 Welcome to the last post of the Createyou86 Falloween Blog Series. Can you believe that it is already the end of October? In the spirit of Fall i wanted to create a mood board that may inspire your fall, and Halloween ideas. I love all of the beautiful colors that are associated with fall, weather it be the different colors of pumpkins, or the changing colors of the leaves. Below are a few photos that i loved this fall. All of these photos are from Pinterest (i do not own the rights to any of these photos). If you click on the photos you can visit each photos board that it was found on.        We hope that these mood boards have helped to inspire your fall season. You can find all of these boards on pinterest. We hope that you also enjoyed this Falloween Blog Series. Our November Blog Series will begin November 2nd, and continue Monday's, and Thursday's throughout the month. What is your favorite thing about fall? Let us know in the comments below! 
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 Welcome to another week in review here at Createyou86. Our solution to weekly journaling. We are coming up on the end of October already....can you believe it? We won't be online October 31st so we wanted to wish everyone an early Happy Halloween! We have been hard at work on a bunch of new projects just for you! 1. This week we posted the long awaited Younique Mascara Review. This was one item that i was very excited about trying because i had heard so much about it. I left a very heartfelt message at the bottom of this review. 2. Trip planning update: We have our hotels booked as of last week, and the car is almost completely packed, there are only the little odds and ends to add in. We are so excited to be making this journey, and sharing it with all of you. Look for updates very soon! 3. Our November Blog Series is on the way! This has been so much fun to blog about, and we can't wait for you to read it. The new series will begin November 2nd, and will continue Monday's, and Thursday's throughout the month. I recently posted a quick flip through of my blogging planner, and showed how many awesome posts are coming your way in the next two months. You can check that out here. 4. October is coming to an end, but there are still 2 more posts in the series that you can look forward to. Here are a few of our favorites from the month. Drinking & Costumes. Thanks for hanging out with us, and checking out what has been going on behind the scenes this week here at Createyou86. Did you finish everything on your to-do list? Let us know in the comments below!   Welcome to the eighth post in the Createyou86 Falloween Blog Series. We hope you are having a spooky day! The world of podcasts is relatively new to me. I have owned at least some type of i-device since the iPhone 4 came out weather it be a phone, computer, or ipad, but i never fully indulged in the free service that came with those devices. That free service was podcasts. Podcasts came out before itunes radio, and made the best of the radio available to anyone who could stream via the internet. If you want to find out more about what a podcast is, and some others that you can follow check out this post from Time Magazine. My fascination began when i was doing research for our first Case Study, and flourished from there. Creating a case study isn't a small feat. Quite the contrary. I needed a decent amount of accurate information from credible sources in a relatively short amount of time (that was my fault, but i really wanted to get the case study out to all of you). Podcasts are a great way to get a ton of information in a short amount of time. You can find podcasts about any topic you can think of. Are you interested in blogging? If you are check out this podcast. Are you interested in business? Let your mind go wild when you think about topics to listen to via podcasts. If you have a phone that can hook up to the speakers in your car, podcasts are great for long rides or even just driving around town. I wanted to compile a list of the podcasts that i am currently listening to for all of you. 1. Serial 2. The #AskGaryVee Show 3. Mixergy 4. ProBlogger Podcast 5. HBR (Harvard Business Review) IdeaCast 6. The How They Blog Podcast I will keep my search up for some more awesome podcasts. I hope that you enjoy this post, and that you are enjoying the Falloween Blog Series. What is your favorite podcast? Let us know in the comments below!   