Summary::

I WAS DEFINITELY NOT WHERE I WANTED TO BE!

The bus stop was locking its doors in 10 minutes and every taxi in the tiny Japanese town was booked for an hour. And that wasn’t even the worst of it.

It was dumping snow outside in the pitch black, my boots were already soaked through because of bad planning on my part, and my adorable hotel was sitting on a hill, 2 miles away, beckoning to me with its warmly lit windows that I would’ve seen had I not been pelted by xxl snowflakes. 

-----

The bf and I had just finished an incredible meal. One where you sit on the floor and don’t really know what you’re ordering but everything tastes like magic. We walked out of that quaint place almost skipping, and totally appreciating the beauty of those large flakes falling from the sky. Hello Japan, you’re SO awesome. 

Oh, how things can change so quickly. 

Like, one minute you’re rejoicing because you got a new client. Only to find out halfway through the project, they are worse than your nightmares (the ones where you can’t run fast enough from the bad guy because your legs have somehow turned to 100 lb. weights). Ugh, why are they weighing you down!

Or like when you are supposed to have a killer night out with friends, but then all of your friends because lamer versions of themselves and you begin to wonder if these are even the friends you should have. What if you’re totally in the wrong friend group and they’re holding you back from shining like a star?! What if *actually* no one wants to be your friend. The horror is becoming real. 

What’s a person to do when there's no good solutions?!!!

No, we aren't gonna stay paralyzed with fear. We walk it out. Now walk it out…(…*song playing).

Don't step away, step into it. Don't put it off, start right now. Things are almost always easier than we make them out to be. 

Which should be GREAT news, but actually it’s annoying news. 

I know this because I’m a freaker outter. I try to act all calm and whatevs when my plans crumble and I don’t know which step to take next because maybe this was the last straw and my life as I know it is over. (My bf can’t ever figure out why I let myself get so worked up, I wonder why…) But usually, I realize that what I was dreading, isn't really so bad after all, and I spent more time fretting than it took to accomplish the task.

But back to the story, so that’s what we did. Japan happened to be looking out for us because they had heated sidewalks in this tiny mountain town (have you ever….?!) and that makes a wheelchair user's gf very happy.

That’s what happens when you take action, isn’t it? 

The road is almost always a little less rough than expected. Yes, the snow was still pelting us in the face, and the snowy hill leading up to the hotel was NOT heated, or a walk in the park. but a lighthearted attitude, lots of lols, and knowing some steamy green tea was only moments away was enough to get us sprinting up that final hill. 

——

Is there an unclear, uncomfortable path holding you back? 

Have you been wondering what to do, what to do, what to do?

Take one step into it. Feel it out. Probably it will feel like a deep tissue massage…painful but oh so beneficial, you know it’s gonna be goooood in the long run to just get going through this. 

On that note, do you know you can get 1-hour massages for under $5 in Thailand (did it in September.) Maybe plan to do that as celebration after you blast through some barriers you’re facing;)

You can find more episodes like this on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com or subscribe on iTunes to get them delivered to your app. Remember to leave a review and rating if you enjoy these!

I'd love to know what you'd like to hear more of, or any guests you'd like me to have. You can reach me at Haley@PassionDesignProject.

Summary::

Have you ever been in a conversation with someone, and you're just tossing around idea after idea after idea, feeling like a real champ. Gosh you have so many good ideas!!

Last week I was sitting at my favorite cafe, and lately I've noticed it always attracts business one on one meetings. Yes, I'm totally scopin the scene, seeing who's being as productive as me...and by productive I mean fixing their coffee perfectly.

Okay so last week, there was a middle-aged man talking to a younger man a couple tables over. I could somewhat overhear their conversation and was a bit taken back that the whole convo revolved around the "consultant" or whoever he may have been, just spitting ideas out. Idea after idea after idea.

Maybe in the past, I would have thought that was a really enlightening conversation, like, wow, we just came up with so many good ideas! But that day, I couldn't help but feel bummed for the younger guy. The only words he got out between the other man telling him all his ideas of what he should be doing with him biz, were "okay, yeah, okay...." and by the time their meeting was over, the younger biz owner still hadn't gotten a word in. I sat there pondering how that actually helped in any way.

