T H E G O A L 30

 

Have you heard of this new hashtag sensation #TheGoal30? It started out on Instagram back in August by Diana Downsizes. I only discovered it myself a month ago. I was on Facebook and got sucked down a rabbit hole of links and google searches to find out what this phenomenon is all about.

After extensive research I have found #TheGoal30 is totally my jam. You make a list of 30 goals to complete in 30 days. They can be health/wellness related, crazy bucket list items, or simply things you have been putting off. Whatever you decide, they will be your priority for the next 30 days.

Let me tell you why I like this so much. It makes the journey to a better self fun. It takes the pressure off of only eating a certain way (whole 30, paleo, low-carb, blah blah blah) to get in better health. You make small goals to ride out for one day. If I think about doing no sugar for 30 days I mentally quit before I get started. Quitting sugar for one day, I can do that. Don't get me wrong, this is a challenge. You should treat it as such. List things beyond your comfort zone, but know this is an accumulation of small accomplishments every day that will lead to an end of the month HALLELUJAH!

NOVEMBER GOAL 30:
1. Drink 64oz Water
2. Walk 30+ minutes
3. Wake-Up at 6am
4. Shower & Dressed
5. No food after 8pm
6. No diet coke for 24 hours
7. No Sugar for 24 hours
8. Eat Greens at Every Meal
9. Try one new recipe a week
10. 24 hour fast - only water
11. Try a Yoga Class
12. Complete 30 day ab challenge
13. Try a new vegetable every week
14. Blog 3 days a week
15. Walk 20K steps one day
16. No diet coke for 48 hours
17. Meal Plan - Save $50 by EOM
18. Read 4 books
19. Paint 1 piece of Furniture
20. Journal Essential Oil Use Daily
21. Post daily to Instagram
22. 48 hour fast - only water
23. Avoid the scale for 30 days!
24. Start recipe box
25. Clean/Organize 1 area daily
26. Finish Two House Projects
27. Complete Two Bible Journal Entries
28. No sugar for 48 hours
29. Paint a Giant Mural
30. Learn a New Braiding Technique

My goals are all over the place for November. I wanted to have a little bit of everything. There are several that will need to be done every day. For those I have set reminders on my phone. I also plan on tracking my daily actions with this GOAL TRACKER. I will print one off for each goal and give myself a gold star each day I complete it.

Will you join me? What do you want to complete in the NEXT 30 DAYS?

Comment below or Join me on Facebook for further discussion.

10 MOTIVATING JIM ROHN QUOTES

For those of you who don't know, I run my own business. I absolutely love being a business owner. It is work, but it is so much fun. A true blessing.

One of the reasons I love my job is because I am required to read. As you may have figured out, I really love to do that. Like REALLY love to read. One of my favorite business inspirations is Jim Rohn. I have been reading his books and listening to his lectures on YouTube the past few weeks.

Y'all! He is so incredibly inspirational, motivating, encouraging, direct, and all things in between. You don't have to be a business owner to appreciate his words. His words are life words. If you are a dreamer and have some big life goals these quotes will help motivate and encourage you to do what it takes to get it done.

Here are 10 of my favorite quotes by Jim Rohn. My favorite one, and the one that motivates me the most is, "Wisdom and Faith are Useless Until Deposited into Activity".

It speaks to me because I am a reader. I am a knowledge hoarder. I love to learn. The problem is learning does nothing for me if I don't apply it and put it into activity. If I don't act, my life doesn't change. I can learn about Faith and how amazing it is, but if I don't ACT on FAITH, what am I doing?

I would love to know your favorite quote and why. Stay tuned for more roundups like this of other authors and speakers I admire.

DIY Duck Tape Pencil Box

School starts next week. I'm excited. I don't want to start celebrating too soon. We do have one more week of summer to enjoy, however, I am ready.

While we are all in school prep mode I thought I would re-post my Duck Tape Pencil Box tutorial. It was a simple craft you can do in an afternoon. We still use them and the art caddy 4 years later!

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My sister posted photos today on Facebook of my niece's first day of kindergarten. I almost cried. Landon is in preschool this year. I guess I got all emotional seeing my little niece going to school for the first time and thinking about Landon's turn next year.

They grow up too fast.

