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You may be wondering why I would share my goals and evaluations each month. More importantly, you may be wondering how it helps you. I share my goals with you each month for many reasons. One reason is accountability. If you set goals each month but no one knows about them, it is easier to push them back and put them off. The second reason is that I want you to be inspired to set and achieve your own goals each month. The third, and one of the most important reasons, is that I want you to see the evaluation process at work. Not achieving a goal you set can be good if you truly reflect and take a hard look at why you didn’t achieve it. That is how you grow. So take a look at what worked for me last month and how I plan to achieve my March 2017 goals!

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[bctt tweet=”Find out how I plan to achieve my March 2017 goals and how you can too!” username=”diyadulation”]

February 2017 Evaluation

Business Goals

Continue Product Work – Fail?

Do you ever get stuck on a project? That is what has happened to me. I set aside time each weekday to work on this and I sat staring at pages of notes and outlines. That is why I’m not sure if this is a fail. The tiny snippets that came to me don’t feel like accomplishing much.

Finish Posts in Editorial Calendar – Success

Okay, so I didn’t finish every single one. In fact, there are things for Easter posts that I couldn’t even find in stores yet. However, I am ahead on posts and I continue to get further ahead each day. This has been huge for me, as you can imagine.

Build Twitter Following to 5,000 – Fail

I haven’t cracked that magical formula yet. In the last few weeks I have been seeing progress but no huge leaps. I am continuing to see growth. I will preserver in this.

Finance Goals

Reorganize Finances – Success

This was definitely priority number one for me. I can’t focus on anything if I don’t know that my finances are in order. Thankfully, everything is re-organized and back on track.

Save Something – Success

It wasn’t much but I managed to save $50. The best part is that by the end of March I have it budgeted to save up to $500. Can’t wait to see that $1000 finish line!

Organization Goals

Finish Office – Fail

Why is this failing for the 2^nd month in a row? TOO. MUCH. STUFF. I now have boxes of items and supplies to get rid of and still don’t have a place for everything. It is time to do a second round of purging.

Continue Purging – Success

I am like a machine. With every load of laundry I keep a box handy for outdated or unused clothes. As rooms get cleaned, excess items go into a box. By the end of March I plan to have a home that is thousands of pounds lighter.

Self-Improvement Goals

5,000 Steps Daily – Fail

I am super disappointed in this one. I have added more dancing to my day (which is pretty impressive considering how much I already randomly burst into dance). I’ve also made sure that I get up and move each time my Jawbone vibrates. We now have a treadmill that I plan to spend an hour on each day. I hope that this helps me reach above and beyond my step goal.

Make More Time for Friends – Success

I was much better at making time for friends. There is still room for improvement but I am well on my way to a more balanced life.

Family Goals

Continue Family Meetings – Success

We haven’t found out weekly rhythm but we are still having family meetings. I think that finding the day and time that fit best is the biggest challenge.

Regular Zoo Trips – Fail

We didn’t make it to the zoo once in February. This is one that I intend to try again in March. I’m hoping that going ahead and putting zoo trips on the calendar will make them more likely to happen. The eventually warming weather should help too.

March 2017 Goals

Business Goals

E.B.A. 3.0 – I am so excited to be taking this! I took Elite Blog Academy last year but the changes Ruth has made are extremely exciting. I have actually already started on the course and I love it!
Grow Twitter to 5,000 – Yes, I am continuing to focus on growing Twitter. I refuse to give up! P.S. I’m taking part in an awesome giveaway this month that will focus on this! Yay!
Continue on Editorial – It is amazing watching my hard work pay off and I want to continue with that momentum. If I can keep up this pace, I will be done with my May posts by the end of this month!

Finance Goals

Business Finance Plan – It occurred to me that I am super obsessive about my personal finances yet I’m not doing the same for my business finances. I keep an expense schedule and a register. That’s it. I need to start planning ahead with my business finances as I do with my personal finances.
Build Saving to $500 – As I said earlier, I have built this into the budget. Hopefully I can stretch it to even more.

Organization Goals

Ruthless Purge – It is time to go room by room and ruthlessly get rid of items. This is my trial run before running a challenge for you in April. A clean home makes for a clear mind.
Finish Office – Yet again I am going to make this a goal. I need my organized office back. That is why I’m going to devote 20 minutes every single day to get it done.

Self-Improvement Goals

Reach 5,000 Daily Steps – The treadmill should make this entirely reachable. This is another goal that I’m determined to reach.
Continue Improving Balance – I will continue to work on those goals that help me achieve a better life balance. That includes continuing to make time for friends and for myself. I can’t be productive if I don’t take the time to recharge.

