The "Done" Planner: Combating the Dark Side of the Traditional To Do List

Earlier this month, I did my annual post about what planners I’m choosing for the upcoming year. In that post, I mentioned that a new thing I’ve added to my system is a 90-Day “Done” planner, meaning a place where instead of marking down my To Do list (which I do in my main planner), I mark what I’ve done separated out by category.

Since I’ve done that post, I’ve had a number of people ask follow up questions about the details of this planner, so I’ve decided to do a post to explain how I’m using it.

The Concept: Overcoming the Dark Side of the Traditional To Do List

I got the inspiration for a 90-Day Goals planner from author Sarra Cannon. She has some great videos on her site explaining how she sets and keeps track of her 90-day goals. So when I was putting together my 90-Day planner, I grabbed a Happy Planner Teacher Planner because that’s what Sarra was using. But then when I put it all together, I realized that I didn’t need those pages to mark To Dos. I already have my Day Designer that houses that kind of list. So what could I use this shiny new layout for?

Well, the beauty of the teacher planner is that it’s divided into columns so that teachers can have separate lists for their different classes. But I realized it was the perfect set up to break down the different areas of my work and home life to visualize where I’m making progress. This made sense to me because the dark side of a traditional to do list is that you can check off a lot of things and wow look at all those check marks! But you may be checking off lots of inconsequential things that don’t really move the needle on your big goals. If I have a day where I’ve checked off ten things, but those things are like “mailed something”, “emailed someone”, “did laundry”, and I didn’t write any words on a book I’m drafting, have I really been very productive? No, I’ve probably been procrastinating the hard stuff.

So the idea behind the Done Planner is that not only can I see what I’m getting accomplished, I can see if I’m doing things that work toward those big 90-day goals. This has been a huge help. And on the flipside, it’s also given me a different view at the end of the week because sometimes you feel like you haven’t gotten anything done. But now I can look at my Done Planner and see ”Oh, hey, I wasn’t so great at social media this week, but that’s because I’ve really worked hard on these other two important goals.” It’s a clear picture of where I’ve spent my time, and that’s very rewarding. It gives me more a sense of peace at the end of the day or week (and gives me mental permission to take a break that evening or weekend.)

So are you interested? Let’s talk about setup and how I’m using it.

Setting Up the Planner

I’ve put everything in a Happy Planner hardcover discbound system. You can find this stuff at Michael’s and some Targets still have teacher planners on clearance. Amazon also still has a few left in stock. (29.99 is the standard price, so beware if you see any marked up.) The teacher planner does not come with this kind of cover. You can buy the hard cover separately, but it’s not necessary to have if you’re happy with the flexible cover the planner comes with.

Inside the teacher planner looks like this to start:

So here’s where your customization begins. See those blank spaces at the top of the columns? This is where you’re going to choose the buckets you want to focus on. You can simply write the title on top of each column (especially if you have better handwriting than I do), but I love the way the Avery stickers look colored with my mildliners (highlighters that aren’t so bright.) I use the Avery removable 3/4 inch circles (which are cheap on Amazon right now with their included coupon) and the Avery 5424 small removable rectangles. I usually color these all in one sitting while I’m watching TV or something and they last forever. I’ve had all these for probably a year now.

The Columns

Once you decide what you’re going to use to label your columns, now it’s time to decide what you want to name your columns. Really give this some thought because you don’t want to be tracking useless things. For my first three, I used my three main 90-day goal areas:

1. Writing - This is where I mark down word count and anything that has to do with moving my story forward. That means some days I may be marking down brainstorming/thinking time because I can’t write without thinking a lot. Thinking is work and counts as being productive as long as I’m actively focusing on the book. (Can you tell I had to do a mindshift to accept that a while back? lol)

2. Readers - This is where I mark down social media posts, blog posts, and newsletters. Anything that involves me interacting with readers goes here. So if I was going do a booksigning, it would fall under this category.

3. Business - This is the place where I mark down anything I’m doing that doesn’t fit under the two previous columns that is work-related and helping my business. If I’m taking a course. If I’m reading a book about marketing. If I researched something business-related.

