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10 Personal Development Hacks for Moms

January 16, 2022

We can use personal development hacks to reduce feeling overwhelmed as a new mom.

Personal Development includes organizing, goal setting, planning, and getting in control of your day.

Are you overwhelmed?

Ever find yourself with too many things to do in a day? Forgetting to pick up cupcakes for school and rushing last minute to get some (yes, that’s me!)? As a result of being exhausted and overwhelmed, is your house always a mess, and are you struggling to get into a cleaning routine?

First of all, this is normal and many new moms feel overwhelmed daily.

I’ve been there and know how exhausting it can be to try to remember to do everything that your family needs and keep tabs on due dates.

This is to say, as much as we do a fantastic job at juggling 2000 tasks in a day, consequently, this can result in us sometimes dropping the ball on a couple of things. This can cause extra stress, rushing, and exhaustion. I have found a couple of things that I started doing that helped me get back on track and keep things running smoothly.

*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.  I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. 

Use these Personal Development Tips for Overwhelmed moms to get life in order and feel in control of your day again.

1. Create a Master to-do list

Our first Personal Development Hack is using a Master To-Do List that helps you to keep track of all the tasks, cleaning, organizing, birthdays, due dates, maintenance, and doctor’s visits you need to schedule for your family.

I use a master to-do list as a guideline to help me make sure that I stay on top of doctor’s visits and so on for the family.  

Firstly, I’ve found the need to do this because I have often forgotten to schedule certain dentist check-ups and renewing of my car license disc for example (which caused obvious stresses and pressure because then I had to do it very quickly and didn’t necessarily have time in my schedule to get these things sorted!).

Above all, it helps you to keep track of things that need to be done frequently, such as motor vehicle maintenance, annual renewals of a postbox, etc.

No more feeling overwhelmed as a new mom!

How to use a Master To-Do list:

  • Print out the blank or filled Master To-Do List and go through each task in each life category and schedule or create the items on the To-Do List.
  • Things get done due to using the To-Do List throughout the year before they are due
  • Additionally, this will result in reduced stress as you will be more in control of getting things done before they are due and therefore reducing last-minute stress.

2. Use a planner

You can use your planner to schedule all the To-Do List items in advance for the year. Include birthdays and events.

Remember to update your list with things you need to do and due dates as they come in.

You do not need to overdo it! Keep track of what must be done and tick them off as you do them by using the planner.

Here are some of my favorite useful and easy-to-use planners for busy moms:

  • 2022 Another Planner Mom
  • 2022 Calendar Year Day Planner
  • Desktop Spiral Day Planner
  • 2022 Hardcover Weekly Monthly Planner with Tabs Stickers
  • 2022 Calendar Year Day Planner

3. Have a daily/weekly schedule

Print out the Weekly Schedule from our Free Resources Library and plan your week. 

Useful tips for using a schedule:

  • Remember to include self-care activities and most importantly – DO NOT OVERFILL YOUR SCHEDULE. 
  • Make sure to include free time where you don’t schedule anything.
  • This schedule goes onto the fridge in a frequented spot so that you can see what you need to do when you aren’t sure.

How strict should you be with yourself with using a schedule?

To indicate how I use it, I write down activities that need to be done more or less at a certain time. This does not mean that I stick strictly to the schedule. It does not mean that if I don’t follow the schedule that I punish myself or feel guilty.

This is only meant to be a rough outline to guide yourself with your time – that’s all it is. 

It’s a guideline to help you get things done when you’re not really sure what needs to be done or if you might be behind on household tasks and check the list to see which tasks you can sort out now while you have an hour or 2 to do so.

4. Have a budget

You may feel like you have lost control and don’t know how to cope with your monthly payments or how to get through the month once you have been paid. 

“There is a solution to fixing your finances – we just don’t always LIKE the solution.”

 Step by step guide to organzing your finances:

  • If your expenses are more than your income,  or you are stressing about how to get through the month once you have paid all your bills, then you need to adjust your budget. (Start by creating a budget if you don’t already have one.)
  • You need to cut out anything that is not essential or a must-pay.
  • The easiest way to save money is to spend less, and the easiest way to spend less is to become familiar with your finances. There are several ways to do this.
  • The first is to find out how much you bring home in a month and then subtract your monthly bills. You’ll be surprised at how much you have leftover every month once you start looking at it like this.

