Okay, confession. I am a major time management junkie and I love it. I love planning. I love buying my new calendar for the year and getting my favorite pens and highlighters and making a plan and writing an appointments and making lists. I love managing stuff. I love managing my time. And today I'm gonna share with you five of my favorite time management tools that have really helped me through the years because we all have 24 hours in a day, but it all comes down to how we manage our time.

Windblown Jewelry 

Boundaries by Henry Cloud & John Townsend

Episode 204 - Ideal Week 

Ideal Week Planning Worksheet 

Time Timer 

168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam

Weekly Time Log

Mastermind 

Patreon

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Today, I am gonna be telling you all about how I create a strategy for my life. And I know that sounds very broad and possibly overwhelming, but hang with me because I feel like I have been given some amazing tools to help me in four main areas of my life: my faith, my home, my work, and my legacy or my life overall.

So that's what we're gonna talk about today, how to create a strategy for your life. If you're feeling like you need some clarity, then this episode is for you.

Episode 002 - Rule of Life

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman

Secrets of Happy Families by Bruce Feiler

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero

Mastermind

Patreon

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While so many women wear multitasking as a badge of honor, I will readily admit that I am the worst at multitasking. I—it's terrible. I get so distracted and cannot do it. And I'll be frank, this has not served me well in motherhood because the interruptions are great and we'll talk a little bit about that. But today I just wanna share my thoughts on multitasking and how it doesn't help anyone and how it's so much better if we can focus on one thing at a time.

Single Tasking by Devora Zack

Episode 205 - Be where your feet are

Deep Work by Cal Newport

Time Timer

Mastermind

Patreon

Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them!

Be where your feet are. This simple phrase has brought me back time and time again from feeling scattered and overwhelmed to simply being present. It's taught me a lot about my own limits and how God is limitless, and I found a lot of encouragement in that. So today's episode is all about that phrase, be where your feet are. And I hope you find it encouraging.

Birds and Bees (code WORKANDPLAY for 20% off)

Episode 195 - Birds & Bees With Megan Michelson

Jen Wilkin - None Like Him

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Today, I am so excited to share with you one of my very favorite things to do. I know this is really nerdy of me, but I love writing out my ideal week. This is something that I do at least twice a year, sometimes three times a year, because there are different times in my year that just look different. An ideal week looks different, and today I'm gonna walk you through my process of how to create an ideal week so that you can be living the life that you want in and week out with a lot of joy. 

Birds and Bees (code WORKANDPLAY for 20% off)

Ideal Week Planning Worksheet

Episode 168 - Theme Days 

Episode 173 - How We Sabbath

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So we all know that play is such an important part of our lives. It's easy to talk about work all the time, and it's a little bit more difficult as we get older to talk about play and incorporate play into our lives. But what I found out is it's so important to do it in small ways every day. If you can incorporate small play into your life on a daily basis, it really makes your lives and your work that much better. And that is what we are talking about in today's episode. 

Play by Stuart Brown

Time Timer

Positive Parenting Solutions

The Work & Play Patreon

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Well, it is back to school for the Ray family this week. I know everybody starts school at different times, but for us, school starts back this week. I’m so excited. And with school comes a lot of different ideas about new rhythms and routines that we wanna implement as a family. I personally get really excited about it, but one thing that God has been putting on my heart over and over again this year is implementing rhythms of faith to go alongside our rhythms of school and that is what today’s episode is all about.

Episode 182 - University Model School & Why We Chose It

The Work & Play Patreon

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Today’s so special because I have a long-awaited guest joining me. Jess Ray is a singer/songwriter/producer from Raleigh, North Carolina. She has her own series of albums that hold some of my favorite songs ever written, and she’s part of a worship band called Mission House. She helps lead a local movement of worshipers here in Raleigh under the ministry named Feast and Feast.

Her musical career has weaved in and out of Christian spaces, mainstream circles from house concerts, including my backyard to historic venues like the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. More than all of this, Jess has a beautiful soul and the humblest of hearts. She loves Jesus. If you’re ever at a show of hers, she’ll look you in the eyes and give you a giant hug afterwards.

She’s the real deal, and I’m just the luckiest ever to have her as my best friend since the ninth grade, who also turned into my sister when I married her big brother. I’m so excited to talk with her today about fresh creativity. Oh, and one more thing…you know the music you hear every single week when you listen to this podcast?

Yep. It’s from the song “Too Good” by Jess Ray. You should go listen to it, and I hope you enjoy today’s conversation. 

Episode 185 - The Minkies

Jess Ray Music

Instagram - Jess Ray

Born Again Podcast

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Today is the 200th episode of work and play with Nancy Ray. I am so excited to celebrate with you. I can't believe it. I can't believe I've done 200 of these episodes. That's crazy. I'm so grateful that you have been listening. I hope today's episode is just fun. I thought of 200 of my favorite things, which is kind of wild, and it also took me a really long time to come up with 200 of my favorite things. 

But the hope was that maybe there are some things that I'm enjoying in my life that you don't know about. Maybe there's things I'm loving that you already know and love as well. Either way, I hope it's fun, lighthearted, playful, something to celebrate.

I've brought a few helpers along. If you were here for the hundredth episode, you remember my kids helped me out with that, and that was when I just had three kids and Beaufort was a baby, and now I have four, and Benji’s the baby, and it has been so fun to incorporate them into this episode. Makes me a little teary, really happy and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for listening to the 200th episode of Work and play with Nancy Ray. 

Mildliners

Golden Coil Planner

Olive & June Nail Polish

Chi flat iron

Aquaphor

The Little Tinkle Razor

Becca Under Eye Brightner

A’del Cream Blush

Vaseline Rosy Lip Therapy

A’del Bashful Eyeshadow or The Dusk

Billie Razor 

Ursa Major Golden Hour Face Recovery Cream

Ursa Major Forest Alchemy Eye Cream

Kenra Hairspray

My Caraway pots and pans

Pure Komachi knife

True & Co Bra  

Altra shoes 

Barefoot Dreams robe 

Colorfulkoala joggers

Wind Blown Jewelry

Jubala 

Sola

Summer Moon 

Angus Barn

Happy and Hale 

Bartaco 

Alpaca 

Taza Grill

Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them!

This week, we’re diving back into our 2-part series as Will and I celebrate 15 years of marriage (crazy, I know)! This week, we’ll be talking about kids and home life—from how we balance everything after adding kids to the mix to how we keep our home running smoothly amid the day-to-day busyness. It’ll be a fun one, so listen in!

Episode 198 - 15 Years Married : Part 1

Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family by Paul Tripp

Deebot Vacuum

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father by Meg Meeker

Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them!