The next four columns don’t directly deal with my 90-Day goals but are general life things and mental/physical wellness things that are very important to me.

4. Yoga - This is where I mark down which video I watched and how long the routine was. I’m doing the videos from Yoga with Adriene. Love them.

5. Input - This term comes from the Gallup Strengthsfinders system, which is a personality framework. But if you’re not familiar with that, this is basically my “refill the well” column. As a writer (and a writer with my particular personality), I need vast amounts of input to refill the creative well. This means reading, TV shows, movies, podcasts, audiobooks. When I let this slide, this is when I get writer’s block. So I’ve made it a priority to make sure I’m refilling the well. I mark down what I’m reading that day, if I watched or listened to something, etc. This is a good example of stuff that wouldn’t be reflected in my traditional To Do list. I wouldn’t write down “watch tv show”. But this done planner let’s me see if I’ve neglected this during the week and worked too much.

6. Budget - Simply where I record anything I spent that day outside of ordinary expenses. (If it’s a lot, it’s often a sign I’ve been surfing the internet too much and avoiding working lol.) I may change this one in the future, but for now, I’m testing this one out.

7. Home - The catch-all category for anything I did for home: laundry, groceries, meal planning, stuff for kidlet. I also usually mark what I’m cooking for dinner there.

So those are my seven categories, but the beauty of this system is that you can choose whatever categories that work for you and your life. What are you working on that you want to pay attention to and track?

Tracking

Remember, this is not a planner to write down what you hope to do that week. It’s what you’ve done. So it’s probably going to be something you need to keep open on your desk or easily accessible because if you wait to record what you did later, you’re going to forget. Plus, it feels good when you’ve done something to go mark it down. And hey, if stickers are involved, even better in my opinion. ;-) I’m currently using tiny icon stickers from FayeCreates on Etsy, but you can use whatever works for you. It may just be a bullet point you make with your pen or a colorful little dot sticker. But this is what mine looks like after a week.

And here’s a close up of the icon stickers if you want to see the variety.

Because this is a 90-day plan, I’m only keeping three months at a time in the binder. I’ve found this helpful because it makes the planner less bulky and also keeps me focused on the plan. Like hey, there’s only one month left to go, where am I on these goals?

I’ve been using this system since August, and I can say that I’m loving it. I’ve felt much calmer at the end of the day because I can clearly see what I’ve accomplished. Or I can clearly see which areas have fallen through the cracks. And hey, sometimes that’s okay. Like the week pictured above, I sucked at doing yoga that week but I got A LOT done in many other areas, including starting a book, so I was okay with yoga taking a backseat.

And really, if you’re not a planner fanatic like I am and don’t want to maintain more than one planner, this could easily be modified to be both. You could hold-punch (or disc-punch) a sheet of paper with your To Dos for the week and insert it into this system. There are lots of options because this system is so flexible.

So that’s how I’m using it. I hope you found this helpful! Please let me know if you decide to give it a try!

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Resource LIst

Here’s the round-up of supplies and resources if you don’t want to pick through the post to find them:

• Happy Planner Teacher Planner

• Big Happy Planner Hardcover

• Mildliner Highlighters

• Avery round stickers

• Avery rectangle stickers

• Colorful tiny dot stickers

• Icon stickers from FayeCreates

• Sarra Cannon’s 90-Day planning videos

See you next time!

Paper Planner Picks for 2019

I can't believe it's already that time of year, but today is launch day for a few of the popular planner brands for their 2019 lines. If you've followed me for any amount of time, y'all know I love a paper planner. Planning on paper has really been a game-changer for me. There's a lot of power in writing something down and having it in my face instead of tucked away on my phone. I've tried a lot of different systems over the years and am always tweaking, adding, and subtracting from my current system, but I thought I'd go over what I've been using and what I plan to use in 2019.

My Current System and What I'll Be Using in 2019

Day Designer for Daily Planning

What today looks like in my planner

This year, my main planner and the hub of my system is the Day Designer, which provides a page for each day along with monthly and yearly spreads. I've found that, especially when I'm overwhelmed, I do best just looking at one day at a time. No distractions about what's coming up the rest of the week. What am I supposed to do TODAY. I also like that the Day Designer has a neutral scheme of white and gray so I can decorate it how I want (or not at all), and I'm not trying to coordinate with whatever color is in the planner. It also lets me change how it looks every day (and gives me a place to use all those stickers and all of that washi tape I collect, lol.)