Welcome to the seventh post in the Createyou86 Falloween Blog Series. With Halloween just next week i thought it would be a great time to reminisce. When i was younger i loved Halloween, dressing up, getting as much candy as possible (pillowcases full), getting back, trade my candy with friends, and proceed to eat candy until i got a stomach ache. Those days are long gone, but i still enjoy a good Halloween party, and a great costume. I wanted to share with all of you my past Halloween costumes, and maybe even provide some ideas for yourself or your kids.  http://www.www.jsausa.com When i was very young G.I. Joe was very popular (probably 4 or 5 years old), and for some reason i really wanted to be one for Halloween one year. I was a very miniature version of this costume. Actually i was more of a P.T. G.I. Joe with a grey sweatshirt, sweat pants, camo face-paint, and other small accessories.  http://www.global.rakuten.com One year i was a pumpkin. The only difference was i had brown leggings on. Leggings werent hard to find in the 90's. This is a relatively easy costume to make yourself. You could even have your child choose how they want the face made. If i was to do a DIY, i would make it with felt.  http://www.fashionyourself.us My mother has always been into sewing. When i got a little older, one year she made me a flapper costume that looked a lot like this except that mine was purple, and black. She made several of them, and her, and her girlfriends all went as flappers to a Halloween Party. This is a great costume if you are going in a group to a party, and your thinking of group ideas. The men could even dress up as period men. My mom made most costumes because it was cheaper than buying the costumes at the store, and many times they looked better as well.  http://www.www.viewbeforebuying.com My mom also made me a genie costume one year as well. I was much taller then the girl in this photo, and in Pennsylvania in October it starts to get really cool at night (we used to be allowed to stay out later for Halloween then we are now). Mine was an actual crop top, and i wore a nude long sleeved ballet leotard underneath to stay warm.  http://www.www.lifeunsweetened.com By my teenage year i was pretty much obsessed with Britney Spears (oh..who am i kidding.....i still am....guilty pleasure). I pretty much begged my mom to coordinate this costume for me. It wasn't quite as revealing, but it had pretty much the same jist. Again, i wore a long sleeved leotard underneath for warmth. There was no thong, and the shirt wasn't as revealing as the one above. I thought that the arm band was the coolest part.  https://www.pinterest.com/brocily/tmnt-halloween/ When i was growing up Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was one of the most popular T.V. shows. Naturally i wanted to be one for Halloween (that year i also had a TMNT birthday party).  Photo Credit: Createyou86 Last, but not least are our Halloween costumes from last year when we attended our churches Trunk-Or-Treat event. I went as a CIA Agent (all you need are black clothes, sunglasses, and a pair of ear buds), and James went as John Cena (sporting a pair of cargo shorts, and a WWE John Cena shirt). P.S. James was a mummy (wrapped up in toilet paper), and a ghost. I hope that you have enjoyed seeing some of the costumes i wore growing up, and i hope that maybe you can get some ideas for your kids as well. Most of these costumes can be DIY's, or made for a relatively low cost. What is your favorite Halloween costume from when you were growing up? Let us know in the comments below!   Welcome to another product review here at Createyou86. This year i have had the opportunity to share a bunch of awesome products with all of you , and this one is no exception. I was provided this product to test, and review by Brandbacker. However, I am posting the content on my own. I found it really interesting to see an offer from a direct sales company. If you don't know what that means you can find out more here. Since being on Instagram, and other social media i became familiar with Younique, and their products, but i have never actually ordered from a direct sales company such as Avon, ItWorks, 31 etc. I felt like this was a great opportunity to try their product without the direct sales approach, and that brings us here. Younique started in 2012, and was the first company to pioneer the social media based business model. Younique offers women the opportunity to look and feel great while helping advance the brand's mission of uplifting, empowering and validating women around the world. About The Product - All information taken from sheet included in product package.
My Experience Using this product was a very Younique experience (do you see what i did there?) Mascara is one of the things i normally don't leave the house without. When i do i feel naked in a metaphorical way. Therefore, i always have mascara in my handbag for those just in case moments. In the case of this product you would be bringing two mascara bottles with you because one cannot be used without the other. Here are some things i noticed about the product.
