Why We Went “Screen-Free” + 5 Mess-Free Toddler Activities

4 / 7 / 174 / 5 / 17

Today I (Laurel) am delighted to introduce you to my dear friend (and neighbor), Jennifer. We gave birth to our sons just two weeks apart from each other and have spent a lot of time in the past two years sharing the joys, challenges, and victories that come from motherhood. I appreciate Jen’s intentionality with her son Isaac. She loves him well and pours everything into his rearing. Enjoy this post from her on the topic of screen-free parenting!

It had been a rough day at our house. We had a string of them, leaving me feeling like a failure and often yelling at my son. He was barely two and the defiance was out of control. Nothing worked, nothing. That day he was finally asleep, and I lay beside him, tears pooling in my eyes. “I am the adult here,” I thought to myself. “I am the one in charge of setting the tone of our relationship.” We struggled over everything – even controlled choices were a problem. What had changed? I thought back over our previous couple of weeks…the weather had turned, cold but not freezing however, chilly enough to make me want to stay inside. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks: screen time. As Isaac, my son, had gotten older, he showed greater interest in my iPad. I even bought some apps specifically for him and he played them – he played them a lot. Not only that, we had started watching a movie every morning instead of taking a walk, and it was truly a little kids movie, we watched “Despicable Me”. Then as the days inside got longer, we watched it more than once..twice…three times.

Let me explain: My husband and I are in this alone. Our families are spread out over several states and our parents are far away. I needed to get things done around the house, I needed to cook, and I needed some chill time. We have wonderful friends, yes, but they have lives too – with their children, jobs, and home. Enter the all powerful screen. Hello, babysitter.

Later that same evening, I was talking with my husband, who was also not enjoying the new struggle we had on our hands, and I gave him my theory. “It’s the screen time,” I said. “It needs to end.” He agreed. People, we went cold turkey. The next morning, Isaac asked for his movie. “Maybe later,” I responded brightly. “Let’s paint instead!” And that was the beginning. We painted, we played Play doh, we colored with markers, crayons, chalk. We built blocks, we built legos, we built a train track and ran the train. And every time he asked for the movie, I said “Maybe later!” and distracted him with the next activity. (He never thought to ask for the iPad, it was out of sight and therefore, out of mind.) We braved the cold and went on a nature walk.

My house was a wreck that day but it was worth it. However, since I wanted to have a cleaner, more tidy home AND cook fresh meals AND play with Isaac, I knew something would have to change. Thus began my search for quick, easy, mess free toddler activities.

After only two days of zero screen time we had a whole new child. Was he still defiant, yes, he’s two. But it was manageable. I was highly encouraged and I really believe my son was much happier. He still asked for his movie and I still said “Maybe later” and the iPad was still hidden and really, nothing suffered that terribly. I still cooked and tidied. Although, full disclaimer: I had declared that if anything was going get lost in the chaos it would be the “clean and tidy home” and my husband agreed fully. And, yes, some things get lost in the mix. I’m learning to be ok with that. More importantly, to me at least, was that I learned I didn’t need the screen to be a babysitter all the time and all the activities do not have to be high prep, messy fun. Here’s five low prep, mess free, toddler approved (and even older babies would enjoy some of these) activities that call for supplies you likely have on hand or are super cheap and easy to get.
1. Coffee tree mug and craft rings. This looks so cool, it’s hard to believe it is so simple. Take the rings off and put them on. That’s it. Isaac got bored with using his hands so he showed me how he uses his TOES to do it.
2. Thin spatula, muffin tin, and blocks. Dump out the blocks in a pile, set the muffin tin nearby and use the spatula (make sure it is thin enough to get under the blocks) to lift a block, carry it to the tin and put in one of the cup. Repeat. I thought this was so dumb, that Isaac would not be interested. I didn’t tell Isaac I was setting this one up, I just did it as he was playing with something else. He watched me and I could not believe how his eyes lit up with interest.3. Pipe cleaners and kitchen colander. Poke the pipe cleaners into the holes. Again, I figured he’d get bored. Nope.4. Drinking straw and craft puffs. Spread out some craft puffs (small to medium, so not for littles who still put everything in their mouths) and power the straw with your breath to move the puff. Feeling extra crafty? Make a very easy map or color wheel to have your toddler blow the puffs (put it on green! Now blue!).5. Dot stickers and construction (or any colored) paper. I keep this in my church bag. Get a couple packs of fun colored dot stickers, the kind you’d use for marking prices on garage sale items, and matching colors of paper. By matching, I mean color, not shade. Have your toddler sort stickers by putting the blue sticker on the blue paper, the yellow on the yellow and so forth. (Side note: I ran out of the dot kind, and evidently, so did the store. So, I got rectangles and I cut them to smaller sizes.)

