Many of us like to start fresh with the beginning of a new calendar year. We write resolutions and set intentions for how we’re going to be different in the new year. This often looks like jotting an assortment of healthy habits in no particular order on January 1st. Then we try to keep them up for as long as we can. And it’s common to drop most of them by the middle of the month. It can feel really demoralizing when this happens. But it’s not your fault. It’s just the system you’re using! Below, we’ll talk about how to shift your approach and actually meet your New Year’s goals this year.  New Year’s Goals vs. Resolutions It might seem like I’m splitting hairs by differentiating goals and resolutions. But the process of setting goals is very…

Are you a mom to young children and feeling some mom burnout? I would honestly be surprised if the answer were an unequivocal “no.” In researching this post, I even found out there’s a medical term called “Depleted Mother Syndrome.” There are so many reasons moms feel burnt out that I can’t get into them all here. But the Cleveland Clinic page linked above and this article from Prevention are great places to look for more information about how you got to this point.   What I found lacking in those sources, and similar ones, is suggestions for how to turn things around. Some tips are helpful, but most are not…

Have you tried all the traditional productivity tips to get more done each day? Are you often rushing to complete tasks and disappointed in your progress no matter how much you accomplish? There’s a simple reason for that (but one you won’t want to hear): your expectations for time management and productivity are too optimistic. If you’re in the time optimist club, you’re in good company – most people are unable to accurately estimate how much time and energy various activities take. There is good news, though – there’s a simple solution for time optimism: realistic time management.   I introduced this topic in a previous post. I define realistic time…

Do you find yourself rushing around, perpetually late? Adding things to your to-do list just as fast as you check them off? If so, you may criticize yourself for being “bad” at time management. You may have read a thousand time management tips on how to “hack” your schedule to wedge more activities into your days but failed trying to implement them. This post is a counter to all those tips. Less hectic days are possible, but you need to employ realistic time management.   What is realistic time management? I’d define it this way: Objectively and accurately assessing how much time and energy various activities require vs. how much…