How to budget:

  • Insert your incomes and expenses in a budget spreadsheet (or use a printable fixed expenses tracker & variable expenses tracker).
  • Highlight all the items that are essentials (such as housing, food, water, electricity, etc)
  • Now, highlight (in a different color) all the items you have to pay (such as minimum debt amounts, etc)
  • Add a column for all your debt and add in the total balance owed as well as the interest rate

5. Do things the night before – not in the morning while you are rushing out the door!

Running around like crazy in the mornings? Prepping lunch, packing bags, searching for an outfit for work?

How to change your rushed mornings:

  • Do not stress yourself out by doing things in the mornings!
  • Use a checklist that you place onto your fridge with a list of things to prepare for the next day for yourself and your kids. 
  • This is also the best way to make sure that you eat healthier meals and that you do not forget to pack essentials.

6. Plan meals according to your budget & activities for the month

Step by step guide to meal planning:

  • Create a rough meal plan for the month in a calendar. 
  • Use your month view calendar in your planner to see what events are coming up and what costs you have coming up for the month.
  • Remember to adjust your meal budget accordingly.
  • Now write down meals for each day (budget-friendly meals such as stews work well). Include 1 or 2 meat-free days in the week to save money.
  • If you have an event coming up (such as going to family or friends for supper) then you have 1 less meal to plan and budget for. 
  • You might also have an event that would include having meals at the venue (such as a kids sports day) – write down the budget for the day for meals.

7. Shop online – weekly

Here’s my biggest mom hack for grocery shopping:

Shop online so that you can stick to your budget and avoid tantrums in the shops!

How to go from shopping in store with a screaming toddler to online shopping in the comfort of your home:

  • I usually do a monthly shop after pay-day and then have a budget for each week and buy fresh ingredients each Sunday for the next week.
  • Shop online because it helps you see your total while you shop. You can then cut items from the list to ensure you stay within budget.
  • You might think it costs more money because you have to pay a delivery fee however, I’ve found that it actually saves me money as you would anyway pay for fuel and you tend to buy more treats and luxuries that weren’t on your list when you shop in-store.
  • This is also a great way to get your shopping done without taking the kids out to embarrass you in the shops!

8. Get kids to assist with household tasks

Some people think that allowing your kids to help around the house is using them as your servants or some people have their own personal traumas from being forced to help around the house as a punishment.

The point of getting your kids to help you around the house is not to punish them or use them. The benefits for them outweigh the small benefits you will get.

Benefits of kids helping mom around the house:

  • It shows kids how to keep their space neat and organized. 
  • Kids will learn to appreciate the value of being able to easily find their things. 
  • It teaches them about basic household tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and organizing, improving their experience when they move out of the house
  • They will better be able to look after themselves. 
  • It teaches them a work ethic and the importance of putting effort in to receive rewards.

No aspect of this should be forced or done out of anger. That will definitely scar them!

Here are some age-appropriate tasks that your kids can assist you with from the Child Development Institute:

Toddlers (Ages 2-3)

  • Pack away toys
  • Sweep the floor
  • Dust
  • Place clothes in the hamper

9. Prioritise how you spend your time based on your priorities & goals

How to prioritise your time to live the life you want:

  • Make a list of your daily and weekly activities.
  • Rank each activity 1-5 for least important to most important to you. Rate each one based on the priority in your life.
  • Keep a note in your daily Planner of what you do for a week. Write down the time in 24-hour format and write next to the time when you start doing an activity and when you stop.
  • At the end of the week, you should see how you have used your time for the activities.
  • For each of the activities listed, you will be able to put durations on how much time per day or week you spend doing that activity.
  •  Now compare the list of activities that you rated to the actual duration of time spent doing that activity. Does it match up? Do your priorities match up to the amount of time spent doing an activity?
  • If not, then you need to adjust how you spend your time so that you can focus your energy on your priorities.

Example of prioritizing your time:

I value family time (with my husband and son). When I did the journaling of how I spend my time, I was surprised to see that I spend a lot more time on social media than what I would like to admit, and less time with my family than I thought. So I cut down time spent on social media and now spend more quality time with my family.

10. Self-Care Activities

What are self-care activities?

Use your time constructively to recharge your batteries and regain your mental strength with self-care activities. These activities can vary from just resting to actively doing an activity such as writing in a journal which improves your mental health. 

