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Less priorities. More time & focus on 'em.

Less screen time. More presence in the moment.

Less posturing. More giving back.

Less noise. More silence.

Less rushing. More mindfulness.

Less comparison. More growth.

Less television. More satiating curiosity.

Less networking. More connecting.

Less calendar appointments. More playtime.

Less talkin' bout it. More being 'bout it.

Less yes to everything. More yes to the things that matter.

Less time for fake ones. More sippin Cristal (smoothies) with these real ones.

Less shopping. More thoughtful curating.

Less spending. More saving.

Less things. More experiences.

Less Pinterest. More real life.

Less digital. More analog.

Less burgers. More burpees.

More Glow. Always more @fortheglow.

More mentoring. More getting mentored.

Hopefully less sugar! LOL

Less consuming. More creating.

Always elevating the fresh.

How Keeping a Time Journal Keeps Me Productive

Have you ever gone to bed wondering what you got done all day? You remember being busy - maybe even productive. Yet you're not quite sure what you did, and if any of it was stuff you were supposed to get done today.

This year of simplifying has helped me realize that routines are my steez. Not that routine rules my life - not by any means - but having some of it helps keep me productive when I need to be, for as long as I need to be. In order to make time for self-care, reading, writing, dates with my boyfriend and cuddles with my bulldog, I have to use my time in the office or in front of a laptop wisely.

I've been exploring different ways to be more productive, and studying my own habits a lot more closely. We have to find the systems that work best for us, right?

Something that's really helped me lately is so simple yet so effective. I've been keeping a time journal - nothing fancy, just a blank page in my notebook where I track times alongside what I do. I don't make it too complicated so that I'm not hard on myself when I don't stick exactly to the format.

Sometimes a day of meetings go by and I'm recapping at night.

Sometimes I'm tracking what I do down to the minute.

I note when I'm distracted.

I note when I go to the bathroom.

I jot down as much as I can but don't get overly descriptive. What I've seen so far is so eye-opening!

The simple act of writing down what I do during the day absolutely helps me stay on task and productive more than I do when I'm not. I don't want to see hours of wasted time in my time journal, so my conscience puts in more effort to put in work. It brings me back to my to-do list and strategic dashboards more often each day.

I know when I get tired and am more likely to get distracted. I know Mondays will always be more productive than Thursdays, when I've worked out early every day that week and am just spent.

Time journaling has helped me recognize my most and least productive times of the day, and from that I've been able to carve some routines with flexibility that work for me. Sure, meetings come up and life happens, but I now have an anchor of sorts that pulls me back not just to my to-do list, but to my personal and professional goals.

To simplify our lives and make space for what matters, we have to understand what we're allowing to take up our time and focus!

Follow my year of simplifying here.

The Year of Simplify: Put It In My Pocket (App)

When I was a kid, I read voraciously. I would read EVERYTHING. I especially loved my serial reads - Baby Sitters Club, Boxcar Kids Nancy Drew have since been followed by Twilight & Harry Potter. I also had a soft spot in my heart for newspapers big and small.

I learned early on in life that reading was both the connection to the world at large and an escape from it. 

When I got older, most of my reading was for school (as most of us experience), and I actually panicked when I graduated from college.

What would I read now? Would my brain turn to mush now that I didn't have a wealth of books readily available (and sometimes forced) upon me? 

My brief freakout led to a promise I made to myself never to be short of things to read. In this year of simplifying, it's something I've made a priority to do more of. Reading - actual reading, of books and long articles and such - often loses out to the ease of social media in the battle for my attention. For the most part, the endless stream on social media is more mental junk food than reading anything thought-provoking. It's not all bad, but it's definitely a double-edged sword. I get all of my news and information from social media nowadays. Thanks to Pocket, I can read all the things I want to, when I want to!

Pocket is a mobile, web and desktop-friendly app that's changed my life. Much like Unroll.me has done for my email, Pocket lets me save the stuff I want to read in one pretty place I can come to when I have time. Tags and favorites make the organization freak in me happy. It integrates well with my other favorite apps, like Twitter, Buffer and IFTTT - so I can save articles, read them, then share them back out with ease.

