Summer TV Shows on my To-Watch List

I used to be the girl who had at least one TV show that I looked forward to every night. After having my son and moving into this writing gig, I've found I have less and less chance to watch TV. It also doesn't help that we have phones and Ipads at the ready. That seems to have eaten up the time I used to reserve for TV. And, of course, I also love to read, and the only reading time I get is in the evenings. BUT, I find that I miss having go-to TV shows. TV is it's own form or relaxation and believe it or not, it helps with my writing because, ultimately, TV is made of stories. 

So with the summer season shows about to start, I decided to do some research and pick out some shows I wanted to watch or try. 

First, a few favorites that I'm already committed to:

Big Brother (June 22 on CBS) - If you've followed me for any amount of time, you know I'm a Big Brother fan. It's a long-standing part of our summers. A tradition at this point. And for the most part, it doesn't get R-rated so we can watch it with kidlet around, which helps a lot. 

Wayward Pines (May 25 on Fox) - We watched Season 1 and it was a really well done show. I'm not going to say too much about it because I don't want to spoil it if you haven't seen it. But if you're new to it, watch season 1 before jumping into Season 2. I love twisty shows where you aren't quite sure what's really going on and you keep guessing wrong. (This show is based on a book by Blake Crouch, so you can catch up with the story that way, too.)

Some news ones I want to try:

Preacher (Premieres on AMC May 22) - This one is based on a comic book and produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, so I'm expecting dark with some comedy thrown in. The previews don't tell you quite what's going on, so I'm hoping that means good twists.

Stranger Things (July 15 on Netflix) - This one has me intrigued because (a) it's set in the 1980s and (b) has Winona Ryder in it. The premise is that her son disappears but there are supernatural forces involved.

Roadies (June 26th on Showtime) - This one really tempts me (and may make me get Showtime). I love rock music, and going to concerts is one of my favorite things to do. This one has some big names behind it, too. Here's the trailer:

Feed the Beast (June 5th AMC) - This one is about two guys opening a restaurant but looks like organized crime is involved. Honestly, it has cooking and David Schwimmer in it, which is enough to get me to take a look at it. :) Here's the trailer:

Vice Principals (July 17th on HBO) - Look, a comedy! I know I haven't listed any of those yet. This one is about two Vice Principals competing for a position. And it's on HBO, so you know it's going to be irreverent.

American Gothic (June 22 on CBS) - This one is billed as a 13-part murder mystery. I like shows that have a guaranteed wrapped up ending, so knowing it has a certain number of episodes entices me.

I probably need a few more comedies mixed in, but I haven't seen as many of those previewed. There are a few that I've missed season one and may go back and try: Unreal on Lifetime, Casual on Hulu, and Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll on FX. We shall see.

So what are you looking forward to watching this summer?

Unboxing the Inkwell Press Academic Planner (with VIDEO)

Earlier this week I featured 4 Gorgeous Mid-Year Planners. I've ordered the other two on the list that I didn't have, and the Inkwell is already in! So I thought I'd do a walkthrough video for those who may be interested in seeing what this planner has to offer.

Also, things you realize when you tape an up close video of your hands--how chipped your manicure has become. >.<  But anyway, here you go! If anyone is interested in buying one of these or anything else from Inkwell, I have a referral code that will get you 10 dollars off. :)

I know that I've had a lot of planner and organizational type posts lately. Be assured that in the background, I'm writing and planning new books for you guys. :)  But let me know if you like these kinds of posts and if you want more/less. Also, I'd like to know if you enjoy video posts. I'm just learning YouTube stuff, but I think it could be a fun thing to do a video a few times a month (on all kinds of different topics, not just planners), so let me know if you have any interest in that AND I'd love to know what you want to hear about in the videos -- about books, writing, office supplies, planning, etc. 

Thanks, y'all! Hope you have a great weekend!