And a bonus mess free activity? Get them outside. Take a walk and go at their pace. Little people are discovering the world and it’s a wonderful way to slow down and see the world from their perspective.

The reality is that we do not live in a screen free world. But if you choose to dramatically limit your children’s screen time, you are not alone. There’s quite a bit being written about the negative effects of screens on developing minds and very little about how good screen time is –including so called “educational apps”. However, there are still times when I don’t hesitate to hand over my iPad in the name of peace (long grocery store line, anyone?) however it’s a genuinely rare occasion these days. It’s been a wonderful change in our home. I highly encourage everyone to set their screens down and unplug for a bit. I very much doubt anyone would end up regretting time spent without a screen.

Going screen free in a screen heavy world can be daunting, but it’s like Robert Frost penned in his poem :
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

A daughter of the King, Jennifer Gonzales is a librarian turned stay at home mom. She spends her days playing with her young son, drinking chai, and trying complicated recipes from Pinterest. Occasionally, she writes blog posts for her family blog, Heart Prints. Psalm 113

How To Stop Life From Happening To Your Good Intentions

2 / 8 / 17

It’s the time of year when those New Year’s Resolutions start to wear off. You’ve tried and tried to get to the gym, you’ve tried to cut out sweets but then the Super Bowl happened, you’ve tried to launch your home-based business, insert fill-in-the-blank applicable situation for you.

I’m a big believer in goals for the year, but as such, I’ve also come face-to-face with reality smacking those goals over and life challenging me to give up on those goals I set out to conquer in the new year.

This year, I have a few simple goals. I’ll share a few of them:

1) Get up at six o’clock every weekday morning and have a 30 minute devotional time.

2) Listen to audiobooks at the gym and redeem that time (& make it more enjoyable).

3) Never miss a Monday at the gym to set myself up to be physically active that week.

4) Set aside work hours for my business, which I work from home, each and every day.

5) Limit foods outside of my food plan to once a week at the most.

January wasn’t the month I hoped it would be. I had a hard time being consistent with the things I set out to do – and while there are always plenty of excuses to go around, as Brian Tracy says in No Excuses, stop complaining or making excuses and take responsibility if you want to make a change. I could have lived out January better to be further ahead than I am now.

That being said, I am happy to report that I did make progress on each of these goals last month! Audible has been Godsend in helping me take in good input, like Brian Tracy‘s book, helping me get more fuel and to stop making excuses.

Here are five wins from January, one for each goal:

1) I got up at six a.m. some, and continue to pursue making this an every day habit.

2) I’ve gotten a lot out of starting to listen to audiobooks and have even started doing this some in the car!

3) I’ve missed just one Monday since getting back to the gym after the Christmas break!

4) I’ve put more time into my business and have had extra growth because of the extra intention I’ve put in!

5) I’ve said no to a lot of foods that I otherwise wouldn’t have because of my desire to limit the intake of foods I want to avoid, and I’ve stuck to 1/week all weeks but one.

In light of my goals and progress, I want to share with you some strategies I’ve embraced over the past few years to help prevent life from happening to the good intentions of New Year’s Resolution making.

Revisit your goals each and every month. Write them down (research says that you are over 1000 times more likely to achieve a goal when it is written down) and share it with someone (your chances are even higher fro success when the goal is shared).
Each month, write down where you made progress on each and every one of your goals. My phrase for this year is “Intentional Progress”. I might not win at all of my goals right out of the gate, but I’m going to make progress intentionally each and every month! By counting our monthly progress “wins”, this gives us inspiration to keep on going.
Ask yourself “why didn’t I meet my goal?”. Look at your answers & readjust!
Commit to make this month better than the last. Winning at goal setting is all about progress! Make progress over last month and you’re on your way to getting better, and better, and better, and better!

