Well Planned Life

It’s been three months since I set up my Starbucks binder .   A lot has changed since then, so a proper update is necessary. Since my initial post back in February, a member of the Filofax for Philofaxy Fans Facebook group had posted a question as to whether or not people collected Starbucks gift cards and/or kept them in a Filofax binder (or stated that she was starting such a binder—I forget the details, now).   Several people were interested in this idea, and this triggered a new Facebook group: Starbucks Gift Cards, Trading Cards .   There are many websites and/or groups out there for trading Starbucks gift cards, but this was spin-off of the Philofaxy community , so it was one I was willing to join. [Both Facebook groups linked above are closed groups, and you need to request to join.] Now that I’m a member of a Starbucks cards trading group, I have acquired many new cards, cards that I wouldn’t otherwise have been able to get.   As per the group’s...

Now that I have assessed how I’m doing with my 2014 goals and resolutions , and now that I’ve got all of my Life Books in order, where do I go from here?   It’s not enough to have all of the systems in place—I also have to use them to my benefit.   I have to be accountable for the goals I’ve set and how I succeed or not.   Otherwise, what’s the point of it all? I have made excuses as to why I have not succeeded with my goals.   I could say that those excuses still exist, but the truth is, no matter what system(s) is (are) in place, no matter what else happens in my life, *I* am the only one who can make (or break) my goals and resolutions. After taking a good hard look at where I stand with my goals, and after updating my resources, I can say that it will be easy for me to start again and move forward.   But the truth is that it won’t be any easier than it was during the past four months.   Each day I will wake up, and each day I will have t...

As I mentioned in my last post , my Spirituality Book is my latest notebook acquisition.   Before I go into the details of the book, let me give you some background information as to how this book came to be. I don’t preach to anyone about anything.   It’s just not my nature.   I especially don’t preach (or even talk much about) politics or religion.   I believe that everyone has a right to believe what they believe based on what they are taught, what is important to them, and their life experiences.   I also believe that everyone has a right to those beliefs without having to defend their position just to prove someone else wrong or prove themselves right.   Believing something isn’t about being right; it’s about how you live your life.   I don’t discuss politics with others simply because I have a right to believe what I believe without having to hear from others why I’m wrong, because there will always be someone who feels that I’m wrong based ...

This is part 2 of my version of Josh’s Accountability Project wherein I discuss what I have deemed my Life Books. Basically, my Life Books are the 5 books that I cannot do without.   They help me with my day-to-day activities, surely; but they also help me emotionally and mentally.   They cover each aspect of my life needs: mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, and organizational (okay, that’s my life need and doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone). You may have seen others discuss similar ideas on this topic of various notebooks for different needs.   Specifically, Organized Like Jen recently posted something along the same lines.   By the time I saw this video, I already had my thoughts in mind and was nodding in agreement at what she was saying because of it.   I guess it’s just that time of year when people reassess their yearly goals and resolutions.   Anyway, this is my take on my Life Books and how I’m using them both individually ...

Now that we are a full three months into the year, I thought this would be a good time to update everyone on my 2014 goals and resolutions , to check in with myself and see how I’m doing.  Actually, I know where I am, and I don’t like it.  The short answer is: my goals are kicking my butt, not the other way around, as it should be at this point. I might have been tempted to not post an update, seeing as it’s not going very well.   But Josh’s Accountability Project has me thinking that the only way for me to be accountable for my goals is to write about it, since clearly I’m not accountable enough to myself.   (Josh has also created a Facebook group for his project, the link to which you can find through the link above.) If you remember from my original post, I had a lot of goals (12 to be exact).   It is not the sheer number of them that has me failing; it’s the lack of motivation for anything during the last three months.   The easiest way to ex...