The neighborhood park is located right by the elementary school and Landon tells me every time we are there that he will be going to that school next year. I think he is getting pumped up about it. It makes me think that I will be crying more than he will on the first day.

When I found out I would have the opportunity to buy Duck Tape at Walmart and create something school related I decided to head in the "art class" direction. I went crazy at Wal-Mart and bought a wide array of school supplies to help him stay creative. Although lately, all he has been drawing is maps, tons, and tons of maps.

I made these cute little pencil boxes out of the single sheets of duck tape. I felt a lot of the patterns available were a little on the girlie side, but I fell in love with the mustache print. Duck tape has definitely come a long way since being the fix it all tape. Now its the create it all tape.

These little boxes are very simple to make. Here's what you need to do.

1. Cut your duck tape down to the correct size.

I basically cut the tape in half. There are grid lines on the back so you can get a straight line easily.

One grid line is the perfect width to hold pencils, markers, etc...

2. Mark your cut line and cut.

You need to make slits on each side to create the edges. You just need to cut one square deep.

3. Fold and tape the sides.

Remove the backing of the duck tape one side at a time. What you are going to do is tuck the base flap into the side flap and re-seal it. When you do the opposite side, just overlap the tape on top to create the case.

You will end up with something like this. Don't worry if you don't get it perfectly straight the first time (or the second like me), you can pull it apart and readjust easily.  Repeat this on the other side.

I taped one to the top of a notebook too. It is perfect for a quick grab and go in the car.

To keep all of his new supplies organized I corralled them all in this caddy I bought at Wal-Mart for $1 and used toilet paper rolls wrapped in duck tape to keep the supplies standing upright.

Landon has been carrying this thing around everywhere. I knew he would like it, but I didn't think this much. Ever since I put it together he has been drawing up a storm (maps, maps, maps) while I am making dinner. Which is totally amazing by the way.

I could easily use duck tape on every school supply to create a matching ensemble. Notebooks, folders, pens, you name it. It almost makes me want to be in school again.

For more creative duck tape ideas be sure to follow them on twitter @TheDuckBrand

Are you ready for the new school year? How do you keep it creative?

Set a Budget and Financial Goals #GoodbyeSurvivalMode

We are reading Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine. You can catch up to all of the posts in our archives or join the discussion in the book club.

Finances are a very interesting topic for me. I don't know what category I belong in. I don't know if I am a saver or a spender. Here's why. I'm frugal. I don't like to spend an extraordinary amount of money for things. Paying full price for something is painful. It shouldn't be done. Spending an extreme amount of cash on a handbag or jewelry seems silly. However, I'm not much of a saver. Money burns a hole in my pocket. If I have a surplus of funds, I will find something to spend it on. Even if I don't need it.

I would love to completely overhaul my value of money. I want to be a saver and seek purchases that are meaningful. Stay clear of the clearance sections and dollar bins at Target. Oh, how I love the $1 spot. All the heart eyes.

I like what Crystal said - 

Spend Smart | Save Smart | Give Smart

We should all strive for this.

So many of us are living paycheck to paycheck and without a proper budget. We have a budget for MOST expenses. The buck stops at gifts, clothes, shoes, haircuts, and other items that don't come up monthly. It adds up quickly y'all. 

Today we are going to fine tune our budgets and set some financial goals. You may have already started this if your finances were one of your priorities. 

>> BUDGET WORKSHEETS <<

To give you a few ideas, here are a few of my goals.

1. Create an Emergency Fund

2. Disney or Tropical Vacation (you know, the kind when you don't worry about $$ and pay way too much for everything)

3. New Car

4. Down Payment for a House

What else did you learn in this chapter? I would love to hear your takeaways and saving goals.

JOIN US IN THE BOOK CLUB TO SHARE YOUR BUDGET PLANS

>>> FACEBOOK GROUP/BOOK CLUB <<<

Reach Goals with Small, Daily Habits #GoodbyeSurvivalMode

We are reading Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine. You can catch up to all of the posts in our archives or join the discussion in the book club.

Have you noticed how each day/chapter builds off of the last?

We made our list of priorities.

We created goals based off those priorities.

Now, we are going to start building habits to achieve our goals.

I love how she broke this down. I feel like it is completely manageable vs outrageously impossible.

What is your plan of attack with this challenge?

I am going to take a look at my goals and list 5 new habits for each category.