Self-care activities offer the following benefits:

  • improve mental health
  • relax
  • destress
  • pamper yourself
  • fill up your cup
  • recharge

List of basic self-care activities you need to include in your week to live your best life: 

  1. Audit your social media and unfollow any accounts that make you feel negative energy or feel worse than you started. Follow some accounts that share positive and motivational content that make you feel good and encouraged.
  2. Bake a homey dessert
  3. Declutter a room in your house.Get dressed up – even if you are working from home
  4. Go to bed early or sleep in late.
  5. Lay down on the grass outside and watch the clouds float by – feel the sun on your skin
  6. Order in dinner & desert
  7. Plan out an extravagant vacation – for one day
  8. Practice gratitude – write down a list of things that you are grateful for – stop when you feel like you have listed enough (you will know when you have hit the mark)
  9. Read 20 pages out of a personal development/inspirational book
  10. Regular grooming such as a manicure and pedicure, shaving, etc
  11. Sit in a coffee shop and sip on a favorite drink.
  12. Take a bubble bath—complete with candles and a face mask
  13. Watch your favorite series or movie – without guilt
  14. Have a nap
  15. Go for a walk outside
  16. Watch the sunrise or set while having a coffee/ice-cream
  17. Write a to-do list and spend a day getting them done and ticking them off

12 Powerful Personal Development Books for this year

January 9, 2022

Personal Development Books will help you achieve your Personal Development Goals this year by improving your mindset, day after day.

At the start of a new year, everyone likes to add “Read More” to the list. We all know how the year goes – start of great and end up 3 months down the line with none of your new year’s resolutions ticked off. 

I have used the 12 books in 12 months challenge to actively get back into one of my favorite hobbies – reading. My love of books comes from reading a book and getting lost in the storyline or reading a self-help book that takes my mindset into a better place.

My introduction to the power of improving your mindset with personal development books by my mother-in-law. She would read a new book and tell me how incredible it was, resulting in me being intrigued enough to borrow it and fall in love with it! 

Once you start this reading challenge, you will never want to stop – although it might seem daunting at first.

*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.  I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. 

How to read 12 books in a year:

Reach your goal of reading more by simplifying the process. Break it down into month-by-month goals. 

You only need to read 12 pages a day to read a book a month of 360 pages. That is a completely realistic and doable amount.

  • Pick 12 books you want to read for the year.
  • Choose 1 book to start reading.
  • During an assigned time of day, read your book (before bedtime works well for good sleep)
  • Make it a habit to read for a certain amount of time or read a certain number of pages per day.

What type of book should you read?

One of the best ways to ensure that you meet your goal of personal development is to read personal development books and self-improvement books every day. It is a good way to work on mental health and learn new ways to simplify your life.

This is how personal development books actually help:

  • Improve yourself everyday
  • Better your life
  • Improve the quality of your life

The best books to read for self-development:

  • You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life
  • Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
  • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: 30th Anniversary Edition
personal development books

The best books to change your mindset:

  • The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
  • The Power of Positive Thinking
  • Everything Is F*cked: A Book About Hope (The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (2 Book Series))
  • The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life (Mark Manson Collection Book 1)
personal development books

The top 5 books that changed my life:

  1. Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day
  2. Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself
  3. What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing
  4. The Rules of Life ePub eBook: Rules of Life: A Personal Code for Living a Better, Happier, More Successful Kind of Life
  5. Slay Like a Mother: How to Destroy What’s Holding You Back So You Can Live the Life You Want
personal development books

Final thoughts

Now that you have a list of personal development books that you can start reading this year, you can tackle the rest of your goals and make them a reality.

Become That Girl In 2023 – 10 Easy Tips

December 12, 2021

Become "That Girl" In 2022

Becoming “That Girl” – what exactly does this mean?

There’s a good reason why Becoming That Girl is trending right now! In these new times, we all are seeking to find pure happiness, inner peace and joy every day. Life is all about self-improvement. We want to feel good inside and out. We want to have beautiful experiences. Make incredible memories. We want to be healthy – in all areas of life.

There’s always something new to learn and ways to grow. The key is figuring out where you want to go, then taking steps toward that goal.

Being a better version of yourself can be as simple as understanding how your mind works. It’s about being more efficient, staying focused and embracing positivity. The way to achieve any goal is to always remain positive even when things get challenging.