Family Goals

Zoo Trips on the Calendar – As I said above, I hope that by getting these on the calendar I can make sure that they happen. No more ad-hocking it.
Family Meetings – I want to get these on a finalized schedule that works for us.

There you have it! If you take a peek at November’s goals from last year you can see how far I’ve already come. You can have that, too. See a steady growth in your life and yourself with monthly goals. Don’t forget to grab your Free Monthly Goal Setting Planner to help you be as successful as possible. Creating your future is easy when you have the right tools. What are you waiting for?

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Get ready to take your parenting game to the next level with the parenting tips no one tells you. They’ll help you prepare for where the baby books run out.

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Any woman who has ever been pregnant knows that everyone on the planet has parenting tips. They feel compelled to share those tips with you constantly and unsolicited.

They tell you the “correct” way to feed your baby, hold your baby, whether or not you should co-sleep… if you can think of it, it has probably been said.

What you don’t hear is, “If you let the toddler roam the car while buckling the baby, then check all of your dials before leaving.” Or that baby gates are challenges more than actual baby-proofing.

Always Take Your Keys

Any time you step outside without kids, take your house key. Whether you are walking the oldest to the bus stop or grabbing the mail, always take your keys. Little hands love to explore and that little tab on the door knob is like a magnet for them. Don’t think you are safe if they are in the pack-n-play either. The second your back is turned they transform in acrobatic little ninjas who will escape.

Interior Door Keys

Speaking of locked doors, stock up keys for your interior doors too. Independent 3-year-olds will lock themselves in the bathroom. Teenagers will be naïve enough to think they “own” their room. We keep one of these above every door in the house and have used them so many times I have lost count.

Handle Guards

If you are using the rubber ones to prevent head bashing, great! If you are using those crazy contraption ones to prevent little hands from opening doors, you are wasting your money.

We had one on our front door. The irony was that the toddlers it was supposed to keep safe were the only ones who could work it.

Save yourself the trouble and money; invest in a door chain. They can get the door open but not enough to get out of the house.

Bonus:

Remember to unlatch it before your husband gets home. Turns out he gets cranky when he’s chained out of the house after work… especially if you’re downstairs and don’t hear him yelling.

Move the Baby Gate

These are fine on the floor when baby first starts moving. Once they become toddlers, though, the baby gate turns into an obstacle to overcome. It is their baby Everest and they are up to the challenge. That is why you should move the gate up a few inches during the toddler years. It will be harder for them to climb.

[bctt tweet=”You’ll be the smartest parent on the block with these parenting tips no one tells you. #parenting” username=”diyadulation”]

Utilize Stickers

Stickers are your new best friend. They are inexpensive and can be used to re-enforce everything from potty training to acts of kindness. Yes, you will find stickers everywhere but which would you rather clean: a sticker mosaic or a feces Van Gough?

Bonus Tip:

If you do find yourself forced to clean up that Van Gough, use a foaming bathtub cleaner like Scrubbing Bubbles. It will stay in place on walls to make cleaning easier.

Tie Up the Play Yard

At some point after the “throw all my toys out and watch you pick them up” phase of the pack-n-play your child will move on to a new game. This fun game is called “run and throw all of my weight against the side”.

My son could move his clear across the living room in 2 runs at 2 years old. You can prevent this by tying the leg of the pack-n-play to a sturdy furniture leg like the couch or a sturdy coffee table.

Use a Pizza Cutter

Don’t use a pizza cutter only for pizza. This little miracle can cut up tons of foods quickly and easily. We have used it on salads, spaghetti, hot dogs, fruit, and cookies. It will save you a ton of time!

Set Up 2 Wi-fi Accounts

Did you know that you can set up 2 accounts on the same router that both pull from the same internet? You can even choose the speed of each one.

Use one wi-fi to connect all of your household devices to like your Fire Stick and DVD players. Use the other one for all of your kids’ devices like phones, laptops, and Xboxes. If the kids are grounded you can easily disable their electronic with affecting your own.

You’ll be the smartest parent on the block with these parenting tips no one tells you. Hopefully you’ll be less stressed, too, because parenting is stressful enough on its own. Want more super-simple parenting ideas to save you sanity? Check out these DIY Busted Cards and these 5 Tips to Get Kids to Sleep. Do you have a parenting tip no one tells you? Share it with us in the comments!