My point is this: entrepreneurs and creative have a bazillion ideas. Soooo many good ideas. I've had a million and I'm sure you have too.

In the past, I've totally thought that being an idea-creator was a huge talent. But, tons of ideas mean NOTHING unless you take ACTION on one.

Think back to the last idea you had that you didn't do (but sorta wish you had). Do you have one? Why didn't you take action?

Let's go through the 3 things that are probably holding you back, and a bonus 4th:)

* Time

Why don't you have enough time? I'll give you a sec to list them out. And now let's write: excuses over top all of them. Yes, maybe you wrote things you need to get done, but are all of those higher priorities than the awesome idea you had? Can the laundry wait for a couple hours? Can someone else make dinner for you once a week? Can you shut off social media for an hour so you can really focus?

Most likely you CAN find time, you just find distractions easier. What I've found helpful is planning out my day hour by hour, and leaving some white space between tasks so that I'm able to stay on task easily.

This week I challenge you to find 2 extra hours to research and take one type of action on your idea. For example, contact someone who is successful in the field you're interested in, go run a couple miles if that pertains, hire a service if it will give you more time, etc. Remember, you've got 24 hours just like every other successful person you admire! No excuses

* Money

Oh, the money word. Totally get it. One time, I found a wad of $500 sitting on a first class seat after everyone got off the plane. I wanna be that guy who doesn't even know 5 hundo fell out of h is pocket (I turned it in don't worry!)

Anyhow back to money. Obviously, we would all love to have tons of money flowing to us endlessly (or even enough to feel good about buying groceries), but if you're blaming your money story on not going after your dreams, it's simply another excuse. Yes, that may not be fun to hear, but I'm the type of person that unforgivingly sprints after what I want to do whether I have everything in place or not.

Maybe that sounds totally irresponsible to you, or maybe it sounds like something deep down you'd love to do...but in my experience, running after what you want is a LOT more exciting and fulfilling than sitting there, waiting to feel comfy enough to jump into your work you really want.

If money is a super big struggle right now,

Summary::

Did any of you guys play sports? Growing up, my world was ALL about sports. It's definitely a northwest Ohio thing...or maybe a midwest thing in general...where life depends on your success at indoor sports. Volleyball, Basketball, & Track were my sports of choice and then track in college. What about you? Does this bring back any nostalgic memories of high school sports or extra-curriculars for you?

I now do more outdoorsy sports but still play intramural basketball on Wednesday nights. I love the game so much, and it makes me laugh because it's the one thing I get really intense while doing. I'm competitive in general but come a basketball game, I'm on another level.

Each year there is a tournament, and the first 3 years here we came in 2nd place. Honestly, it drove me nuts. I know, I know, intramurals really shouldn't matter that much right! Haha! But coming in second over and over was so irritating. No one likes to be second all the time!

I was thinking about it one day and trying to figure out why I could always win back in high school with different girls each year, but couldn't win with my teams here. Sure, there's other variables, and don't say it's cuz I'm getting older - ha! But I realized the one main thing we were missing was a coach.

I've had my share of good and bad coaches through the years. Some liked me more than others, some yelled too much, some made me mad, but a lot of them made me better. Way better than I ever could've learned on my own.

It's a no-brainer that you get a coach for most sports, right? I mean look at pro athletes. They've got their sports coach, their nutrition coach, strength coach, etc. It makes sense. They want to be the best in the world and they take all the help they can get to get them there.

Now, let's compare that to entrepreneurs. Should they have a coach?

Say you create a business tomorrow and want it to be the best in the world, what steps do you take?

Well, maybe you read some books about it, you attend some conferences, you build a really cool website. Your biz is on its way.

Okay well Joe Shmoe athlete also read a cool biography on Michael Jordan, he went to some NBA games to watch the best play in front of him, and he bought the best basketball gear. He's on his way to being the next LeBron James, wouldn't you say?

No. You wouldn't say that. You'd say he sounds like a million others. Like an athlete watches their favorite sports stars on TV, you could watch Tony Robbins give a speech online. Both beneficial, but do either of these two acts sound to you like they are trying to be among the world-class elite?

