Roni Recommends - Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day

I know it’s going to come as no surprise that I love reading productivity books, but because I read so many, it’s often hard to find one that stands out. A lot of them are just more of the same. This is actually why I didn’t buy the book I’m recommending today when it first came out. The summary looked a lot like other books I’d read and so I passed it by. However, when I saw it recommended somewhere else, I decided to give it another look. I’m so glad I did.

Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky was a delight to read. First off, it’s just a really nice physical book. Book nerds (like me) will appreciate how thick the paper is, and the layout and design of the pages makes it super easy to read. There are also a lot of fun little illustrations. It almost feels like reading a really great blog on paper. So, though I have nothing against ebooks, you might want to spring for the hardcover on this one.

As for the content inside, the book focuses on how to make time using a simple paradigm which involves choosing a highlight for the day, learning how to laser focus on it, reflecting on how it went, and also making sure you have enough daily energy to get things done. Sounds simple enough, but what I enjoyed about the format of the book was that the authors take each of the four areas in the paradigm and give you a bunch of different tactics to choose from to help implement it.

For instance, in the Laser section, there are over 40 separate tactics they describe that can help you focus better. Things like how to make your phone screen distraction free. (I’m trying a version of this, see pic) or how to wrangle TV time or finding a soundtrack for “flow.” It’s a choose-your-own-adventure style. They’re not saying “do all these things.” They’re saying, here are a bunch of ways you might try. Experiment with combinations and see what works for you.

I found the Highlight, Laser, and Reflection sections really helpful and thought-provoking. I wasn’t as into the Energy section just because I’d rather read advice on eating, exercise, etc. from experts in those particular fields. (Though I did enjoy the tactics about caffeine.)

Overall, this was a quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed and will keep on my shelf. I love that you can just flip to a tactic for a refresh. It really is like having a helpful blog bound into a book. So if you’re looking for a productivity book that is fast-paced, fun, and helpful, you might want to give this one a try.

Here is the official description:

From the New York Times bestselling authors of Sprint, a simple 4-step system for improving focus, finding greater joy in your work, and getting more out of every day.

Nobody ever looked at an empty calendar and said, "The best way to spend this time is by cramming it full of meetings!" or got to work in the morning and thought, Today I'll spend hours on Facebook! Yet that's exactly what we do. Why?

In a world where information refreshes endlessly and the workday feels like a race to react to other people's priorities faster, frazzled and distracted has become our default position. But what if the exhaustion of constant busyness wasn't mandatory? What if you could step off the hamster wheel and start taking control of your time and attention? That's what this book is about.

As creators of Google Ventures' renowned "design sprint," Jake and John have helped hundreds of teams solve important problems by changing how they work. Building on the success of these sprints and their experience designing ubiquitous tech products from Gmail to YouTube, they spent years experimenting with their own habits and routines, looking for ways to help people optimize their energy, focus, and time. Now they've packaged the most effective tactics into a four-step daily framework that anyone can use to systematically design their days. Make Time is not a one-size-fits-all formula. Instead, it offers a customizable menu of bite-size tips and strategies that can be tailored to individual habits and lifestyles.

Make Time isn't about productivity, or checking off more to-dos. Nor does it propose unrealistic solutions like throwing out your smartphone or swearing off social media. Making time isn't about radically overhauling your lifestyle; it's about making small shifts in your environment to liberate yourself from constant busyness and distraction.

A must-read for anyone who has ever thought, If only there were more hours in the day..., Make Time will help you stop passively reacting to the demands of the modern world and start intentionally making time for the things that matter.

Buy the book

What I've Been Watching: Two Newbies & Three Retro Picks

When I’m at the beginning of writing a new book, I find that I need a high level of “input” to keep my creative mind churning. Often that’s a mix of novels, non-fiction books, and television. So lately I’ve been indulging in a number of shows, some old, some new. Today, I’m sharing the ones I’m enjoying the most in case you’re on the hunt for something new to watch.

