Mother’s Day Gift Guide: For the Mom with a Business or Sidehustle!
Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and it’s time to start thinking about the perfect gift for the special mom in your life. But if that mom is also a boss lady who runs a business or is building her side hustle, finding the right gift can be a little more challenging. So, I asked my master mind sister’s for help! Many of them are mom’s who either run their own business full or part time, so they know exactly what to get mom to make her and her dreams feel loved and supported. With their suggestions in hand I’ve created a gift guide inspired by the real Boss Mom’s of the Charmed Life Master Mind, to help you find the perfect present to help mom grow her business and take her side hustle to the next level. From practical tools to inspirational needs, these gifts will not only show her how much you care but will also support her entrepreneurial spirit. So, without further ado, let’s dive into our top picks for the perfect Mother’s Day gifts for the boss mom in your life.
Gift Mom the Ultimate Planning and Productivity Tool for Her Business: The iPad
When I asked the Boss Mom’s inside the Charmed Life Master Mind what they wanted to be gifted for Mother’s Day, many of them were in agreement- they wanted digital planning tools! It’s definitely a bit of an investment, but mom absolutely deserves a tool that will support her business on multiple levels and she will put the iPad to good use. If you aren’t sure which model to purchase, I think a good overall business option would be the iPad Air with an Apple Pencil so she can get the most from the device. And don’t forget a case so she can tuck her iPad into her bag to work and plan on the go!
Gift the Mom Boss in Your Life some Peace and Quiet
Another gift idea that came up a few times from the mom’s inside the Charmed Life Master Mind were noise cancelling headphones. Especially if mom works at home, she could really use a pair of headphones to help her disconnect from the chaos around her so she can get focused on her work and creative ideas. The ladies also love the idea of a set of soft sided headphones for sleep, so mom can turn on her favorite guided meditation or sleep ambience at bed time and get a full night’s rest.
The final category of gift ideas that came from the mom’s inside the Charmed Life Master Mind were gifts related to helping mom create a comfortable and functional office to work in. So, if the mom in your life doesn’t have her own dedicated space to work, consider how you can support her passion and carve out that space for her.
I hope you found this Mother’s Day gift guide helpful in finding the perfect present for the boss mom in your life. Whether she’s running her own business or building her side hustle, these gifts will surely help her stay productive and inspired. From the versatile iPad to the ergonomic office chair, these items are not only practical but also stylish, making her workspace a place where she can feel comfortable and confident. So go ahead, surprise her with one of these thoughtful gifts, and show her how much you appreciate all the hard work she puts into her endeavors. Happy Mother’s Day to all the boss moms out there!
Ambition is a key ingredient to success, and for women, being ambitious is crucial in breaking through gender barriers and achieving their dreams. Highly ambitious women are those who are driven, focused, and committed to reaching their goals, no matter what challenges they may face along the way. Ambitious women know that success is built on good habits and they are always on the lookout for ways to improve. Let’s explore 10 habits of highly ambitious women that can help you develop a mindset of success and step into the highest and best version of your own ambitious self!
They Set Clear Goals:Highly ambitious women set clear and specific goals for themselves. They know what they want to achieve and they create a plan of action to get there. Setting clear goals helps them stay focused and motivated, and provides a roadmap for success.
They Take Action:Ambitious women take action towards their goals every day. They understand that success is not just about dreaming, but also about doing. They are proactive in seeking out opportunities and taking calculated risks to move closer to their goals.
They Are Lifelong Learners:Highly ambitious women are always learning and growing. They seek out new knowledge, skills, and experiences that will help them succeed. They are open to feedback and use it to improve themselves and their work.
They Manage Their Time Wisely:Ambitious women are experts at time management. They prioritize their tasks and focus on the most important ones first. They also know how to delegate and outsource tasks to free up their time for more important projects.
They Surround Themselves with Positive Influences:Ambitious women surround themselves with people who inspire and motivate them. They seek out mentors, coaches, and peers who can support them and offer guidance when needed.
They Embrace Failure:Highly ambitious women understand that failure is a natural part of the success journey. They don’t let setbacks hold them back, but instead use them as opportunities to learn and grow.
They Practice Self-Care:Ambitious women know that taking care of themselves is crucial to their success. They prioritize self-care activities such as exercise, meditation, and getting enough rest to ensure that they have the energy and focus needed to achieve their goals.
They Build Strong Relationships:Highly ambitious women build strong and meaningful relationships with others. They are effective communicators and know how to build trust and rapport with their colleagues, clients, and partners.
They Are Resilient:Ambitious women are resilient and persistent. They don’t give up easily and are willing to persevere through challenges and obstacles in order to achieve their goals.
They Give Back:Highly ambitious women believe in giving back to their communities and making a positive impact in the world. They are passionate about helping others and use their success to inspire and empower others to reach their own goals.
If you are an ambitious woman with her sights set on creating her own online business for time, location and financial freedom, I have a new resource I’d love to share with you!
