It takes quite a bit of trust to give someone access to our homes like that, but isn’t it worth it? I find such peace of mind knowing there’s someone I can count on to keep an eye on things while I am away.

So…what if I were to tell you that your friend might have another key, one you may not realize they even have? Don’t worry! I promise it’s neither scary nor illegal!

Your friend might very well hold the key to helping you achieve your goals. And vice versa. It’s true! And if that sounds just too good to be true, let me back it up for you. Research actually shows that when we share a goal with a friend and give them weekly updates on our progress, we are 33% more likely to succeed. 33%! 

OK, I realize you’ve still got two-thirds of the way to go, but the beauty of our How to Achieve Goals and Create a Life You Love online class is that it’s designed to get you the rest of the way. I feel so strongly about the importance of having a buddy help you achieve your goals, that I’m offering an amazing special right now for the summer session of the Goals class. We’re letting 50 people bring a friend for free! If you are one of the first 50 people to sign up at the regular price, grab a friend, and save them a seat, we’ll let your friend take this online class at absolutely no cost. 

By doing this, you and your friend will both be working on achieving your goals, creating the life you love, and helping each other all along the way. What better way to spend time with a friend than by encouraging and motivating each other to create the lives you’ve been dreaming of?

I won’t keep you any longer… I’m sure you’re in a hurry to check out all the details on this special bring-a-friend offer and give your friend a call!

The post Friends Hold Key to Achieving Goals appeared first on simplify 101.

Happy Friday friends! How was you week? Hope you had a good one. I’d like to invite you to participate in Finish It Friday today…especially those of you who have been sitting on the sidelines. It really is a simple and effective way to have more fun and get more done. And it’s as simple as sharing your weekend to-do list in the comments, and then, sharing your updates on Monday. The “Fun” list is stuff you’re planning to do this weekend for fun, and the “Done” list is stuff you plan to get done…or if it’s a bigger project, it’s stuff you plan to make progress on this weekend. Are you ready to share? Here’s my list. Hope you’re inspired to share yours this week.  

Fun

• Run 3-1/2 miles. Hopefully with Kailea. Check! It was hot and humid, but not too bad. Love running with my girl. So great.  
• Organizing appointment. Check! Really fun project.

Done

• Laundry. Check. I have one more load to go…and then we are caught up. 
• Plan meals + grocery shop. Check! And thanks to Collin for filling in for me on the shopping piece of this. 
• Project Life. More editing and printing (hopefully)…and some assembling, too. Yay! Check (ish.) I didn’t do any editing or printing, but I did spend quite a bit of time assembling. I really didn’t realize how far behind I was! I have a bit more assembling to do tonight…and then it’s back to editing and printing. (And tweaking my approach so this can move up to the fun category. )
• Wash reusable shopping bags. Check!
• Clean out paper basket in kitchen. (Getting ready for summer – 2 days of school left!) Nope. Not yet. I will do this tonight. 
• Update calendar with summer plans. Nope. Not yet. Again…I’ll do this tonight.
• Trader Joe’s run. Check!

Okay…I think that is plenty to keep me busy because like last weekend, Saturday is pretty much spoken for. I hope you have a terrific weekend! I’m looking forward to seeing what’s on your weekend to-do list. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for joining me again this week! I hope you had a fabulous weekend.

The post Are You Ready to Get Organized for the Weekend appeared first on simplify 101.

For me, summer presents a rare opportunity. It’s the one time of the year when I have time and space to dream and gain clarity about my life. In the hustle and bustle of the school year, in the midst of balancing family, work, volunteer, and other obligations, it can be difficult to truly reflect on life and how things are going for me. But in summer… ah, summer…this is when I find a bit of breathing room. And what comes from that can be pretty incredible. In fact, taking advantage of this breathing room is how I came to work at simplify 101!

This story is a great illustration of how giving yourself the time and space to get clear about what you want can make magical things happens. Aby is also going to chime in with her side of the story, too. So get ready…this always gives me goosebumps!