The New

Shrill on Hulu

This show is only 6 short episodes, so it’s an easy one to binge, and it’s just such a well done show. SNL’s Aidy Bryant stars as Annie Easton, a woman who works at an online magazine with a terrible boss and who is just trying to live her life. She’s struggling with her love life, her work life, her self-esteem, and the world for judging her for how she looks instead of who she is. The body positivity in the show is fantastic, and Annie is just plain delightful as a character. She’s smart and funny and human, but also, Aidy portrays her with such an effervescence that it just makes me smile to watch. The supporting cast is great, and there was a scene in one episode with her dog and her sort of boyfriend that I laughed so hard, I snorted my water. (If the title sounds familiar, this show is based on Lindy West’s book by the same name. Warning: This is not one to watch with kids nearby. Frank language and adult situations.)

The Case Against Adnan Syed on HBO

I am very late to the Serial train. I listened to season one of Serial last year for the first time, but I was instantly hooked on the story. HBO and director Amy Berg have now taken the case and turned it into a four-part documentary.

If you’re not familiar with the story, this a true crime story about the murder of high school student Hae Min Lee back in 1999. Adnan Syed, her former boyfriend, was accused and convicted of the murder. Many believe he was wrongfully convicted (I am with them on that opinion) and there are lot of intricacies to this story that I won’t get into here. But so far, the documentary has been very well done. It’s almost surreal to see the faces of so many people I’ve only heard via the Serial podcast. If you haven’t listened to the Serial Season 1 podcast, I think it’s better to listen to that first and then watch the documentary. It’s not necessary per se but it will give you the full context.

As a side note, after you watch the episodes, the True Crime Obsessed podcast does a breakdown of the episodes that are worth listening to. True Crime Obsessed is a podcast that mixes true crime docs with commentary and comedy, which I know sounds weird, but I promise it’s done in an appropriate/respectful way (the people being made fun of are the bad guys.) It’s one of my favorite podcasts.

A Few 90s/00s Throwbacks

Felicity on Hulu

For some reason, I thought I had watched Felicity back when it was on TV. However, starting recently at Season 1 Episode 1, I realized I definitely hadn’t. This show came out in 1998 when I was starting my second year of college, and I think it may have been one that was just on sometimes and I caught an episode here and there. (Because, you know, no DVRs or streaming back then so you watched whatever was on.) I think it came on after Dawson’s Creek (a show I was obsessed with) and so I probably watched the beginning of some episodes or had them on in the background while I was doing homework. So I am coming at this series mostly new.

First of all, it’s so very 90s that I just have to smile. The nineties were my high school/college decade, so I’m very fond of that time period. This show has all that nineties goodness. The pay phones, the moody intro, the muted colors of the show, and people always checking their mailboxes because they sent actual letters to people back home. I’m only a handful of episodes in, so I can’t judge the series as a whole. So far, I am a little eye-rolly about Felicity’s choices, but I’m still enjoying watching. If nothing else, it’s the perfect before bed show when you want something light and easy.

Boy Meets World on Hulu

This was one I watched as a kid and remember fondly. I haven’t watched it since it originally aired, and I decided it could be the perfect show for me and kidlet to watch together. We usually pick one show we’re going to binge together, and we needed something after finishing all the episodes of The Middle. Even though this show is from the 90s, kidlet (who’s 11) is totally on board with it. The episodes in season one are particularly silly and heavy handed with the “learn an important message, children” themes, but kidlet giggled a lot. The second season gets a little more into boy-girl relationships since the kids move on to seventh grade, so if you haven’t had the birds and bees talk with your kid yet, hold off on this one. They handle the topics in a comedic/kid-friendly way but making out/sex/etc. is a recurring topic. Also, I still love Topanga.