I just figured out how to get the number of articles I have saved to show up on my iOS devices, and it was over 3200! I have a lot of work to do - and now that I have a number to work with, I can set daily goals for number of articles to read. Sometimes I save things and later I'm like, "WTF is this?" - so there's been a lot of weeding out too.

For the times when I don't feel like diving into the books I'm reading, or when I want to read online but not social media, Pocket's my game changer for having valuable reads at my disposal.

Follow my year of simplifying here.

The Year of Simplify: My March Email Challenge

In this year of simplifying, I'm focusing in on cutting down on my inputs so I can increase my output. One of those inputs, however, is a necessary evil and though sometimes I wish I could cut email out completely, I can't.

Just like note-taking and to-do lists, I've never been able to stick to an email processing system that works for me. I check it when I don't have the time to properly answer (hey smartphone addiction), and then I let them pile up, making a digital mountain out of a molehill.

In the Spark Notebook is space for a 30-day challenge. Why not make my first monthly challenge to tackle this email issue once and for all?

I set a simple goal: to process all the email that comes in that day.

I wanted to make this happen so that no matter how busy I am on any given day, I have a minimum number of emails to process. And not just look at, either - 'process' meaning reply, delete, delegate or do everything. I also gave myself the stretch goal of going through the rest of the email sitting in my various inboxes. Oh, and this goes for Twitter and Facebook messages too.

How am I doing so far? I've been able to make it happen most days, but not every day. Still, when I do accomplish my daily goal, I'll often chip away at the rest of my email too. I feel so much better about it overall as those unread and un-replied emails go down in number. I've gone through most of it and feel like my response and follow-up time has improved. It's not a polished system yet, but the daily goal is a great mind frame for me.

One service that's been SUPER helpful is Unroll.me. Unroll.me goes through your inbox and pulls all of your newsletter subscriptions into a list, which you can then go through and unsubscribe, leave in your inbox or 'roll up' into one daily email, all in one fell swoop! I keep all of the important subscriptions in my inbox and roll all the shopping/miscellaneous ones into a daily email. To date, I've unsubscribed to over 1500 lists since I signed up for Unroll.me last year. Blogger life will have you signed up for the most ridiculous PR pitches! Unroll.me is such a lifesaver.

Next step to build on this challenge is only checking email a couple of times a day. That's part of a bigger problem...hey smartphone addiction...

Any tips for managing email? I'd love to hear them! Leave a comment below.

Follow my year of simplifying here.

Fresh Style: Neon Decade

80s babies wassup!

My friends at Bainbridge Island-based Neon Decade sent me some gear to wear recently, and the various pieces have found their way into my everyday rotation. This grey pullover is light and perfect to throw on after a workout (or in this case, a good sauna session at City Sweats.) I've been wearing this tank top to work out in, and the simple racerback fit makes it a great neutral to balance out the color and prints of all my other stuff.

Neon Decade is the fruit of a lifelong creative partnership. Working together for 30+ years on various projects from action sports to community arts, they're here now to bring you this line of clothing inspired by a decade of things we all loved.

Shop Neon Decade online & follow them on Instagram or Facebook.

Unplug & Reset at Camp RAHH!

We're all looking for a little more time to unplug and decompress, no? Here in Seattle, a group including some of my favorite creatives has created just the space and time to do that.

Camp RAHH! is a summer camp experience for adults.

Camp RAHH! takes place on 47 acres of forest, grassland, and beach offering the ideal landscape for adventure.

As a camper, you create your days whether that means soaking up the sunrise with a cup of coffee, taking a yoga session on the beach, kayaking around the bay or even just playing board games with new friends. You decide.

As a Pacific Northwesterner who spends way too much of her time staring at a screen when she could be taking in the lush, beautiful nature scenery surrounding her, Camp RAHH! just seems so fucking cool.

It's started as a Kickstarter campaign but recently transitioned to Eventbrite to allow for more time to register. At $395 for three days of camp (June 5 - 7), it's reasonably-priced and all-inclusive - even round-trip transportation!

Sometimes, all we need is that physical space and actual time blocked off on our calendars to do what our bodies and minds are yearning for. 

Ready to unplug? Peep the full list of activities here, and register for Camp RAHH! here.