A view without any washi or writing (photo courtesy of Day Designer)

So because the Day Designer has been working for me this year and in years past, I've ordered another one.  (Note: my link is an affiliate link, which means I earn a little commission if you buy through my site but that doesn't cost you anything, and I haven't been asked to promote it. I buy one every year.) They launched today if you want to see the 2019 designs. This is the one I picked. Isn't it so pretty? And I love that the inner liner on this one is navy blue.

Goal-Setting

In addition to my daily planner, I also have been using the Powersheets for a goal-setting planner. This is different than a daily planner of To Dos. This is a planner specifically geared towards long-term and monthly goal-setting. I've used this system for three years now and have found it tremendously helpful. I'll be buying another for 2019 (they go on sale in October). I work the whole system, setting annual goals (which you get a chance to update every quarter) and monthly/weekly goals that you monitor on what's called a Tending List. I keep this tending list open on my desk at all times to keep my goals in my face. Here's an example of one of my tending lists. I decorate with stickers but you can keep it simple if that's not your thing.

*One note I'd like to make about the Powersheets. The creator, Lara Casey, has a number of religious items in her shop. The Powersheets, however, are not religious, so don't be worried about it being a Bible planner or something. It's definitely not.

90- Day Business Plan

A new one I've just started using is a 90-Day Business Plan where I set business goals for the next 90 days and then record not what I have to do but what I've done. So a Done planner. I modified a Happy Planner Teacher planner to make it work for me. I separate out the days into categories so I can make sure I'm covering goals that fall under a number of different areas in my life. If this system works well, it may end up being one I can use to replace the Powersheets or merge with them in some way, but I'm still playing around with it. I've also paired it up with a new Kanban board that I made that is focused on the 90-day goals. This planner and the kanban board are ideas I got from writer, Sarra Cannon, who has done some fantastic videos on her system if you want to check those out.

I may do a more extensive blog post about this 90-day planner and the kanban board to show you exactly how I'm using it, but for now, here are a few pics.

Happy planner hard cover 

Each day has 7 columns. The categories I'm using are Writing, Readers, Business, Yoga, Input (basically how I fill the well), Budget, and Home.

I have this fully filled with post-its now but this is how it looked when I first made it. This is focused strictly on the three main goals of my 90-day plan.

Other Options

Inkwell Press

Though I'm not ordering one this year, I've used Inkwell Press for a number of years, and they're beautiful, high quality planners. There paper is to die for. This year they're introducing a disc system for the first time along with some new inserts for goal-setting, meal planning, and daily planning. If you're interested in checking out what they have, they launched the 2019 planners today as well. If you use my affiliate link, you get 10 dollars off your first order of $50. If I ever go back to a weekly layout, I'd go back to Inkwell. I also still use their meal planner.

Photo credit: Inkwell Press

Happy Planner

Happy Planner is one I know a lot of you are familiar with because they are everywhere these days: Michael's, JoAnn's, Target. I always end up buying at least one Happy Planner a year to use for some purpose (like the teacher planner I mentioned above.) I love how they're always innovating and trying new layouts and designs. They're also the most economical of the planner choices, especially with store coupons. This week they're doing some Instagram reveals of their 2019 line, so if you're interested in them, be sure to check that out. Y'all know I'll be buying ALL the sticker books from them. I have a little bit of a sticker problem... lol.

So that's the system I plan on using in 2019. Are you getting a planner for 2019? What's been working for you?

What I'm Watching This Summer

Summertime is the time of sunshine and the outdoors...well, in other places. Here in Dallas, summertime is full of sunshine and unbearable heat. Today it's 90 and it feels like autumn to me because we've been dealing with 105-110 temperatures for over two weeks and 90 truly feels like relief. We'll get a few days of this before the temperature races back up again.

But all this is to say that in summer, I often end up catching up on TV watching because we're indoors hiding from the heat. So I thought I'd pass along what I'm watching this summer both on TV and YouTube. And I'd love to hear what interesting shows you've found recently!

