that may need to be added. The purpose of a morning routine is to help you start your day with a framework of success, and the purpose of an evening routine is to help you end your day peacefully. So what aren’t you doing right now that could support those ends and furthermore what could you choose to do in the morning or evening to move you closer towards success with your goals. Sometimes there are specific actions we can take in our mornings or evenings to help support our goals, but other times just the simplification of our routines and the elimination of wasteful habits can be the best way for us to support goals. Here is a list of tasks to give you an idea of things you could add to your morning or evening routines.
Prayer
Meditation
Stretching
Hydration
Breakfast
Journaling
Self Care
Music
Reading
Gratitude
Affirmations
What does a productive morning or evening routine consist of?
A productive morning or evening routine will look different for each person, but if you can outline a simple routine for starting and ending your day and strive to stick to it, you will find that your mornings become less stressful and your evenings become more restful. Here are a few tips on what to do and not to do when building your routines.
Do This
Subtract before you Add: Before you consider adding any activities to your routines, make sure to take away some things first by rescheduling those tasks to different parts of your day or eliminate them completely.
Use Common Sense: You know your needs and energy level in the morning, so don’t mess around with what really matters to you and helps you to set your day up for success. I am a believer that even inessential tasks can be important if they significantly affect your mood and outlook on the day.
Create Boundaries: Your morning and evenings are pinnacle parts of your day that should be protected so that you can start and end your day properly. Put boundaries on other people and certain tasks, even if that means setting yourself some rules, so you respect whatever time you can devote to setting up and ending your day productively.
Don’t Do This
Wake Up Earlier or Go to Sleep Later: Unless you really have zero time to complete even a basic morning or evening routine, don’t feel pressure to force yourself to change your sleeping pattern. Yes, we all wish we woke up earlier, but what we want in theory and what our bodies need in practice are not always the same. Your routines should fit into your life by swapping time wasters with more productive tasks, not by changing your schedule entirely.
Take on Too Much New: There are a lot of opinions on what you should do in the morning and evening to set yourself up for a productive and successful day, but it’s not your responsibility to try them all out. Eliminating time wasting behavior will be difficult enough to manage in the morning and evening without adding the complication of adding new tasks as well. I think a simple 10 minute routine can be as productive and set you up for as much success as a whole 60 minute routine.
Aim for Perfection: When it comes to developing a new morning or evening routine (or both!) you can’t expect that you will stick to the routine 100% of the time. I think setting a goal of completing your routine in it’s entirety 3 days a week is a good start. Working up to 5 days or your workdays would be excellent. And don’t forget, you can take time off from your routines or create different ones for the weekend and that’s perfectly acceptable as well. Don’t set yourself an unnecessary standard for these routines because it is literally too early and too late in the day to expect perfection. You are only human after all!
I sincerely hope this post stimulated some ideas for you to develop your own morning and evening routine. If so, I’d love to hear about it down in the comments!
How to Break Down a Goal into a Project With Your Planner!
Since we are now in the very beginning of January and I know many of you are probably pondering resolutions for the year as well as any projects and other goals you want to accomplish throughout 2017, I thought now would be the perfect time to share with you all my project planning and goal tracking process. As you may already know, I currently use my A5/Half Letter Charmed Life Planner inserts in a disc bound system to house and organize all my plans, projects and goals for the year. You may even be familiar already with my printable project planning bundle that I sell in my shop and designed specifically to help myself (and others!) outline and monitor their projects in a productive way. If you haven’t seen my project planning bundle yet, feel free to check it out for yourself.
Now, when it comes to projects and goals, I think people tend to approach each of these items differently because they do tend to be different in nature. When it comes to projects, I view them as a collection or series of tasks necessary to complete in order to come to a desired outcome. In my opinion, projects usually arise as a result of external factors in our lives that prompt us to undertake these tasks. For example, you may find that the majority of your projects come from places like work, your household or even community needs. Since projects are often externally driven, I believe that we often feel a lot of pressure or stress to complete these tasks because usually someone other than ourselves is counting on the completion of the project. Goals on the other hand are things we as individuals work towards with the hopes of accomplishing. I find that goals are usually internally driven and very personal in nature and because of this, I believe we often put our own goals aside or on the back burner to other projects because the completion of our goals only affect us on a personal level. Therefore, I find that goals are usually the first thing to fall to the wayside when life gets busy because they can sometimes feel like something of a selfish pursuit. The truth of the matter is, that both projects and goals should be approached with the same system of organization in order to identify, plan and execute them to completion. No matter whether you are working on a project for work or trying to reach the goal of running a marathon, the same basic planning structure applies and neither a project nor a goal is any less valid no matter the factors surrounding it’s existence!