It really is as simple as that. Culture tells us that people who have goals will fail, but statistics tell us otherwise! Keep working on those goals and just see all the good, all the progress, that comes from that intentionality!

What is one of your goals for this year? What’s been a progress win so far?

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Should you order through these links, we will receive a referral commission off your purchase from Amazon. Don’t worry- this does not affect the purchase price of the product. Thank you for helping support Canvas & Table and helping us create fresh content!

Good Things vs. God Things | being wise about the things we put our hands to

9 / 13 / 16

There’s something that’s been on my heart all year long: there is a time to say “yes” and a time to say “no” to everything. Early this year, God started drawing my attention to a level of over-commitment in my life that was creating an atmosphere of stress & busyness in my life that was unhealthy spiritually, mentally, emotionally, & physically. While some changes were immediate, others have taken the course of the year and others have started migrating from a “yes” to a “no”. Today I want to share my journey with you.

Saying “no” isn’t something new to me- I’ve always managed to be fairly straight-forward and bold in what I allow into my life. However, after ending the year last year in a state of exhaustion, it became apparent to me that while I had my hands to many good things, they weren’t all God things. What’s the difference?

A good thing is just that- it’s a good thing to do. You believe in it, and you think it’s a wonderful activity, but the grace isn’t there to do it. It isn’t what you were created specifically to do, at least for this season of your life, and it isn’t something you feel God has directed you to be a part of.

A God thing is something you’ve specifically seen God lead you into and not lead you out of. It’s something that goes towards your “why” in life, and for which you’ve been specifically anointed & set apart to be a part of in your life. This can include your vocation- not just “super-spiritual” activities.

I don’t know about you, but when I started looking at my life in that light this year, I could see where there was no grace, where there was abundant grace, and the places where God was beginning to lead me out of in my life.

I’m writing this today because I think there are a lot of us doing good things that cause us to neglect the God things. The God things are those things that make up your purpose, those things you should be doing in this season of life. The good things are those things that sound good, but that you know you’re only doing at this point because they are just good things to do. And there is a difference.

God things connect to your core while good things tire you on a deep inner level. This all has to do with grace. If you have three children, God has given you the grace to deal with them, and while it may be tiring, it’s purposeful. If you’ve decided to help your neighbor with her three kids and this isn’t something you’ve seen God lead you to do, you are going to be a different type of tired, because the grace isn’t there for doing it- it is literally just a “good thing” you are doing, not a God thing.

I challenge you today to consider the activities that make up your schedule. Walking away from good things can be difficult, especially when you feel as if you are leaving a hole behind for someone else to fill and when you really care about the way that good thing affects others. Yet, when you pray about it and have peace about leaving that activity behind, trust that God will fill that hole with the person to fill it for the new season. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been there, and He does it every time.

What are the God things in your life?

How To Have An Awesome Summer When You Can’t Travel

7 / 12 / 16

We all have those times that, try as we might, we end up at this point where there’s a lot of work to be done and not a lot of free time to be had. Yet, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”, so if this summer you aren’t able to go on one of those vacations to some beach on a coast, try these ideas on for size to keep your summer awesome.

Make a list of the fun things you want to do that are feasible this summer. My sister and her kids started doing a “summer fun list” a few years ago after finding the idea somewhere on Pinterest. This encapsulates the goal here- think of some ideas that are fun that you want to do this summer. Going somewhere new in your state, planning a movie weekend, or trying out that restaurant you’ve been driving by for years are all acceptable things to get down on your list!
Be intentional about your free time. A big key to having a great summer when you have no epic vacations planned is to plan fun into your free time! No epic vacation planned probably means no vacation time, so you’ll have to redeem the time when you aren’t working for some of those fun things on your list.
Make up your mind that your summer at home can be amazing. If you’re a summer vacation kind of guy or gal, it might be a big bummer that you aren’t traveling. What’s more, if you’re at home because money is tight, for health-related reasons such as surgery, or with a new baby, you might be tempted to be a bummer about it. However, if you decide your summer is going to be great and go about trying to make it wonderful, with family and friends that are close by, you can have an amazing summer! What kind of time you are going to have is heavily dictated by the mindset you have, but that’s something you can control.

