How to make the time to do what you want

We all have the same amount of time in the day. What we do with our time is our choice. Yes, we need to make an income, we have to cook, clean, take care of the house and there are things that have to be done in our lives, but ultimately, we have a choice over a lot of it.

Having time or finding time are excuses. If you want to do something or have a strong desire to get it done you will make the time.

People are shocked by how much I get done. I often get asked how I find the time to do it all or people will say I must have a lot of time to do it. I don't. I just prioritise and do what needs to be done and what is important. I have created my lifestyle. It has taken work and a lot of trial and error to get the balance I have now. It has not been easy and it isn't always easy. I am a single parent of 2 children with extra needs, growing my business and trying to give my kids the best life I can.

How do you make more time?
1.) Lose the TV or at least limit it. I cut TV a few years ago. I do occasionally watch some shows, but there is not a show I consider a must see, a series I watch all of or anything like that. In fact, for the first few months of living in Canberra, after I bought a new Smart TV, it sat in the box. Cutting out TV does wonders for your time, for the desire to buy new stuff and for your kids as well.
2.) Plan! Menu plan and write a grocery list based on your menu plan. No more wasting time wondering what you are cooking for dinner or if you have the ingredients. One plan, one shop and it;s done for the week or fortnight or however long you plan for. Get a calendar and schedule everything I have a digital calendar I can sync with my phone, iPad etc. Everything goes in it, with alarms or reminders. I also have a big monthly planner I got from Kikki.K
3.) Outsource. Work out what you can outsource and do it. I have staff writers for a few sites, I have someone who manages most of my advertising, I have a babysitter I can call on a lot. I am looking at getting a gardener and potentially a cleaner. The hours it takes me to do those things are better spent working on my business.
4.) Decide what is important. My daughters are the most important thing to me, as is our health. Followed by my business and extended family. Everything else comes after these. Knowing what is important to me and what I value enables me to make decisions quickly about many things, based on if it is beneficial to the things that are important to me or not.
5.) Have goals. Goals keep you focused and help stop you wasting time if you are actively working towards achieving them. Not sure how to set, stick to and achieve goals? Check out 10 steps for success with goals. And if you want to see my goals, click here.
6.) Set time limits. It is easy to get lost on social media and waste hours. Set time limits for how long you will do certain tasks. I apply this to everything from cleaning to writing. I set alarms so I know when to stop and I do. I stick to my time limits.
7.) Focus on one thing at a time. When I am scheduling social media, that is all I am doing. When I check my email, I focus on just doing that. I set a specific time for email and leave it at that. I took notifications off my phone so I wouldn't be wasting time checking emails or social media. Be focused and set time for the things you need to do.
8.) Have rewards. Life is no fun if it is all work and no play. If there is a TV show you love, watch it. If you want to go on holiday, plan for it and do it. Reward yourself for achieving goals, being productive and sticking to things.

What are your time saving tips? *Part of Financially Savvy Saturdays on Femme Frugality

Is selling your old stuff really worth it?

Last week I listed a bunch of stuff on eBay and GumTree. In the past I have done really well from this and this time I still made $250 from eBay, but it was a fair amount of time and effort, not to mention the sleaze I had to deal with.

To sell there was time sorting my stuff, ironing clothes, photographing everything, creating the listing, answering questions, invoicing and chasing payment, posting the items, waiting for the money to clear into my account from PayPal etc. All up it was hours and honestly, while the $250 is good, I won't be doing it again.

People are sleazy, rude and creepy
I was selling a lot of clothes including some new with tags and new without tags lingerie sets. I've sold new lingerie before with no issues. This time, the creeps came out of the wood work!

I got offers of four times the listed price of the lingerie if I would "wear it for a few hours first."

There were a few others along those lines. Nope, not my style.

I had a computer listed on Gumtree and I ended up hanging up on the guy. He had a very thick accent which I managed to decipher, but he treated me like I was the scum of the earth, asked the same questions over and over and got aggressive about why I would be selling a near new lap top, with 2 years extended warranty and Microsoft for the price I was. I explained it to him twice, but he kept going. Exasperated, I said "Ugh, oh my gosh!" and hung up. Then blocked the number.

It takes so much time
Honestly, the time it took to do the listings properly, for the amount I got this time was not worth it. Part of me was doing it to postpone doing other stuff I didn't want to do. Because, selling your stuff for cash is good, it aligns with my goal of my house deposit and is beneficial to what I want.