E M P I R E is a new FREE business master course intended to help ambitious women learn what it takes to start a lasting business online that gives them the time, location and financial freedom to live their best lives.
Whether you are a career woman who knows she is too creative for a 9 to 5 job, a working mom who wants to create passive income streams so she can work from home and spend more quality time with her family, or simply an ambitious goal getter who knows she could be earning more with less time and effort if she worked for herself, YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT PLACE TO FINALLY MAKE YOUR DREAM BUSINESS YOUR REALITY!
✔︎ You have reviewed your progress from 2022, celebrated your wins, made peace with your shortcomings and let go of anything you don’t need to take with you into 2023.
✔︎ You know what your goals are for 2023 for both your personal life and business.
✔︎ You have a plan laid for what you need to do to make your goals happen and have set aside the time to complete the work.
✔︎ You feel like your life is together. Like the successful, productive and organized person you know you are.
2023 IS YOUR YEAR!
→ You can walk into 2023 with a well organized plan to get things done OR no plan and not enough time for you to finish your to do list.
→ You can have a balanced daily routine with room for all the areas of your life OR feel rushed and overwhelmed day to day pushing aside your personal goals yet again in favor of other priorities.
→ You can live life at an intentional and productive pace OR deprive yourself of sleep, space and self care to cram in every single task for the day.
Which situation would you prefer?
MAKING 2023 YOUR BEST YEAR YET IS YOUR CHOICE!
I know which choice I would prefer, which is why for the past decade I have intentionally dedicated time at the turn of the New Year to set my goals, map my plans and get my life and vision organized!
And guess what?
Because I spend a little time planning my vision for the year, I achieve more with less time and less stress.
I want you to embrace this process as well because I know first hand through my own experiences, as well as working with hundreds of women from my community, that this works!
And I believe you intuitively know this works as well, but you just haven’t found a system and a process that yields consistent results for you.
That’s why it’s time you choose THIS IS YOUR YEAR!
THIS IS YOUR YEAR is my step by step process for outlining your vision, setting the right goals and breaking those goals out into actionable steps you can take throughout the year to achieve those goals and experience your best year!
THIS IS YOUR YEAR is a series of four goal setting workshops, replays of live classes I taught exclusively to my inner circle master mind, that will help you organize and prepare your life and business for a productive year ahead.
The bundle includes the video modules, slides, workbooks, my 2023 You Got Goals Planner, and bonus guided meditations.
I’VE ALSO JUST ADDED A NEW BONUS MODULE TO THE BUNDLE
The 2023 VISION BOARD PARTY Workshop | Learn how to create and use a Vision Board to manifest your goals this year. This video module teaches you the neuroscience of how Vision Boards work, provides the step by step for how to create your own, and explains what to put on your Vision Board based on your unique personality. The video module also includes a Vision Board Builder PDF that you can print and use to add style and intention to your Vision Board!
THIS IS YOUR YEAR IS EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS IN 2023!
And I want to remind you that there is nothing wrong with you and your life right now!
You are not lacking.
You are not behind.
You don’t need to change your life based on external expectations or comparisons.
You are completely whole and worthy right now exactly as you are.
If you are like me, I truly crave the feeling of ease and comfort of knowing that I have a plan for the year that allows me time for work and space to play.
I love my life, I experience deep gratitude for it, and at the same time, I want to experience more of what life has to offer me.
There is nothing wrong with being grateful for what you have and at the same time desiring more or even different experiences.
I set personal goals because I want to better myself and create a better life for myself and those around me.
I set business goals because I want to reach and help more women like you identify and experience their potential in life as well.
But those experiences don’t happen by accident.
You need a vision, a direction and a plan to fit them into your life.
It’s that time of year again!! The holiday season is approaching and it’s time to shop for gifts for the special people in your life. I love giving gifts- it’s one of my love languages and so I love creating gift guides with new and creative ideas to help you find something unique and functional for the people on your list.
I have created a new gift guide specifically geared towards planning and productivity presents that you can give to a planner lover, co-worker, or female entrepreneur you are buying for this year. Or of course, you could forward this gift guide on to the people who are buying for you this year if you see some things you like and resonate with.
These gifts are priced across the board- some are more of a splurge and some are stocking stuffer price. Most of them are $50 or less so they are pretty reasonable gifts.
I love a good facial roller tool and this five in one option is a great way to make the most of multiple tools to help de-puff, sculpt and sooth your face. Use this massager to relax your muscles, apply serums and tone your face through lymphatic drainage massage. This is a great tool to use morning or night, or anytime you want to relax and pamper yourself.
Stop drinking your daily coffee or tea from clunky old mugs and elevate your daily experience with this set of 6 cups with saucers and stirrers. It’s a beautiful set with classic and luxurious lines that will bring some extra elegance and refinement to your workday. Just add your favorite biscotti or croissant!