Rockstar: INXS on YouTube

This is an obscure one that probably only my rock music/guitar-playing family would be into, but I thought I’d mention it just in case. Hubs and I watched this show back in 2005 when it first aired and we loved it. It’s basically like the rock version of American Idol (mixed with a little Big Brother reality show.) INXS was in need of a new lead singer, and they created a reality show competition where a group of hopefuls competed to win the gig. A contestant was voted off by the public weekly.

We went on an internet dig trying to find this one because my kiddo is very into rock music, plays guitar and drums, and wanted to know why they didn’t have something like American Idol for rock singers. This isn’t streaming on any of the normal services or DVD, but we did find a YouTube channel that has all the episodes. We’ve been working our way through the episodes, which is interesting doing that almost 15 years after it aired because a) we know who they pick and what happens so we see it with different eyes and b) it makes us look up all the people who didn’t win to see how their careers fared (because they had some really talented people!) Kidlet, of course, is watching it for the first time so doesn’t know what’s going to happen. BUT if you love rock music and want to see some fantastic performances of covers (and INXS songs), it’s fun to watch. Here are two of my favorite performances of the episodes we’ve re-watched so far:

All right, that’s all I have for you today. I hope you have a great weekend!

Tell me, what are you watching and loving right now? I’m always looking for new recommendations!

After the 30-Day Social Media Ban: What Surprised Me & What I'm Changing

A month ago, I posted here and announced that I was going on a monthlong Digital Detox/Social Media Ban. I made the decision to give it a try after reading Cal Newport’s new book Digital Minimalism. You can read the original post here if you missed it. But now I’m back with my report from the land without social media!

To be honest, I didn’t expect this experiment to be all that revelatory. I have been working on dialing back my digital distractions for about two years now. I’ve been blogging about that journey along the way. I thought a month without social media would be a good break and “detox” because I was annoyed that I was checking my phone so often again. However, it ended up being a lot more enlightening than I ever expected.

First, a play-by play

Week 1 - This is harder than it looks

I went into this way too confident, y’all. Smug, even. I got this, I thought. Ha. Week One told me to have a seat and rethink that notion. The initial week was tough! I kept picking up my phone and swiping to the screen that usually held my social media apps, and I had nothing to push because I had deleted them. The reflex was a hard one to break.

Also, I had posted about my social media break, and I wanted to see what people had to say about it, but I couldn’t. The need to get that little mental boost (aka dopamine) that people are reading your posts was real. I had to take my social media shortcuts off my desktop because I found myself too tempted to “just check.”

My Book of the Month came in the mail, and I wanted to take a pic for Instagram, and I realized I had nowhere to post it. I didn’t take a pic. (This would become a theme. I took a lot less photos in general.)

Day 5 - The Black Moment

In fiction, you eventually lead characters to the “all hope is lost” moment, which we call the black moment. My black moment on this journey hit at Day 5. I was really missing chatting with people online and checking social media. I yearned for it, lol. I felt this haze of loneliness even though I was still texting with friends and had my family around me. Day 5 made me question whether I could do it.

My guess is that when people try these social media breaks and give up, it’s probably around this day in the process. But wait! Hold out! Because…

Day 6 - Holy productivity, Batman!

The day after I was missing social media, I sat down in my office and started a stretch of days that would become some of my most productive ever. This month, I was working on putting together a new online romance writing course for beginners. In three days, I wrote 17k words of lectures. I hit a level of flow and deep work that I didn’t think I was capable of. I blogged more about that here, but I was able to manage four hours straight of focused work without any struggle. I was so excited that I was getting so much done, the yearning for social media began its rapid decline.

Week 2 - Traveling & Scandal

I put a similar background on my phone to remind me what I should be doing instead of picking it up. This one is from Austin Kleon and you can grab it here.

During week two, I traveled with my family to Florida for the Daytona 500. This meant sitting in airports, flying on planes, and then having a lot of downtime in the hotel room in between races—all with no social media. Normally, I would’ve been posting photos from the trip and scrolling through my feeds. Instead, I read in the downtime. I ended up reading one and half books on the three-day trip. Also, in some of the downtime in the room, my family and I used the Heads Up app to play the game and fill the time. We ended up laughing to the point of tears. I’m not sure I would’ve thought to bring out the game if I hadn’t been on the social media fast. I was bored. It gave me the idea to play the family game.