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Help Kickstart Kalsada, Philippine Specialty Coffee

In the coffee capital of the world, knowing where our coffee comes from is just as important as the taste. Bonus points if we can put a face behind the beans; one with a passion for coffee and tremendous amounts of care in how its produced. 

My friend My Tam tipped me to Kalsada Coffee, founded by a trio of women entrepreneurs who are championing specialty coffee from and for the Philippines, working closely with farmers to produce the highest-quality beans possible. 

They've got a Kickstarter going right now, and need our help in raising $15,000 to build much-needed infrastructure for their farm partners to take their coffee from good to great.

Currently most farmers dry their coffee on bilao, or woven bamboo baskets. This dries the coffee much too quickly--essentially pre-baking it in the sun and giving the coffee a papery, cardboard taste.

With simple technology and a bit of training, farmers have a better chance of evenly drying their coffee. Already, Kalsada has built raised drying beds and has begun educating farmers on quality.

Your contributions will help build a small, inexpensive washing station that would centralize resources and knowledge. It would save the farmers time and labor, while bringing their unique coffee to aficionados like you.

Check out the Kalsada Coffee story and support their Kickstarter here. Thanks My Tam!

How I Use My Spark Notebook

On this last day of my Spark Notebook giveaway, I thought I'd give y'all a peek into how I've been using it myself! I wanted to film a video to walk you through my notebook, but I had my wisdom teeth removed on Friday and I'm just not feeling camera-ready :)

The Spark Notebook's the first notebook I've had that has a place for me to capture all of the various little tasks, big ideas and more in formats that make sense for me. I write everything down, and now I don't have to worry about scattered notes across different Post-Its, notebooks and apps.

Like lots of planners, the Spark Notebook has a monthly calendar for you to plug in appointments, reminders and important dates. What's unique to the Spark Notebook is that the monthly calendar view is immediately followed by space for your monthly goals and a 30-day challenge. It's awesome to see your goals broken down in this way!

One of my biggest priorities this year is to have a healthier relationship with my email - so I've made my March 30-day challenge to process all of the email I get in each day. I love that Kate's designed space for declaring your challenge, but also asks why you're doing it and prompts you to write down a cause of action. There's even a place to sign and make the challenge official, and numbers at the bottom to mark off each day you complete the challenge.

My yearly theme of simplifying? It's the first thing I see when I open up my Spark Notebook, along with my ways of being for the 2015. I worked on all of this during the Stratejoy Holiday Council, and now they live in a place I see every day. Easy access (and no excuse not) to revisit my year's intentions.

My 2015 resolutions live in the back of my Spark Notebook, where there's tons of blank & lined pages for random notes, sketches and brainstorming.

The stuff I have written out in the Project Planner section is confidential for the most part, but checklists and target deadlines are my steez. These pages are really helping me move my professional and blogging projects along smoothly, and help bubble up any tasks for my to-do list while keeping the big picture neat and clean.

The weekly time-blocking is my FAVORITE part of the Spark Notebook! Kate and the Popforms team were super generous with productivity tips during their Kickstarter campaign, and I really took to their blog posts / videos on time blocking and the ninja planning session. Now, instead of just saying "I'll organize my week on Sunday night / Monday morning," I actually have a framework with which to do it. It's worked really well the past few weeks in putting me on the straight and narrow for planning my week ahead.

I'm a sucker for quotes and journal prompts! As I reflect on my past week, I take some time to journal, free-write or answer these prompts. It's a nice, quick way to unwind for a few minutes.

Ready for a Spark Notebook of your own? Fill out this quick & easy feedback form for me and you'll enter to win! 

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#Seattle Parents: Check Out Families of Color Seattle

Though I'm not a mother myself (of human children, shoutout to all the bulldog mamas out there), I am a newly minted auntie. We also have a really great parenting / early learning program at work, and I have many friends who are in the early years of motherhood themselves. Having children is an adventure on many levels, and it's essential to have a support system to help navigate the waters of parenthood.

My friend Chelsea hipped me to one local community that's really helped her and her family as a new mother. There's a lot to love about Families of Color Seattle (FOCS), and I wanted to share the beauty that is FOCS with all of you.