This chic leather cover can be used to protect your choice of planner or notebook in a compact and secure housing. I love the way a zip cover keeps it’s contents protected, especially on the go and I am particularly enamored with this dark green teal color. This is a gift that makes a major impact on your style, planning and productivity.
An acrylic dry erase board is a perfect accessory for your kitchen, home organization station or office. Use it for notes, announcements, meal planning or reminders.
This adorable cube desk timer is the perfect productivity tool to help keep you on track and working in short bursts or blocks of time. Set the timer before you start a task to track how long it takes for planning purposes, and use the timer to set aside time to get started on a project or task you’ve been putting off.
These Beats Fit Pro Wireless Bluetooth EarPods have been my go to for both work and play. The noise cancelation technology helps me to stay productive while I work and listen to my favorite lo-fi jams. They are wonderful for working out and physical activities, and I love to wear them while I listen to a meditation or relax in the bathtub. Plus the color palette on the Beats x Kim Kardashian collection are gorgeous!
I think my number one most used planning and note taking accessory, aside from a pen, has to be dual tip highlighters. I use them to highlight dates and information, to create check boxes for tasks and to block off time in my daily schedule. I love this set of neural and pastel highlighters because they create a relaxing tone inside your planner as opposed to traditional neon highlighters that look like strobe lighting and often give me a headache looking at it for too long.
If you are looking for an affordable and chic notebook or bullet journal, the CEO Journal has everything you need to organize and plan in one simple bound book. The undated pages allow you to select the date and organize information with the help of a square grid. The pages are numbered for you to keep an index if you’d like to track important spreads or information. And yes, it does fit nicely into the Pebbled Leather Zip cover linked above!
If you are an iced coffee or tea fan and have not heard about the HyperChiller yet, I am about to blow your mind. Fill the dual chambers of this unit with water, let it freeze in your freezer and then whatever hot or boiling liquid you pour into the chiller will cool down in one to two minutes. No more watering down hot beverages to get them cool. This is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets, no wires, no batteries or electricity needed. Just water, your freezer and a hot beverage to chill down.
I love this marble desk pad- I don’t think I could work at a desk without one of these desk pads anymore because they act as decoration, a mousepad and a soft place to rest your hands. I have a few of these desk pads with different patterns on them and I switch them out for the seasons to give my home office and desk a new vibe.
As someone who works from home, I have a lot of productivity tools that I tote around the house with me whenever I decide to work from outside my office. I love these little jelly baskets because the large size fits my laptop, planner, notebook, phone, headphones, pens, highlighters and more so I can take my home office into any room of my house. I call it my mobile office basket and if you work from home, either full time or even part time, you will love having a simple tote like this to use to corral your things securely instead of trying to carry everything by hand yourself.
If you are looking to get the most from your planner system, you absolutely need to learn the Functional Planning Methodology and this book is the official handbook that covers everything you need to know to set up, organize and use your planner to manage your life, plus tips on how to stay motivated and productive through the day.
I love filling my home with candles, but as a pet owner, it isn’t always the safest to have candles burning throughout my home. So, using a candle warmer is a must and these warmer lamps are the perfect blend of style and function to give you some extra home decor, and a safe way to use your candles without lighting them.
If you want to be a more productive and successful person, you absolutely need to start a journaling practice. I think getting your thoughts out of your head and into paper is so important, and especially keeping track of your thoughts and self-talk are a major factor in what you manifest and bring to fruition in your life. This journal will help you manifest more money and abundance into your life through a daily journaling practice where you get clear on what you want, your own value and your plan for making things happen in your life.
These remote controlled flameless LED candles are the perfect addition to your bedroom, home office or bathroom. They are a safe way to create mood lighting and help you get cozy at home, helping you to relax and destress from a busy day.
If you are a planner and productivity lover I know you have a thing for pretty pens. This set of neutral matte gel pens is very aesthetic and certain to help you create a planning or journaling routine that fits your energy and vibe. Why use ugly pens when you can use a chic option like these?
I don’t personally use a desktop computer with a separate monitor, but I have seen so many videos and examples of people using these monitor memo boards and I think they make an awesome accessory for your home or office. You can attach this set of memo boards to the side of your monitor to organize sticky notes or to use as a dry erase. And I bet you could use these on other surfaces besides your monitor. You could affix these to the sides of a mirror in your bathroom, your refrigerator or cabinets in your kitchen- anywhere you need to organize notes and some information- these adhesive memo boards would work!
I know these self-adhesive business card pockets seem so random for a gift guide, but they are actually one of my new favorite planner supplies. My planner cover doesn’t have a ton of business card holders built in, and so I have been sticking these pockets onto dashboards on my planner to organize business cards. I don’t use mine for business cards, instead I use them for planning/journaling cards to decorate my planner and to add a little more inspiration.