Still Haven't Found Planner Peace? Four Gorgeous Mid-Year Options

Summer is almost here. Can you believe it? I definitely can't. And what does summer bring besides hot weather and longer days? For many of us, it means shifting our schedules around to accommodate kiddos on summer break, family vacations, and warm weather activities. So I thought it would be a good time to do a quick little planner post because there are lots of gorgeous mid-year options releasing right now. Plus, it's a good time to evaluate if what you're doing this year is working for you so far or not. Or maybe you're like me and you just get bored and like to change things up every few months to keep it fresh.

So I've put together a few of my favorite mid-year options for planners. Ready for some planner p0rn?

1. The Day Designer

I've spoken of my love for the Day Designer before and I stand by that. When I first started using it, I found that I loved the daily breakdown, but I eventually missed my weekly overview. I went back to my Happy Planner, but then missed my daily overview! Lol. I can't be happy. So right now I'm using a two planner system. One for the weekly overview and the Day Designer to (ha!) design my day and track my time. I did a little video about my current system if you care to watch. But if you find that you're having trouble focusing each day, I highly recommend the Day Designer. It's a great way to zero in on what you need to be doing RIGHT NOW and hides all the other visual clutter that you might have to deal with in a weekly planner. Plus, they have some super cute mid-year covers. They also have A5 inserts for those of you who use binders.

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2. The Inkwell Press Planner

I don't have this one in my hands yet, but I've been stalking them online for a while and ordered one yesterday. I'm really, really curious to try out a horizontal weekly layout. And I LOVE the three boxes on the side of each day. I can think of so many things to track there. Meal plan. Word count. Blog posts. I've ordered one of their mid-year ones and should get it this week. I'll probably do a flip through video. But if you'd like to try one or one of their other products, you can get TEN DOLLARS OFF if you use my link. Woot! Besides planners, they also have adorable notepads.

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3. The Happy Planner by MAMBI

This has been my go to weekly since last year (the pic above is my week this week.) I love the colors and ADORE the ARC ring system because you can move all the pages around, and if you have an ARC punch, you can insert whatever you want. This is the planner I keep going back to. BUT I do get tired of the vertical layout sometimes, which is why I want to try a horizontal. I'm hoping in the future, they offer a variety of different kinds of layouts. But the great news about these is that they are inexpensive and you can usually get 40% off with a Michael's coupon or Hobby Lobby coupon. Plus, tons of great accessories.

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4. The Ban.do Agenda

This is another horizontal layout and I've ordered one but haven't received it yet. My guess is that I'll end up putting this one head to head with the Inkwell to see which one I like better. This one is very hip and stylish. Bright colors, quirky graphics, lots of fun little touches. I'm not sure about the quality of paper and such since I don't have one in my hands yet, but I'll do a video or review once I get it. 

By this time next week, I'll probably have all four of these in my hands and will be able to compare. Planner addiction anyone? Lol. But hey, that means I can rotate out every few months and keep it fresh. :)

Anyone else figuring out what's working for them so far this year and what needs to be revamped? Does the summer dramatically change your schedule? And for you planner lovers out there, which one are you loving right now?

(Full disclosure: Some of these are affiliate links, which doesn't cost you anything and actually gets you 10 dollars off in one case (yay!), but I always like to be upfront about that. And I never endorse something that I don't love and/or haven't purchased myself.)

The Songs I Never Get Tired of.... #ListifyLife

This week's #ListifyLife challenge is Songs I Never Get Tired Of. This one was both really easy and really hard. Really easy because I can think of so many. But really hard because I wanted to fit them all on one page and needed to trim my list.

So here's what I ended up with. It's a bit eclectic, but that goes for my music taste in general. :)

That's my list. I'd love to hear what some of your songs are. My criteria for including them was "If this comes on, I can't forward the song or change the channel."

What songs would make your list?