Photo credit: Carina A. del Rosario

FOCS is helping parents and children to have a strong sense of community, advocacy and pride to counter the prevailing biases through using a race and social justice lens and providing a counter-narrative through parenting classes and social media.

The FOCS vision is to provide a cultural cornerstone and a creative blend of family programming, child-centered play and an intergenerational space for families to gather.

To achieve that vision, they've recently launched the Cornerstone Café in South Seattle, which provides entrepreneurial avenues for parents to integrate conscious parenting to perpetuate a global culture of inclusivity, community building and play-centered learning. FOCS' values are global community, inclusivity, entrepreneurship, and women of color & mother leadership.

Cornerstone Café’s play-centered drop-in café and child-care program invite children to experientially learn though our outdoor garden play & programming in the Collaboratory’s 4000sqft community garden. Right now, you can also sign up for toddler breakdancing, Brazilian capoiera and Hawaiian ukelele classes!

Parents can enjoy self-serve coffee and locally catered prepared foods, while children play with parents, in drop-in childcare with FOCS trained staff. Parents have the option to drop-off children for supervised child-care up to three and a half hours or enjoy gathering with other families in the Cornerstone Café in the beautiful Hillman City Collaboratory facilities. The goal is to teach children cultural resonance in a loving inclusive community of families of color and integrate the local neighborhood of South Seattle’s rich and diverse cultural base, the 98118 (where I grew up!)

I love that Chelsea, B.B. and beautiful little Kennedy Rae have been able to connect with other new families in meaningful learning spaces for friendship and resource-sharing.

Read up on FOCS and sign up for future classes and events at the FOCS website.

Thanks Chelsea for sharing!

The Year of Simplify: Making #TimeForMyself

The fab ladies of the SELF Magazine's SELFMade Collective and I have been taking part in SELF's Time Makeover Challenge since the new year, and it's been a huge help on living out my theme - to simplify.

There's a lot of productivity propaganda out there and it can be tempting to get lost in it all. SELF has been shifting its content towards a more holistic look at making time to create your best self, and the Time Makeover tips are something I look forward to reading up on.

A huge reason why we abandon our resolutions soon after the new year starts is because it can be hard to make time for them. When the going gets tough, we're more likely to stick to what we know for the sake of making it through another stressful day.

No more!

I am dead set on sticking to my simplify theme, plus the goals and resolutions I've made for myself this year. Sure, I've already strayed a few times, but I always come back to them.

Here are a few things I've been actively working on simplifying this past couple of months, to create space and make time for the things I want to do:

SELF has a fun quiz with the four personalities to the Time Makeover program. I'm a "time philosopher," and hoping to change that this year!

Take the quiz here

Cutting down on social events

For many years, I was a social butterfly. I love meeting new people, learning from them and seeing if I can help or connect them in some way. All those meetups, blogger events and happy hours take a toll on the schedule and the body. Saying 'no' to the majority of invites that come my way has created more time in my life for focusing on my job, cuddling with my bulldog, reading and getting more sleep. I still love meeting people, but it has been so nice to not have obligations that take me away from 'me' time. I've been struggling with the afternoon slump as I learn to juggle 6:00a.m. workouts and a full day at work. After a couple of years of freelancing, it's a culture shock I'm still trying to get used to!

Less shopping + purging the closet

I'm proud to say that, so far this year, more has come out of my closet thanks to Poshmark and purging than I've put into it! I'm finally acting like a grown woman and putting my finances first. For too long, I've had a fear of taking control over my finances. If I'm not doing it, who will? Saying no to attending events makes time for reading Suze Orman's The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke and on personal finance blogs. All of these reads have put my spending in perspective - a money 'Come to Jesus', if you will. Shopping just doesn't seem as appealing after updating my budget and measuring up against my financial goals. Talk about turning a new leaf!

Email

Email is a necessary evil that I'll be writing a lot about in my year of simplifying. I check my email way too goddamn much, as if I'm just itching for my next stress bomb or some new thing to come and distract me from my goals. I check it when I don't have the time to properly respond, which leads to a lot of forgotten emails. I'm the worst at email, and I'm trying hard to fix that.

Unroll.me has been a HUGE help in consolidating my newsletters, and I'm currently trying to stick to checking it at 3-4 specific times a day. It's definitely a work in progress, but little steps and consistency will eventually make email less of a stressful experience and more of a productive tool in my day.