As someone who is more into using my planner for function than decoration, I don’t use very many accessories in my planner. However, another one of my planner must haves are this set of neural transparent tabs. I use these to mark pages in my planner for reference and also to write out a note or reminder for my planner before it is set in stone. I love the colors in this set and that it includes pointed and squared edge options. I also use these tabs when reading in physical books or to notate documents I am reviewing or editing.
I know it might seem odd to see an acrylic makeup and skincare organizer on this gift guide, but there are a few reasons I wanted to include this. First of all, getting ready in the morning or getting un-ready at the end of the day is an essential part of your daily routine and having your necessities organized and visible like this helps you to remember to do this important self care each day. Also- I think this organizer would also be awesome to use in your office to store stationery and planner supplies. Think of this as a beautiful display case for your office with all your favorite stationery organized inside.
I hope you have enjoyed this gift guide and that it gave you some great inspiration for this holiday season!
A number of you have reached out to ask me about my crystals and I wanted to share some thoughts on them with everyone!
Yes, I have a nice little collection of crystals in my office that are one part decor and one part metaphysical tool.
Why I Love Crystals
By no means do I believe that crystals have some magical properties but this is what I do believe about them:
❖ Like everything on earth crystals are made from the same energy we are. See Einstein E=MC2 energy creates matter.
❖ The most precious chemical element to human life, water, can take the form of crystal. Ice is a crystalline form of water, humans are made mostly of water, and therefore I believe it is possible that crystals can exert some influence on us.
❖ Quartz crystals are the technology that make timepieces possible. Your watch, if it’s not digital, likely has quartz elements because quartz crystals maintain a precise frequency standard which helps regulate the movement of a watch or clock. For this reason I think they have a unique way of storing a regulating energy.
❖ Crystals are a naturally occurring element and I love the idea of bringing nature into our lives as much as possible.
❖ Crystals come in a variety of colors which according to color therapy can shift our moods in different situations if used strategically.
❖ Crystals are lovely objectives to focus on during meditation and can help uplift the experience overall. For that reason I tend to collect stones that are easy to hold in the hand, but I would love to add some larger statement pieces to my collection as well.
For those reasons I am a great lover of crystals and do believe they offer some metaphysical benefits to our lives even if it’s just a beautiful element of home decor. I understand that science hasn’t been able to prove any definitive benefit to their use, but science can’t explain a lot of things that humans do or believe so it’s not the end of the world to me that I might think they have a special power or meaning beyond what can be measured or observed.
Where I get my crystals
I purchase a lot of my crystals on Etsy, but I also follow accounts in IG that sell them too. I highly recommend doing your research on the shops you purchase from, read reviews, etc, and I also recommend researching the meanings and usage of different crystals or stones before you buy them so you select pieces that are special to you.
Today I want to set the record straight on an often controversial and misunderstood aspect of productivity; multi-tasking!
As a society, we get a lot of mixed messages on multi-tasking. The American #hustle culture projects a narrative that your productivity is measured by the number of tasks you can check off your to do list in a day, and that busy is the ultimate sign of success.
Everyday I see images on television and social media that glorify doing multiple tasks at one time, apparently a sign that you are using your time efficiently?
I see posts on Instagram about how you can sleep when you’re dead and how humorous it is that career professionals in their 20s and 30s have no time for their social lives.
Blowing off your friends and family to sleep because you’re burnt out from work is a right of passage.
Having to drink a bottle of wine or take prescription sleep aids in order to get rest at night is the accepted norm.
But despite all the social signals that working non stop and doubling or tripling up on tasks is the way to go if you want to look like a successful human, productivity research is very clear that when you try to do more than one thing at a time, you are going to do both of those things poorly. In fact, studies show multi-tasking decreases productivity up to 40%.
Now, if the tasks you are working on are not very important and don’t require any skill or level of precision, then by all means, multi-task away.
I’m all for listening to your favorite podcast episodes while you fold the laundry or do the dishes.
I very often listen to a book on tape or catch up on YouTube videos when I’m in the bath.
There are some things you can do adequately at the same time.
For instance, I use essential oils and listen to a guided meditation when I’m trying to fall asleep at night. It’s a wonderful way to stack healthy sleep habits to ensure a restful night’s slumber.
But when it comes to tasks that do matter. Tasks for work or business, attending meetings or calls, and even relaxing or spending time with loved ones, you really should focus on the task at hand if you want to see and feel results.
I’ve learned from much trial and error that I can’t listen to a non-fiction book while I’m working or else I won’t do much work or I won’t remember what I’ve learned from the book. I can’t have it both ways, I can only focus on one important thing at a time if I want to do it right.
I can’t attend a Zoom meeting and try to do anything more than take notes if I actually want to absorb the information from the call. And even in this case, while I’m taking notes I often miss new information that is being mentioned.
Multi-tasking just doesn’t work on the important things because humans need to focus in order to learn or create.
Sure, you can work on multiple tasks a day, but you can’t work on multiple tasks at one time.