For pure soapy reality TV

Big Brother on CBS

If you've followed me for any length of time, you know that I'm a long time Big Brother fan. I look forward to it every summer, and it's become a family tradition. Hubs and I love all the strategy and personality dynamics. Kidlet loves all the competitions. (We fast forward through any not-safe-for-10-year-olds moments.) It's quite a commitment with three episodes a week, but I eat it up like candy. My favorite contestant this year in Tyler. I love that he came on and was all "I'm just a dumb, cute lifeguard" and has turned out to be the most socially strategic and smart player so far. The writer in me loves characters, and Big Brother always gives me good fodder for analysis.

Fun for the Whole Family

The Middle

Last summer kidlet and I picked a show to binge watch together for device-free summer. Last year was The Goldbergs, which has become a family favorite (and kidlet obsession) now. This summer, we've picked The Middle. (Side note: finding a truly family friendly modern sitcom is a challenge! But this one fits the bill.) We're almost done with season 2 and are really enjoying it. If you want to binge watch this one, it's not streaming anywhere for free (last I checked) but Freeform and the Hallmark channel have been running the seasons marathon style and we've been taping them, so look for that.

For the Music Lover

The Big Interview with Dan Rather

This is one hubs found on one of his favorite channels AXS. Dan Rather interviews famous musicians. (He may interview more than musicians, but the ones we've watched have all been musicians.) These interviews were taped a few years ago, but they are fascinating. Dan Rather is a master interviewer, and if you love music, you'll love the stories he pulls out of the people he puts in his interview chair. So far we've watched interviews with Greg Allman of The Allman Brothers, Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. Even if you don't know much about the particular band/artist (I knew hardly anything about The Allman Brothers) the interviews will pull you in. Highly recommended.

For Nostalgia or a Peek Inside 90s Teenhood

My So-Called Life

I mentioned a while back that I was so excited that one of my favorite podcast duos were starting the My So-Called Podcast where they rewatch episodes of My So-Called Life and then comment on them. This has been so much fun--to rewatch one of my very favorite shows from my teen years through adult eyes and then follow each episode up by listening to Jillian and Patrick pick apart the episodes in a funny yet respectful superfan kind of way. It's made it such a multi-layered experience. It's made me laugh a lot but also has made me wonder what the hell I was thinking loving Jordan Catalano (played by Jared Leto) back when I was 14. I mean, yes, he's beautiful, but dude, he was SUCH a jerk on that show. Adult Me totally wants to yell at him for his behavior. Anyway, if you want to rewatch or watch for the first time. Here's where you can stream it and here's where you can find the podcast.

For Your Brain

The 2000s on CNN

CNN has made series about many of the decades and every time, I am so here for it. I believe they started with The Sixties. That's the first one I watched at least, and they've gone on to make a series for each decade. This summer it is The 2000s. The show is produced by Tom Hanks and is done in such a great way that I get hooked every time. Each show will take one topic of that decade and do a deep dive. So, for instance, the episode we watched this week was all about technology and the "I-Decade"--the iPod, iPhone, iPad, social media, etc. Even though we all lived through it, it's fascinating to look back and really think about how much has changed so quickly. There was also an episode on TV shows in the 2000s and then there are the political ones (9/11, the Iraq War, etc.). I believe there is a music one coming up. All very well done. And if you haven't watched the previous seasons--60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s--they've all been fantastic.

For Your Body and Mind

Yoga with Adriene

I am trying to create a yoga habit, but I have trouble making it to classes because the timing never works out. So I've started doing yoga in the mornings at home. There are tons of free videos on YouTube, but I've found that the ones I like the best are from Yoga with Adriene. The videos are well shot, the routines are doable, there are lots of routines of varying length if I don't have a lot of time. Plus, Adriene is easy to follow and comes across as very down to earth. If you're looking to get some yoga into your life, check out her channel.