Digital consumption

Social media, blogs, news articles, that latest viral sensation. There's so much to take in, but that doesn't mean I have to consume it all. I've been working on checking social media less, creating a posting schedule for my blog posts, reading a few articles every day and otherwise cleaning out my Pocket, and keeping my Feedly maintained only with blogs I enjoy reading. More on those two apps later!

"Whatever your resolutions for 2015, you need the time to make them happen!"

Sign up for SELF's transformative Time Makeover program here, and let me know what you've been working on this year in a comment below!

Read all of my posts on  my year of simplify, and on the SELFMade Collective.

Seattle Must-See: Cirque du Soleil's KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities

Did you know?

Cirque du Soleil, the Montreal-based theatrical production company with world-famous Vegas resident shows, also makes stops in Seattle every other year! I had the privilege of attending KURIOS™ – Cabinet of Curiosities, the latest traveling show, on opening night and it was a night of steampunk magical fun.

I am not a big fan of actual circuses, nor do I normally gravitate towards plays, musicals or other theatre productions. I do, however, have a soft spot in my heart for Cirque du Soleil. I remember visiting Vegas with my family as a kid and being enchanted by the Cirque productions there. I've seen all of the Vegas shows aside from the themed (Beatles & MJ), and have made sure to see every production that comes through Seattle for the past decade or so. I am always so impressed by the athletic ability of the performers, not to mention their ability to transport us into the depths of mystery, beauty and imagination.

Kurios is no different; as soon as you get one look at the stage, it truly feels like you're inside a curio cabinet. From the props to the costumes, there's an overwhelmingly steampunk vibe that makes the show feel like a traveling circus of bygone times. I couldn't help but think how Kurios might be the most family-friendly Cirque show yet. The storylines, costumery and music of most Cirque shows instill a tiny bit of fear along with wonder and fascination - even as an adult! Kurios felt so fun and delightful for everyone, no matter what age.

If you're looking for something awesome, unique and fun to do for your next date or family night, definitely make sure to catch Kurios while it's still in town!

Kurios is now showing nightly Tuesday - Sunday in Redmond's Marymoor Park, with a matinee performance Saturday and earlier shows Sunday. Now through March 22nd!

Get your tickets and find out more information on the show here.

Thank you Cirque du Soleil for having us!

Disclosure: Tickets provided by Cirque du Soleil for this post. All opinions are mine!

Expand Your Practice w/ La Vie Boheme Yoga and YOGO Mats

Your yoga mat is the closest, fastest place to go for a quick getaway. If you're muttering "You crazy, girl!" right now, hear me out! One of the many goals (and benefits) of a healthy, fit life is understanding our bodies and minds in ways we never had before. If I've learned one thing in these past couple of years, it's that moving your body is one of the best, fastest ways to de-stress and feel better. 

Every time I get on my mat, I know I'll step away from it feeling worlds better inside and out than when I came to it.

I spend time on my yoga mat every single day, so just like my pillow, bed, workout shoes and desk, I need my mat to work for my body's needs. All yoga mats are not created equal, and some work better or worse depending on what you need out of them. 

My ladies know that we need them as much for perfecting our Warrior pose as much as we need them to do rounds and rounds and rounds of burpees and mountain climbers on. There's a lot that I look for in a good yoga mat; portability, grippy factor, sustainability, sweat-wicking, easy-to-clean, and hell, beautiful too. If I'm spending so much time on it, it might as well be something I enjoy looking at, right? Because I use them in so many different situations, I've found a few that work. Over the holidays, I wrote about five of the best yoga mats in the game over on SELF Magazine. I'm happy to add two new yoga mats to the recommendations I made over at SELF.

La Vie Boheme Yoga - Warrior yoga mat

La Vie Boheme Yoga founders Yvette Charlton and Michaela Moryskova combined their love of fashion, travel and yoga in their collection of beautiful, stylish mats. “Every trip we have gone on has given us inspiration to create these beautiful yoga mats and accessories. We have chosen every single piece of our collection to represent our love of beautiful prints, and colors as well as functionality and comfort for our daily practice.” I love the Warrior Yoga Mat dreamcatcher watercolor print as well as the Rumi quote. "What you seek is seeking you" is a such a great mantra and the perfect intention to dedicate your practice to.