So, I advocate for focus. For doing one thing at a time, giving it your full attention, and doing the thing very well.
When you do this, focus on one thing at a time, at first you might experience a bit of fear because all your attention and pressure are on one task.
Some of you I’d bet have been multi-tasking not simply to get more done in a day, but to actually keep you from going all in on certain work.
Multi-tasking relieves the pressure of perfectionism for some people because you know deep down inside that you just want to rush through certain tasks and get them over with. Multi-tasking can be a type of distraction for us, and a boundary that keeps us from doing our best work at the same time.
Done is better than perfect, right?
Well, it depends on the context.
You can do two things at once, check the box on them and move on to the next thing without even stopping to evaluate if the work was necessary or impactful.
So many of us check the box on tasks with the expectation that it is going to move the needle on an objective or goal, but we give up because we don’t see the fruits of our labor. Perhaps, if we had focused on one thing at a time and did our best with each, we would have seen the impact we were expecting.
This brings to mind the example of working out alone versus working out with a trainer. Working out alone of course benefits our health, but it’s been shown that working out with a trainer gives greater results because the trainer is there to ensure you are holding proper form and putting in a full effort for your time. When we work out alone, sure, some of us may be disciplined enough to remain in proper form or push ourselves to the limit each workout, but truthfully, most of us are just trying to get thru the experience rather than doing it right. We have a belief that just finishing is enough, and when we don’t see the results we expected after weeks of effort, we give up.
What if we just put in the full effort and gave the task our full focus to begin with?
Well, then we would start seeing results that would likely blow us away.
Wouldn’t that be a nice feeling for once?
So, from now on, let’s hold ourselves accountable for doing one thing at a time when it comes to tasks that are important or are tied to our goals and objectives.
It’s fine to multi-task in small ways on mindless tasks that don’t have a significant effect on our lives, but when you do, take note of whether you got all you expected from your experience, and if you feel unfulfilled you know not to multi-task on that item again in the future.
Today, I want to share 5 Productive Work From Home Lunch Break Ideas with you all.
We are about to commemorate one year in our global pandemic lockdown, and at this point, most of us have become much more skilled at working from home. If you were one of the many employees who shifted to a work from home life-style for the first time, I know the last year for you hasn’t been easy. I can only imagine the adjustment you had to go through and I know many of you still don’t feel as productive as usual working from home.
As someone who has worked from home for years running my own business, I know I certainly went through a transition like this myself. The biggest challenge I struggled with, that I think many of you can relate to, was taking breaks. When you work in an office, it’s a little easier to convince yourself to take a break I think because you feel like you are in a work environment and so taking 30 minutes to an hour in the middle of the day for your lunch break to relax and perhaps take care of your own personal work seems more acceptable. But when you work from home, at least for me, you can feel like you don’t need to take a break because you are already home. But then of course, lack of clear break time exhausts us mentally, and makes it even easier for us to work overtime.
Something that has helped me establish more Work Life Balance since working for myself is the idea of taking a productive lunch break.
Yes, being at home steps away from my kitchen means I have easy access to food and snacks, so maybe I’m not always hungry during my lunch break, so I have found other productive things to do during my lunch break that make me feel like I am using it wisely, while also using it to decompress and take a true break from work.
Here are my 5 Productive Work From Home Lunch Break Ideas!
1. Listen to a 15-30 minute guided meditation
Nothing helps me reset my productivity quite like a guided meditation. For those who are new to the practice of meditating, using a guided track makes it easier to relax and focus because you are paying attention to the directions you are being given. If you struggle to meditate on your own, try a guided track and see if you enjoy that. Not only does meditating have a wonderful ability to re-energize our minds but truthfully, a guided meditation track is also something you can do while you are eating your lunch or doing other productive activities during your break. Don’t think you always have to be sitting down quietly with your eyes closed to be meditating, because there are many different ways to put our minds in a meditative state. Maybe you just don’t want to be driving or doing anything too complicated or dangerous while listening to the track, however!
2. Read or listen to a book on tape
Members of my community often ask me how they can fit in new habits they are interested in like reading, and I think using your break time as a dedicated time for something like reading is a great idea. Reading or listening to a book on tape is a great way to relax and rest your mind, shifting your focus away from work. So, if you want to start reading more regularly, try doing so as part of your work from home lunch break!
3. Watch an inspirational or entertaining YouTube Video
I have spoken before about how I enjoy using incentives like watching a YouTube video as a reward for being productive at work and avoid procrastination. You could certainly use this as a lunch break strategy where you get a mid-day break to do something fun you enjoy like watching a Video. Now, I do think it’s best for these videos to either be inspirational or entertaining because if you can get a jolt of motivation or some laughter in your day, that is going to be a boost to your productivity!
4. Add some new inspiration to your vision board
For me, my vision board isn’t just something I create at the start of the year and stick to, it’s a living breathing work of inspiration that I like to currently update. So, spending some time searching for images online or quotes you can print out and add to your vision board is a great, relaxing and inspiring way to spend a lunch break.