It was a little strange not being able to post pictures or video from the trip, but that just meant that I could keep my phone tucked in my bag for most of the trip. I did share some photos in my newsletter.

Another thing that happened in week two was a big plagiarism scandal in the romance writing community. Normally, when this kind of thing happens, all the social media networks light up with the “breaking news” and then everyone’s take on it. I have lost whole days in the past following that kind of thing. Instead, because I wasn’t on social media, I was alerted about it by a friend via text, and she sent me the link for blog posts about it after the facts were straight. It was so much calmer learning about what was going on from a well thought-out blog post rather than the 100mph feeds and noise of social media. The lesson here was that I wasn’t uninformed. I still heard about it. But I could get the information in a calmer way.

Week 3 - I’m a believer

I stopped missing social media. I honestly, truly did. I was drunk on productivity and focus, y’all. Lol. Being able to have that level of intent focus and mental flow without even trying was like playing with a new toy. It reminded me of how things used to be when I was in high school and college, when I could deep dive into projects for hours at a time. I wrote a novel when I was fifteen. There’s no way that would’ve happened if I’d grown up with Facebook in my pocket. I used to be able to concentrate. Now, I had the ability back. It felt like magic.

Week 4 - Finishing and Fear

This past week, I had days where I worked in deep work mode for 7 hours, only stopping briefly midday to eat lunch. The online class I thought would take me another 3 weeks minimum to get ready was done. Not only done, but edited, uploaded, and open for enrollment. That is crazy banana pants to me. I finished the project almost a month ahead of schedule. I know it had everything to do with this experiment.

I use the music program Focus @ Will for background music, and it tracks how long you use it. I only have it on when I’m actively working. So this is what my days started to look like. That’s 7 hours of focused work if you’re math-challenged like I am. Seven hours!

However, with that thrill of success came a hint of fear about coming back to it all. I knew from the start that I wouldn’t leave social media forever. Beyond being part of my job, I am a member of a number of author groups online that truly bring me joy. BUT I didn’t want to lose this newfound superpower. I knew I needed to figure out a way not to fall back into old habit. So that’s what I’ll be talking about in the rest of this post.

But first, a recap of what I gotten done in a month without the social media distraction:

• Wrote 33k words of lectures for the class.

• Edited 55k words.

• Researched teaching platforms and learned how to use one.

• Created worksheets for the class.

• Blogged and wrote newsletters.

• Created a slideshow and promo video for the class.

• Loaded and formatted 7 weeks worth of lectures into the class platform.

• Rebuilt the format of my author newsletter.

• Set up text to speech on my blog (if you click the little button next to the title, it will read the post to you.)

• Read 8 books. Eight!

• Went on a vacation and didn’t work.

• Opened my course for enrollment (there are still a few spots left at the beta price if you’re interested)

• Spent more time with my family without my face in my phone

Observations

• I took less photos (not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.)

• The time I spent on my phone (according to Screen Time) was about 2 hours a day. This is down about an hour from usual (7 hours added to my week!) This experiment didn’t make me stop using my phone completely. Almost all time spent on it was text messaging, reading articles on Safari, and podcasts.

• The morning was often when I missed social media the most because my husband would grab for his phone, and I’d have nothing to do for those first few minutes before I got out of bed. I ended up reading articles most of the time.

• Sometimes it was inconvenient not to have Facebook simply for logistical purposes. Restaurants only had a FB page or I needed to access one of kidlet’s activities, but they do everything through FB.

• When I blogged, I had no way to share my posts outside of my newsletter, so that felt a little frustrating. (I could’ve shared it remotely without actually getting on social media, but that felt like cheating.)