Most yoga mats don't fold down into something inconspicuous that you can toss into your purse or luggage. Enter the YOGO Mat. Not only is it everything I look for in a yoga mat (no leaving little bits of it in the studio, hotel room or park!), but it folds into the size of a light sweater. It's perfect for traveling or for toting anywhere you don't want to be lugging a big roll into. One word for the wise, though: the YOGO Mat is very eco-conscious and minimalist. In other words, the mat is 1.5mm thick and though it's made of natural rubber for max cushioning, it's definitely not a "sink into it" kind of cushioning. If you're into thicker yoga mats, be cautious! I love mine and have taken it on trips as well as one-off, non-studio classes at lululemon and Lorna Jane. I went to Modo Yoga in L.A. for a late hot yoga flow class. My YOGO mat was grippy enough to get me through class even without a towel over it, and it fit so nicely in my carry-on!

Check out more La Vie Boheme Yoga mat designs and YOGO Mat colorways here.

Thanks LVBY and YOGO for inviting me to try your mats out!

Disclosure: Products provided by YOGO and La Vie Boheme Yoga for this post. All opinions are mine!

Sampling Starbucks' Core Coffee Series

I'm not much of a coffee drinker, for no particular reason other than that I just never picked up a daily habit. Every once in awhile I'll indulge (it's hard not to in the coffee capitol of the world!), and occasionally I'll have a cup that'll rock my world! Like wine, beer and liquor, I feel like there's a whole body of knowledge of the world of coffee, and you just need the right situation to really get into it.

I have the pleasure this year of being part of the Starbucks Coffee Blogger Community, and am excited to finally have the right situation to expand my brain in the world of coffee!

My first care package has all the ingredients for a deep dive into Starbucks' coffee basics. There's a sampling of beans from Starbucks' Core Coffee Series (blonde (light), medium and dark roasts), along with a sweet, simple pour over brewer with paper cone filters. I feel like a real coffee drinker now! LOL

Because I'm a casual coffee drinker, I'm familiar with the lighter Starbucks® Veranda® blend. It's my usual choice for Starbucks drip, and at home I like it with a little coconut oil and coconut milk. Starbucks® House Blend has been the perfect companion to a lazy Saturday morning breakfast; it's smooth enough to have on its own or with a splash of almond milk. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like the Starbucks® Caffe Verona® blend. I normally shy away from dark roasts for fear of getting the shakes all day, but it's sweet  and just enough of a pick-me-up for an afternoon jolt that won't keep me up all night.

How cute is this Dot Collection mug designed by Starbucks Creative Studio? I bought a few of the mugs during the holiday season. There were over 100 designs for the Dot Collection and it was hard to choose just a couple to take home. So excited to add this gold dotted travel mug to my collection!

I'd be remiss not to mention what's arguably the best part of this care package. The Starbucks Coffee Passport is part tasting guide and part Starbucks history knowledge bomb. The Coffee Passport encapsulates over 40 years of Starbucks Coffee history along with the essentials for tasting, brewing, blending, roasting, growing, processing and buying coffee. Phew! 

There's space to take notes on each coffee you taste, and you can even add a passport stamp sticker to each one you've tried. If you're in Seattle, take your Coffee Passport (or get one) at the Starbucks Roastery on Capitol Hill. There you can have a full flight and education session at their tasting bar and coffee library, and sample some of their exclusive Roastery blends.

Not in Seattle? As of this week, you can get a taste of the exclusive Roastery blends sent right to your doorstep! Starbucks has just introduced a fresh online delivery service for its Reserve line of small-lot harvested, small-batch roasted coffees, called Starbucks Reserve® Roastery Subscriptions.

Get all the info and sign up for your own Starbucks Reserve Roastery Subscription.

Thanks Starbucks! I'm excited to learn more about coffee with you this year.

Disclosure: I am a member of Starbucks Coffee Blogger Community. Products were provided by Starbucks Coffee Company for this post. All opinions are mine!

Ignite Your Productivity With The Spark Notebook (Giveaway!)