     I really enjoyed this product, but there are a few things that i would change about it. For instance, I think that for $29.00 you shouldn't wonder where your 3D Fibers are going to end up (like on my cheek). I couldn't tell how much was actually making it onto my lashes, and they can cause eye irritation if they get in your eye which makes any mascara experience terrible. I really loved the lift that it gave my lashes, and on the paper inside the package it says that * The averaged results observed in independent laboratory testing (384.5 % increase after one application, and more than 2,000% after three applications) compared against bare lashes. I would have to say that, that increase is pretty hefty, and pretty awesome if you have a lackluster lash, or small lashes. I had LITERALLY NO CLUMPING. This is basically impossible to say about a mascara, but it is true. You can see in the photo above that the Transplanting Gel really does what it says it does, and that is awesome. Another downside is that you need to apply the product three separate times 1. Transplanting Gel 2. Fibers 3. Transplanting Gel. If you are looking to get somewhere quick with this mascara it won't happen. Between the application process, and trying to figure out if i had enough fibers on my lash it took longer than a normal mascara application. I wasn't a huge fan of the product not being waterproof as my eyes are so dry that they start watering out of the blue. I found several times that i needed to wipe my eyes throughout the day, but i think if it was waterproof that would be amazing. This product really impressed me because i had my own assumptions about direct sales products, and my mind was definitely changed for the better. The price is pretty hefty for a mascara, and because of that i won't be repurchasing, but i can't wait to use it again, and again to see how long my lashes can look. DISCLAIMER: I want to be clear about my experience with this brand. The person who reviewed my post from the brand left me a message saying that they couldn't accept my post , and the message also said that i could resubmit my post if i chose to (in other words, edit it so that the company approved of the wording, and that it benefited them). Let me be clear about how i do product reviews. I will ALWAYS give a 100% honest review of a product. I will never change what i honestly think even if that means that my content won't be published by that particular company. If it doesn't get accepted i will post the content here regardless. I hope you can appreciate that as a reader as i try really hard to make this page, and company authentic. Have you tried Younique Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes+? What is your favorite mascara? Let us know in the comments below!   Welcome to the sixth post in the Createyou86 Falloween Blog Series. It is that time of year again. Halloween, and what is Halloween without some Halloween movies? One of my favorite parts about the fall is watching some of my all-time favorite Halloween movies on the couch, in the dark, cozy under a blanket. Here are a few of my favorites:
What is your favorite Halloween movie? Let us know in the comments below!   Welcome to another Week In Review here at Createyou86. Our solution to weekly journaling. This week has been pretty eventful, and will only be more so as we get closer to our trip. I think you will be excited to see what we have been doing behind the scenes. 1. I just finished a beauty product review on a product i have been wanting to try for a while now, and it will be posted tomorrow morning so be sure to come back tomorrow, and check that out! 2. Have you ever done "The Tim Tam Slam?" We tried it last night, and it was super amazing. You can head on over to our Youtube channel to check it out. If you love chocolate, cookies, and coffee this video is definitely for you! There will be a review of some kind coming out soon! 3. For our cross country trip planning update, we have finished booking ALL of our hotel rooms, and in a November blog series post we will be letting you know how we planned our cross country (California to Pennsylvania) hotel room stays for only $207.74 (That is four hotels, and 2 animals at each hotel!) We are super excited to be sharing this secret, and a bunch more with you so be sure to look out for that post. We have also been doing a lot of cleaning, and organization which we will tell you all about at a later date as well. There will be A LOT of pictures! 4. We are thinking of starting a 52 Week Blog Series (1 post per week for an entire year!) We want to reach out to our readers, and ask what would you like to read about on a weekly basis. We are open to anything, and would love your feedback! Thanks for stopping by to see what we have been doing this week! Have you finished everything on your to-do list this week? What are you looking forward to hearing about in future updates? Let us know in the comments below!   Welcome to the fifth post in the Createyou86 Falloween Blog Series. You might think that this is a strange topic to be covering for Falloween, but after we reached 1500 followers on Instagram I knew that i needed to share how we did it. Are you having trouble growing your Instagram following? Do you think that you have awesome content, but aren't seeing any return for your hard work? A lot of people these days are going to Facebook blog groups to promote their blog posts, and to gain followers no matter what social media they are using. I do this a lot as well, but it is not the main way that i choose to gain followers. The following is a tactic that i even suggest to my Small Business Coaching clients, and they have had definite returns based on the work that they actually put in. Six weeks later which is three weeks after this should have gone up we are at 1637 Followers (that was a mouthful). Here are the main ways that we have gained over 100 Instagram followers in only a months time. I call it the 5's.
Another way to gain Instagram followers is to use #HASHTAGS. You can hashtag absolutely everything, and anything your little heart desires. Many of us look at people with 3,000,000 hashtags, and thing JEEZ, but it works. By using hashtags you are able to attract tons of different people from many different backgrounds, and you never know what people are searching for, so hashtagging everything relating to your brand or whatever you are promoting is the best way to go. Do you tag your photos? If not, you should be. Weather you are tagging a friend who made something for you, or a major brand that you may have brought something from. When people are browsing they are also looking for specific brands or people. If your friend sees something that she thinks you might like because the item was tagged you can see where the product is from, and possibly purchase the item. Not only that, but brands typically have more people following them sometimes thousands, sometimes millions, and that is a great way for people to see your work. These are just a few ways that you can help your Instagram page gain followers, and the ways that have definitely helped Createyou86. Have you taken any steps to up your followers on Instagram? What has worked best for your page? Let us know in the comments below!   Welcome to another Transformation Tuesday here at Createyou86. If you hadn't noticed from the photo, I LOVE APPLE CIDER. There is something about cider that screams fall to me. Maybe it is the crisp apple taste or the cinnamon aftertaste. I'm not really sure, but i wanted to share one of my favorite apple cider recipes with you today so you can add the wonderfulness of apple cider to your life. All you need to make some awesome homemade apple cider is a crock-pot, LOTS of apples, an orange, and some mulling spices. It is super simple, and will make your house smell amazing, and festive. You can find the whole recipe, and step-by-step instructions from Ali over at Gimmesomeoven. I will personally be making this recipe for Thanksgiving, and Christmas (that is just how much i love apple cider!) It should put you in the fall mood, and it is so nice to curl up on the couch with some apple cider. What is your favorite fall drink recipe? Let us know in the comments below!    Welcome to the fourth post in the Createyou86 Falloween Blog Series. In preparation for leaving beautiful California we wanted to recap what it has been like to live here for the past two years, and some of the things that you might want to know before you consider moving here.