• I didn’t miss anything urgent or important while I was gone. I signed on yesterday and had hundreds of notifications, but nothing was urgent. (Also I found out that Instagram only lets you look back through 2 weeks of notifications, so the other two weeks are lost unless someone tagged me.)

The biggest takeaway

This felt entirely different from the things I’ve done in the past like blocking social media for a few hours while I work or taking a digital sabbath. Those give you a break, but don’t impact the habit. I think this long of a break is much more disruptive in stopping bad patterns and clearing your mind so that you can look at social media with a more skeptical eye. You get a taste of what it’s keeping you from. For me, that was higher focus and productivity but also a sense of calm.

So if you’re thinking about doing something like this for yourself, give yourself the full month. Don’t trick yourself into thinking that quitting for the weekend is going to make any real difference. I also highly recommend reading Digital Minimalism first because Newport gives a lot of tips on how to best set yourself up for the 30 days. If you go cold turkey with no plan on what to replace that social media time with, you’re more likely to give up in that black moment.

Going Forward

Gretchen Rubin talks about in her book Better Than Before that some people are moderators and some are abstainers. Meaning, some people do better with creating a habit by completely abstaining from something: I never drink soft drinks. Others do better as moderators: I only drink soft drinks twice a week.

Most people think they’re moderators, but I have a feeling that more of us would be better as abstainers. There was relief in knowing checking social media wasn’t an option at all. There was no decision to be made. The line was clear. And really, that is how I quit soft drinks fifteen years ago. I went from a four-a-day Diet Mt. Dew habit to zero and never went back. Abstaining was the key for me.

However, with social media, abstaining isn’t realistic for me (and many of you) in the job I’m in. I also don’t want to lose the good things I enjoy about social media like my Facebook groups. But after this experiment, I know that I need to make some serious changes because I don’t want to give up the newfound focus and calm.

My plan for bringing social media back into my life

1. Put 20 minute daily limits (via Screentime feature) on Facebook and Instagram on my phone.

   I thought that the phone would be the biggest issue for me and, for a while, planned to not put Facebook back on it. But I realized through this experiment that the phone was much less of a problem than checking on my desktop and disrupting my work day. So I have put these two back on my phone but with strict limits.

   UPDATE (3.18.19): I’ve taken Facebook off my phone again. Having it back for a few days made me realize that even with my best intentions, I find myself checking it more than I want. The 20-minute limits were too easy to get by because I just had to click “ignore limit” and it opened. I’ve left Instagram on my phone because that app doesn’t call to me very much. I’m fine checking that one a time or two a day and that’s it.

2. Turned on the Downtime feature on my phone starting at 8pm and ending at 6am.

   This will keep my from randomly checking my phone while I’m watching TV with the fam and hanging out with them.

3. No more social media shortcuts on my desktop.

   They are way too easy to click when I hit a hard spot in my work.

4. I’m keeping Twitter off my phone.

   I was already doing this before and plan to continue.

5. Only check social media on my desktop at lunch time and on weekends.

   This is the one that’s still in flux. I have also considered using my Hey Focus blocking app and blocking access to social media in the morning work zone and afternoon work zone, but I almost feel like I need to lean on that abstainer concept and make it very clear: I only check social media on my computer at lunchtime and on weekends.

   UPDATE (3.18.19): This hasn’t worked so far. I find that I need to check at least Facebook in morning to clear out the messages and respond or not having checked it becomes the distraction. I may shift this to checking in the morning in an allotted time and then at lunch. Still working this one out.

I may tweak these or come up with different methods, but I’ll report back. I have a genuine worry that I’ll fall back into old patterns, and I really, really don’t want to. I have a new book to write, and I love having the focus superpower. I’m thinking of getting a cape. ;)

So…thoughts? Questions? Suggestions? Anyone else going to try their own digital declutter?

And for any writers interested in my course, here’s the video with all the details. I’ll be closing registration soon because we’re getting close to full! Course starts March 30th.