Now, go ahead, make that list! My hubby & I usually stick to our Alphabetical Date Nights plan, so for us, a summer with no travels is a time to be spontaneous and unique and deviate from that. Try organizing friend outings, trips to the lake, an overnight trip to somewhere nearby, and movie nights to start with. Make the most of those three summer holidays (Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day) and aim for doing something fun on a weekly basis (at least 😉 ). Some of the ideas on this list might be a great place to start!

What things do you love doing during your summers at home? Comment below!

Celebrating One Year: The Top 5 Viral Posts

5 / 10 / 165 / 23 / 16

We are coming up on our one-year anniversary next week, and are celebrating with a “Top 5” posts covering the 73 blog posts we have published year to date. Of course, what else would we look at other than the posts that have gotten us on the map- without further ado, here are our top 5 viral blog posts:

Alphabetical Date Nights

Our Alphabetical Date Nights post was published just a few weeks into the lifetime of this blog, and it immediately took off. To date, this post regularly continues to come in at first or second for daily views, attracting readers with it’s long list of unique date ideas for significant others, family, or friend dates.
DIY Laundry Scent Booster

This laundry scent booster pic took Pinterest by storm with practically no help, popular for the beauty and ease of this recipe. It was months after this post was published that it started popping up on our daily stats, but since it has shown up, it hasn’t slowed down.
8 Fun Ways To Celebrate Leap Day

The concept of this post really resonated with viewers, quickly gaining popularity by taking that one day we have to remember every four years and turning it into an opportunity to make memories.
Luscious Locks Spritz

Another post to gain popularity months after it was published, this recipe is an especial favorite of Essential Oils users who are looking for an easy, practical DIY recipe that really packs a punch!
The Missing Member: Thoughts on Miscarriage | Part 1: Processing the Pain

This post resonated with readers with a very realistic and honest look at the emotions and process that a family goes through when losing a child through miscarriage.

Which post is your favorite? What post do you think should have made it?

~Thank you for your support in helping us reach this milestone and have “viral” posts! We couldn’t do this without you and we are so grateful!~

Everything You Need To Know About Becoming An Entrepreneur & Starting Your Own Business

3 / 29 / 163 / 26 / 16

The American Dream…it’s something that is defined by the essence of the ability to become anything you want to be. Whether or not you are speaking to Americans, the desire to follow one’s dream and be successful is shared across all cultures. But what does it take to actually take the leap from “working for the man” to doing your own thing?

Here are five basic things that are needed at the basis of any entrepreneurial pursuit to set one up for long-lasting success:

Choose something that you would want to do for free. Starting a business that is going to have staying power takes doing something you are passionate about. Imagine being five years down the road, making a moderate amount of money- would you still want to do it? If the answer is no, this isn’t your “forever” thing.
Be prepared for the business to take time to grow. Different business coaches lay out different timelines, but most say you should be prepared to not be profitable for a year to two years’ time. That means your business may operate on the side for you to make it financially. As long as #1 is in place, it’s a doable way to live for a certain amount of time.
Be prepared for some criticism. Your friends & family may not love that you are going into business for yourself- and that doesn’t mean they don’t love you. Have the grace and understanding to recognize that not everyone has followed your path, so perhaps there may be a lack of understanding there that results in unwanted advice (including suggestions to try to get a job here or there, where “you could make more money”).
Make a business plan. There are many, many businesses that fail within their first five years in operation. A good chunk of those failures could be contributed to a lack of planning. A business plan provides you with ways to forecast ahead of where you are, so you lessen the chances of making poor decisions with your business.
Recognize that your business will require sacrifice. The phrase, “You can’t have your cake and eat it too” is very applicable here. You aren’t going to be able to keep all of the proceeds of your business (and you will likely be pouring a lot of money that isn’t coming from the business into it at first); you are going to have less time available (at least for awhile); you are going to have to allow your beliefs about business-building to be challenged, stretched, and changed. These are all positives that may be very hard at the time, but it is absolutely part of what it takes to begin your own business venture.

These five things are essential foundations to anyone truly desiring to go into business for themselves, whether by starting a company with employees, starting a business venture with skills, or becoming an independent contractor of some sort, even with work-from-home businesses. If you are ready for all five of these, go for it, and enjoy the ability we have in our society to easily begin our own business ventures!

