Posts Tagged ‘organizing’

2012 Goal Binder

Thursday, January 5th, 2012

Happy 2012 everyone!

In case you haven’t heard, this is your year to shine and be awesome and create amazing awesomeness (at least that’s what my Facebook and Twitter feeds are telling me…)

This year I’m doing something a bit different from my previous years (check out my posts for 2010 and 2011 here and here) and focus more on organizing my goal follow through. I’ve done really well at following through with my goals for each year but I have a lot of specific things I want to get done by specific times this year so I thought a more organized approach might be helpful.

Goal Binder

This year instead of a shiny new planner or a fancy task list app, I created a Goal Binder from scratch with paper and markers!

 

 

What you’ll need:

Binder - I used a half sized binder but you could use a full sized one too
Paper - lined or blank, whichever you like writing on best
Colored paper or Colorful dividers – I used colorful cardstock that i had laying around but you could always just buy some pre-made dividers
Hole punch
Markers, colored pencils or crayons – Color and/or write with them to liven up your pages! (I have no idea why I have markers with my maiden name writen on them but they make me feel nostolgic everytime I use them.)

I started off by creating tabs for each month with the colored cardstock. For my half sized binder that meant cutting the cardstock in half and then punching holes.

 

 

Then I added some sheets of paper with each month that will track my Goal Focus for the month, Important Dates Blog Post ideas and Money/Mileage Tracking. You can chose to track whatever you want here or you could create a traditional daily planner type setup. Whatever will keep you motivated and keep you on track.

Then I created some additional cards for my main focus or Vision cards. I chose to just draw and write out my intentions/goals for the year but you could cut out magazine images or draw pictures of your goals too! Whatever gets you excited, do that!

I created 4 cards for my main focuses this year; Me Time, Spirit, Business and Family. You might end up with just one main focus card or you might create more than four! Again, just remember this is for YOU to follow so make something that YOU like and don’t think about the right way to do it, because there isn’t a right way to create you own goals!

 

 

I realized at the end of creating my cards that I had a distinct theme for each of my main focuses so I created one final card that listed my themes all together that I could glance at and remember what was really important for me this year. I ended up putting this card on the back sleeve of the binder!

 

That’s it! Nothing super extraordinary but I’m really hoping it will have the right combination of structure and creative freedom to keep me motivated to stick with it for 2012. I may end up changing things around but that’s the beauty of using a binder because you can always take pages out and add pages in!

  • What are you goal plans for this year?
  • How are you planning on tracking your progress on your resolutions/goals for 2012?

PS: Don’t forget to check out the new Chocolate Banana website and sign up to get on the VIP list for updates and discounts on all the planning goodness!

PPS:Don’t know what a Chocolate Banana is? Click HERE for all the delicious information!

Creating for Stress Relief

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

I’ve talked before about how important it is to be creative because it’s not a waste of time but this past week I actually saw it in practice!

As you may know, last week did not go exactly as I had planned. Instead of going to Chicago for a week of relaxation and me time I instead spent the week with my family in Northern Ohio. I had a great time with my family even though I’m pretty sure my daughter had MORE fantabulous time getting super spoiled the whole week!

Even though it wasn’t exactly as I envisioned I got a lot done that I wouldn’t have gotten done at home (trainings, banking, budgeting) and I got to spend some much needed time with my mom, dad and siblings.

I also attribute my good week to the fact that my daughter’s babysitter roped me into crocheting hats for a local craft fair this Sunday! Two weeks to make 30-some hats, head wraps and hopefully some stuffed animals. Phew! Thankfully my mom and sister were there to help make some hats with me and make a dent in my quota.

I was pretty disappointed about my plans being messed up but being able to throw myself into my crafting was a great way for me to push through to a happier mood and see the bright side of my plans being changed.

Having that creative outlet was super important for me and maybe for you it will be painting or writing  or singing or designing vintage reproduction clothing(give me a call…). Whatever you creative outlet is let it be your way of calming down and enjoying yourself.

Oh and if you’re in the Hamilton, Ohio area and want to meet me in person and buy a hat from me, the craft fair will be on October 22nd from 10-4:00pm at the Hamilton Elks (4444 Hamilton Middletown Road)!

I’m rather excited to see how this goes! It may be a new blog post in the making; either “How to do a Craft Show right” or “How NOT to do a Craft Show” hehe

  • What are your creative outlets when you need to change your mood?
  • Maybe your creative outlet is being still and meditating. How is that feeling different than throwing yourself into a new project?
  • What are your tips and tricks for making a craft show spectacular?

2011 is going to be awesome!

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

Essential Daily to-do list by CreativeKismet

It’s another year! Hurray!

Ok so I really liked this post from last year and I was surprised to see that I really followed what I said I would!

I definitely focused on self care this year. I started sending my daughter to a babysitter 2-3 days a week and it was the best thing I could have ever done for my sanity and for my business! She has a great time playing with other kids her age and I get to spend some focused time on work!

I was able to make my client goal and more which was amazingly awesome! I met some wonderful new clients this year and I can’t wait to continue to grow our relationships this year!

My self doubt may still be there but I have really tried to not let other people’s negativity affect me. Things happen and sometimes they suck, it doesn’t mean that dwelling on it will fix anything. I love that I can see the positive as opposed to the negative in situations now, even though I have a feeling is ticks some people off. ;-)

And finally, I created my cool free download Social Media for Noobs Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Tweet (if you haven’t downloaded it you still have time to and become one of the cool people!)

Ok so here is my look into the future for 2011! I can’t wait to see all the great things that I’ll make happen this year!

