It is far from the first day of Winter, but if you can believe it - there are still over 55 days left of the season. The week that passed started with what many call 'Blue Monday' the third Monday of January & what is widely considered the saddest day of the year.
We spent the day skating at the Canada 150 Rink at Parliament Hill in Ottawa & of course ate beaver tails! The way I see it - is we can either spend the next few months wishing the days away. OR we can count down the days until Spring with fun winter Activities! The fact that it has taken me 30 days to get this Bucket List up on the Blog speaks to how much the cold dark days effect my motivation. You can print off your FREE Winter Bucket List HERE that Cody was kind enough to make & share! Cody and I plan to go tobogganing, Snow Shoeing, and hopefully Skating (again), I also listed a few locations we want to explore. One thing that is ALWAYS top on my Winter Bucket List annual photo-shoot my Bestfriend Kristen & I started a few years back! Lots more from this shoot if you scroll all the way to the bottom of the post.
It is so important to get outside, under the sunshine & into the fresh air whenever possible! As much as you may not be feeling it as you spend 5-10 minutes layering up before hand, I promise that if you dress properly for the weather, you will feel 100x better once you get out there &200x better once you get back inside with a hot bevy. I also included some indoor actitvites for those Stormed-In days! Movie Marathon Ideas, build a blanket fort, a list of Great Books to read, & a spa day are just a few!
There just aren't enough Balloon or Rose Emojis on the Planet for me to feel that I justifiably explained my love for this Clutch of Dreams from Studio DIY (& No that is not it's 'official' name all though I do vote it should be). While you may be reading this while rolling your eyes & thinking 'Who Doesn't LOVE Every Studio DIY Clutch'; For me THIS one takes the fuzzy pompom Cake! The only words I can think of to describe it are "It's So Fuzzy I could DIE" -- it's the most suitable quote! The blush pink colour is seriously TOO perfect, I love this colour year round, but it also happened to be a key colour for my 2017 Christmas Decor Colour Pallet (even I feel like I need to tone down my own Wanna be Kelly Mindel with that line). & if you live in Canada where the winters drop down to -30... it kinda doubles as a mitten for whatever hand is lucky enough to hold it! I have been loving this because I can keep all of my necessities in it (including my full size wallet) & shove it in my Purse for work // Day & then pull it out (ditch the massive granny bag) & be ready for a coffee date with a Friend or Festive Party at night! We are also dealing with a heavy amount of snow storms this Winter - the main reason I tuck it inside a tote, is to avoid leaving it's fluffy glory exposed to the elements (inset meme of Carrie Bradshaw shielding her purse from the rain). The second reason is that I bring a LOT more with me for a day than this adorable clutch can hold!
I am the definition of a Planner Addict. I can't don't go anywhere without it. I turn to it constantly, to jot down ideas of inspirations; To plan / balance my personal & work life; To journal & remember the day to day joys; To calm my anxieties and re-assure myself that I am on track for the day & doing what I am meant to be doing.
I have been about Agendas & To Do Lists for as long as I can remember. I remember writing out pretend Lists as a Kid mimicking my Mom and her infamous Agenda / Calendar. In elementary I was always happy to write in our mandatory School Agendas.
In the past bit, I have been hearing a lot more people mention to me that they should use an Agenda, could benifit from a day planner, that they used to have one but never used it & wished they had of... I am not sure if it is the New Year (& the floods of them being seen in stores), OR the fact I have mine in my hand constantly, like an elephant in the room. Takes up about that much space once i get sprawled out planning.
I have always organized my Planners / To Do Lists the same way. Mind you, I had NO IDEA that this was a legit way to organize your thoughts & plans until I heard it explained in all its beautiful glory in an episode of Silicon Valley.
& that is SCRUM.
I do mine in a Binder, not on a Board. I like to be able to close it when the day is done. There is another quote from the Show (Silicon Valley) 'If you work from Home, you also kinda' live in your Workplace'. I find being able to put it away when the day is done helps deter this feeling for me. Colour Coding is my favourite part!
If you are someone who works a day job(or 2) as well as working your own passion(s) at night / in your off time, I strongly suggest 'assigning' a colour to each aspect of your life / Day. This will help you when blocking out your day (I'll touch more on this later) to ensure that you make time for your own passions. If you schedule your day with blocks of time for your passions or home business(s), it will help you bring the same focus and importance to those tasks as you do a shift at your 'Day Job'.
I also use the colour Red when I Re-assign anything that wasn't completed in the day or week prior to show it's urgency.
I use my Agenda/ Scrum Binder to jot down my work schedule(s), important dates & events, & my top 3 daily / weekly tasks. I switched things up a bit this year & will be using a Composition Planner by Websters Pages. It is a 6 Ring Binder style with inserts that can be customized. There are so many amazing organization pages in it, and cute sections after every week to fill in with fun memories! I then do a deconstructed version of a SCRUM board with FREE Printables from Scattered Squirrel. that I can insert. I use the 'Weekly To Do's', '1page Weekly', & on perticuarly frantic days the 'Daily Task List Planner' (I really like the water tracker on the top of this one).
On Sundays, I sprawl out my Agenda, coloured Sharpies & White-Out to fill out the Weekly To Do & 1page Weekly Printables. I transfer all the information from that week including shifts at work & any important dates or events from my Agenda, & list my Weekly Top 3 Tasks or Stories.Each in their own colour. I then start working my way through the week planning out my days in advance. This is when I block out - or schedule hours to work on anything I want to accomplish that week as mentioned earlier. I am sure to leave some free (un-scheduled) time every day for spontaneous joys & the unpredictable.
Transferring this information into one piece of paper not only makes it 365X easier to transport around all day than an entire planner is, but also keeps me focused on my Goals for that Day / Week, which helps me stress less about things that may be coming up. (I love the little part on the Weekly To Do's Printable 'WORRIES FOR ANOTHER WEEK' for exactly that. I use the section often as a way to ensure myself that I will not forget about whatever it may be, & to put it out of my mind for the week.)
It has been so cold the past few days - that January weather hit Canada like a Ball Drop. Why not take advantage of the time spent indoors to get yourself organized - as a hint of how long I have been in hibernation mood, I am now scheduling for March!
BRING ON SPRING
Self Love Cultivated Through ; Self Love, The Process of Art, & An Attitude of Gratitude