For the Planner Lover and Writers

Heart Breathings with Sarra Cannon

Y'all know I love a planner and anything having to do with productivity systems. I recently returned from the RWA (Romance Writers of America) conference where I met up with the writer/planner group I'm in online. So fun! And I happened to sit next to author Sarra Cannon who had brought her 90-day planner. I loved her set up and found out she has a YouTube channel where she talks about all things planning and writing. I blame her for the kanban board I put together this week. But if you're a planner girl (or guy!) like me, her channel is worth checking out. 

That's all I've got for y'all today! Tell me what you're watching and loving this summer. : )

Slowing Down & Savoring Summer: A Few Strategies

I mentioned in my last post Device-Free Summer 2.0 that in addition to kidlet going device-free for another summer, I was looking for way to slow down our summer. Today I'm tackling that topic more in depth.

Summers for us usually mean a shift in our schedule but not a change in the hectic-ness of it. Kidlet isn't in school, but he goes to full-time day camp. Hubs and I are still working. Books still need to be written and edited and promoted. I'm used to that being our summer.

However, last week (week two of summer) when I found myself up before 7am and already yelling, "Where's the sunscreen? Where'd you put your tennis shoes? We're going to be late! Someone grab a juice box!", I realized that not only was I NOT getting any kind of slow down in summer, it almost felt more crazy--for all of us. This was in part because we'd spent seven days in New York City for a combo vacation/work trip right after school ended, so we'd hit the ground running with a very fun but busy trip. But it also felt like more that just that. I was deeply tired of this rush.

It gave me the very pointed craving to slow the hell down for summer. Summer used to have this promise to it when I was growing up--a promise of lazy days and an open schedule. Yes, it was blazing hot and humid in south Louisiana. Yes, I was an only child and often got bored. But that's also the time I got to read all the books I wanted. It's when I got to goof around at the pool with friends or run through sprinklers. It was walks down the road to the sno-ball stand (they are NOT snow cones in Louisiana) without your parents. 

My kiddo has never had that kind of summer because summers are generally scheduled events now. (Not just for me but most of the kids I know.) There are summer camps and music camps and STEM camps and sports teams/games and blah blah blah. Part of that is necessary. Even though I'm home, I'm working full-time. My job doesn't stop in the summer, and kidlet would get hella bored being home all day every day by himself with me working (and him device-free,) But I'm now wondering if we've swung too far in the other direction and maybe could use some balance. Meaning, work in some lazy, slow stuff into the busy schedule for us all. Allow time for boredom and creativity and white space.

So, though kidlet already has two weeks of pre-scheduled, already paid for speciality camps, I'm going to try him on half days instead of full for his regular summer camp and only bring him in the afternoons. I get most of my deep work/writing down in the afternoon anyway, so this should work for me. In the mornings, I can get easier work stuff done and also spend some time with him. We shall see how it goes.

But this got me to thinking more about how fast time goes. This past school year flew by, and I know summer will as well if I don't do something different. I mean, we can't actually slow down time, but I wondered if there were things we could do to savor it more and make it feel a little more languid.

This is what made me pick up the book Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done by Laura Vanderkam. (Yes, it has the same title as one of my books, but is a very different topic! lol) Y'all know I love a productivity book, but this one is less about productivity, and more about finding the white space in your schedule and feeling like you have "all the time in the world" instead of feeling like you're always rushed and behind.

Vaderkam had a large group of people in different professions track their time, and she used the results for this book. One interesting thing she found was that a lot of the people in very busy, high-powered positions often felt like they had more time, but it was because they'd learn strategies to make it that way. So this book goes into a number of strategies to help create that feeling of space in your schedule, of slowing down and savoring.

I won't go deeply into each of these because the book is worth a read and I did lots of underlining, but each strategy has its own chapter title and I'll touch on those.

Chapter 1: Tend Your Garden

Her basic premise here is that in order to do anything about your time, you need to know where it's actually going. We're really bad at estimating how much time we spend doing certain things. Like, you know, how often we're sucked into social media. Or how few minutes it actually takes to wash the dishes. So she recommends tracking your time by the half-hour ALL DAY for at least a week. 

"...one of the most striking findings of my survey was the gap in estimated phone checks per hour between people who felt relaxed about time and those who felt anxious" --pg. 8

I've done time-tracking on and off over the years, which is made easy with the Day Designer planner I use, and I have found it helpful. If you're honest in your tracking, you can see where your time is getting wasted or squandered. It's sobering when you realize you popped over to check twitter for a minute and wasted forty minutes instead. So this practice takes discipline, but I think it is a great exercise to kind of give you an overview.