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Dealing with depression isn’t easy. Cultural stigma tells you to get over it. Friends and family don’t understand it. Then add on the fact that everyone is different so there is no standard treatment and it feels like a battle you can’t win. I would love to tell you I have a magic cure but I don’t. Instead, I can share with you my 8 tips for dealing with depression after nearly 20 years of doing so.

Affiliate links may be used in this post. Ordering a product through these links may result in a commission at no extra cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.

[bctt tweet=”Dealing with depression is hard. These tips can help make it easier. #depression” username=”diyadulation”]

Plan Ahead

It sounds so simple but you need to be specific. Bad days are going to come when you can’t function like you need to. Right now you’re trying to power through but that can actually make it worse. Don’t try to power through and instead plan ahead for these days.

Have freezer meals ready to throw in the oven or in the Crock-Pot.
Stash a set of clean clothes for each of your kids in case you can’t do laundry.
Batch your work so that you are ahead when bad days hit.

Have a Bag of Tricks

Keep a physical list of things that can improve your mood. Think of this list as your bag of tricks that you can pull from on bad days.

Maybe getting lost in a good book helps you pull out of it. It may take some time but any time an activity helps make the bad days a little better, write it on your list.

My top 3 activities are:

Throwing on headphones and blasting music: I usually start with sad songs but put my IPod on shuffle so upbeat songs eventually come on. This keeps me from wallowing.
Getting sunlight or visiting a tanning bed: In the summer this is easier because I can go outside and the sun physically warms me up. That helps warm my mood, too.
Taking a nap or going to bed early: When I sleep it helps my levels go back to normal. While this one isn’t always an option, it does always help.

Be Open About It

I’m not saying have an all-out breakdown in front of people. None of my friends or extended family have seen me on the days that I am literally rocking in a corner bawling my eyes out.

However, everyone in my life knows that I have depression and also that some days I am just going to be different. Trying to hide it isn’t worth it. Let people know when you’re having a bad day. If they can’t handle that, you don’t need them in your life.

Meal Plan

This goes along with planning ahead. If you have a weekly meal plan in place you can easily shuffle meals if needed.

Move frozen pizza night to Tuesday and switch stir fry to Friday. Also, don’t forget about lunches if you have little ones at home during the day.

Don’t feel guilty about heating up leftovers or serving a cheese sandwich for lunch. Your kids will love it, anyway.

Create Kid Kits

Speaking of kids, being a mom doesn’t stop when depression hits hard. Creating kid kits will make life so much easier. Keep a bag stocked with new, quiet toys and activities.

When a bad day happens, surprise your kids with something from the bag. They will love getting a new surprise and it will help keep them entertained when you don’t have the energy.

To help you out, here are some ideas for what to put in the bag:

Be Specific

Friends and family don’t know what you need. Be specific when telling them what you need, how they can help, and what is currently going on. If you need your husband to take the kids outside so that you can have some quiet, tell him.

When friends keep calling and you can’t deal with it, tell them. Not everyone is going to understand and that’s okay. They simply have to respect it.

My mom doesn’t love the fact that I can’t always bring myself to respond to her but she respects that sometimes it may be 24 hours before I can let her know that I’m okay. If I’m still not up for talking, a simple text will suffice. These are the specifics and boundaries that you need to set.

Keep Your Home Clean

Trust me; I know how hard this is. I have small kiddos, a tiny kitchen, and too much stuff. My house is always a mess.

When you add a bad depression day to that mixture you get so far behind that it is a monster to tackle. If you can’t keep your whole house clean, aim for one room. For me, that room is my office because it is the only room in the house that no one else is allowed in.

However, I actually recommend that you do it with your bedroom. If you can keep your bedroom clean then you will have one room to retreat to that doesn’t feel like it is adding to the chaos going on inside of you.

Don’t Be Ashamed to Take Meds

Honestly, I see so many people who write, post, and talk about avoiding medicine at any cost. Decide right now that your life is worth more than that.

My body is sick and cannot produce the chemicals that I need to keep from spiraling into depression. No amount of positive thinking, therapy, or homeopathic remedy can “fix” that.

It is the same as needing to take insulin to process sugar. So don’t be ashamed if you need medicine and don’t be afraid to speak up when it’s not working. There are a ton of different kinds in a variety of strengths so that you can find the perfect fit for your body and your depression.

Dealing with depression is hard. These tips can help make it easier. When the bad days come you can have tools to get through them. Even better, when you come out on the other side you won’t be as behind because of you planning ahead. Don’t let depression define you. It is simply a part of you and you are so much more than a single part.

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