In July of 2011, I was on vacation with my family, which involved several hours of driving. While I do not consider myself a road trip person, I definitely enjoy having the chance to get into deep conversations with my husband. As we drove through Indiana that summer, we had a few discussions about our careers. I gained a lot of clarity about what was and was not working so well in my job at that time, some of which I hadn’t been able to really identify until then. My super-smart husband asked me some great questions that helped me define my ideal work situation. I wanted a job that would allow me to:

• Continue working close to home/near the girls’ schools
• Continue working part-time
• Continue working in a flexible environment that allowed me to attend occasional field trips or be home with a sick child
• Write more
• Get more involved with social media
• Grow and learn in my field of marketing communications

At the end of the list, we had a nice laugh about how that was total “pie in the sky.” I commented that a job that offered all of this just didn’t exist. And oddly enough, our conversation helped me recognize that my current job was closer to ideal than I had been acknowledging, and that in turn helped me feel more grateful than I had been feeling.

So imagine my surprise when I received an email from a friend just a day or two later (while still on vacation) that started with, “Hey, there! I’m not sure you are even interested in a job change right now, but this is perfect for you…” In my in-box was a job description from simplify 101. If I had written a job description based on my discussion in the car, this would have been it. It fit me to a T! Sounds too good to be true, right? But it gets crazier. Two days later, I had a second friend approach me about the very same position. I knew I had to pursue it.

I contacted Aby about the job, which resulted in a phone interview and shortly thereafter, an in-person interview with Jay and Aby. This still amazes me to the point that I had to look back at my calendar to be sure I was remembering correctly…but here’s the deal:  Less than two weeks after I got very clear on my ideal job, I had been offered and accepted the job with simplify 101, a job that met every single one of my dream job requirements.

I feel like I should put up a disclaimer at this point, something like, “Results may not be typical. Expect to achieve goals and dreams at your own pace.” Obviously not everything we go after in life comes to fruition this way! I continue to be truly surprised by how quickly things fell into place, and how well they have worked out since then. But whether or not the opportunity had unfolded that week, month, year, or beyond, when the opportunity presented itself I was ready to act on it and accept it. All of this was possible because I had become clear on what I wanted. I recognized the job as an excellent fit because I had taken the time to dream about a better life.

Aby’s Turn

At the same time Jennifer and her husband were discussing her dream job, Jay and I were putting the finishing touches on a list of qualifications for our dream employee. When we were done, we looked at each other and laughed thinking there couldn’t possibly be someone with all of those qualifications in our small town. 

But I plunged forward with the plan anyway, emailing our job description to my local friends, asking if they knew anyone who might be a good fit. When we met with Jennifer a few days later, we literally laughed in amazement as we worked our way down the list of job duties, qualifications and skills: Jennifer got a check mark next to 22 of 23 bullet points. It doesn’t get much better than that!

The Takeaway

If you’ve been itching for something better or different in your life, I invite you to give yourself the space and time you need to become clear. What do you want? Even if it feels completely out of reach or impossible…give yourself permission to explore what you want and let yourself want it. 

If you’d like guidance and encouragement on your journey, I invite you to join me for the summer session of How to Achieve Your Goals and Create a Life You Love. And whether you decide to join me, or go it alone, promise me that you will carve out some time for yourself this summer…to dream about your better life. Deal?

Your Turn

What’s your dream? Once you decide, or if you already know, please share your dream in the comments. I’d love to congratulate you on taking that all-important first step in making your dream life happen!

Happy dreaming,

Jennifer and Aby

The post Living Your Dream Life Begins with Knowing What You Want appeared first on simplify 101.

Fun

• 5K race. It’s my first race for 2013 and I’m really looking forward to it! Check! What a great morning for a run – it was cool…no wind…perfect. And I ran my best time ever! My goal was to finish in under 30 minutes…and I finished right around 28 minutes, 10 seconds. 
• Sectionals track meet. Check! What a tough afternoon for running. (Same day…totally different wind conditions! Those poor kids!) Anyway…it was fun, but quite chilly and exhausting. But really happy that Collin was able to participate. 
• Mother’s Day get-together. Check!
• Do something relaxing. Check! Hello nap after Saturday’s race and track meet. I was seriously exhausted. Perfect conditions for a nap.

Done

• Project Life. Edit and print. Check! By no means am I caught up. But there was one week (week 13 where I took sooooo many pictures that deciding what to print and then editing the photos was quite overwhelming.) But I’m happy to say photos are printed and in my hands. Now for the fun part! 
• Laundry. Check! 
• Meal plan + grocery shop. Check! 
• Pick one thing from my to-do list and get it done. I’m going to let inspiration be my guide. Between the race and the track meet, Saturday feels pretty full already. And Sunday is Mother’s Day…so there isn’t too much extra time on Sunday either. So, we’ll see what feels inspiring to do…maybe the garden, maybe something else. I’ll let you know on Monday. Check! I bought plants for the garden and finished one particularly not fun business task. So happy to start Monday morning with that one done!