"Time passes whether or not we think about how we are spending it. Tracking forces me to think about it." --pg. 35

Chapter 2: Make Life Memorable

This was probably my favorite chapter of the book. I have a TERRIBLE memory. Terrible, y'all. And I hate that so many memories sift through my fingers (probably because I'm moving too fast.) So this chapter was about the science of what makes a memory stick. We know that novel experiences and experiences with high emotion (good and bad) are more likely to burn into our memories. But does that mean the ordinary days are destined to just compress in our minds and give us that sense of time just flying by? Vanderkam argues that no, there are things we can do. She encourages us to record things in a journal (or in your time tracker if you're doing that). Nothing elaborate but something that will help the day stick a little better.

"One might inquire this of any twenty-four hours. Why is today different from all other days? Why should my brain bother holding on to the existence of this day as it curates the museum of my memories?" --pg. 64

I love this concept and am going to give it a try. I'm terrible at journaling, but this seems less intimidating--just marking down what was special about that day. Not only does it provide a record, but the actual act of writing it down helps your memory keep it better. And she said taking photos isn't enough because unless we curate them, it's just a big jumble of a file in our phone. (Guilty as charged!)

Chapter 3: Don't Fill Time

This one is pretty obvious but still not as easy in practice if you're not deliberate about it. The main points are: leave white space on your calendar (to account for things running over, unexpected things, thinking time, etc.) and don't say yes to things unless you really want/need to do it. (This goes back to the "if it's not a hell yes, it's a no" thing.) I liked a particular question she posed about how to decide whether to agree to something in the future. She warns that we don't think of our future selves as "us", so we assign those future versions of ourselves things present "us" really doesn't want to do because we think this imaginary future "us" will totally be into it by the time it gets here. I'm SO guilty of this. So she suggests this question:

"Would I do this tomorrow?" and "Would you be tempted? Would you try to move things around to fit this new opportunity?" --pg. 98

Also in the "don't fill time" category is the technology/phone habit. Every moment that you have to wait in a line or wait for an appointment doesn't need to be filled with social media or the web. It makes us fee busier. It erases that sense of downtime or space in your schedule (beyond being a distraction.) I also think it sucks up time we could use for those things we'd "like to do if we had more time." Like, for me, I always want more reading time. My TBR pile is out of control. But if I'm on the couch and bored and pick up my phone, I could lose half an hour just scrolling or answering email. Instead, I could pick up a book and spend that time doing something I love and want to do. When I started paying attention (and dialing back) my social media time last year, I noticed a big difference in how many books I read. (In 2016 I read 42 books, in 2017 I read 63. I've read almost 30 this year so far.)

Chapter 4: Linger

This chapter is mostly about mindfulness and learning to savor the present. One of the tactics I loved was recommended by a psychology professor she interviewed. He imagines himself in his elderly years when his health is failing and he can't do much anymore and imagines that version of himself looking back at today, feeling the wistfulness of "I wish I could be doing that again" and then knowing that, hey, that IS today for me. I'm here in this moment right now.

Chapter 5: Invest in Your Happiness

Her advice: if you can afford to, farm out hated/annoying tasks that can be done by others that are sucking up valuable time. If you can pay someone to cut your lawn and save yourself the time, do it. But this chapter also talked about "paying yourself first" with your time. Meaning, if you want to write a book, give yourself that chunk of time in your schedule first before anyone else gets your time. Even if it's just a little bit. I learned this when I took Becca Syme's Write Better Faster class--write first. Before the distractions come. Before the busy work or demands others put on your time. I don't always follow that because my creative brain kicks in more in the afternoon, but I still use it in concept because I block off that time for my writing. I give myself my most creative, productive hours and don't hand those off to other people's needs/tasks.

Chapter 6: Let It Go

Life is life, and things are going to get in the way of best laid plans. The water heater is going to break when you planned a writing day. You're going to get caught in traffic and screw up the afternoon's schedule. You're going to get a cold that knocks you on your butt. Vanderkam's advice is to learn to let it go. Just do what you can do with the time you have.