You would most likely tell this athlete that he better go get a weight coach, and shooting coach, and probably go on a nutrition plan. If he wants to be the best, he better be learning from the best and taking all of their knowledge to heart.

Let's go back to that entrepreneur. Should he just keep reading, listening to podcasts, hoping his biz is gonna be found and change the world?! What if he had the option to hire a business coach, or a life & success coach. or a money mindset coach, maybe a tech coach? All people who have done the work, know what it takes to uplevel, and can get you there way faster than the 20 books on your shelf.

How's this idea sound now?

Coaching, when it comes to entrepreneurs, can be such a controversial subject. One often looked at as a waste of money or a scam. In all honesty, I've thought this in the past.

However, the funny thing is, never would I think that I could go into a sports event without a coach, but for some reason when I want to take on the entrepreneur world, I think I can do it all alone.

It's pretty funny what we let our brains tell us somet...

Summary::

I love this topic. I've seen it come up so much since I finished the book "The Big Leap."

You might be thinking, excellent and genius, hey they both sound good. And you'd be right. Look a little closer though. Tell me which word you'd rather be described by?

"Oh Mary, she's excellent at taking photos. She definitely knows what she's doing."

"Jenny? Jenny is a straight genius photographer! I've never seen someone be able to tell a story through a photo like she does."

I don't know about you but I'm hiring Jenny.

You probably know some people who are like Jenny. Those people who are just perfectly suited for what they do and shine in the role. You look at them and get a little jealous that they seemed to figure out living life at it's fullest. That's what we're going for.

To explain more plainly, most of us decide to spend our time doing the things we're merely good at, not the things we're fantastic at. However, by aligning your life with that 1 or 2 things you are a genius at, you will feel more excited and get much deeper satisfaction out of work that you do, which will in turn spill over into all parts of your life.

How do you figure out your zone of genius? Truth be told, it's not always the easiest thing to figure out, but don't fret, it's definitely figureoutable!

First and most importantly, think about what you want to be remembered for at the end of your life. What impact do you want to have on this Earth? What legacy would you absolutely love to leave? To make it more intense...if you only had a month to live, what would you want to accomplish and leave behind? 

If your answer is fairly generic, don't worry. As you work backward, it will become more clear what your zone of genius area is.

So let's go on. Answer a few more questions.

If you could spend each day working on anything, anything at all, what would you do?

Do you have any really unique qualities that when used, totally light you up?

What do you get the most energy from doing?

What can you spend hours and hours doing without getting bored?

If you aren't answering these questions with your current job, you most likely are operating more within your zone of excellence. Totally fine, but the goal is to add more genius to your life as soon as possible.

I was talking to a girlfriend this morning who was telling me how she envies people who can do things better than her and was once telling a friend who was amazing with kids that she wished she was as talented as her. And the woman teasingly replied with, "Hey, stop trying to steal my gifts, use your own!"

But isn't that the truth! We are given these special and particular gifts that we have and often we try to be good at everything when really we are simply called to be absolutely amazing at our one or two zones of genius.

And I'm not making light of this, it's often hard to jump into your zone of genius. Even though it should be a no-brainer, we usually get so comfortable doing what we are simply good at that we have a hard time changing modes.

The end of last year I decided I was going to give this idea BIG focus. I was no longer going to be the jack-of-all-trades role I once thrived in. The number one thing this meant for me was more No's.

Once I truly put focus on what I did want to accomplish in 2017, I gave up my Fashion Design job and my Ski Instructing job in the same week. Two things I was really good and competent at, but that were not bringing me steps closer to the Haley I truly want to be.

What is bringing me closer? More interaction with passionate people. Putting out content I believe in. Creating amazing art. Traveling around the world getting to know peo...

Summary::

Two Hour delays. Do you remember them? Those amazing days when you would wake up for school and out your window you'd see a foggy haze or snow covering the ground. On those days, my brothers and I would eagerly wait by the radio for the host to announce: Patrick Henry Schools: Two Hour Delay. Ahhhh the sweet, sweet sound of putting off working for two hours!