Don't Just Make a Plan: The Benefits of Tracking Your Time

I talk a lot about To Do lists and planning here, but there's another part to productivity that I've never paid that much attention to: tracking the actual time I spend doing things. I add things to my schedule, but how often do I stick to that? Not very often unless it's a set appointment. So if I get to the end of the day and haven't checked off all of my To Dos, what's the reason? Did I screw around and waste time? Did I schedule too much? Were my goals unrealistic? I didn't know. 

So, this week I decided to track my time. I'm currently using a two-planner system since I've found I need both a weekly overview and a daily tasks list to keep me focused. The Happy Planner houses my weekly events/appointments and I get that planned out on Sunday. But then I'm using my Day Designer each morning to write out a fresh To Do list. But the Day Designer also has a column for your schedule. I decided to try to use that to track my time as I get things done vs. pre-planning anything in that section. It's turned out to be SO helpful, so I thought I'd share my thoughts with y'all. Here's some of what I've discovered...

The Benefits of Tracking Your Time

1. Know how long it takes you to do something.

Often we underestimate how long something is going to take us to do. Tracking time gives you hard numbers about how long something takes. So instead of assuming, "Oh, I need to blog and that will only take 20 minutes.", you'll find out that it is actually taking up an hour of your morning.

For instance, this week I'm doing fine-toothed-comb editing on LOVING YOU EASY. That means that I have to read EVERY word. This is the stage where I catch typos or awkward sentences or little logic mistakes. So it's pretty intensive. And I've discovered by tracking my time that I consistently take 30 minutes to get through one chapter. That's very helpful for me to know because now I can look forward and know how long it's going to take me to wrap up these edits.

2. Learn your peak productive hours.

We all have them and they are going to vary from person to person. Like I hear that some writers get up at 4 or 5am to write before everyone gets up. That would never work for me. My brain isn't creative at that time. *not a morning person*  This week, I've learned that I'm not productive until about 10am. No matter how motivated I am, my la-la-la, ooh-bright-and-shiny-distracted time is between 8:30 and 10am. This is the time I check all my social media accounts, chat with friends, read interesting articles from Twitter, etc. 

My guess is that this segment of time is how long it takes for my morning coffee to kick in, lol. But I'm learning that I have to ease into my work day. My highest productivity is after lunch. I know this to be true when I'm drafting too. I don't get into my writing flow until afternoon. It is what it is. 

3. Helps you tailor your work day

So building on the point above, if you have a pattern of when you're productive, when you're creative, when you need mindless things, you can structure your day to play to those. This may be harder if you have a schedule at work that's out of your control. But if you're able to, you can schedule the things that require less mental intensity at times when you have the most trouble concentrating. So for me that means I should probably schedule low intensity things in the morning when I know I'll be less likely to be writing/editing. Social media updates, responding to comments, answering email, etc. It's all good information to have to make the best use of your time.

4. Keeps you honest about wasting time and gives you options for when best to do it.

We all waste time. That's not a bad thing. We need fun and mental breaks too. But if you track your time, you can find out if you're doing that a little too much. You can pinpoint what sucks up your time, what sends you down a rabbit hole. And if you need it, you can use apps to shut down your access to the internet and have focused times to work on what you need to work on. I talked more about that in this post. And you can even schedule in a time to do those not so productive things. That can help because you know--ooh, I want to read this article, respond to this FB thing, etc. but I can save it and do that at x time when I have break time scheduled. 

5. It's motivating and reinforcing to write down what you've done as you go.

Don't wait until the end of the day to write everything down. You'll forget and it won't be accurate. Write down what you did each hour as you do it. Keep a notepad or planner nearby so it's easy to jot down. I find it's hard to write down "wasted a whole bunch of time" lol. I'd much rather write down. "Two chapters edited!" That's reinforcing. :)

Ready to give it a shot?

You don't need two planners like I have. Though you can! If you just want to try it out for a few days, use a notebook or find a printable. The Day Designer has free printables of the schedule I'm using. So grab one of those if you want something with the times already on it. And let me know if you try and how it goes! :)

Does anyone already track their time or have you tried this experiment in the past?

*Day Designer link is an affiliate link.