Okay, so let’s move on to the nuts & bolts of my project planning system. This isn’t any sort of revolutionary system by any means, and I certainly can’t take credit for doing anything other than developing it to fit my own needs, but it does work very well for me, and I thought if it works for me, it could work for you!
The Process
Step 1: Brainstorming
The first part of my project planning system is brainstorming. This shouldn’t be confused with brain dumping, because in a brain dump you are simply moving information stored in your mind onto paper (or another trusted input system) in order to store the information, reflect and review later. Brainstorming is like the opposite of a brain dump, because with a brainstorm you start with an empty mind and actively populate ideas. In order to do so, it can often help to first complete a brain dump so that your mind isn’t focused on holding on to any other ideas or plans already stored there, and you can focus simply on the act of creating ideas.
Tip 1: Define your problem
When you begin a brainstorm it is important to ask yourself what you are trying to achieve or what problem you are trying to solve. You need to be specific here and think about the who, what, where, when, why and how of your problem so that you can approach it from every direction.
Tip 2: Envision the ideal outcome
When brainstorming, it is important to know what the ideal outcome is for your problem. We are talking best case scenarios only! Don’t negotiate your ideal down to something diluted, but focus on exactly what it is that you want to happen. Don’t be afraid to dream big. As one of my favorite quotes says “Reach for the Stars, for even if you fail, you’ll land amongst the Heavens.” When you are brainstorming it’s a great idea to think like an overachiever! I follow this rule of thumb myself and I never fail to produce great things even if I don’t quite make it as far as I dared.
Tip 3: Track all thoughts
Start writing down any idea that comes to mind, no matter how small, how right or how wrong it sounds. I suggest doing this with sticky notes or index cards, because these will help you to organize all your thoughts later.
Tip 4: Brainstorm early & often
It’s never too early to brainstorm solutions to a problem that may have just arisen or even to brainstorm solutions to problems that you are anticipating. The more time you spend brainstorming and the more sessions you undertake, the better your ideas will get and the more prepared you will be to undertake the project!
Step 2: Organizing plans and ideas
Once you have spent a sufficient time brainstorming, it’s time to organize your ideas! If you used sticky notes or note cards as I suggested, this process will be easier for you, but make sure to keep a few extra supplies around because you may still have some more though processing to do!
Tip 1: Lay it all out in front of you
Literally, lay all your cards with ideas and plans and information in front of you and take a good hard look at everything.
Tip 2: Discover the Hierarchy of Ideas
Once you have spent time reviewing your ideas, you will start to notice a natural hierarchy of ideas emerge from your notes. You will see ideas you like, ideas you don’t like and you can begin the organization process by grouping these items into a logical order. Ask yourself as you do this if you see any gaps in information, if so, pull out another sticky note or index card and fill in the blank!
Tip 3: Do not discard any ideas
It is very important that during this process you do not discard any ideas, no matter how bad they may seem. Why? Sometimes good ideas can spring forth from bad ideas. Often time I find that by looking at the wrong answer, your mind naturally comes to understand what the right answer is, almost like a process of elimination. When you know what doesn’t work, you have eliminated a possibility and can therefore focus on what does work! Another reason to keep around those seemingly bad ideas is because although an idea may be bad for one project, it may actually work for another or give you a great idea for a totally different project. While you’re brainstorming, you seriously have no clue what is going to pop up but your brain gave you the idea for a reason, so give it some time before you decide that it’s not worth pursuing.
Tip 4: Give your ideas time to process
Project planning and organizing ideas isn’t something that should be rushed. I say to brainstorm early and often for a reason, because thoughts need time to process and stew in your mind. Even after your ideas have been organized into their proper hierarchy and gaps have been filled, you still never know what inspiration is going to pop up once you give your ideas time to grow. So, how do you know when you have given enough time to your ideas so you can begin to project plan? Well, I find that there are two things that happen to me when I am ready to move on to the next phase in this process. First off, I find that I begin to feel confidence in my ideas. It’s like a gut check with me, if I feel uneasy with my ideas, they need more time, but if I start feeling confident and excited, I know it’s time to move forward. Finally, when I begin to see that my ideas are following a very logical order, I know it’s time to move on because my ideas make sense, and that is really what you want from this process.
Step 3: Planning
Once your ideas are in order, you can proceed with the actually planning portion of the project planning system. Novel, ain’t it?
Tip 1: Process your ideas into actions
Once you have all your good ideas in front of you, you need to process them into actual actionable items. After all, a project plan is nothing if you don’t have actions associated with your ideas.