5. Write out affirmations
If you have some affirmations you are trying to use to reprogram your mind, spending a little time during your lunch break writing them each out several times is a easy bit of mindset work you can do to be productive. I like to write my affirmations out 3 x 3, so three affirmations written out three times. Do whatever works for you, but make sure while you are writing out the affirmations, that you feel the feelings of that affirmation being your truth. That is the best way to get those affirmations plugged into our brain quickly!
So, I hope you enjoyed these 5 Productive Work From Home Lunch Break Ideas. I would love to hear which idea you are going to start implementing so please leave me a comment and tell me about it!
Tis the season to get gifting and this year I have put together three awesome new holiday gift guides to help inspire you to find that perfect something for the special ladies in your life.
I can’t tell you how helpful I find these sorts of holiday gift guides so I am so glad to be able to share my own with you.
So, the three gift guides are themed for three specific women | The Planner Addict, The Boss Lady & The High Vibe Babe!
Let’s start with The Planner Addict
This gift guide covers a few chic but essential elements that any planner lover is sure to lust after. Stylish planners, trendy highlighters and some elegant stationery. Don’t worry, I’ve done the leg work and provided you links to the items below!
Next, here are some great gift ideas for The Boss Lady
This gift guide covers modern yet feminine office necessities that the boss lady in your life is sure to enjoy. Chic desk accessories, a functional project planner and even a powerful hair styler to ensure she is always zoom call ready!
Finally, here are my gift suggestions for The High Vibe Babe
This gift guide covers some unique self-care favorites that any vibe conscious lady is sure to appreciate. Crystals, relaxation and meditation tools, and even a guided journal to help your loved one manifest their dreams.
I sincerely hope that these gift ideas help give you some great inspiration for how to spread your own holiday cheer this season.
There is no better feeling than when you receive a gift from someone you love that feels so you!
I am personally not a big fan of the money or gift card gifting that has become popular in the last few decades. For me, I prefer to take my time and find a gift that fits each person on my list. I know not everyone has that sort of time, so I hope these gift guides help you make quicker work of your holiday shopping.
Wishing you and yours a safe, happy and healthy holiday season!
I sincerely hope you and yours are doing well, staying safe, healthy and productive at home. As you may already know from my May #ICYMI post, the past month was something of a mental struggle for me social distancing for so long in this remarkable time we are living in. This is the thing though, I have gone through so many dark periods in my past that I know how important it is to first honor the way I am feeling in the moment, but also not to let myself succumb to it for too long. So yes, I was struggling this month, but I had to just let those feelings out once and for all and then force myself back into a positive mindset. One thing I know can happen to me when I go through a rough patch is that if I don’t actively fight it, I can stay in that sad mindset for way too long. It’s certainly not easy for me to shift out of that place, but I have an arsenal of mindset shifting tools that I use to help me, and if I don’t execute on them, I know I can get stuck for a longer time than necessary. It all starts for me with making the executive decision that I’m not going to allow myself to stay in that mindset, especially not without a fight!
So, what are those tools? How do I dig myself out of a dark place when I’ve fallen into one? Here are some strategies and tools I use.
Gratitude: I think gratitude is one of the most underrated and glossed over topics when it comes to managing your mindset. It’s easy to take for granted, that’s for sure, but no matter what is going on in your life at any given moment, each of us has dozens, hundreds maybe even thousands of things we can be grateful for if we choose to tap into that energy. It is, of course, a choice to feel grateful, and I think one of the problems around the idea of gratitude is that we hear about it so often or we can rattle off a quick default list of things to be grateful for, but we fail to tap into the feeling of gratitude when we do so. I could make a list of a hundred things I am grateful for right now, but just approaching that task as a catalog won’t shift my mindset. Instead I need to stop and focus on each gratitude item and think about how that item functions in my life and what my life would be without it. It’s certainly true that we often don’t appreciate things until they are gone, and to evoke a true emotional response from myself while making a gratitude list, this is a prompt I often use to help me really feel the energy of gratitude and experience the benefits a gratitude practice has to offer.
Rampage Meditation: There is a subgroup of meditations out there that are known as “rampages.” Go ahead, type Rampage Meditation into the YouTube search bar and you will see what I am talking about. This is a specific style of meditation that has grown in popularity over the past few years, usually, but not always associated with Abraham Hicks and Law of Attraction, but I find that this type of meditation is a really great tool to use to shift my energy. Essentially, this meditation type is a guided meditation where someone is feeding you prompts, affirmations and insight intended to help you shift your dominant emotional energy (aka your vibration) upwards to gratitude, love, happiness, joy, etc! If you think about your emotions as a sliding scale where sadness, depression, anger, etc are at the bottom and happiness, joy, contentment are at the top, the point of these guided meditations is to wind your energy up towards the more positive feelings on the scale. When I am particularly sad, this type of meditation often works the best for me. Because just sitting and meditating on my own is something I can’t do easily or effectively. But these rampage meditations give me the thoughts to think and help encourage me.