I've always wondered why real jobs don't give two-hour delays, they do have the same weather, after all! Although, how would that work for entrepreneurs?! You wake up, see snow on the ground outside, and announce out loud that you can't make it to your office on the other side of the house for another two hours:) Haha!

Actually, I don't think this is too far off from what we do sometimes. We know we have work to do, but too often implement delays into our day (whether we realize or not). I'm not saying we simply decide to stay in bed for two extra hours. No, no. That would be far too obvious. We cause delays to our success in more elusive ways (cuz we're clever, hello!)

Can you relate with any of the following?

* Putting others before yourself because "helping others is more important"

* Looking at Facebook just because....multiple times

* Deciding you're hungry right when you sit down to work

* Doing small tasks instead of working on that big task you really need to do

* Cleaning the house instead of taking action in your biz

As you can see, we don't MEAN to delay, we just have a lot on our plate, right? Of course! I get it because I'm right here with ya.

The important point to realize is, we will ALWAYS have a lot on our plate. Always. And if you want, I can find 10 more things that you could do instead of taking action towards your goals. I'm sure you could too!

Can we both vow right now not to become pros at finding false more important tasks to do?

First off, think about why you are putting off the important things in order to do less important things.

Maybe the smaller tasks are easier, or you want instant gratification, you are more confident in doing the small tasks, maybe you know you'll be successful. All true. And the results you get will most likely equal that. Easy, small results that make you feel warm and fuzzy.

Does the idea of that excite you? It doesn't really do it for me and I doubt it gets you really pumped up either.

“It is not enough to be busy… The question is: what are we busy about?” ~ Henry David Thoreau

So what thing on your plate, once completed, would excite you?!

I'll answer from my perspective. Creating a private Facebook group of passionate, cool creatives and entrepreneurs who are looking to make a big impact on the world. I want to create a place for daily interaction and inspiration for all of us to connect and begin taking action.

Okay, simple enough. You're probably thinking, uh just do it.

However, to do this I have to get past my fears that no one will be interested (even though I already know people want something like this), get past the story I've made up in my head that I won't stay consistent (even though I can decide to post each day), and simply dive in and do it.

Written out and said aloud, these sound simple and easy to overcome. And that's the ticket! By writing and saying what I want, I can actually articulate my ideas into thoughts and actionable steps. I can almost feel what it would be like to accomplish what I want and work backward to achieve it.

Now, I will be doing small tasks again, BUT they will actually pertain to my goals and what I want to accomplish! Even if I don't know EXACTLY what I want my page to turn out like, by taking small steps to start, I'll at least be able to try things and learn what works...

Summary::

Is there anyone out there that's a perfectionist? And if so...how is it helping you?

If you're thinkin' mmm maybe, some reason that you might be a perfectionist are as follows:

* you're extremely hard on yourself

* your standards are crazy high

* you need other people to do things your way and perfectly

* there is no room for mistakes

* you operate in an all or nothing manner. You're either the best of don't do it.

* you spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to finish up something so it's perfect

Now that I've started this podcast, I actually am not so fond of it anymore, as too many of those described me! How about you, can you relate to any I mentioned?

First, let me mention, I'm totally on board that it's important to always give you best and not simply take the easy way out; I think things should always be done to the best of our abilities. I was brought up being praised for doing good and punished for doing badly. I quickly learned that it was way easier to be the best than fall short. I can still see this in myself today, where I will take on so many projects just because I know I can do them well. Or I'll post something online and wait to be validated by a certain number of likes.

So let's dive more into this. We know that giving our all is a good practice to get into, but when does this get to be too much. It can honestly be boiled down to when it doesn't make you happy. It's not fun to kill yourself while trying to make something perfect. It's lame to only be excited if you are the best. It's a waste of time to spend copious amounts of time on something unnecessarily. And it not only annoys but hurts other people when nothing they do is good enough.

Let's talk on this a bit. If you find yourself trying to not only make yourself perfect but also those around you, please stop. I'll tell you a secret. No one is interested in your perfection. There. I said it. You're now free to be imperfect, I have totally given you permission for the rest of your life!!! If you find that no one can do the right thing around you (if they only did this, or if they only got a different job, or if they only had other friends...) think about why it bothers you so much. Are they really doing something bad? Or are they just not doing the exact things you want. Remember, they have their life, you have your life. Release control and turn into a supporter. It isn't fair or your job to push your perfectionism on other people.