Tip 2: Fill out a project planning page
I like to keep track of my projects with a project planning page because it provides a nice overview of your project at a glance. The project planning pages I use come from a set on my shop that are sized for a Filofax, either personal or A5! The project planning page houses all the important information regarding the project.
Tip 3: Note deadlines and timeframes
On the action list of the project planning page, I make sure to note deadlines for tasks as well as provide a general time frame for their completion. This helps me when it comes time to undertake a task to understand the time commitment required.
Tip 4: Keep track of resources
When it comes to project planning, we often need outside resources or other materials to reference in order to complete tasks. The project planning pages I use have a special section for this so I can list out everything I need to reference or anyone I need to contact or work with to complete tasks.
Tip 5: Move projects to the Yearly tracker
My project planning bundle also includes a yearly tracker broken down by month of the year as well as spaces for short-term, mid-term and long-term goals. I consider a short-term goal to be something that can be completed in 1 month, a mid-term goal to be something I can complete in 1-3 months and a long-term goal to be something I need 6 months or more to complete. Once my projects are outlined in the project planning pages, I move them into my yearly tracker in their appropriate time frame so I can see everything I have going on in my life, project wise, throughout the course of the year.
Step 4: Implementation
Once your project or goal is planned out and organized, the most important part is still ahead of you and that is actually getting things done!
Tip 1: Schedule action steps into your calendar
I use a specific month at a glance insert to track my project tasks. This page (which is available alone in my shop or as part of the project planning bundle) is broken down into two parts. On one side of the page are the days of the month listed out one per line, and on the alternate side is a column of task boxes. I use the dated side to track tasks that have a specific due date or deadline and the side with the check boxes to list out all other tasks that belong to that month. That way when it is time for me to work on a project, I have a list of my next actions ready to go and I don’t have to spend any extra time looking up what I have to do! When an item is completed from this list, I check it off on the monthly page as well as on the project planning page.
Tip 2: Transfer tasks to a weekly or daily spread as needed
Sometimes tasks are very important and I need to make sure I don’t miss them, so I will move them onto my weekly pages to ensure completion. This is just an additional step I take that helps me to plan my workload for the week. Normally I will either add these items to a specific day that they need to be done on or leave them as a general task to be completed at some point during the week. Either way, having it front in center on my weekly view keeps it on the top of my list!
So that is my project planning and goal tracking system in a nutshell. This is quite a long post, so I won’t keep you any longer. If you didn’t happen to make it through the whole post, don’t worry, I did make a YouTube video on the subject as well to go along with this post in case you preferred to watch me in action instead of read a long form article!
Rules. We like to make them, we like to break them, and whether or not you know it, we all live by a set of rules we have already written for ourselves subconsciously. Successful people are aware of their rules, and in fact, intentionally craft and monitor them to ensure that they are consistently operating at a high level and making progress towards their greatest purpose in life. The other week, I wrote about getting started with personal development for those who are new to the concept. In that post, that you can read here, I discussed how the first step to developing yourself on a personal level is to audit yourself and your current situation in life. Today, I want to share with you a list of 10 Rules for Living a Charmed Life that I myself and many of the world’s most successful individuals follow. As you read through these rules, audit your life and think about subconscious rules you may live by that conflict with any of these. You may find that areas of your life that aren’t going as planned may result from following the wrong rules.
Rule #1: Live Within Your Means
The most basic financial principle and recipe for a balanced life of more happiness and less stress is to spend less than you earn.
Rule #2: Design Your Ideal Life
You are the master of your own destiny and it is up to you to take control of your life choices to build the life you want.
Rule #3: Be Present
You achieve a powerful sense of focus when you are able to keep your mind on the present moment by not thinking about passed actions or worrying about future ones.
Rule #4: Practice Gratitude
One who practices gratitude regularly will learn that they are, in fact, the luckiest person in the world.
Rule #5: Follow Your Passion
If you are looking to find meaning for your life and joy in your work, the best course of action is to follow your passion.
Rule #6: Create Your Own Opportunity
Not everyone is given the same opportunities in life, but you can make your own when you make a plan and work to execute.
Rule #7: Make Your Own Luck
If you want something to happen, you need to be willing to make it happen.
Rule #8: Love Yourself First
No one will ever be as important to your life as you are, so make sure you take care of yourself first and foremost.
Rule #9: Surround Yourself with Friends & Family
No one is alone in this world no matter how much they believe they are. There is a community around you willing to support you whether that is the family you are born into or the family you create for yourself.
Rule #10: Love Fearlessly
There is no greater risk with any greater reward than to love.