Emotions

3 / 24 / 163 / 24 / 16

Emotions. For most of us they are shrouded in a degree of mystery. Even as you are reading this, you are experiencing an emotion. It could range from stress to peace, from laughter to anger. Still, this common experience of feeling can baffle us. Add to it the outside influences of work conflicts, less-than-ideal living arrangements or conditions, and imperfect human relationships and we quickly find ourselves sinking in a sea of emotions, some of which we may not even understand the why behind.

In recent days I have been delving into this topic as I prepare to co-lead a group class and discussion about emotions. While the event will focus mainly on emotions and essential oils, much of what I’ve been learning can be applied whether you’re an oils “user” or not. So, in no particular order, my desire is to share with you a few of the things I’ve been learning about this vast world from Scripture, books, respected pastors, and healthcare professionals.

Emotions are not wrong or shameful. We are designed to be feelers. The Bible is laced with verse after verse of men and women pouring out their feelings from the depths of their hearts. Take a look at the Psalms in which David intimately – and unashamedly – pours before God his highest and lowest moments.

The thoughts of our minds and the feelings of our hearts affect our physical health. When our emotions penetrate our hearts, we often hold them in, specifically if they are negative emotions. Dr. Carolyn Mein says this in her book Releasing Emotional Patterns, “What happens when we stuff negative emotions? They are held in the body and eventually produce physical or emotional pain.”

It’s essential to process emotions. Keeping negative emotions inward is unhealthy in many ways. While it often is so hard to “go there”, processing the negative emotion is necessary for healing and moving forward. There are a variety of ways to make processing emotions manageable and effective:

Prayer and Scripture Reading. There is no better place to be found to deal with difficult feelings than in prayer before the Lord and in reading His word. Again, the Bible is filled with emotional passage after emotional passage. In these readings, resolution is always ultimately found in God.
Writing. Purposing to commit your thoughts and feelings to paper can help to sort through circumstances and emotions. Give yourself full freedom on the page without fear of who might read (I’d suggest keeping these written thoughts private – or only show them to trusted, wise advisors).
Essential Oils. Our sense of smell is incredibly powerful. Think of your favorite meal or treat that your grandmother makes (or used to make) for you. You can smell that aroma anywhere and in a moment be filled with warm memories and mentally transported back to her cozy home. Essential oils work the same way – powerful, pure aromas that release emotions in our brains. Using oils for emotional needs doesn’t have to be complicated: it can simply be a few drops of calming Lavender in a diffuser or breathing in an uplifting citrus aroma. All that is key is consistency.
Counseling. Again – emotions do not carry shame! They are a natural part of life. If you are struggling with an area, seek help! There are many trained and certified professionals around who will help you through difficult times without judgement.

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4 Reasons You Should Travel the World

2 / 25 / 1611 / 2 / 16

Today we are thrilled to bring you a guest post from one of Laurel’s longtime friends, Emily Heinrich. Emily describes herself as an “ordinary girl who loves a good adventure…. with a deep desire to visit places near and far.” You can read more from Emily on her blog Beautiful Fernweh and view some of her beautiful photography prints for sale here or here.

Today in our guest post, Emily shares four reasons you should travel the world:

#1 – History! So much history! In America, we think something from the Civil War is old. If it goes back to the Revolution, then it’s really, really old. And if it can date back to the pilgrims or the Native Americans before them we act as if it’s like, ancient history. But there’s so much fascinating, incredible history to be seen beyond our borders. The world is a vast place and there’s so much history to learn and explore. And traveling lets you see and experience that in a whole new way.

On my first trip to Europe, the first city I got to explore was Trier, Germany. I knew there were Roman ruins there but the impact of that didn’t hit me until I got there and saw it for myself. I was suddenly looking at things, not from the 1700’s or 1800’s, but buildings that dated from 300 AD and before. How incredible is it to look at something and know that people who lived close to 2,000 years ago built this and walked these same streets?! It’s inspiring to walk the same road that Caesar walked or to be in the palace that the Emperors of China used for centuries.

