Hi everyone! I’m very excited. Since I’ve been using my Mind Maps and seeing what I really have juggling up in the air, I’m realizing what I need my life (business and personal) to evolve into – not just for profitability, but for maximum enjoyment. Because that’s what it’s all about, right? Enjoying our lives! Our careers!

So…for a LONG LONG time I have always told y’all what business models I’m pursuing, how it’s going with all of them, and how I get things done. I work from 6 AM until I go to bed around 10 PM, off and on allllllllllllllllllllllllllll day and night. Up until now, that has been PERFECT for me.

I stopped when I wanted to. I might do 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there in between doing a load of dishes, for example. My income grew $10,000 last year. All great stuff!

However…

I’m not fulfilled yet.

See this little goldfish leaping out of his small, but comfortable fishbowl? That’s me. I’m leaping out of the water into a bigger fishbowl because I know it’s cozier and more roomy. It’s scary, but it’s a change that’s right for me.

I’m not throwing away any of my current business models, don’t worry. They’re making me money. So I want to continue doing what works. However, something’s about to change my life…a new schedule with ME worked into it! Here are the things I want worked into my equation – and how it’ll work.

A New Noon Limit

“Quittin’ time at Tara” is now 12 noon on the dot. I get up at 6 AM during school and 8 AM on weekends and during the summer. I have an hour round trip in the morning for carpool during school.

Instead of flitting around all day putting in tidbits here and there, I want to stop my workday at noon, period. I will not be doing the same kind of flitting, though. My mind maps have really enabled me to zero in one what needs to get done exactly and since it’s on-going, I don’t have to stop each day and figure out what my next move is. It’s all already in my mind map.

I also don’t like feeling like I’m working from sun up until my head hits the pillow. It kind of makes me feel resentful at times, like I work ALL the time, even though there are moments in between when I don’t. I have guilt if I sit down to relax and don’t have my email on in front of me. If I watch a TV show, I feel like I ought to just glance as I work on business stuff.

In other words, I have no true relaxation time.

Now noon might seem really early to y’all, but not for me. I can write 5 pages an hour. So now, here’s how my new schedule will go:

6 AM – Wake up, brew coffee, get kids ready while checking stats and emails.

7-8 – carpool

8-10 – Ghostwriting to wrap up 50 page projects – I am SO behind. I got into researching and organizing and wasn’t as productive with output, my mind map shows me.

10-11 – PLR creation and promotion

11-12 – work on other site or project of choice, including making a blog post, emailing out, etc.

Get Up N Dance

Okay so after analysis and a chat with my old nutritionist, she agreed that the Dance Central (which I love and have so much fun doing) would be a great form of exercise for me to increase my physical stamina. I don’t like being out of breath. That is my ONLY goal here, sorry – it’s not weight loss.

If I lose, great! Who doesn’t wish for a smaller butt? But if my two butt cheeks never shed an inch, I love them just the same. Just not fond of how I had a hard time walking up 4 flights of stairs on the field trip. I did it and kept up, but I had to hide being so out of breath because it was humiliating. I want LUNG CAPACITY, people!

So from 12-1 I will be dancing to Dance Central 2. Songs include Baby Got Back (perfect!), Humpty Dance, Nothin on You and many more. Plus, I buy songs I like to add to it. Let your imaginations run wild – there’s gonna be a whole lotta shakin going on here in Texas!

Tapping Into My Home and Garden Leadership Role

Okay this is weird. I used to always be a slob, and Lord knows I still am to many degrees. But when I started cleaning as part of the 5 Love Languages for my husband (who appreciates that sort of stuff), I got to where I enjoy having a clean kitchen. It doesn’t mean I enjoy cleaning, but I do like when it’s all done.

I have that Home Shopping Addicts site – and I want to personalize it a lot more with real insight. I want to do stupid things like make a before and after picture of my junk drawer, now using a drawer organizer. I want to do home improvement projects and blog about them.

Many of you know I live in my childhood home. It’s VERY sentimental to me. But my dad let it get run down inside and out, and when we first moved in, we were new parents, focusing on getting jobs and paying bills. So now that we’re making some money, I want to put a little aside for home projects – the majority going to tuition and living expenses.

So part of my day will be spent working on tidying up the house and then doing some sort of fixer upper project! I’m looking forward to the changes. I’m looking forward to helping lead people from a real “put into action” perspective.

Errands

I’m always feeling so tired rushing around to fit my errands in. Well when the time comes to pick up the kids, either right before or after I get them is when I’ll tackle these. Not off and on all day. That includes grocery shopping, post office, etc.

Fiction Writing

Some of you know this is my dream. Always has been. However, I feel I suck at it. I can’t write my way out of a paper bag when it comes to dialogue or character development. Please don’t suggest any resources – I’ve read dozens upon dozens and taken distance courses with personal help, etc. All of them were things I failed at.

I haven’t tried my hand at this in about 2 or 3 years now. However, I don’t give up on my dreams. I want this to be an “outside of work” relaxation period for me. Not something I do to try to make money at. If I wind up making money, fine. But that’s not my goal right now. I just need to feel like I grasp the method of idea choice, character evolution and storytelling.

My Mom, who is awesome at fiction (she’s had agents, etc.), said that she would love to help me through this. Beforehand, she always was proud of my attempts. But she understands that I don’t need any accolades. I need someone to tell me when my writing sucks and why, so I can learn.

So this journey starts tomorrow.

What’s my kind of fiction? Everyday life. Stuff like Jodi Picoult. I like being inside the minds of characters who I can relate to if even on some tiny little level – even if nothing else is relevant to me.

I don’t need some oddball twist or shocking moment. Just entering the characters’ lives and minds is what I enjoy.

Down Time

I just learned about this new fangled thing called down time. It means you don’t do anything. GASP! Nothing? No computer staring at me from the couch? Nope. No cleaning up after people? Nah. No nothing. Just relaxing. Playing with my kids, holding them, making them dinner, watching my favorite shows or taking a bubble bath.

Nothing at all…but at the same time it’s everything, isn’t it?

I’m not one for making a start date. It starts when I wake up first thing in the morning. I feel like I am gaining so much clarity this week – mind maps and discussions with those closest to me (Craig, my sister, my Mom, and even my nutritionist who understands my mentality about eating/moving and is the only one who does).

I feel so…FREE!

Better get some sleep because tomorrow I’ll be hitting it hard, uninterrupted until noon.

Tiff

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