Journaling: Whenever I am feeling bad about something in my life or feeling like things aren’t going the way I want them to, journaling helps me so much to identify my limiting beliefs and overcome them logically and reasonably. Journaling is often a tool and strategy I use to self-coach or give myself a mock-therapy session. Now, if you have never done any sort of coaching or therapy, let me walk you through my general process for how I journal out my feelings. First, I always identify what I am feeling and the reasons why I believe I am feeling the way I am feeling. I know that for myself, there is usually some issue in my life that is not going the way I want it to that ends up causing my emotional distress. In the case of how I’ve been feeling recently in lockdown, I know the problem for me is that I start feeling powerless that I cannot just do whatever I want right now. So I start with that situation and feeling and I rant it out to my journal. I complain it all out to my journal until I feel like I’ve exhausted my feelings on the matter and laid them all out. Then, I play the role of coach or therapist for myself and force myself to recognize logical reasons why whatever I am complaining about is not true. For example, even though I can’t go out and do all the things I want to do right now, there are still plenty of things I can do and want to do, and it’s important for me to identify those things and why those are very important for me to do if I want to adjust this feeling. Then the final thing I like to do in this journaling session is make a plan for moving forward. Essentially I ask myself what I am going to do moving forward from this journaling session in a way that combats the negative emotions I was experiencing to begin with. I might list out steps, brainstorm ideas, or make a to do list, but I always like to end these journaling sessions with a plan for self-management to help me avoid the trigger again. Then I have this list or this plan to come back to if and when those feelings creep up at me again, which they do- but having the plan acts as a sort of defense for me. Like “no, we are not going to go down this road again, you already solved this problem, here is the plan, focus on the plan.” And honestly, this helps me a lot to break out of the negative emotional patterns and focus on establishing the positive emotional pattern instead.
So, that is what I do when I get into a low place, like I was in during May, and this is a strategy I am going to continue to focus on as I move into June. Because the trigger itself isn’t going away, I am still in isolation, so I need to stick to that plan to keep myself positive and execute regularly on those strategies that help me stay positive and motivated. This is my executive decision to choose joy and focus on that instead of letting negative patterns take over my mind and ultimately derail my life and happiness. But if it does happen again, and I do go dark again, it’s okay because I have these strategies to help pull me out and each time I get stronger and stronger. It’s progress not perfection we are aiming for here!
I hope this installment of Entrepreneurial has been insightful for you! Here is to another great month ahead. I would love to hear how your May went and what you are up to in June, so please do feel free to leave me a comment and tell me about it!
In about a week my business will be celebrating its sixth year in existence! First of all, I would just like to say how proud I am that it surpassed the dreaded five year mark of failure, wherein a vast majority of businesses close up shop within the first five years. So, I guess we could say I have a good grip on what it takes to run a business online, successfully. Has the road been perfect? Certainly not. I know I have made mistakes along the way and although I don’t like to have regrets, I certainly am aware of business decisions I made that didn’t turn out the way I wanted. All of this experience over the past six years has made me stronger though. From trial and error I know more of what I want from my business and what I am trying to create with it. I’ve also learned a lot about what it takes on a personal and energetic level to establish and remain balanced as a business owner. Managing my time, energy and expectations so that I can achieve my business goals right alongside my personal life goals, and still be moving my life forward in all the areas that matter to me. So, if you would like to know more about some of the insights I’ve gleaned on this topic, this is what I would like to share with you today.
If you are trying to find balance as a small business owner, there are three main objectives you have to learn and make routine priorities in your life:
✔︎ You have to learn to Manage Your Time
✔︎ You have to learn to Focus Your Energy
✔︎ And you have to learn to Balance Your Expectations
Manage Your Time
The first aspect you must learn into order to find balance as a small business owner is to manage your time. This is one of the most practical lessons you must learn because running a business is a different kind of demanding job than other careers. Yes, time management is key for everyone to learn, but when you are running a business and you are both the boss and the employee, the visionary leader and the practical worker, priorities are everywhere and their is always more work to do then you can actually get done.
In order to get really good at time management, I think the best place to start is by getting crystal clear on your priorities and create a system for prioritizing tasks. As you will be doing the difficult task of defining the direction for your business, breaking it down into objectives and project plans, and then executing on the work, knowing what work is the priority is always important.
As a solo business owner, I wear a heck of a lot of hats and I move between a lot of different types of work. So to keep this organized, I like to manage my work time on a themed workday schedule. Every day of the week is earmarked for different types of work so that I can be as efficient as possible when switching between different types of tasks.
I also tend to operate my personal daily schedule based on the concept of the top three list. Meaning, everyday I define my work, but I create priorities from my to do list by highlighting three tasks that are the most important to achieve that day. The prioritization aspect of how I choose my top three is defined based on my personal system of prioritization, but generally speaking, I have predefined what my creative output will be for a week and those items become the most important work to finish, followed by scheduled projects and then general business housekeeping tasks.