For example - Health: Drink more water. Once I master water (should be easy, right? Ha!), I will move on to the next habit on the list.  Just like we are building daily with our priorities and goals, I will build my habits.

The key is to start slow and stay focused. Don't try to do too much at one time. When the habit becomes something you do without thinking, then move on to the next thing.

I wonder how many bad habits I will be able to eliminate in the process. Lord knows I have a lot of those.

What habits are you going to start in order to reach your goals?

JOIN US IN THE BOOK CLUB TO SHARE YOUR NEW HABITS

>>> FACEBOOK GROUP/BOOK CLUB <<<

How to Create S.M.A.R.T. Goals #GoodbyeSurvivalMode

We are reading Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine. You can catch up to all of the posts in our archives or join the discussion in the book club.

Nerd Alert. I love goals. 

I set goals every day. It's called my to do list. Aren't those essentially daily goals?

My problem with goals is I don't always set SMART ones. I make lists of various things I want to accomplish at some point before I die.

It doesn't work that way. Correction, it will NEVER work that way.

SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound.

Today we will take all of our priorities and create goals for each one. Crystal has created amazing worksheets you can download on her blog.

>> DOWNLOAD GOAL WORKSHEETS <<

I will be focusing on my health, business, blog, finances, family, faith, and personal development. This is why we need goals broken down into small bites. Seeing it all listed out is very overwhelming.

Let's take this discussion into the book club (or comments) and begin mapping out our SMART Goals. Maybe we can share and help hold each other accountable. Deal?

JOIN US IN THE BOOK CLUB TO SHARE YOUR GOALS!

>>> FACEBOOK GROUP/BOOK CLUB <<<

How to Create and Maintain a Daily Schedule #GoodbyeSurvivalMode

We are reading Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine. You can catch up to all of the posts in our archives or join the discussion in the book club.

Yesterday we made a list of our priorities. Today we are going to read and discuss only saying yes to things that align with those priorities.

This will not be an easy challenge. You may think it will, but it won't. It will take effort and will be achieved over time.

Let's start by hashing out a schedule and routine. I have set a schedule before. It has since changed of course. I don't know if anything ever stays the same for too long when you have kids.

This is what a typical day looks like for me. If you think I have mastered getting up at 5:00am yet, you are wrong. I'm still working on that one. Right now I am getting up at 6:00am. I'm trying y'all!

This schedule covers all of my priorities. I do a little bit of each priority creating some balance. Now to master the 5am wake-up call. It will be worth it once I do. That is almost 3 hours of alone time before the rest of the house starts to rise. If you are a night person, your schedule may be the opposite. 

Don't forget to give yourself margin too. I have left a few 30 minute blocks for running late or last minute errands. It happens. I also left my morning as "project of the day" instead of something specific. This way I can work on blog/home projects, run errands, or do my usual cleaning routine. I can go with the flow. You can view my cleaning routine here. 

When you create your schedule be realistic and start by adding your non-negotiable - your priority list. Put the items that will require the most effort earlier in your day. I love working out in the morning and getting my shower in before anyone else is awake. Then I am ready for wherever the day takes me.

1. Schedule the "Best Stuff" first - Use Your Priority List

2. Create schedule using 30 minutes time blocks

3. Add in buffer (margin) time and plan for the unexpected.

Once you have your day mapped out you can start focusing on specific routines. I am still in the process of mapping out my daily work routine. It seems to be the most complicated. When I finally made a cleaning routine/schedule my life got so much easier. You must create one! We can dig deeper into routines in the Facebook Group. 

JOIN US IN THE BOOK CLUB TO SHARE YOUR DAILY SCHEDULE!

>>> FACEBOOK GROUP/BOOK CLUB <<<

Streamline Your Life #GoodbyeSurvivalMode

We are reading Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine. You can catch up to all of the posts in our archives or join the discussion in the book club.

Have you ever heard of the saying "You can do anything, but not everything"?

It is very true. I know I am capable of doing anything I want to do. I have a lot of skills. I consider myself pretty smart too. This concept however, I can't seem to understand. I still think I can say yes to everything and anything and keep myself sane.

Not only do I lose myself when I say yes to everyone else, I lose sight of my priorities. What do I value? Where should my focus be?

Chapter One of Say Goodbye to Survival Mode is all about realizing your priorities. Once you know your priorities you will be able to streamline your life.

