Home Management Binder

Every now & then on the web (or in Pinterest, especially), I’ve seen mention of Home Organization Binders – variously known as Household Notebooks, Home/Household Management Binders, etc. Mostly I see them mentioned by professional organizers and bloggers who have kids. I’m neither, but when hubby & I were in Staples on Friday and saw a new Martha Stewart line of office supplies – in our wedding colors, no less – the Home Organization Binder idea became the perfect excuse to pick up some shiny pretty toys office supplies.

Here’s what we got:

On Saturday, I spent the morning looking up ideas for categories and found lots of ideas, discovering along the way that there are a ton of printables out there, many of them free. I haven’t printed any yet, but will definitely be incorporating those.

The categories I chose to start with:

• Calendar
• Menu Planning
• Finances
• Medical
• Home & Auto

In my next post I’ll elaborate a bit more, & add the links & examples I used for inspiration.

Eat That Frog!

“Eat a live frog every morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” -Mark Twain

This quote is often the inspiration for tackling one’s toughest, most toad-like To Do items first thing in the morning. For the procrastination-prone crowd (of which we’ve all been a member at one time or another), eating one’s frogs can prove fairly elusive. You start the day with the best of intentions, only to find your attention zig-zagging in a million directions. Frog-Eating can be easier with support, and that’s where our Healthy Booklover’s team practice of “Frogathons” comes into play.

At any time, a team member may initiate and announce a Frogathon, whereby s/he tackles and periodically announces progress on their “frogs.” The definition of a frog has evolved in our team from meaning Big, Nasty, Long-Overdue Task to nearly anything on your To Do list. Sometimes it’s just one or two people who end up participating, and other times several teammates will join in over the course of a day. At best, you have company while frogging and the reminder that you aren’t alone in having slimy toads on your To Do list. At worst, you’re still holding yourself accountable in a supportive environment.

Here’s the description & example offered by one of our team members, Mary Ann:

FROG-EATING event (a.k.a. FROGATHON)

— what it is, and how it works —

Every hour on the hour
(or whenever you can get to it or remember to do it):

Post your current time and time zone
1. What you’ve done in the last hour
2. What you plan to do in the next hour

ALL are welcome!
ANY activity can be posted

Be as specific or as vague as you wish.
The idea is to get stuff done —
and to do it while others around the globe are doing same.
For some of us, the camaraderie and group effort
— knowing that others are making similar efforts —
helps us to get our own stuff done.

Note:
What’s a “frog” and why eat one?
www.eatthatfrogmovie.com/
http://simplemom.net/worst-thing-first-eat-that-frog/

If you are a new (or newish) member of the Healthy Booklovers Team seeing this post for the first time, we hope this adds clarity to our frequent references to Frogs and Frogging.

Rebekah’s Introduction

Hi everyone!  I’m finally getting my first post up, you should be so proud of me!

I guess I’ll tell you a little bit about me . . . I’m in my mid-twenties, my birthday is actually a week from Monday.  I’ve been married for three years, and so far we have a cat, no kids, and no debt.  I am a sporadic college student, taking anywhere from 3-10 credits every couple of years.  I MIGHT have my associates degree by the time I’m 30.

I consider myself three things – first, I am a wife; second, I am a pastor; and third, I am a writer.  Of course, writing and reading go hand in hand, so that explains why I chose the Healthy Booklovers team .

I discovered Health Month through 750 Words, which I discovered through National Novel Writing Month.  I had been using 750 Words for a month or so, and the idea of Health Month intrigued me even more than 750 Words did!  I’m sad to say I haven’t hardly touched 750 Words since I started Health Month, but I feel like I’ve gained so much more through Health Month than I could the other, because I already know how to make myself write, I just don’t.

Speaking of writing, I currently do freelance for the Yahoo! Contributor Network, I blog (teaandyarn.wordpress.com and breakupwithmakeup.wordpress.com; also getting ready to start a just-writing blog), and I am a Municipal Liaison for NaNoWriMo. I also am writing original fiction, but none of that is up on the internet (yet).  I want to have a book published one day.

When it comes to reading books, I have rather eclectic tastes.  I read everything from young adult to Christian fiction to suspense to sci-fi/fantasy.  My most recent reads include Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen, Terry Brook’s Landover series, and Immanuel’s Veins by Ted Dekker.  Like I said, eclectic .

What do you like to read?

Healthmonth Team Blog

Welcome to the Healthy Booklovers blog. We are the Healthy Booklovers team on #healthmonth, a game we “play” each day as we check in with our monthly health goals. This is a space where we can elaborate (time allowing) on our progress, our struggles, and perhaps the books we’re currently inspired by.

I am posting this as the team’s leader who has been a member of @healthmonth since January.We started as the Healthy Librarians team, but that wasn’t attracting many members. Our team has definitely seen an increase in membership since the name change.

I joined #healthmonth because I wanted to take my resolutions more seriously this year, and I wanted to focus making changes in the day-to-day habits that really make a difference. I think it’s easy to have lofty long-term goals (especially regarding our health), but often more challenging to translate those goals & dreams into those much less glamorous daily habits. I know that on my own, one isolated attempt at exercise tends to pale in my mind when compared to the image I have of the person I want to be – the person who has already been exercising regularly and is seeing results. When I engage in one of my daily goals via healthmonth, though, it feels like it’s part of an overall effort right away. What I also like is that if I fall behind, I can ask for the support of my teammates by way of a “plea for fruit.” While I’m not a person who has historically struggled with asking for help, I know that many people do. I think it’s good to encourage ourselves to ask for support – it’s part of an overall healthy lifestyle.

Here’s a tip from the automatically-generated first post that new blogs get populated with:

• Add PressThis to your browser. It creates a new blog post for you about any interesting  page you read on the web

I’m leaving it up for my fellow team bloggers.