Organization, Inspiration, Balance || As Important As Live, Laugh, Love

That picture is completely unrelated to today's post, I just love Roxi kisses. Or I could say this is me living, laughing and loving.

Like what I did there?

I've spoken before about how chaotic my life can be. And I know I'm not the only one fighting that battle. Life has a way of getting the best of us and giving us a 'weighted' feeling.

But it shouldn't be that way. Life's too short to feel overwhelmed.

I wanted to share some things that have helped me overcome the stress and chaos. Most importantly what keeps me going and striving for more rather than throwing in the towel.

ORGANIZATION

This is huge. My calendar and making lists are my go-to form of organization. I use my Whitney English planner and those of you who've been around here before know that I'm totally obsessed and will never buy another calendar. It's worth the splurge to me! I keep my schedule, daily tasks and reminders here. As for lists, I use my notepad on my phone because it's basically glued to my hand and I know I won't forget it somewhere. Knock on wood.

I've recently started my sponsorship program back up after taking a much needed break for the Summer to enjoy the season and feel refreshed. (Make sure to take a look because I'd love to have you on my blog!). Before starting back I was determined to have a sponsor schedule so I created a few handy-dandy sheets with inspiration from Jana at Life Could Be A Dream.That girl has my heart for organization and even better, she shares it with the crowd. Anyway, organization is detrimental to being a good hostess with the mostess for your sponsors. I'll share more of that soon.

BALANCE

With all things we must learn balance. How to put our eggs in many baskets as evenly as possible. I have to be very intentional about balancing a blog, two business and a life! If I'm not careful I pay too much attention to my business and loose sight of important connections with friends. Or vis-versa. Time management is key to being successful. I'm slowly learning how to set aside times to work on certain areas of importance. For instance on Sundays I spend time with my family the entire day, but I know to set aside an hour at night to prepare for Monday's blog post and any matters of business during the week ahead.

I'm sharing my cleaning list with those of you who are interested. It's helped me narrow cleaning down to 20-30 minutes a night freeing up my weekend. Just another form of time management.

INSPIRATION

Blogland is so huge and is such a great tool for inspiration. All around us women are moms, entrepreneurs, wives, worker-bees, etc. I'm always inspired to read a blog about a mom or wife managing her home and business and learning what works for them. Read around and be inspired!

Pinterest is also a super great tool. I keep a blogging board for all things blogging of course! It's a great way to see what tools other bloggers are using to grow or manage their space on the web.

WORKSPACE

I'm actually working on my home workspace so I don't have a picture to share, but man, how important is it to have a space you are comfortable and inspired by to work in!? I say it's 100% important. I get SO much more work done at my work office than I do on the couch at home. Making your office fabulous doesn't mean you have to fork over the big bucks to have a great space. In my opinion you need a desk, good lighting, a comfy chair and some decorative pieces that put a smile on your face. You can get an idea of my ideal home office here.

What gives you inspiration, motivation or the drive to keep working and stay focused?