"When I tell myself, OK, you only have this time, just do what you can do, I surprise myself. I can write an article draft in a few hours. I can edit it in those ninety-minute chunks. Indeed, when I tell myself to just do what I can, even if it is only a little bit, because it is better than nothing, that something, done repeatedly, adds up." -- pg. 173 

I need this reminder often because I like to write in big three-hour blocks. If my schedule gets messed up and I only have an hour and a half, I feel like--well, why bother? But I can get a decent amount of words in an hour or whatever if I focus on it. So I need to not throw out the whole plan if things didn't go perfectly.

Chapter 7: People Are a Good Use of Time

This section focuses on spending quality time with your family and friends and colleagues because that kind of experience often expands time and makes great memories. What I particularly loved about this chapter was the idea of planning your off hours.

"Few people would show up at work at 8:00am with no idea about what they'd do until 1:00pm, and yet people will come home at 6:00pm having given no thought to what they'll do until they go to bed at 11:00pm. This is how people will claim to have no time for their hobbies, even though they're clearly awake for two hours or more after their kids go to bed...It is simply that they haven't thought about this time, and so it feels like it doesn't exist." --pg. 204

I love this idea and have seen it in action. Most of us don't want to schedule ourselves down to the second in our off time. However, last year when we did device-free summer, I had to be deliberate about what was going to fill some of kidlet's free time instead. I wanted to make it fun and to help him realize life without the devices and video games could be way cooler. So on our calendar I planned movie nights and board game night. I scheduled nights that he'd help me cook dinner. We planned for outings like putt putt or bowling. It gave the summer a feeling of adventure, and it cemented a lot of those things in my memory. I remember the movies we watched together as a family. I remember binge-watching The Goldbergs and teaching kidlet about life in the 80s. I remember an epic game of Upwords. It made simple things into events and made the summer feel special and full. I plan to do that again this summer, but I also need to take this idea and use it all through the year.

So, if you can't tell, I really enjoyed the book and got a lot from it. I'm going to take away a lot of ideas. I'm tracking my time again, and I'm going to attempt to journal. I'll report back!

How is your summer shaping up? Do you seek out a slow summer?

Choosing a One-Word Theme for Your 2017

Hi y'all! I'm still buried in end-of-the-year deadline stuff, but I'm happy to report that book one of the new contemporary romance series I'm writing (The Ones Who Got Away) is done! Now I'm in revising mode before I turn it into my publisher. *eyes finish line* And for those asking when my next book is coming out, there's been some shifting around with publishers and such, which is why the schedule got a little weird. So, my plan is to have By the Hour (Book 2 of Pleasure Principle - Lane's book) out in the Spring. As soon as I have hard dates, I'll let you know. Cover reveal coming soon!

But outside of book news, I wanted to pop in and share something that I'm finding really helpful as I prepare for 2017. Most of you know that I'm a junkie for goal-setting workbooks and planners. Well, this year I'm using Your Best Year by Lisa Jacobs (which I used last year), and now I've added in Lara Casey's Powersheets. I'm loving those, too. 

One thing that the Powersheets ask you to do is to choose a Word of the Year, a one word theme for what you want your next year to embody. Gretchen Rubin also talked about choosing a word of the year in her podcast today if you want to hear more about it.

This is a word (or phrase) that you want to respresent your 2017. I think this can be less intimidating than setting specific goals (though I do that, too). One word can be a motivator and a guiding light. So, say your word is Peace. That can help you as you're making more specific goals and plans for next year--i.e. Will doing x, y, z bring me more peace or is it going to add to my stress? It's a litmus test.

I thought about this over the last week, and I've decided that my word for 2017 is going to be RISE. It speaks to a few different things I want. I want my word count/writing output to rise. I want my career to rise to the next level. And I want to rise above the things that drag me down. So, it's a multipurpose word that hits a number of aspects of my life. And now I have my guiding principle as I move forward and as I decide how I'm going to allocate my time and focus in 2017.

So, I'm challenging you today. What's your word going to be for 2017? I'd love to hear it! :)