So the weekend is a wrap! Onto the week ahead. I hope you have a fabulous week. Thanks for joining me for Finish It Friday! See you back here on Friday this week.

What’s on your Fun and Done list this weekend? Hope you have a great one. Happy Mother’s Day to you if you’re a Mom. Take some time this weekend to put up your feet and relax. 

The post Let’s Organize Our Weekend To-Do Lists appeared first on simplify 101.

Here’s why. I was only able to look at my appointments, and process them in my mind, one day at a time. This lead to all sorts of negative consequences, the worst of which was over-booking. My schedule always felt kind of out of whack. But that was nothing compared to the time when I booked a follow-up appointment with a client, and inadvertently booked her every single Thursday…forever. Clearly that wasn’t what she had intended…but which Thursday had she wanted to see me? I had no clue so I had to call her to find out. Talk about a planner not working well for me…

There are several morals to this story, but let’s focus on just one for now:

The best organizing systems are the ones that think like you do.

There are a number of reasons that the PDA calendar didn’t work for me, but the biggest reason is that my brain doesn’t process time one day at a time. Instead, my brain processes and plans best one week at a time. I also process time and to-dos best on paper…not on a tiny computer screen using a pointing device that is thinner than a pencil (a.k.a. a stylus.)

Fast forward a few years (past a few tried-and-not-so-true paper planners) to my (almost) perfect paper planner—The Planner Pad.

The layout of this planner is perfect for me…there’s a month at a glance page at the start of each month.

There are two pages per week, and the week starts on a Monday, which is exactly how I think of time. This planner  also allows me to track my appointments and my to-dos, on paper, all in one place.

But that’s not all…the spiral bound design lays flat, which means it’s actually easy to write in the planner. (If you’ve ever used a think, ring-binder planner than you know what I’m talking about…when you try to write your hand falls off the page…when it isn’t running into rings.) 

But here’s the best part…there are 8 unlabeled columns across the top of the planner that allow you to categorize your to-do list however you want – by goal, by project, by business functional area, by child, by personal / business, whatever. For me, that was the clincher.

There was just one problem and let me put this as gently as possible…I’m just not physically attracted to this planner. That’s right…it just isn’t pleasing to my eye. Ouch! So, I had to call on another one of my organizing principles to make this planner work for me. I had to customize it so it would look nice to my eyes. Because the more you love how an organizing solution looks, the more likely you are to use it!

Here’s how I did it.

Step 1:  Gather your supplies.

All that’s needed for this project is:

• a planner pad
• glue stick
• a paper trimmer
• self-adhesive index tabs
• decoupage medium
• a foam brush
• a favorite piece of patterned scrapbook paper
• scissors
• computer with adobe reader, printer and file tab and cover template
• corner rounder

Step 2:  Trim your 12 x 12 patterned paper down to 8-1/2 x 11 using your paper trimmer.

Step 3:  Print your cover and month tabs onto your patterned paper.

Step 4:  Use your paper trimmer and scissors to cut out your cover and month tabs.

Step 5:  Insert your month print outs into your plastic tabs. 

Step 6:  Attach the tabs to your planner.

Step 7:  Use your trimmer to cut out your planner pad cover and use corner rounder punch to round corners. Attach paper to cover using glue stick. Then apply two to three very thin coats of decoupage on top of the paper to give it added durability.  

Step 8:  Enjoy using your customized organizing solution!

Happy organizing!

P.S. If you need help figuring out an how to handle your to-dos and appointments in a way that works for you,  join me for It’s About Time, the online class that shows you how to build a customized time management system that is built on your priorities and values. I’ll be there to coach you through the concepts for 8 full weeks. Class starts Thursday, May 9, 2013, so learn more now!

The post Finding the Best Planner appeared first on simplify 101.

Joy, my 9-year-old, really dislikes helping with the dinner dishes. When it’s her turn for loading the dishwasher, she is typically distracted, pokes along, and procrastinates. I really do get it – I sometimes do the same thing about tasks that I dislike! 