What I've Been Binge-Watching & Loving: Vampires, Likable Serial Killers, Quirky Families & Awkward British Sex

As a writer, I consider watching quality (and sometimes not-so-quality) television as part of my job. Yes, I do it for fun, too, but great television shows can also fill the creative well and offer a lot of inspiration. That’s why I’m glad I live in the time of streaming TV. I love being able to focus on just a handful of shows and watch them in close enough succession to see the story and character arcs in all their glory.

However, sometimes I don’t know which show to pick. There are so many now! In fact, one of these shows was selected for me by my reader group The Fearless Romantics when I went to them for suggestions. (And they were totally spot on!) So in case you suffer from the same affliction, I’m sharing some of the ones I’ve been loving lately and who I think they’d be a good fit for.

If you’re like me and missed the Buffy the Vampire Slayer phenomenon…

This was the show that my reader group overwhelmingly voted to be my next binge watch. Now, I obviously was aware of the show and had probably seen a few episodes randomly here and there back in the day. But season 1 premiered in March of 1997. That was two months before I graduated high school. I had so much going on during that time that I wasn’t in a place to pick up new TV shows. So I missed the train.

However, I’m so glad that I’m no longer out of that loop. I started watching season one in October 2018 and got through all 144 episodes this past Wednesday. That is a LOT of episodes, y’all, especially considering I only watched TV at night because I was drafting a book at the same time. But once I started, I couldn’t stop. The characters, the humor, the horror, and romance were all like TV crack to me. I should’ve known. I’ve always appreciated a good vampire story. I loved the True Blood series and the first few seasons of The Vampire Diaries (I still have seasons to catch up with on that one.) But I didn’t expect to get through these that quickly and to grow so attached.

That’s why I got enormously excited this week when I was browsing in a Barnes and Noble and randomly spotted the new Kiersten White book Slayer, which just came out and takes place in the Buffy universe. That came home with me.

So most of you are probably like, wow, how have you never watched this before? But if you’re like me and missed it, it’s a good one to dive into if you like supernatural shows. Some seasons are stronger than others, and don’t judge it by the first short season. I don’t think Joss Whedon took more control until the very end of season one. Things picked up after that.

My favorite seasons were seasons 2 and 3. I really loved season 6, too, until late in the season when they had a scene with my favorite character, Spike, acting in a way that didn’t make since for his character or the story arc. That pissed me off. I still loved the season, but that put a damper on it. The last season was just meh for me but still worth watching.

I’m now moving onto Angel, the spinoff, which has five seasons for me to enjoy. :)

Where to stream: Hulu

If you’re into snarky serial killers who think they’re in their own rom com movie…

The show YOU is based on a book of the same name by Caroline Kepnes, and I’m not sure how I first heard about it, but I’m glad I found it. Joe is a bookstore owner and seems to outsiders like an every day nice guy. He could be the Tom Hanks character in a rom com. That is, until you hear his inner thoughts, which are done voiceover style in the show, and he starts stalking a woman he’s interested in. Joe is a sociopath, but the beauty of this show/book is that he’s so snarky and smug (and kind to children), that he’s oddly likable. The female lead, on the other hand, isn’t all that likable so you kind of understand why Joe has issues with some of her actions. (Not that it justifies his behavior of course, lol.)

The show can be over the top and don’t watch with your kids nearby because it’s explicit, but it’s a compelling ride with a lot of tension and dark humor. I found that the middle of the season slowed a bit because it ventured a little too far into the over the top territory, but it picked up again toward the end. There will be a second season, but until then, I’ve picked up book 2 on audiobook.

Where to stream: I started watching YOU when it was streaming on Lifetime, but it has recently moved to Netflix, so it’s easy to access.