(more…)

2010 is Awesome!

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

Essential Daily to-do list by CreativeKismet

I know this is late and I should have been up all night on New Years Eve putting together my “How Great was 2009″ post but thankfully no. My New Years Eve consisted of dance songs from the 1990′s c/o blip.fm and a World of Warcraft marathon with my hubby! Level 70! Woot!

Ahem…

Ok well this is not a look back, even though this past year has been pretty great; Aerith turning one, starting my own business, my best friend getting married, meeting some of the coolest people ever online, yada yada yada. No, this post is a look into the future! (insert creepy Twilight Zone music here)

(I must admit that I stole borrowed this idea from my life coach, so blame her if you’re unhappy with this post!!)


1. If you were only allowed to have ONE Intention for 2010, what would it be & why?

My intention this year will be more self care. I am the kind of person who would chop off her arm for her friend but I tend to just bleed all over the furniture instead of taking care of myself afterwards. I need to put as much effort into giving myself time for my business and my sanity that I do to making sure my husband gets what he wants for dinner and my daughter has all her favorite toys strewn across my living room! I’ve started this off by signing up for the BabySitEase service and I will MAKE myself actually call for a baby sitter because I need my time. I have had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that I am not super mom. I’m not ok with it, but I am starting to accept it. I also need to spend more time on my inner self. Be less stressed out over stupid little things, stop eating until I’m sick because I’m bored and stop waiting until the last minute to do things so that I feel rushed! No more I say!! Losing weight is one thing but being a healthier happier me is the main goal.

2. If you were only allowed to have ONE Goal for 2010, what would it be & how can you achieve it?

My main goal will be to double my clients by signing up at least 5 new creative clients this year. Uggg, it’s so scary to put down a number but I think five is realistic and attainable. Plus, having a number to work towards will give me motization and boy do I need motivation sometimes… which leads me to….

3. If you had to get rid of ONE Thing in 2010, what would it be & why?

SELF DOUBT! I am constantly over thinking the most ridiculous things and I need to stop it! I need to realize that I’m good enough, I’m smart enough and doggone it, people like me!! OH and I’m going to stop letting other people’s negativity affect me. I have got to a point in my life where shit happens and you deal with it. Worrying and dreading and moping and pitying are not going to change anything. Being negative only brings you more negativity so my new/old motto is “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life!” (Have I mentioned how much I love Monty Python, because I do!!)

4. If you had to do ONE New Thing in 2010, what would it be? Will you commit to it now?

Hmmm, new things are scary aren’t they?! Heck I’m terrified to try a new fish dish let alone a new routine! I want to create a presentation, product or e-book to help creatives in some way. I know, really specific huh! I’ll know the perfect idea when it hits me but I am ready to try this in 2010. Or maybe I’ll just take up curling… we’ll see.

I hope you all have a wonderful 2010 and I can’t wait to see what it has in store for us!

“Stressed” is “Desserts” spelled backwards

Sunday, December 20th, 2009

Typical One year old
+
Working from home on client projects AND re-branding project
x
Not enough time in the day

= One crazy stressed out Mom/Wife/Woman!

Everyone has those days when things get overwhelming whether it’s your job, your family or the dog that won’t stop humping the neighbor and digging tunnels to China in your backyard (I love my dog, I love my dog…) If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Congratulation! I hate you. I award you no points and my god have mercy on your soul.

I started my business to help alleviate some stress in my life because riding a bus into the city everyday meant a 10 hour work day (if I worked overtime it was longer than that) and the childcare would have been redicutarded expensive. Now, I LOVE my job and am so happy I decided to stay home with my daughter and watch her grow up. I get to work with people I want to work with, work when I want to work and see Aerith with her funny little dances and giggles as she watches the dog chase his tail outside!

BUT

Now I have new stress that I hadn’t planned on. Watching Aerith is a full time job, being a good housekeeper is another full time job and running my virtual assistant business is a full time job. I hadn’t really considered the fact that I would have three full time jobs but here I am, and some days I want to quit and run away to distant shores and open a mom and pop porn shop!

SO

I have devised a new strategy to help me ease some of my stress and hopefully make me a happier person in general (which I’m sure everyone would enjoy). I started planning out my meals ahead of time, focusing on one area of the house at a time to clean and yesterday I signed up with a local babysitting service called BabySitEase to give me some ME time each week. This babysitting service is a big step because trusting someone else with my daughter might be the hardest thing I will ever do but I need to do this for my sanity and hers.

If you are getting overwhelmed by life and you are a planning kind of person like me I invite you to come along with me on my journey of organized chaos!

  1. Write it down. Write down everything that is making you stressed out. Making dinner, cleaning your office, going through emails; whatever makes you want to run away screaming when someone reminds you that it has to be done.
  2. Plan it out. Instead of waiting until the last minute to make dinner, plan out your week’s meals so you don’t have to come up with something off the top of your head. If social media is overwhelming, plan out times during the day that you check your accounts and/or schedule out your Tweets for the day, or the week, ahead of time to make sure you’re still involved.
  3. Make time for yourself. Make sure to schedule in YOU time. YOU are the most import part of your business and your family because if you don’t work, it ain’t gonna work. Even if it’s just a weekly coffee break to a near by coffee shop or a Sunday bath/spa night, make sure you get a chance to decompress after all the hard work you do all week.

I’m going to try and tie in songs or movies with my blog posts from now on because I think it will be fun! SO, I shall leave you with this creepy version of “Once in a Lifetime” by the Talking Heads as performed by Kermit the Frog. (Yup, it’s just one of those things you need to see…)