The Weather From someone who has lived in 4 seasons her whole life it was a complete shock. We have been living right on the cusp of Norcal, and Socal (pretty much the desert), and boy is it HOT! While California has been in a horrible drought for several years (we will talk about that later) the weather remains consistent. It is not unusual for there to be months or 100 degree and above consecutive days. This past summer we had WEEKS where the temperature didn't get below 103 so if you love the hot weather Cali is definitely the place for you. The Drought It is known all over the US that California is in dire need of rain, and LOTS of it! If you read the reports you will see that even if California started getting rain right this second it would take years for California to get to the water level that is needed to maintain. We have taken minimal showers, and only done laundry once a week. They are also constantly changing the water laws. As of right now in certain areas you cannot water your lawn on Monday's or you can be fined. You also aren't allowed to wash your car. For the first part of the year many car washes were shut down as well. Sales Tax In most states the sales tax is the same throughout the state. However, in California the sales tax changes based on certain areas. In Central cali the sales tax is 7.5% (which is in my humble opinion absolutely ridiculous!) but California is also in a budget crisis as well. The only reason i found out about this is because i went to order from a company on Etsy, and when i went to check out the price changed even though i had added in shipping. I found out that it is because certain counties charge different sales tax if your mailing address is outside of their area. The person i happened to be ordering from was in Norcal. The increase of sales tax can be upwards of 10-15%. Gas Prices Welcome to the state of inflation! Most people know that in LA gas prices can be upwards of $5.00 a gallon. The highest gas price that we have seen in central cali is somewhere around $4.90. It wasn't there for long, but on top of the crazy price there is a state tax of $.35 every time you use your debit/credit card at the pump. The usual hikes happen around the holidays as it does in most states. You think you know how to drive?! Until you get to California. I thought i knew how to drive growing up in the fastest growing county in the country, and around Philly (The turnpike, and Schuylkill). I got to California, and all of that changed. It would be a complete lie if i said that California traffic isn't as bad as everyone says it is. Every road you are on is either two or three lanes of traffic (I mean California is the most populated state in the US). Have you ever heard the term "flip a bitch"? This is another name for U-Turn's, and it was coined in Cali. You can U-Turn pretty much anywhere in Cali, and it is pretty nervewracking when there are three lanes of traffic 4 ways at an intersection. No one uses blinkers. This is one of the most frustrating things ever! You also have the "rolling stop" which is just as bad. Scenery The scenery in California is beautiful. You can get mountains, and snow, and not far away you get sun, and sand. The best trip i took during our stay in California was to Cambria on the north coast of California. While driving into Cambria there are gorgeous luscious green hills, and the coastline in the distance is just as beautiful. You also have the Redwood Forest up north. Scenery is not something that California lacks. The Wine If you know anything about California you know that it is synonymous with wine. Northern California is the most prime wine growing real estate in the entire country. There are over 400 wineries in Northern California alone. Sonoma, and Napa are the most recognized counties for wine, and you can find out more information here. If you are a wine lover, you would be in wine heaven. On our trip to Cambria we passed probably 20-30 wineries. Overall our stay in California has been a learning experience. It has been enjoyable, hot, and something i would be open to doing again in a cooler part of California if prices came down (which i don't foresee in the future). We hope that this post has helped you learn a little bit more about California, and what you could expect from moving here.  I am very excited about trying this product because i not only know Welcome to another week in review here at Createyou86. Our solution to weekly journaling. We are in the depths of trying to organize our cross country trip, and we would love to let you know what has been happening this week, and what you can look forward to. 1. This week as a part of our Falloween Blog Series we posted a FREE FALL PRINTABLE. It is beautiful, and we think it would make a perfect addition to your Autumn decor. 2. Coming up very soon will be a product review. Here is a sneak peek of the product. I am very excited about trying this product because not only do i know agents who sell the product, but i have seen a lot about the product online.  3. We released our very first Case Study. We are very proud of this case study, and we learned a lot in the research process about planning, and organization. Did you finish everything on your to-do list this week? Let us know in the comments!   