If you’re into edgy and smart yet endearing shows about the messiness of being a teenager…

Sex Education is a new show that just premiered on Netflix last week. I’ve already watched 6 of the 8 episode season if that tells you anything about how much I’m enjoying it. This is considered a “dramedy” and I’d say that’s an apt description but leans more to comedy. I’ve laughed out loud a lot for this one. It follows Otis, a teen whose mother is a sex therapist (played by Gillian Anderson.) He pairs up with the edgy outcast girl at his high school and they start charging other teens for sex therapy. Otis is awkward and adorable and earnest. You can’t help but be endeared. And his best friend and the female lead are equally as compelling. This kind of feels like if John Hughes movies had been explicit. It has that nostalgic quality, too, even though it’s set in present day. The show captures the awkwardness of being a teen full of hormones, insecurity, and angst. Warning: this show is explicit with nudity, sex, and language. Also, it’s British, so the accents can be a little bit of a challenge. My American ear needs to put on subtitles for this one to help. But I love this show and hope that it continues for many more seasons.

Where to stream: Netflix

If you need something that the whole family can enjoy…

My son and I always pick one or two sitcoms to watch together. It’s our thing. We started with The Goldbergs about two years ago, and when we caught up, we needed another one to binge together. It’s surprisingly hard to find sitcoms that are appropriate for an 11-year old and are also not “kid” shows that I won’t be into. The Middle has been the perfect choice post-Goldbergs. I missed this show during it’s regular run, but kidlet and I have been working our way through the seasons over the past year and we’ve reached the final season. We’re still in the beginning of season 9, but already I’m feeling sad that we’re getting to the end. This show has stayed consistently good through nine seasons, and you really do grow attached to the family. So if you’re looking for something the whole family can enjoy, this is a funny and heartwarming show that hits the spot.

Where to stream: Unfortunately this one isn’t on any subscription streaming service, though I think you can get some on ABC’s website.. You can set up to record reruns which I believe play on Freeform. But we ended up buying most of the seasons on Amazon. For some reason, Amazon didn’t have the last season so we had to buy it on VUDU.

So, that’s what I’m watching. What have you watched lately that you’d recommend? Anyone else watching any of the above?

My 2019 Planner and Journal Lineup

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First, before we get into the nitty gritty of all the planner goodness this year, I just want to remind everyone that The One You Fight For, book 3 in The Ones Who Got Away series, is out New Year’s Day! You don’t have to have read the first two to understand this one, though that will enrich the experience. I’m so excited to share this book with y’all. This one was a tough one to write because Taryn lost her sister in the school shooting fourteen years ago and Shaw, the hero, is the older brother of one of the shooters. This may be the most emotional romance I’ve ever written, but I promise you there’s a happy ending. ;)

So if you want to grab your copy now to have it on your doorstep this week, here are all the links. And right now the paperback is cheaper than the ebook, so you can get a copy for your shelf on the cheap!

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | Indiebound | Books-A-Million | Google Play

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The 2019 Planner and Journal Lineup

Now, on to the planners!

If you’ve followed me for any amount of time, you know that I’m obsessed with planners and journals. In a lot of ways, it’s my hobby, but they have the added bonus of actually being functional and making me more productive as well.

I’ve shown some pictures on Instagram of a few of my planners and journals for the year, but I had a number of people ask to explain what each one is and how I use it. So, ask and you shall receive! Let’s dive in.

My Every Day Hub - The Day Designer

This will be my third year using the Day Designer. Sometimes I stray, but this is the planner I keep coming back to for the day to day To Dos and scheduling. Beyond the pretty cover, this is not a colorful planner, which is a plus for me. I find that when I buy planners with color schemes, I get tired of the schemes pretty quickly. Day Designer’s white pages with gray print are perfect. I can keep them clean or I can decorate the hell out of them.

I also like that it’s one day per page. I find this helps me focus on just that day and not get distracted by the things coming up in the week.

Sometimes I use the time side to track my time. Other times I just use it to mark down if I have an appointment. But I use the To Do side daily. I also mark my daily word count in the “dollars” box. It’s a flexible system that I can change around as needed.

A clean page vs. decorated page:

My Done Planner

I went into the details of what a “done” planner is in this post, but basically, this is where I record what I’ve actually done in a week separated out by area of my life or business. I use a Happy Planner Teacher Planner and label the different areas of my life where teachers would label the different classes that they teach.