I'm a productivity junkie. I will save all the articles, add all the books to my wish list, and read all the tips I can get my hands on in the name of getting shit done. Still, finding that perfect mix of productivity tools and systems for my current lifestyle has eluded me. I'll find some new tips or processes and stick with them enthusiastically for awhile, but ultimately I always fall back in the cycle of getting overwhelmed by everything I need to do. A million things to do, a million different to-do lists, Post-Its, notebooks, planners, calendars and apps to keep track of them all.

My endless pursuit of the perfect productivity system has brought the Spark Notebook into my life. I'd been following Kate Matsudaira and her productivity-centric startup, PopForms on social media when my friend Sarah Lovrien asked if I'd be part of the video she was filming for Kate's Kickstarter campaign. Fast forward to now, with Kate's wildly successful campaign funded in 24 hours and the Spark Notebook completely sold out in its first edition!

What's the Spark Notebook, you ask?

In short, it's a planner on steroids. All of your notes, goals, big ideas and things to do now have one home, versus many different Post-Its. The Spark Notebook was meticulously designed by Kate and team to take your career and life to the next level. 

Watch the video below - and visit the Kickstarter page for more insight into Kate's vision for the Notebook as well as how others are already using it. Kate also shares some of her other favorite Kickstarter projects in the updates - click through for more really cool ideas coming to life! There's some serious productivity and entrepreneur inspo going on over on the Kickstarter page!

Soooo I've got a Spark Notebook to give away!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED - Congrats Chloe for winning my Spark Notebook, and thanks so much to everyone who participated!

Why Simplify Is My 2015 Theme

I'm tired of being overwhelmed. What about you?

I started my career just over a decade ago, and like any Gen Y'er, I believed multi-tasking and being as busy as possible were the keys to success. I climbed the proverbial career ladder. I started this blog. I got into social media at a really exciting time, when it was the shiny new industry everyone wanted a piece of.

Somewhere along the line, I burned out. I feel like I've been playing 'catch up' ever since. My emails and to-do lists stay piling up. I'm never getting enough sleep. I always have my mind on 8 million things (which can't be good.) I am always susceptible to making bad food choices in the face of stress. Most of all, I never feel like I'm fully being present in the moment.

I am so, so grateful for all of the opportunities that have come my way, but eventually the whole of it all became more of a burden than a welcome privilege. It would take years (and it's still a work in progress), but I'm finally putting a mark in the sand and saying enough is enough.

Image via Pinterest

I've made 'simplify' my theme for this year, and last month Melody of CRAVE invited me to come speak about living simple at the monthly CRAVEfuel chat. It was an intimate and inspiring talk, and I owe them this recap. I've also been meaning to write an intro of sorts to my year of simplifying. This is why I'm doing it, and I'll be writing through my journey this year.

It feels like society wants us to be big dreamers, but we're also expected to somehow be multi-taskers; to squeeze every moment out of every day towards 'doing.'

Being busy is a badge of honor, but what for?

Why is it not okay to say 'You know what? I'm going home now. I want to read, make a fabulous dinner and cuddle my dog?'" You know what I mean. People tell you it's okay then look at you funny when you leave the office at a decent hour, skip out on happy hour or a night out, or turn down an event even though "it's the hottest ticket in town."

If there's anything I've learned in the past few years of chasing professional, blogging, health & fitness dreams, it's that your downtime is equally important as the time you're in it. Sometimes, it matters even more. It's not Team #NoTime4Sleep or Team #Busy over here. Not anymore, anyway.

This year isn't about piling more and more onto my plate, but about cutting and cutting and cutting back until the only important people, things, goals and ideas are left.

A few weeks into it, I've already done a ton of things I've let slide or would procrastinate on for way too long. For the first time in my life, I've set a budget for myself that I update all the time. I've put more strategy and reporting work into my blog than I ever have before, and have laid the ground for some things I want to do with it this year. I've read a couple of books already. I've logged in tons of sleeping time and time cuddling with my dog.

I feel more intentional and purposeful with my actions and choices more and more every day. Even though it's a work in progress, I've loved every minute of it so far!

What would you like to simplify in your life? Let me know if there's a topic you'd like me to dive into more this year!