Okay now that we are all supporters, let's get back to me and you. Let's think about how releasing some perfection in our lives could benefit us.

* relationships thrive because we support instead of criticizing

* we are happier with ourselves and our accomplishments

* our health improved because we aren't always stressed out about doing enough

* we create things faster because we realize done is better than perfect

* we have more time because we allow ourselves to delegate more tasks

So what should we be doing to achieve this healthy balance of doing enough but not going over the top?

First, realize what is healthy and realize what is kinda cray cray. If you need to ask somebody to help, take a humble pill and go ask someone what behaviors you could improve. Someone sorta nice would be a good option.

Next, don't think of things as either succeeding or failing. You know that phrase fail forward. It means even if you didn't get the outcome you wished for, you know a heck of a lot more than what you did at the beginning. Learn to enjoy the journey.

Another is to release something before you think it is perfect. Try it. If it's a podcast like this, I can release it and I'm already onto the next one a few days later - absolutely no ...

Summary::

Woo! Let's talk Vision!! So I'm a tad bit artsy, which for me means I'm sure visual. Like, I can't stand when people tell me stories about bones breaking or hey, even a paper cut, or honestly even if you say the word needle because it literally feels like I'm inside the story. Ahh! On that note, if someone mentioning something quickly gives me enough of a visual to feel like I am living it, a vision board should be able to work wonders for me!

At the start of the new year, I began putting together my vision board. I took it seriously, half because I wanted it to truly look like the life I wanted, and the other half because I pride myself on creating beautiful things. Therefore, I took it on as quite a creative task. And let's be real, Pinterest makes everything easier creative-wise these days, so I can't take all the credit!

A lot of vision boards I see are just a jumble of cool images, which is totally fine if that's what motivates and excites you, but I wanted to take it to the next level. I was thinking of it like decorating a house. When someone walks in my house, I want them to be able to tell my style right away. This means having a nice color scheme, items that are an extension of what I stand for, and a lot of inspiration. But hey, maybe your style is more mish-mash and that's totally okay, as long as it INSPIRES you (and isn't just cuz you have a cluttered house or haven't taken the time to make it how you want it.)

Like I've mentioned in past podcasts, I love writing goals. I also told you I used to keep them all locked up tight in a journal. No place for goals! To conquer that, creating attractive goals are way more fun to keep out in the open, and that's why I love vision boards!

So how can you make yours in the next hour or two? Here's my method:

* Create a 2017 goal list. Yes, an actual list with BIG goals. I'm not talking little things or vague things. For instance, write I want to do a photoshoot in Santorini over I wanna take a vacation. You get the picture. And these are year-long goals, so make them BIG. You can accomplish an incredible amount in a year if you really want to, so don't hold back. If you want a million dollars, put it on - I'm into it!

* Get on Pinterest and create a board titled 2017. If you are an avid Pinterester, start with your homepage as it should have some things that you are into. If not, put key-words from your goals into the search. When Photos come up, choose the one that excited you the most! If the photos don't excite you, revisit the goal and ask why. Is it an old goal that isn't what you enjoy anymore? Does it seem too impossible? Be open-minded and allow yourself to be okay with thinking big and eliminating past goals.

* I would suggest adding at least 50 photos to your 2017 Pinterest board. After you do that go to your board and see if there's a theme. Most likely you might have a rustic theme, or glitz and glam theme, or colored theme. Now is the time to start thinking about what you actually want your vision board to look like. For me, I wanted a clean, rustic theme with hints of blues, like my website.

* Make a folder on your desktop and throw in one photo that portrays each goal, that also sticks pretty well to your theme, until you have each goal covered.

* To compile it, I downloaded a freebie template for Photoshop, but you can just as easily and freely use Canva.com online. All you'll do is pick the template that works with your amount of photos and input all the photos.

* Before you're done, there was one exercise I learned in my coaching group, and that's to choose 3 words that will describe you this year. For example, my three are Passionate, Vibrant, and Confident. These three words should excite you and motivate you to be your best self this year. Stick those words somewhere in your vision board for added be...

