Now I do it...

Today is March 8th and I just sat down to write out my personal, family and business goals for 2016. I used last years goals as my template and they were done on March 8th too. Freaky! As a personal productivity coach, I know first hand about setting goals and why it is important. I preach this to my clients. Yet, it took me this long to do mine. Why? Simple I hadn't made it a priority. Next year I am committing myself to having my goals done by January 8, 2017. I just ask my community to hold me accountable and email me on January 8th to make sure I have done it.

Wednesday's words....What is lick?

“"Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get.”" — Ray Kroc, founder of McDonalds

From my daughter

Her pad, her words, her misspelling (she is 10 y.o.)

In the Kitchen on Thursday: Easy Tacos—Turkey and black bean

1 lb. ground Turkey
1 can (14 oz.) black bean soup (I used Progresso)
2 Tbsp. Taco Seasoning
2-3 Tbps. Sunflower oil
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
Taco Shells
Toppings: Shredded lettuce, tomato, grated cheese, sour cream or plain yogurt, diced Avacado

Chop the onion and the garlic. Heat the oil in a 10" skillet. Add the onion and the garlic and cook for a few minutes. Add the meat and cook until it is browned. Open the can of soup and drain off 1/2 the liquid. Add this and the seasoning to the skillet and stir to combine. Let the soup heat through. Then, let each person make their own taco. Serves 4 (2 tacos each).

Neat and clean

I hired a professional organizer to help me make sense of my office which is now also my craft space and from the picture you can see we did good work, so I am thrilled and loving my neater bookshelf.

    

Wednesday's words...Red light, Green light....

"The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me." —Ayn Rand

“Effective time management not only helps to improve productivity but also helps you to achieve your goals. As an entrepreneur, one has a limited amount of time and needs to use it wisely.” —Dr. Subhash Chandra

Wednesday's words: Help yourself

"All the advice in the world will never help you until you help yourself." —Fried Von Amburgh

Wednesday's words on willpower

"The gift of willingness is the only thing that stands between the quiet desperation of the disingenuous life and the actualization of unexpressed potential." —Jim McDonald

Wednesday's words: The little engine that could...

"Whether you believe that you can or you believe you can't, you're right." —Henry Ford

Henry Ford Biography

Wednesday's words: Deadlines

"A goal without a date is just a dream." —Milton Erikson

Goals then and now.....

I wrote these goals for a trip back packing through the US Rockies with the National Outdoor Leadership school and now fast forward nearly 20 years and I am a productivity coach helping others achieve their goals.

(P.S. I should note that some of the goals on the list were not achieved because I was sent home after three weeks with knee problems that prevented me from continuing and despite this, I still consider this trip to be one my best life experiences.)

I did it, almost...

In my January newsletter, I talked about my resolution to lose weight, the five steps to make change lasting and how it takes 90 days to become "permanent", speculating that I would be 5 lbs. lighter on March 31st and in my February newsletter, I talked about developing the good habit of eating more vegetables to this end (and with my health coach, Marie, of the Family Plate, I am on my way) and so today I weighed in at 4 lbs. lighter (having gone up and down for the past three months, hence the health coach) and I am really proud of myself and intend to celebrate with a healthy lunch.

(If you are not receiving my newsletter and would like to, head on over to my home page and click the subscribe button on the lower left.)

Wednesday's words..."Yes, I can!"

According to an article in Good Housekeeping, "You control 40% of your outlook—and can train yourself to be an optimist."

Good Housekeeping

Wednesday's words: Try again

"Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'" —Mary Anne Radmacher

Killing two birds with one stone (the cliche that is)

Today I met with two real estate agents that I reached out to, so my business could be written about an upcoming newsletter that they produce for the neighborhood and they asked me also to be in the newsletter they are especially doing for Parent's Night Out, a fundraising event put on by the PTA for a local school (the one my daughter goes to) and I came home dancing because I have been searching for a way to reach the parent body of her school—that's right two newsletters and I get the parent body of a local school as an audience (I am all smiles and off to make black bean nachos for dinner)

Wednesday's words: Downhill "Skiing"

"If the going is easy, beware!. You may be going downhill." —Greg Taunt

Tuesday's Tip: Keep track of your finances

If you made a New Year's resolution to spend les,s then you need to do more than make a budget, you need to track what you spend in all your accounts (savings, checking and credit cards) to get the most accurate picture of your money habits (Hint: doing it online makes it easy; I know first hand).

For more on creating a budget....Truly Useful Budgeting

Tip: Sugar busting

I discovered (much too late) the way to bust my sugar habit is to throw it out, something I practiced today with leftover candy corn—to repurpose a famous saying "One small step for my weight loss needs, one giant step for my sugar problem." (I mean no disrespect to the astronauts who landed on the moon in 1969.)

Story of first US landing on the moon—Apollo 11

Wednesday's words: Size matters

"It is not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog." —Anonymous