Here are 10 ways to help you be a better version of yourself and accomplish the Smart Goals you want for yourself in 2022!

*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.  I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. 

 

  1. That Girls, Start with a positive attitude

There’s nothing wrong with having a positive attitude and starting your day with a smile. It can be the difference between success and failure. A negative attitude can harm you in many ways.

 

The first way a negative attitude harms you is by bringing negative thoughts into your mind. When you let your thoughts run wild, you create an environment that can only attract negative energy.

Additionally, a negative attitude can harm you is by attracting the same kind of people into your life. By being around people who share your outlook on life, you will start thinking like them, which will only reinforce your negative outlook.

 

“By being around people who are positive and upbeat, you will start thinking like them, which will only reinforce your positive outlook.”

 

So choose your friends wisely.

 

  1. Make a gratitude vision board

Have you heard of vision boards? It’s a cool tool for long-term goal setting, and it’s based on the concept of the Law of Attraction.

You write down your goals and dreams and hang them in a place where you’ll see them every day. The idea is that thinking about your dreams will attract the energy you need to achieve them. And they say that if you want something bad enough, that want alone will bring it to you.

So if you want to be more grateful for what you have right now and live in the moment, create a vision board of the things you are most grateful for.

GRATITUDE VISION BOARD

  1. Work on your mindset

It took a couple of sessions with my therapist and hypnosis to release the trauma and take control of my fears for me to be able to get to a point of having a healthy mindset.

How do therapy and hypnosis help you with a healthy mindset?

  1. You learn that it is not your fault and there is nothing wrong with you for feeling broken and afraid of living once you have been through traumas
  2. You learn what traumas caused certain behaviours, thoughts and reactions
  3. You learn how to identify the thoughts that take you down the rabbit hole and how to divert your thoughts back to a happy place
  4. You release the tension, hurt, fears, anger and anxiety caused by traumas during hypnosis (when your subconscious mind is accessed)
  5. You feel lighter, free, joy, happiness and excitement in your mind, body and soul – instead of the heavy, dark, fear and anxiety that you started with.

 

My favourite affirmation:

“I release the unhealed version of myself.”

 

  1. That Girls know their financial situation

One of the biggest stresses in life is usually finances. Usually associated with having too little income and too many expenses or having too much debt and struggling to pay it off.

You may feel like you have lost control and don’t know how to cope with your monthly payments or how to get through the month once you have been paid. There is a solution – we just don’t always like the solution.

 

If your expenses are more than your income or you are stressing about how to get through the month once you have paid all your bills, then you need to adjust your budget. (Start by creating a budget if you don’t already have one.)

You need to cut out anything that is not essential or a must-pay.

The easiest way to save money is to spend less, and the easiest way to spend less is to become familiar with your finances. There are several ways to do this.

The first is to find out how much you bring home in a month and then subtract your monthly bills. You’ll be surprised at how much you have leftover every month once you start looking at it like this.

 

Follow these steps to financial freedom:

  • Insert your incomes and expenses in a spreadsheet.
  • Highlight all the items that are essentials (such as housing, food, water, electricity, etc)
  • Highlight (in a different colour) all the items you have to pay (such as minimum debt amounts, etc)
  • Add a column for all your debt and add in the total balance owed as well as the interest rate

Next:

  • Now put all your debt information into a debt snowball calculator such as this one by lifeandmyfinances.com, in the order of smallest balance to largest balance
  • Go through your expenses list and see which items you can cancel or cut which are not essential to you (it is ok to leave 1 thing that is there as a treat or luxury but you don’t need 7 treats or luxuries)
  • Use the money you saved to add to your debt snowball calculator as extra payments. The debt snowball calculator will show you how to pay off your debt
  • Make sure to include an amount each month for savings (for emergency savings or unexpected expenses)

It might take a couple of years to reach your goal of financial freedom, or just being debt-free. But the time will pass anyway and you might as well use the time to better your situation so that you no longer have to be anxious about your finances.

If you cut back now and focus on your financial goals, you will reach a point where you will be able to spoil yourself again and buy the things you want – but responsibly this time. It will be worth it!

Nobody has ever done this and said: “Oh no, I regret cutting back on my expenses so that I can now be debt-free”.