Welcome to the third post in the Createyou86 Falloween Blog Series. After putting out our first Case Study I was on information overload so i wanted to do something simple for this post. I have been searching Pinterest for fall, and Halloween inspired pins, and i found this awesome quote. Anyone who thinks fallen leaves are dead has never watched them dancing on a windy day. I liked this quote so much that i decided to create a free printable out of it. This photo quote would be perfect for a journal prompt, or just something to add a little pizaz to your journal. You could also print it, make it bigger (or keep it the same size), and frame it to add a fall feel to your home or desk area. This Createyou86 printable is not watermarked (because everything on the photo is made with free software, and i wanted you to be able to print it freely for decorative purposes!) You might even consider printing two, and giving one to a friend! We do ask that if you post it somewhere that we are given correct photo credit, and that you link back to this page or createyou86.weebly.com. We really hope that you enjoy this beautiful printable. It really has us in the fall spirit (even if it is 86 degrees today!)  What is your favorite fall quote? Let us know in the comments below!   Welcome to the second post in the Falloween Blog Series here at Createyou86. We are very excited to be unveiling our first case study. We have used several different sources to gather research data, and we hope that you find this case study helpful. 1. Introduction Being able to effectively manage ones work, free time, and blogging realistically can be hard to do when you aren't using the right time management techniques. a. Some of the key problems in managing time are schedules, not knowing when to say "no", and not doing the things which are most important in our lives first. b. Being able to effectively manage ones time between work, free time, and blogging is attainable with the right time management techniques. 2. Background a. Problems in time management exist because time is not being used or managed effectively. Maybe you have too many events scheduled, or you are not scheduling a few priority events each day. There is a possibility that you are not in the right planner, or maybe you never thought to use a planner to schedule your time at all. If you are having trouble with time management then something in your planning and organization system needs to be revamped. On the other hand there are also those who were never taught how to organize or manage their time. b. Maybe you grew up in a very chaotic household, and do everything by the seat of your pants, maybe you are a procrastinator, and get stuck doing the most important things in your schedule at the last minute. This case study will explain why keeping a schedule, and effective time management will help make life seem more manageable, and less overwhelming by breaking down, and showing what industry professionals have to say about the subject. There will also be information from my own experiences, and from people within the planning community explaining how they manage their time effectively. c. Being unorganized can impact your work, or free time negatively in many ways. The everyday tasks that you set out to do can seem completely chaotic, and miss driven. If you are working on a schedule, and other people around you are working on a schedule you may be hindering others schedules by not being able to complete simple tasks on time, and adding stress where it isn't needed. Effective time management will reduce stress as well as add time available to do other things throughout your day. d. There are many people that are responsible for time management mishaps. There are bosses who don't set manageable deadlines, employees who work too hard expecting better payoff for more work when that isn't necessarily the case. Then there are people who show up late, unprepared or not ready to get the job at hand done. This can be the case in work, or personal time management. Working from home can really be hard. I can speak from personal experience with my own father. He has worked from home for many years, and it took some getting used to. He keeps a schedule everyday. He showers every morning, and is sure to dress like he is going to an office weather he has appointments that he needs to go out to or not. This means (a button down shirt, or polo, and nice pants) if he goes to his appointments in the tri-state area he always wears a suit jacket or sports coat. He also keeps a personal schedule. He eats breakfast, works, eats lunch, (some days goes out on sales calls, or eats lunch with clients), comes home and works most nights until around 7:00 PM. His work phone is hooked up to the house landline in case he is not near his cell phone (this is pretty often as he is older, and doesn't particularly care for cell phones he also DOESN'T HAVE TEXT MESSAGING!!). This only goes to show that you do not need the most high tech, or the most recent technology to do a job well or to help manage your time effectively. He also doesn't take phone calls after about 5:00 PM which is a normal working schedule. This schedule has worked for him for years, and he is one of the top sales people in his company. I believe it has to do with managing his time as effectively as possible, and only doing what is truly the most important for his schedule that day. Blogging can be a different story. As someone who has done several guest blog series on our blog it is very hard to do good work with other bloggers if you do not make yourself available. It is important to keep communications open, and let the other party know what is expected of them. I have actually had guest bloggers who either didn't communicate at all, or who requested that i send them information which i had already sent them, or to email them (which had a business reply, and several times i never got a reply email). Either way having direct contact with bloggers you plan on working with is important to make sure information is correct before going live. If you blog in your free time a schedule or planner will really help to manage what you need to get done, and what can wait. 4. Proposed Solutions a. There are many possible