Do you carry over any tasks from day to day, week to week, or month to month? Do you get frustrated because you’re not completing ALL of your tasks? Here’s one big tip for you and how to overcome that feeling: dedicate time to actually doing the thing. Plan for when or how.

This is one of the first things I teach you inside Beyond Balance - how to improve your relationship with time. You could be super organized and have the best planning system, but if your relationship with time is out of balance, you'll never feel the way you want to feel - relaxed, calm, in control.

When you’re so “busy” filling your time, wanting to “check in” by reaching for your phone, or trying to “keep up” with chores by picking up the same toys over and over again, precious time is being wasted. And you don’t even realize you’re doing it. What could you actually do with all that wasted time, to be more productive?

Productivity experts preach about the evils of multi-tasking and how it divides your attention, takes more time to switch tasks, and drains your energy faster than single-tasking. But have they ever met a working mom?!?

If you're like me and starting the new year with a new planner, don't hesitate to make a mess. Don't save it for the "perfect" start, or the "right way" to use it. Get in there and make a mess. You bought it to use it!

How many times a day do you think of something you need to do? It's no wonder our to-do lists grow faster than we can take action. But as much as you tell yourself that these things have to get done, that you have no choice but to do them, the reality is you'd rather do them than face the consequences.

You’re a working mom. You have a lot to keep up with. You’ve purchased a new planner every year (or more). Only for them to end up in a pile collecting dust. Before you purchase your next new planner, there are some important questions to ask yourself to determine the reasons why you need one, the format that will work best, and how to use it successfully.

You look at your week to make a plan. Everything is important, all of it. You’ve got a looming deadline at work. School supplies need to be purchased. Laundry must be done. Sports practices. What if there’s hope hidden in just four simple steps? Try it. You, even as a working mom, may just find yourself with a bit of extra time this week.

She dreamed about relaxing. About smiling more. About sitting on the floor and actually playing with her kids, instead of just being in the same room with them while she picked up around them.

But she’d lost the ability to prioritize all the things in her life and she’d fallen into the habit of just doing whatever was in front of her.

Instead of beating yourself up for “falling behind”. Or fighting to get “caught up” again, you shrug your shoulders and remind yourself that this is life. And especially life as someone with a professional job and kids and a household to manage.

Just last week I had a client frustrated with how she was showing up each day. She is super organized and has a great system to track all of the things she needs and wants to do. But when it came to execution, she just wasn't doing it.

She would make a plan for the day, put a realistic number of things on her list, and even add in time to exercise a few times a week. But with the variability of her workdays dealing with patients and the inconsistent sleep habits of her baby, she hadn't considered the idea that not all days are created equal.