It also helps to take some part of history that can seem rather abstract and disconnected to you be real and meaningful. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to read about history. But that same history has a way of coming alive and impacting you more if you go to the places where those things took place. Reading about the concentration camps in World War II has a much deeper impact on me now that I’ve visited one. I’ve been there – I traced their footsteps in the camp – I saw where they lived and where they slaved and where they died. And now when I hear or read about those camps, I have a deeper understanding, a greater insight, and a tangible connection to what happened. In another way – let’s say you visit Paris and then read a novel that mentions Paris or an article about the French revolution – now instead of some fuzzy, probably half-true (if we’re honest :)) imaginings of a distant city, you have something real and concrete to refer back to. History comes alive and is much more interesting when you experience these places yourself.

#2 – It gets you out of your American mindset. As Americans, we are admittedly rather big on ourselves. We don’t pay much attention to other countries, we don’t study much of their histories, we think everyone speaks our language, and we tend to think the rest of the world should be just like us. But the world is so much bigger and more interesting than just our small corner of it. Traveling is a great way to discover that. It gets us outside our little self-focused world and helps us see the great diversity all around us. There’s nothing like being in a country whose culture is completely different than your own and whose language you can’t speak to help you see how vast and unique the world is. Step outside of your American comfort zone and explore other cultures and ways of living life. I know it’s not always easy, but it’s well worth the effort.

#3 – It gives you the chance to see and appreciate other cultures. Not only can you visit a culture different than your own, but travel can help you to appreciate other cultures as well. This can be both a hard and fascinating aspect of travel. It can be hard because we’re so used to doing things certain ways that we rather expect everyone to do it that way or that our way is the only correct way. But for most things in life, there is no one right way to do things. Traveling to different cultures, if we’re willing to be open, helps us to broaden our perspectives and gives us more grace for those who do things differently. So travel! But travel with an open mind. Don’t just balk at another culture but try to understand it. Why do they do things the way they do? What are the good aspects of their culture? It can be really easy to dismiss something different as wrong. Yet that mindset will lead to frustration and frustration doesn’t make for awesome vacations! So let yourself relax and look for the good in the diversity.

#4 – It helps you to find beauty and goodness all around you. This ties in closely with the last point. Appreciating other cultures leads you to find good and beautiful things all around you. For instance, in China, grandparents are very involved in their grandchild’s life. They can be almost like second parents. I think it’s a wonderful thing to have a close family bond and to have your grandparents impart their wisdom and legacy to you. In many places in Europe, people go grocery shopping every day or every couple days because they don’t have much storage space. So while that may sound like a lot more work to you, it also means they eat less processed food and more fresh food which makes for healthier eating habits. They also walk A LOT more then we suburbanites do because they actually live in the cities themselves. Even using public transportation, they still log much more walking time than most of us Americans. So they have a healthier, more active lifestyle that is really appealing to me. Obviously every culture has its positives and negatives, but travel helps you to see and appreciate the positives as you see it lived out in front of you.

And travel helps you to see the beauty in the world. Even if you’re not a photographer, I think most of us want to capture the places we’ve been and the beautiful things we’ve seen to bring back home and remember. And I think that idea of looking for the beauty and finding it in all kinds of ways can be easily carried over into our everyday lives. Seeing the beauty and good around us when we travel can help us to see the beauty and good that is around us when we’re at home too. All of life is an adventure and there is beauty to be discovered everywhere, whether that’s close by or far away.

So travel the world! Travel with an open mind. Explore new places and cultures. Try new food. Discover world history. See beauty everywhere. And have fun and make fabulous memories all along the way!

I’m Emily. I’m an ordinary girl who loves a good adventure. I have a deep desire to visit places near and far. I love finding beauty all around – whether in the grandiose vistas or the simple and ordinary. I enjoy discovering new places, cultures, and food while making wonderful memories along the way. I love music, books, photography, and Disney – basically, I enjoy creative, imaginative things that transport you to a different world or show you the beauty in your own world.
BLOG: http://beautifulfernweh.com/
ONLINE STOREFRONTS: http://crated.com/beautifulfernweh.com and http://www.zazzle.com/beautifulfernweh

One Step At A Time: Setting Measurable Goals

9 / 10 / 1510 / 29 / 15

Goal setting! Add this to the list of the things I love to do. However, I can be a bit overzealous at times, and it took me quite awhile to come to accept that the way I was setting goals was setting me up for failure.