solutions to effective time management. Some of the most popular solutions include: 1. Using a planner 2. Making a schedule, and sticking to it (include time for "play") 3. Eliminating the unnecessary 4. Having daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals 5. Knowing when to multitask 6. Reducing interruptions. Balance will be easier if you: -Know your values -Identify priorities -Reduce unnecessary things -Set goals, and plan consistently Values are a person's principles or standards of behavior, and one's judgement of what is important in life. It is important to have goals, and dreams that align with, and support your personal values. You should also feel comfortable in your actions, but be willing to try to adjust outside of your comfort zone, and be willing to ask for help. Having ones priorities in order is important. We try i believe instinctively to prioritize if we have children, or if we have something just as serious in our life like a job or even if our job is blogging. Sometimes though work can seem to overlap with other parts of our life, weather it be your boss telling you they need you to stay until that report is done (even though you have been at the office for ten hours already), or that they NEED you to come in on a weekend, or that you can't have that certain day off that you scheduled off months in advance for some personal time, and rest. While work might seem like the most important thing because it pays your bills what you need to do always remember that there is a human being behind everything you are being told you NEED to do, and if you do not prioritize your life someone else will! Knowing what is important to your everyday life, can help with planning, and taking stock of what is truly important weather it be work, life, or blog related. Below are several quotes from people within the planning community about how they deal with everyday planning, and organization. "A schedule is a lifesaver. It is easy to break down what you want to do. Schedule an amount of time for work, and then after work unwind, and take time for yourself and your partner. Leave time for the unexpected." - James "I'm getting better at time management. I use my blog planner alot more now to keep track of post stats etc. I know if i need to complete something blog/social media related i write 'check blog planner' in my personal planner. That simple step seems to work for me" - Ladreena J. "Planning helps! I like to do at least three things a day that i enjoy doing for me. For home, inviting someone over always encourages me to clean. I also try to get completely dressed when i wake up. For work i keep a notebook with me or i use my phone. I need to have a plan or it is completely unproductive." - Beth Ann "I'm still trying to figure that out! I usually work on my blogging, and freelance writing while my toddler is at pre-school and during her naps. That gives me the evenings to spend with my husband. It is never easy!" - @cosmosmariners We can often get caught up in the need to have "things", and the need to do lots of tasks at once. This can sometimes distract from our daily needs, and personal wants. We think that aquiring alot of things, and being needed to do many tasks will make us happier, and that we will have a fuller life. However, science says just the opposite. According to Greg mcKeown the author of "Essentialism: The Disciplined Persuit of Less" which focuses on the importance of being very selective in how we use our time was a guest on The Harvard Business Review's Podcast (Ideacast), and can be quoted as saying "For most executives and high performers today life is fast, and full of opportunity, and the complication is that we think we have to do everything, and the impact of that is that we end up making a millimeter progress in a million different directions." Have you ever thought to yourself "Well, this looks like a good event for my business, or blog, so i should put it in my schedule"? I can't even count on two hands how many times this has happened in my lifetime, and i bet it has happened to you as well. If you did this with every event you would be completely overwhelmed, and this can happen alot in business as well. Maybe your boss has asked that you stay late when you have already been at the office for ten hours, or maybe they have told you that you can't have off when you scheduled the day off months in advance. What you need to remember is that there is a human being behind those decisions, and as much as we think work is the most important thing in the world because it pays our bills, and keeps a roof over our head you should really be questioning the things that you are being asked to do. "Often we conform to the category of if it is good, we should do it. If we can't possibly fit it in then we should fit it in. Because of that too broad criteria this leads to us saying yes to things, which really we should be questioning." One of the most popular topics i have come across in my blogging experience (and in the planning community) is goal setting. We know goal setting. Most times it happens in the beginning of January with thee greatest intentions, and tapers off by the end of February into the beginning of March. However i have found that goal setting consistently has become more, and more necessary for life, work, and my blog. For my blog i might change things up once in a while, and change a weekly post so i always update a public schedule, and post it so all of my readers know. This schedule helps me plan out blog posts that i know my readers are expecting. According to Greg McKeown "People are so focused on a short term result that they are chasing, maybe a quarterly objective even, that they are not investing the way that they ought to be for the medium, and