Last week, there were several things she needed to accomplish (including loading the dishwasher) in a small window of time. I don’t recall exactly what she had asked to do… Watch a TV show? Eat ice cream? Whatever it was, she needed to complete her responsibilities in 15 minutes in order to have time for the goodies she wanted. We set the timer, and she was astonished to see that when she focused it only took three minutes to load the dishwasher. Three minutes! 

She was pretty excited to find out it can be done so quickly, and it’s really helped her focus on getting the job done and out of the way. No more dilly-dallying at dish time! It was a good lesson for her and a good reminder for me. When we time our most pesky to-dos, it’s surprising to find how quickly we really can check off those annoying tasks!

What tasks do you dread doing? Next time you’re faced with one of them, pull out a timer and see how long it really takes. You just might surprise yourself, and be more motivated to tackle the task the next time it finds it’s way on your to-do list!

Happy Organizing!

The post Get More Done Faster by Timing Tasks appeared first on simplify 101.

It’s also hard to believe that summer break starts for my kids in 19 days! This kind of stuff sneaks up on you when your concept of time is off kilter. Very soon I will have a kiddo headed to high school. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that when I started simplify 101 he started kindergarten. Isn’t that crazy?

I wonder when it is really going to hit me that Collin is going to high school. High School. Sometimes these things hit me at exactly the wrong time. For example, when he “graduated” from primary elementary school (K through 2) to intermediate elementary school, I hadn’t expected that to be so emotional. It hit me just as I was telling his principal how much he had enjoyed her school and how much I appreciated her and the school. All of a sudden, mid-sentence, I turned into a weepy mess. Nice. This makes me realize that right now I’m an emotional time bomb…just not sure when I’m going to blow. 

This really has nothing to do with getting ourselves organized for the weekend, it’s just a little slice of life and a peek inside what’s going on around here. It’s also a little head’s up in case you see me out in the world and I start crying for no apparent reason. You’ll know what’s really going on.

Alright. Onto the main event:  the weekend to-do list.

Fun

• Run. Geez, I haven’t run much this week. I ran outside once, in my hilly neighborhood, on the hottest day yet. That was fun (not.). That, along with a bunch of track meets, seems to have temporarily squelched my enthusiasm. So this weekend I must fit in 7 miles to keep on pace with my goal. Check and check! I ran 3 miles on Friday and 4 on Saturday. 
• Wine night. This month we’re headed to a little winery in town. Should be fun. Check! And it was really fun.
• Project Life. Edit and print. I made progress last weekend…but still more to go to get caught up. (More on this later. I’m planning a 13 in 13 check in post.) No check. 

Done

• Purchase, wrap and mail Mother’s Day gift. Check! 
• Summer plans. Kailea asked if we could make a summer bucket list. I love that this is her idea. I was kind of dreading it because last summer just took on a life of its own. But now that she wants to do one…it feels fun again. I also need to begin filling out some forms for camps. We’re going to do far fewer camps this year, which is really a huge relief to me! Less running around. Yay! Check! I spent a lot of time planning and putting things in the calendar, filling out some forms for camp, realizing I need to schedule a camp / sports physical, etc. And Kailea and I did a little summer bucket list. If the sun would come back to Edwardsville, it would really help me feel like summer was in fact coming! 
• Bed shopping. Check. What a process.
• Laundry. Check!
• Meal plan and grocery shop. Check!

It was a nice weekend, even though there was one missing check mark. I spent a lot of time with Kailea, which is always nice, and generally felt relaxed even though to-do list items moved forward. It was nice. Hope your weekend was great, too. 

The post Happy Friday! appeared first on simplify 101.

Time is the currency of our lives. In essence, how you spend your time is how you spend your life. With that said, how do you feel about the way you’re currently spending your time…and your life? I know from experience that when your to-do list feels out of control, and when you’re not spending time on the people and things that matter most to you, there’s a tremendous amount of guilt, stress and worry weighing you down.

So today I want to share something with you from the second lesson of my It’s About Time online workshop. This is something that all effective time managers know, and it can drastically free you from unrealistic expectations you may have about your time. Ready? Here it is:

“You will always have more to do than you can ever get done.”

Now maybe this doesn’t seem like that big of a secret to you. Maybe you have felt this in your life, but you’ve tried to push the idea away because, at first, this sounds a bit depressing. (Okay, who am I kidding, it sounds really depressing. We can’t really ever get it all done? We can’t ever get caught up?) So, you may even be wondering why in the world I would tell you this!