My priorities didn't take long to figure out. They align with Crystal's list. I'm not surprised. She had a great list.

1. Grow and deepen my relationship with Jesus
2. Date my Husband
3. Spend Quality time with my kids - unplugged and tuned in to them ONLY
4. Self Care - Exercise, Rest, Reading, etc...
5. Maintain a Clean and Healthy Home
6. Grow my Essential Oil Business and My Blog

This list is basic. I pray as my business and children grow I will have more time to volunteer and help out my community. Right now I have small children that need my attention. Know, that your list can change as you do. Nothing has to be set in stone. Maybe at some point I will be able to hire a house cleaner and I can add something new to my plate. Right now, the house cleaning belongs to me.

I am currently working on my priorities in bits and pieces. I feel like I am always spinning plates waiting for one of them to fall. In order to keep the balance I need to create new habits and only say yes to things that align to my priorities. We will learn about this in the next chapter.

What were your takeaways from Chapter One?

JOIN US IN THE BOOK CLUB TO SHARE YOUR PRIORITY LIST!

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Say Goodbye to Survival Mode

Friends. I'm switching gears for a moment. I know I need to finish up the FerVent series. There is a reason I named my blog "Bored Again" Life. I tend to get bored and off course easily. I promise, I will go back and finish talking about that amazing book.

In the meantime, here's the deal. I am a hot mess right now. Every day I feel like I am struggling to keep my head above water. I need help. I need some additional guidance and direction. Tips, words of wisdom, something, anything to get me moving in the right direction. I picked up this book at the library and I have been praising Jesus ever since I started reading it. I decided we must take a break and talk about it.

We all NEED to read this book and start implementing her strategies.

If you are stressed, off balance, tired, and out of patience PLEASE grab SAY GOODBYE TO SURVIVAL MODE.

Over the next two weeks I will be sharing my takeaways from her book. I'm looking forward to hearing how you have adjusted your life to finally break free from survival mode!

|  CHAPTERS  |

1. Stop Trying to Do It All

2. Say Yes to the Best

3. If You Aim at Nothing, You'll Hit It Every Time

4. Discipline Is Not a Bad Word

5. Be Intentional With Your Bank Account

6. Manage the Home Front

7. When You Feel Like a Failure

8. Yes, You Can Make a Difference

9. Sometimes It Is About You

10. Kick-Start Your Success

JOIN US IN THE BOOK CLUB TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

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Plant Your Own Gardens - Jorge Luis Borges

STRATEGY FOUR: YOUR FAMILY

We all know mommin' ain't easy. The struggle is real. So many wants and demands coming at you all the time. I have gotten into the habit of asking God for wisdom, patience, strength, and grace to serve my family every day. You would be amazed at how much better my day is just by asking for those simple things. As I mentioned in the Identity post, that is my job, my current command. There is more to who I am than being a mother and wife. This season of life, however, is the majority of my make-up. I pour so much of myself into my family every day. It should be no surprise they are the prime target for the enemy attacks.

How often do we allow the enemy to get into our heads? Convince us that our family is not treating us as they should? Make us feel like we aren't doing a good job with our family?

He will do anything to destroy the happiness we have created in our home.

It doesn't take much in my house to disturb the peace. One rough night of homework or a few dirty dishes left in the sink is all we need to start fueling a fire.

Having a strong family bond is important. It is also a lot of HARD work. We have to fight for our families every day  - We have to fight for our husbands - We have to fight for our kids.

Too often I find myself fighting with them and not for them.

I love this quote above. Take the fight out of our living room and to our prayer room!

Have you ever bowed your head or dropped to your knees in the middle of an argument? You can freeze time and start praying right then. What would you pray for? 

That is your Family Prayer Strategy. Right there in the heat of it, what do you need God to do? Instead of asking in the midst of the fight, we need to pray at the beginning of our day. We need to ask God to protect our house. To keep this bad junk out! 

Get out your journals and start writing out your prayer strategy. Some of the verses I added to my journal are:

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus - 2 Timothy 2:1

She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong - Proverbs 31:17 

I actually have the whole Proverbs 31 verse written down in my journal as a daily reminder of the kind of mother, wife, woman I am supposed to be.

JOIN US IN THE BOOK CLUB TO SHARE YOUR PRAYER STRATEGY!

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