long term horizon." For my own blogging schedules I always have a schedule, and if something changes i am sure to post an update to social media as soon as that happens. My blog schedules clearly define what topics are covered on which days which makes planning much easier than flying by the seat of my pants for topics. I have covered this several times in previous posts. I normally do goals at the beginning of the year, and halfway through the year to reevaluate what is working, what isn't, and how i can improve on my personal goals. In his book McKeown talks about a rule that he follows almost to a T, and has worked for him personally as well as other people that he has suggested it to. He calls this "The Rule Of 3" also known as the "Personal Quarterly Offsight". Every three months we should take three hours to identify what the three most important objectives are for us for the next three months." Because we have a lot of personal changes coming up James (the other half of Createyou86), and i feel that this will be great for us going forward. It will help us set our personal, fiscal, and work priorities, and consistently keep us reevaluating ourselves, and our situation throughout the year. When we hear anyone talk about mothers they are usually referred to as the ultimate multi-taskers. They might be juggling a small child or several children, a full-time job, and events on the side that can range from making it to church on Sunday, arranging playdates for their children to take part in, to having a side business, or even just having the house clean at the end of the day. Don't get me wrong, men are perfectly capable of these things, but women are scientifically proven to be better multi-taskers. However, what is really important while planning, and doing all of these things is to ask yourself "How valuable is this really?" In another Harvard Business Review Podcast which featured Julian Birkenshaw and Jordan Cohen who are coauthors of the HBR article "Make Time For The Work That Matters" ask this questions to several test subjects in their research. They also asked several others. How valuable is this really? Birkenshaw, and Cohen talked about several companies which are attempting to delegate tasks, reduce stress, and help to make their workers more effective in the work place. Two of the companies specifically were Ferrari, and Yahoo. Ferrari has decided that in order to get the most efficiency out of their workers that they will limit the in-house email system to workers only being able to choose three people to send an email to. This cuts down on pointless emails to other departments, and wasted time sending, and checking emails daily. This also creates, and encourages more conversation within the workplace. Yahoo has also implemented a policy that has brought their "at-home" workers back to the office to encourage much of the same that Ferrari is looking for from their workers. I feel that in the long run employees won't feel so overwhelmed (we talked about how taxing at home work can be earlier), and this will help with scheduling, and planning in the future. Multitasking can also lead to early days, and even later nights. Do you ever find that you are completely spent after your nice filling lunch, and the emails that have been calling from your email are starting to pile up, and you may even have a big meeting that you need to "perform highly" in? According to Ron Friedman, Ph.D., and author of "The Best Place To Work" when he spoke on the HBR Ideacast Podcast said "We are more sharp in the morning for 2-3 hours. Do less taxing objectives for the afternoon lull, or take lower priority meetings." You may be wondering what this has to do with effective time management, but it has a ton to do with time management, and different ways that you can make your schedule work. You may find that you are exhausted when you come home from work, but you have a side business maybe being a planner sticker maker on Etsy, or something creative that you NEED to fit into your schedule after your long week, and planned schedule. Dr. Freidman also says "We are more creative when we are fatigued. In order to be creative you need to be able to consider some ideas that don't necessarily feel like they are on track with what you are trying to achieve. Scheduling a creative task for the time in your day when you are a little bit tired can actually be beneficial." so basically an ideal time to schedule a creative task into your time would be after you get home, have showered, and are sitting down for that first glass of wine to relax after your hard day of work. Another very important solution to scheduling your time effectively is to try to reduce interruptions. This goes for those people who are "workaholics", and can't put their phone down when they get home, or they just can't get enough of what they are doing or love their job so much that they want to get ahead while at home. DON'T DO IT! JUST SAY NO! I can't be more forthcoming with this information. There really isn't a nice way to say this. You need to put your phone, and email away when you get home. It really is for your own good, and can cut into valuable time with friends, and family on top of being pretty obnoxious when you are trying to have a conversation with someone, and they are constantly looking at their phone. Here is why. According to Dr. Friedman People who don't disengage, people who are constantly checking their emails in evenings, and on weekends, those people tend to be less engaged a year later because they are burnt out. If we don't fully log off, we can't fully recover. I personally found this to be one of the most interesting pieces of information that i read during my research for this study because I AM GUILTY OF IT! I always