 Summary::

Your alarm clock goes off, it's another day. Will it be good or bad? Too early to tell. You rub your eyes, thinking about the list you have ahead of you, and try to come up with a good reason that you can press snooze and shut your eyes for at least 10 more minutes. You deserve it right?

Actually, what you deserve is to have the life of your dreams.Oops, did I interrupt your visions of sleep with that comment?

Listen, no matter if you are a morning person or not (we'll talk about that later), you can have a successful morning routine that starts your day off with a bang! And setting your day off on the right foot, gets you into that mindset of getting your life on the exact track you want it on.

When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive; to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. – Marcus Aurelius

If you're like me, you know a good routine in the morning could help you get a bit more accomplished, but you can't really seem to find one that jives with your schedule, so instead you sort of mosey around, doing things here and there until you realize your morning time is no longer. It's work time and my headspace is not where I wish it was. This was me for the last few years; I had really good intentions. I did! Some days I even felt like I had a successful morning. But sometimes doesn't do much for developing successful routines.

My morning routine definitely sets the tone for the rest of my day. If I'm rushed and stressed in the morning, that will carry through my work day. – Tessa Miller

So if you want to start the new year off with one new habit, I would suggest implementing a solid morning routine. Plus, it's probably a lot less of a struggle than some other resolutions you may have been tossing around in your head!

Let's set a few ground rules. There will be no more snooze buttons, no more skipping breakfast, no negative thoughts, and definitely...lots of candles and coffee involved.

Morning routines are actually quite simple. They should have some basics. A consistent wake-up time, hydration and getting the body ready for the day, some self-reflection and development, and some nourishment. Easy, right? We'll dive in a little further, but let me remind you, my routine will most likely look different than yours, and that's the beauty of it. Do what works and feels good for you. But by feeling good, I don't mean falling back asleep ha!

Establishing a bedtime and wake-up time.

Consistency is key here and you can do it! Use times that are practical for you. 10:30 and 6:30 work for me but maybe yours are a bit earlier or later. And if you are a night owl, take some time to think about why? Are you simply watching movies or maybe you use that time to do housework (can you rearrange that or ask for help)? Or is it just a habit these days? Think on what would be the best use of your time, and give some small changes a try.

If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up. – J.M. Power

Hydration + Preparing the body for the day ahead.

Water, water, water. Remember, you've dehydrated yourself while sleeping so rehydrate immediately. Your bod will thank you. Luckily, I live in altitude, so I never have to remind myself to drink water, I wake-up absolutely parched!! Preparing the bod also means stretching. Maybe do some yoga poses in front of a window - find a million on YouTube if you haven't done yoga. About every other day, I do a more intense workout, usually following Kayla Itsines half-hour program.

Self-reflection & Self-development.

First and foremost focus on positive thoughts. Release all anxious thoughts back into the world, we do not need to fill up the spaces of our head with those, especially right now!

Summary::

It's Christmas week. YAYYY! Are you as excited as I am!? 

Are you knocking out those last cookie and appetizer recipes and grabbing the final gift so you can get them all wrapped? Hopefully, you aren't too overwhelmed but if you feel like this week isn't exactly as relaxing as you'd hoped, or more tasks keep building up, I want you to remember one thing. There's always ways to get/have/find help.

Take it from me. I think I do all of my stuff the best. What!? I bet I'm not alone on that thought. Hehe:)

And as I mentioned on a previous episode, I've vowed to explore whatever I have resistance around a bit further. Which meant, maybe I should give up some tasks. 

For me, this meant researching a lot of online companies that can assist me in business tasks and help eliminate unnecessary tasks at home, but help could take shape in many other ways. 

“I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.” — Steve Jobs

Would any of these ideas help you out this week?

* Asking kids for help when cooking dinner, as simple as asking them to prepare the table.

* Getting your food made by someone else. There are so many personal chefs or bakeries out there that can make yummy things for you for the holidays.

* Have the store wrap your gifts. 

* Hire a cleaner for a day to prepare your home for a party. Simpler than you think!

* Set up automation with your social media accounts.

* Say no to things you don't want to do, and don't overthink it.

* Name your own!