Now, to ensure that I establish balance with my time each day, I do also stick to a daily schedule that makes time for me to complete my personal routines and tasks throughout the day along side my work tasks. I like having a defined daily routine for my workday because seeing my tasks laid out on an hourly schedule keeps me motivated to stick to it, as I can clearly see that following such a schedule gives me ample time to achieve my personal and business objectives for a single day.
Focus Your Energy
There is a quote I love that states “where attention goes, energy flows” and that has come to be something of a motto that I live by. For me, I have seen how that statement is completely accurate. When I give my time and attention to to topic, I am sending my energy to it, whether I intend to or not, which is why I find it very important that I use my morning routine to set my mind and focus for the day so that I minimize mental distractions.
I achieve this with my morning meditation and journaling practice. After I awaken in the morning, I am in the habit of turning on a meditation and laying in bed, clearing my mind and elevating my personal energy to a state of relaxed bliss. Once I get up out of my meditation and deal with my personal hygiene tasks, I then head to my office where I spend no more than 10 minutes journaling in my High Vibe Bible inserts. On these inserts I have a place to list out my daily gratitude, which again adds to that blissful emotional state. Then, I also have a space to journal my thoughts and plans for the day. Once I am in a positive headspace I find that its much easier for me to create my daily to do list and get excited about the tasks I have to accomplish that day. Going through this daily energetic process even makes me more motivated to undertake tasks that I might normally want to avoid, because instead of approaching them from a place of anxiety or worry, I am approaching them with a mindset of possibility and determination. When I start my day like this, happy and content, I am infinitely more productive, and distractions have a harder time breaking through the energetic boundary I have set for myself.
But, of course, a happy disposition alone isn’t always enough to keep distractions at bay. This is why I do my best to set my work area up to minimize distractions. I am very lucky that right now I don’t have many distractions at home, but I do take steps to ensure I remain focused with my work. I don’t watch tv during the day, I keep my phone on silent and I usually even mute my computer sounds so that email notifications don’t disturb my work. I don’t like to read the news while I’m working because that can often shift my emotional and mental state in a direction I don’t want it to go. But, I do sometimes enjoy listening to music, specifically classical music that keeps me uplifted and productive while I perform certain tasks. Sometimes, depending on the work I am doing, I will even listen to a book on tape. All these actions help me to minimize distractions that might leech my attention and energy away from my work.
Balance Your Expectations
The third and final element of finding balance as a creative business owner is balancing your expectations. On one hand this concept compliments the idea of priorities discussed under managing your time, but it really goes beyond that. Balancing your expectations is more about understanding your limitations and knowing how much you can accomplish realistically. I think a lot of times creative entrepreneurs have such big visions that they try to do too much too soon. They take on a lot of work and then work becomes their entire life, or work drains them to the point of failure and burnout. I know it is a challenge living in the digital age and seeing all the possibilities of how you can build a business and market online, but you need to draw the line at what works for you and what is realistic for you to achieve.
Taking myself for instance. I know that something that works for me is writing, so I write three blog posts a week. I don’t think I could do more than three outside of an occasional extra update and remain as productive as I am, however. Same thing goes with my video creation. I used to make two videos a week, but I burned out of enthusiasm for that after a few years, so now I stick to one. I might see other businesses posting more, or in different ways. I am often asked to start a podcast, but with what time and energy because I am booked up at the moment.
You need to get clear with yourself on the expectations you are setting for yourself and your business to manage your workload on a daily, weekly, monthly basis, as well as to understand the signs of when you need to refill your energy and in what ways to do that. I do a lot of self-care on a daily basis. I have self-care routines starting from the moment I wake up and start meditating, to weekly meal preparations, and even regular quiet time alone. I know the amount of self-care I need to take on in order to properly fill my cup so that each day and week I have the energy to take on my realistic workload. It’s a balance, energy in and energy out. Burnout comes from too much energy out and not enough energy back in.
Well, that is how I balance my energy as a creative business person, focusing on how I manage my time, focus my energy and balance my expectations. This productivity triangle of sorts is the key to how I manage to get so much done, even as a solopreneur. Now, if you would like some additional help on this topic of finding balance as a business owner or entrepreneur, I would also recommend that you check out my CEO Strategy Day Concept and FREE Template. You can read all about it here, but briefly, my CEO Strategy Day Concept is a routine I use to keep myself operating efficiently and ensure my life is balanced without any important items slipping through the cracks. I hope the CEO Strategy Day Template helps you to plan and execute a day for you to get into alignment with your highest self and goals for your best life!
I’d love to hear what you thought of this information, so please do share your feedback and opinions in the comments. I’d also love for you to share any additional tips you use to keep yourself balanced as a creative entrepreneur or business person!