feel like i need to be fully engaged all of the time to get the best responses from social media, and from my clients. Dr. Freidman offered several practices that he partakes in, and would suggest to anyone who is having a problem with leaving their work at work. -Place your phone in a different room. Lastly, one of the most important things you can do to help your schedule is to play. You just heard right you need to play! You might think this is crazy since you are reading a case study about effective time management, but play is defined as engaging in an activity for enjoyment ,and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose. This might mean a night out with the girls/guys, watching a movie, going to the movies, doing any activity that isn't work related, and you find enjoyment from (Pretty planning, and YouTube are my guilty pleasures), but that is just the thing. You shouldn't feel guilty about taking time for yourself, and doing things outside of work. Having some type of play in place promotes the idea that it is okay to pursue your curiosities even if they don't have an immediate reward. This may be why we love blogging, and playing video games. I know that i am an avid gamer. Before i know it, it is six hours later, and i am level 30 in my favorite video game, and i have earned enough coins to buy a horse. This may seem extreme, but it is the same thing with blogging. You sit down, and before you know it you have ten blog topics that you are writing about, and it is three o' clock in the morning. Dr. Freidman says that there are a few reasons that we enjoy activities like blogging, and playing video games outside of work. - Immediate Results 5. Recommendations Based on the above information you should be able to find quite a few ways to help change the way that you schedule your time. Weather it be leaving work at work, learning new ways to attempt working at home, or incorporating some type of "play" into your schedule just for you. Of course everyone is different, and you can change these tactics to work for you in any way that you see fit. I believe anyone who is having issues with effectively managing their work, personal, and blogging time can benefit from any of the above tactics. SOURCES Createyou86 would like to thank our Instagram, and Facebook community for their input, and data. Harvard Business Review Podcasts (Ideacast) #363 - How To Schedule Time For Meaningful Work. #414 - "Do Thing' Better, Stop Doing So Much" #456 - "Your Brain's Ideal Schedule" We would love to know what you thought about this case study, if you employ any of these tactics, and if it helped you with efficiently scheduling your time. Let us know in the comments below!   Welcome to another week in review here at Createyou86. Our solution to weekly journaling. 1. Our newest Blog Series has begun. It is called Falloween. If you didn't get to check it out when it debuted you can check it out here. 2. We have a few product reviews coming up so be sure to look out for those. I am really excited about these reviews because one of them is something i have never tried because it is the first time that it is available in the US, and the other is a product that i see around on social media all the time, and i can't wait to test it. 3. The biggest project happening right now behind the scenes is our first official case study (there will be more case studies to follow in the next couple of months). I have put a ton of man hours into creating the best possible case study which i feel will be relevant, and helpful to the planning, organization, and blogging community. That case study will go live on Monday so be sure to check that out! 4. I have been listening to a lot of Podcasts for our case study, and i will be doing a post about those as well. I am learning a lot from so many different podcasters, and i can't wait for you to gain that knowledge as well. Did you get everything on your to-do list done this week? Let us know in the comments below!   Welcome to Createyou86's October Blog Series Falloween. If you are new here, each month we do a new blog series with different topics, and for October 2015 our blog series is Falloween. This series will include lots of tips, and tricks, and even free printables for your planning, organization, and blogging life. This first post will be all about Mindmapping....WHAT? you might be scratching your head. We planners love to make lists, and to-do's, and braindumps so you might be wondering what the heck is mindmapping? Let me tell you! A mind map is a visual representation of hierarchical information that includes a central idea surrounded by connected branches of associated topics. Mind mapping is a little bit more formed, and structured than braindumping. Mind mapping isn't quite a to-do list, but it could possibly be used that way as well. Mind mapping is a great way for book writers to get an idea of topics to be covered in a story, character analysis, world building, and in our case as planners since we are list makes i have used October as my main topic, and shown what comes to mind when i think about October, and it has helped me to get some ideas for what i love about October and fall, what i might be talking about this month in blogs, or photos i might want to take for Instagram. I can also plan videos to film for YouTube, and think about boards i want to add to Pinterest. Take a look at my mindmap below!  We hope that you enjoyed this post, and have learned a little bit more about mindmapping. This is a great way to get inspiration if you are struggling for post ideas, and it has really helped us. Have you ever mind mapped before? If so what topic did you mindmap about? Let us know in the comments below!  |
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