When it came to setting goals together with my husband after we got married, he challenged me on how we were going about setting the goals. Something he helped me learn was that successful goal setting starts with one step at a time. Have you ever seen “What About Bob?” Bob’s life is changed by taking baby steps in everything he does. Why is that idea so revolutionary? Perhaps it is because, at times, we get ahead of ourselves and look at the grand picture without considering the steps to success. We start well and don’t give ourselves the tools to finish well.

So, how do you set practical and measurable goals?

Start with where you want to go. What do you want to change in your life? Let’s use the example of losing weight.
Figure out what your goal plan needs to center around. To lose weight, you’ve decided to focus on eating better.
Make a goal plan. To eat better, you’ve decided to create a meal plan and have one splurge day a week.
Set a solid timeframe for reevaluating where you are at. In three months, I’ll weigh myself and see how effective my meal plans are in helping me reach my goal.
Create a step two for something to prepare for. At the end of three months, I will add working out twice a week to my plan. (This helps those “big picture people”, like me, that just want to know we are going to get there one day and those “small picture people”, who might never add a step two without a plan.)

Obviously, this is an example, but you see how, in our example, we didn’t decide to eat clean all the time and workout every day? Those kind of plans rarely work and often lead to burnout. Steps to life change should be measurable, attainable, and doable.

Looking for further reading on goal setting? Check out this book on setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals and starting down a path to attainable improvement in your goal areas!

Balancing Act: When Life Happens To Your Schedule

8 / 27 / 15

Life is short and life is busy. Many of us know that having a schedule really helps with creating focus in our lives. I, for one, am a HUGE planner. I love planning, I love planners, I love organization, and it all just gives me happy, joyful feelings of accomplishment when I complete a day, having gotten all of my to-dos and priorities accomplished.

Then there are some days, some WEEKS, when everything just goes off the rails. NOTHING goes according to plan and all your schedule serves to do is show you how the day DIDN’T go and what you DIDN’T get done. Anyone who follows a schedule has experienced this at some point or another, and if somehow you haven’t, you will. So, how do you deal with those times when nothing goes according to plan?

As with most people of my personality type, I am task-oriented and find great fulfillment in getting things done. However, there is a fine line to be drawn between being purposeful about what you do with your time and being legalistic about how the day goes. The fact is, we can’t control what happens to us, but we can control how we react to those circumstances. How, then, should we react to those off-the-rails moments?

Take a deep breath. Recognize that you aren’t in control, but you can choose how you handle this situation. Accept what is happening and that the day is going to be different than you thought it was going to be.
Adjust accordingly. Choose to go with the flow. Whether you are a mom, a business person, a student, or anything else, there will always be things that come up and we can adjust our momentary focus from productivity to the people in our lives.
Enjoy the ride. Think about what really matters and make the most of where you’re at. So, today didn’t go how you planned. So what? What was good about how the day did go? My schedule was thrown for a loop a couple months ago, when the family dog died. It wasn’t fun to go through, but I got to spend some quality time with my family and that was a huge plus. I had the option of focusing on all the responsibilities that kept calling me, or the option of making the most of the time at hand and being there for what mattered.
And most importantly…make your schedule a guide, not a task master. It’s so important to remember that a schedule exists to help us be productive, and there isn’t a thing wrong with that. Being scheduled helps businesses met goals, students finish assignments on times, and a mom to have structure in her home. However, people will always matter more than duties, and letting there be room for life in your life is so important. I don’t want to miss an opportunity to spend time with my mom while we are blessed to live in the same area, or go out on a spontaneous date with my husband if he asks me, or take time to talk with a friend who calls me, even if I do have responsibilities at home. There will always be times to say “no”, but allow yourself time to say “yes”, too. In 50 years, will it matter that you always got everything done, or that you built and cherished the relationships you were blessed to be a part of?

One of the best ways to balance between being that focus-driven scheduler and free-to-be-me type of person who may or may get things done, depending on whether one “gets to it” or not, is to remember how much people matter. Responsibilities are there to be responsible for, and we shouldn’t be lackadaisical about that. But people, people will always matter more. Cherish where you are at, make the most of the times that are overwhelmingly unplanned, and allow yourself to learn the value of balance when your life and schedule collide.

Encouraging women to live life well.

Category Archives: Life Balance