The reason is simple. When you understand that you will always have more to do than you can ever get done, you begin to understand the importance of having a decision-making process that allows you to spend more time on tasks and activities you most enjoy, and less time on activities you don’t. You can begin evaluating the tasks on your current and future to-do lists based on your values, priorities, and what matters most to you. You can also see the importance of learning how to say yes or no to tasks and activities, and become selective about how you spend your time. I walk you through how to do all of this (and more!) in my It’s About Time online workshop.

The bottom line is that your to-do list truly will never be done, so what you put on that list determines whether or not your life is filled with purpose, meaning and joy. Choose wisely! What is one item on your to-do list that you can say no to and create time for a more meaningful activity? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Happy organizing!

The post A Surprising Time Management Secret appeared first on simplify 101.

How about you? What have you been up to? What’s on your radar screen this weekend? Here’s what’s on tap for me:

Fun

• Run. As you may know, running 500 miles in 2013 is goal #1 on my 13 in 13 journey. This is week 17 and I have run 162 miles so far…which means if I run 4 miles this weekend…I’ll be just four miles off my target pace. I’m not too worried, because I know my mileage will have to pick up when I start training for the half marathon. Check! Except oops, I only ran three miles.  
• Plan garden and plant it. (Weather permitting.) No check. The weather did not cooperate. Maybe this upcoming weekend…
• Dinner out with my family. Yay! Check!

Done

• Make Progress on Project Life. (Goal #3). Edit and print photos. Okay…I’m really, really behind now, but I’m okay with it. Other things have been taking priority, which have been the right decisions for me. So I feel fine with where things are. I have been taking photos and notes, so I’m still doing this project and I think it will come together just as it is supposed to for me.  Check! I spent a lot of time on this and I’m still behind. Such is (project) life.  
• Go shopping for a new bed. Any recommendations? Check. We went to two bed stores. We’re starting to figure out what we want…memory foam of some sort. I nearly fell asleep at the first store on Friday night. I figure this means we’re onto something. 
• Laundry. Check!
• Meal plan and grocery shop. Check!
• Organize a pantry. Check!
• Spring decluttering. It’s time to do a little decluttering in Kailea’s room. Check! I also put away the coats, mittens, hats, etc. and got out some of the summer gear (bug spray, sunscreen, etc.) I’m ready to say goodbye to winter…though not quite ready for summer break which is just a few weeks away for us. (Yikes!)

Okay…that should keep me happy and busy. How about you? What are your plans for the weekend?

Thanks for sharing! Hope you have a terrific weekend!

The post It’s time to get organized for the weekend! appeared first on simplify 101.

I am energized by new information and ideas to incorporate into my business and online classes, and I’m excited about the conversations I had with industry colleagues. But I also know that it isn’t just the conference itself that has me exhilarated, it was the process of stepping outside of my regular routine. When you step outside of your regular routine you give your eyes something new to look at and you give your mind the space it needs to think about things in new ways and generate creative ideas. In short, by stepping outside of your regular routine, you change your perspective. This is a terrific way to get unstuck. 

Here’s some really good news: You don’t have to travel 1,000 miles or attend a conference to change your perspective and get unstuck. Instead, try one of these simple ideas to mix up your routine and get re-energized:

• Pretend you’re a tourist in your home town and visit some place new to you such as a local park, museum, hiking trail or historic sight. You might be surprised at the undiscovered treasures in your own town. 
• Reach out to an acquaintance you’d like to get to know better. Invite him or her to meet you for coffee and conversation at a local cafe. 
• Eat at a restaurant you’ve never been to before that serves food that stretches you outside of your culinary comfort zone. 
• Go for a walk in the rain. 
• Go for a bike ride. 
• Give your eyes something new to look at in your home. Declutter a shelf and keep it empty for a few days. See how that open space makes you feel. After a few days, place just one beautiful and meaningful item on the shelf.
• Rearrange the furniture in your home office or another room in your home. 
• Go to a movie by yourself in the middle of the day. 

As you try your “something new” it’s okay if it feels awkward or even odd. That’s to be expected, and kind of the point. So lean into that feeling and see where these feelings take you. See how shaking up your routine and stepping out of your comfort zone energizes you and helps you get unstuck.

What do you do to get a fresh perspective and get unstuck? Thanks for sharing your ideas in the comments!

Happy organizing!

The post An Easy Way to Get Unstuck appeared first on simplify 101.