 

 

  1. That Girls Plan – Use your time wisely

Honestly, time management is the most important thing in life. If you can’t manage your time well, you’ll have zero results in anything. And you might be saying: “I have no time”. But you are wrong.

 

Here is a basic list of daily or weekly activities, and you can add to this list or remove items that aren’t applicable:

  • Sleeping
  • Eating
  • Cooking
  • Cleaning your environment
  • Personal hygiene
  • Kids
  • Partner
  • Working

Also:

  • Travelling to work & back (commuting)
  • Social Media
  • Television / Movies / Series
  • Shopping
  • Socialising

 

Write down this list and add several 1-5 for least important to most important to you. Rate each one based on the priority in your life.

Keep a note in your daily Planner of what you do for a week. Write down the time in 24-hour format and write next to the time when you start doing an activity and when you stop.

At the end of the week, you should see how you have used your time for the activities.

For each of the activities listed, you will be able to put durations on how much time per day or week you spend doing that activity.

 

Now compare the list of activities that you rated to the actual duration of time spent doing that activity. Does it match up? Do your priorities match up to the amount of time spent doing an activity?

If not, then you need to adjust how you spend your time so that you can focus your energy on your priorities.

Example:

I value family time (with my husband and son). When I did the journaling of how I spend my time, I was surprised to see that I spend a lot more time on social media than what I would like to admit, and less time with my family than I thought. So I cut down time spent on social media and now do more with my family.

 

  1. That Girl eats & hydrates her body to feel good

  • Hydrate your body with water
  • Eat food based on nutrition and fuelling your body (eat at a calorie deficit if you are looking to lean up). Learn about different foods and what nutrients and benefits they offer. After a couple of weeks of eating for nutrition, your body will learn what it gets from different foods and tell you exactly what it wants. Eat colourful meals – greens, reds, yellows, blues.
  • Treat yourself for 1 meal per week – whatever meal and desert you feel like (your body will tell you what it wants)

Healthy food to fuel your body

 

  1. Set Smart Goals for yourself and accomplish them!

Write your goals in a pretty journal.

I love this 3 pack of pretty journals:

3 Pack A5 Spiral Notebook/Journals

Start with your long-term goals and vision

Break this down into short-term goals, based on what you need to do to achieve your long-term goals

For example:

Long-term goal

  • Have a healthy and fit body

 

Short-term goals

  • Drink 2 litres of water a day
  • Workout (walk, run or dance) for 30 minutes per day
  • Fuel my body with nutritious foods
  • Priorise vegetables, protein and fruits into my diet (without cutting carbs and fats out)
  • Use skincare products to nourish and protect my skin
  • Schedule a self-care day to pamper my body, mind and soul
  • Schedule regular medical check-ups

 

 

  1. Create a vision board of who you want to be and what you want to do

A vision board is a collage of pictures, quotes and words that you want to achieve in your life. The goal is to visualize what you want in your life so you can see the steps you need to take to achieve those things.

 

Vision boards are a tool to help you achieve goals, dreams and aspirations. They motivate you to look forward to tomorrow and keep your eyes on the prize. Vision boards are not just for businesses and entrepreneurs; they are also useful for educational, personal self-improvement and fitness goals.

 

A simple vision board can be created by cutting images out of magazines, arranging them on a poster board, and pasting the images onto the board.

You can also create a digital board by pinning images on Pinterest to your board. This is a good way to use your social media time for feeling good. Pin images that motivate and inspire you to be a better version of yourself.

Vision Board

  1. That Girl reads

I started my healing journey by reading Jay Shetty’s Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day.

What I learnt from reading this book:
-How to overcome negativity
-How to stop overthinking
-Why comparison kills love
-How to use your fear

 

Some other popular “That Girl” books you should check out:

  • The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery
  • Atomic Habits – James Clear
  • 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think – Brianna Wiest
  • 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos – Jordan B. Peterson

 

  1. Keep a personal development journal

Write down the following in your journal:

  • positive mindset quotes
  • goals
  • positive affirmations
  • growth mindset tips
  • daily schedule/routine
  • self-care checklist/routine
  • cleaning & organising checklist
  • to do list for the year/month/week

 

 

If you want to become a better version of yourself, remember these 10 things. Maybe you already do most of them, but if not, take it as an opportunity to improve your daily routine and maybe even your life! Remember that we’re always here for you with more tips and tricks. 

 
 

Wishing you the best,

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