When I do something in the day, I mark down what I did in this planner. Is this necessary? Of course not. But I’ve found that it gives me a sense of accomplishment AND it also shows me how evenly (or not) I’ve distributed my time in a week. Have I ignored health stuff? Did I let my interaction with readers slip? It’s a good overview of where my time is actually going.

Goal Setting Planner: Powersheets & The HB90 Method

The Powersheets are not a traditional planner. There is no calendar in it. This is strictly a goal setting planner that guides you through a process to pick up to 10 goals for the year. You have the opportunity to update them quarterly. Then it also gives you a process each month to go through to set monthly, weekly, and daily goals. I have used this planner for two years and have one ready to go for this year. I tend to keep the tending sheet open on my desk so I can always see what goals I set for the month.

This year I also added author Sarra Cannon’s HB90 method of quarterly planning for authors and entrepreneurs. The Powersheets contain both work and personal goals. The HB90 system is strictly focused on three main work/business goals for the quarter. I have used this method for the last 5 months of this year (including the kanban board that she teaches you about in her class) and it’s been ridiculously effective for me. Sarra has a quarterly planner you can buy from Etsy and print out yourself. Her system walks you through everything to get you started. I keep these pages in my Done planner pictured above.

Honestly, I’m going to see how it goes this year, but Sarra’s system may make my Powersheets less necessary. I like that it gives me such a laser focus. However, I’ve already bought the Powersheets and still need a place to have personal/home goals, so we’ll see. I’ll report back later in the year if I’m keeping up with both of them.

Reading Journal

I have done a full post on the layout of my reading journal here. I also have a free downloadable reading journal if you want one you can print out. But I’ve kept my reading journal for three years and I LOVE IT SO HARD. Three years filled up one book, so I’m starting with a fresh Leuchtterm journal this year. The sticker on the front is a Happy Planner sticker.

And if you’re looking for something fun to add to your reading journal, check out my 2019 Read Wide Challenge!

My Movie, TV Series, and Concert Journal

This is a new addition for me. I have kept a list of movies I’ve watched and TV series I’ve completed in my reading journal for the past two years. But the simple list doesn’t tell me much. So this year, I’m dedicating a separate journal to record movie reviews, TV show reviews, and to mark down memories of the concerts I attend (because we attend a lot!) I haven’t worked out all the details of how I want to do this yet. I like the idea of writing down the names of my favorite episodes of a TV series for example. Or maybe writing down quotes. We’ll see how it goes. I’ll report back once I have a fully working system. :) But for now, I’ll be using this pretty dot grid journal that I received as a Christmas gift.

My Daily Memory Journal

This will also be a new addition this year. And y’all keep your fingers crossed for me. I’ve tried this before and haven’t been able to stick with it, so we’ll see. But I would like to keep a Hobonichi style journal, where I jot down memories or thoughts from the day and then either draw or put stickers in it. This isn’t going to be a deep contemplative journal. I already know I don’t do well with keeping up with those. This is more of a memory keeper, a simpler version of a scrapbook.

For this journal, I chose a Stalogy notebook because it’s about half the price of a Hobonichi Cousin and has similar paper. I’m keeping it in this notebook keeper since it has a soft cover.

The I-Bought-Them-On-Sale-and-Haven’t-Decided-Yet Planners

I’m weak in the face of 60% off. I haven’t decided what these beauties are for yet. One might become a planner for the family. The dark blue one may be pulled apart and merged with the Done planner since they are the same size. I got them so cheap that I don’t mind cannibalizing them to merge them into another. These are both from Happy Planner which you can buy online or at craft stores like Michael’s and JoAnn’s.

I would say “that’s it!” but that’s an understatement, I know. : ) I have a lot of planners. It works for me. I hope you found something in the mix that may work for you!

So what are you using for 2019? Anyone journaling?