“Never continue in a job you don’t enjoy. If you’re happy in what you’re doing, you’ll like yourself, you’ll have inner peace. And if you have that, along with physical health, you will have had more success than you could possibly have imagined.” — Johnny Carson

And on the flip side, after you eliminate some tasks and remember you don't have to be the hero or heroine and take it all in yourself, add in some fun things to get in the holiday spirit!!

Here are some of my favorites:

* Watch a Christmas movie. I prefer the cheesy ones on Netflix, but have a standard that they at least need 2 stars, preferably 2.5.

* Bake something or go to your favorite cafe and get a holiday treat

* Buy yourself something nice so that you feel amazing at your holiday parties. A new outfit, some jewelry, a new perfume, some nail polish, some great shoes, your choice!

* Say yes to a friend, something you WANT to do. 

* Make a Christmassy coffee, or better yet a tasty Christmas cocktail

* Put on all those Delicious Holiday candles

* Go skiing, ice skating, or enjoy the snowy outdoors (or whatever weather you have!)

* Be nice and put a smile on!!

If you ease up on the to-dos and add a few more want-to-dos you will have an amazing week I promise!! And have a holly, jolly Christmas, too!

Summary::

Hi you guys!

Recently I was challenged to creating an hour-by-hour calendar for me life. If you know me at all, you know planning was never really my forte. I've come to know planning as meaning boring. My best friend growing up lived by plans, and I always thought that took the fun out of everything. But now I see that maybe she was onto something because...

I LOVE MY GOOGLE CALENDAR.

I almost feel like a traitor saying that out loud. So, don't tell anyone. But let me tell you, it has made my entrepreneur lifestyle go from all over the place and stressful to perfectly lined up (almost).

But this didn't come easy. I was super resistant to the idea. I thought maybe I would just buy cute post-its and that would be a good step. And then I got a trendy weekly planner that had bubbles I can check off. Fun!! When someone mentioned the idea of planning hour by hour, I think I almost had a panic attack for them. Plan out your whole day?! What if something fun comes up? What if something more important comes up? What if...actually you know what, I can't think of many what-ifs because my freakout was all in my head from years of thinking planning is lame and for the non-spontaneous.

However, I've learned that anything I have a lot of resistance to is totally something to be explored more. Think about something in your life you have resistance around...do you even know why you are so resistant to it? If you dig deeper, it may be way different that you expected. Journal on it today!

Continuing on. I started a Google Calendar. Actually, I started iCal first, which was meh. It didn't really do it for me. Personal preference I suppose. But when my visual self saw that Google offers colored hour blocks for the day, I was ready to dive in. Well, for a week trial. Except, I'm almost embarrassed to admit, before the first day was over, I was hooked. HOOKED! And now, I'm not exactly sure how I ever expected to be productive when I was leaving my days open so that anything could happen.

So, my first piece of advice is to try out a calendar system. What system you prefer doesn't matter. What does matter is you being able to accomplish of those little things that keep getting missed on your post-it to-do list? Please try out a calendar system, I want to see you take control of your time, and you'll find you have more than expected!

Okay so onto my real finding. As I kept going a few days with my calendar, I was able to evaluate what was working, what wasn't, where I need to block more time, and why I wasn't getting some things done when I should. What I found isn't some great revelation, but if I had to guess, I'm sure you might be right there with me.

DISTRACTIONS.

I quickly saw that my procrastination takes place in the form of distractions. I sit down to draw and get up way too many times to make a drink or fix myself something to eat. I sit down to create a newsletter and get lost in my email instead. I block out time to read and, seriously every day, found odds and ends more important to do, and I even like to read.

What kinds of distractions are taking away from your productivity? If you don't know, check in with your calendar in a week.

So once we know about our personal distractions, what do we do? I've laid out 5 easy steps to removing them and they are:

1.Add Whitespace in your Calendar

By this, I mean add in blank areas to your schedule. Maybe something will run longer and you'll need the time, otherwise, it's always good to allow a bit of a transition period for your brain to jump activities. If nothing else, in this time, take a walk, stretch, and rehydrate.

2. Hire a VA to do what you don't want to.

Recognize when you continue to procrastinate on something and deci...