Yes, but not if there are other things you could be doing that would bring in more money or just benefit your life more.

In future, I'll check with family if they want anything then donating the rest.

The mess
Going through the house finding things to sell makes mess. Having everything out to photograph makes mess. Once you have done that you have to store it somewhere for the duration of the listing and until it is paid. More mess! Once I have decided I want it gone, I just want it gone. I don't want it messing up my house repeatedly.

I still thinking selling your used stuff is a great option if you need money or if you have something that will get a decent price. I won't list on Gumtree ever again.

What are your thoughts on selling your used items? *Part of Financially Savvy Saturdays on Femme Frugality and A Life in Balance*

10 things to do when you want to quit

Everyone has moments where they feel like giving up and only you know if it truly is the best option.

1.) Realise it is ok to quit. Life changes, your dreams and ambitions change and that's ok. If what you had set out to do really no longer fits in with your life, for example you wanted to climb Mount Everest this year, but now you're pregnant, then it is ok to stop or postpone your goal.
2.) Ask yourself "Why did I start?". Knowing why you started is sometimes all the push we need to get motivated again. If you started for reasons that still resonate with you, find a way to keep going.
3.) Take a break. When everything you do revolves around a goal it can be overwhelming. Step back, take some time off then start on it again with a renewed energy.
4.) Get fresh eyes on it. What you see as insurmountable obstacles to your goal which make you want to quit, someone else might see as a great opportunity might give you the insight and motivation you need to keep going.
5.) Talk to someone. Talking, even just to let out your frustration, can help. They might be the person you share your goal with to get fresh eyes or they might be someone you just offload to, or they might be the person you are accountable to who knows what to say and how to help you so you don't quit.
6.) Compare pros and cons. If you really want to quit, write a list of pros and cons, but be honest about it. Don't just focus on the negatives to justify quitting.  There is a reason you set this goal.
7.) Why should you continue? Ask yourself this and really think about it. You asked yourself why you started, do those reasons still apply for you to continue?
8.) Be solution focused. Focusing on the problems and the negativity around why you want to quit doesn't help. Focus on finding solutions instead of moaning about problems.
9.)What would you rather be doing? If you want to quit, there is a reason why and there is something else you would rather be doing. Or is there? Do you just want to quit because it feels too hard or you are overwhelmed and need a break? Work out what you would rather be doing and if that is worth more to you.
10.) Make changes. Whether you decide to quit or not, changes obviously need to be made to stop you burning out, to stop the desire to quit and to help you overcome the obstacles.

What do you do when you feel like quitting? *Part of Financially Savvy Saturdays on Femme Frugality and Savvy Working Gal*

Progress on my 2014 goals

January is done and dusted, so how am I going with my goals so far?

Goals For 2014
1.) 104 public speaking gigs. I did 2 in January. Most of my speaking is booked for later in the year, so I am happy with this so far.
2.) Publish 2 more books. I had finished and handed in the manuscript. My publisher just got back to me and essentially want a rewrite with a different angle. I am considering whether I will do that or if I will combine the 2 books I had planned and give it to my other publisher in April. Still deciding.
3.) Buy a house. I started looking. I expect to purchase around October, but  I want to know the market well and get adjusted to the size of homes in my price range compared to the size of the house I currently live in. I set a goal for $70,000 and have saved $3,000 in January. Not enough, but still good.
4.) Double my share portfolio. This is a focus for later in the year too.
5.) Financial Blogger Conference 2014. Tickets go on sale this week, but due to a recent event in my personal life I am no longer sure I will be able to make it.
6.) The Colour Run is coming to Canberra in February. It is a 5km run that I have been keen to do for a long time. This will be my first ever 'real' run.
7.) Set up the Life Skills Centre at Ainslie Village. I had to back out of this due to my personal life. It hurt so much to step back, I will still be in the loop and lend a hand, I just won't be as involved.
8.) Outsource. I have worked out what I am willing to outsource, hired a staff writer for one of my sites and am looking at other options. 
9.) CEO Sleepout. My aim is to raise $2,000 for the CEO Sleepout on June 19, 2014. The middle of winter in Canberra will see me freezing my butt off, but for a good cause. Donations open soon. I haven't worked out how I will raise the money, but $2,000 is my goal.
10.) Organise my life. I'm getting better with more solid routine. School is back this week which will make a big difference. 

Family Goals
1.) Be a better mother. By being more in the moment, playing with my kids, spending time with them one one one, taking better care of myself and my health I can see a change in my little family. I am more patient and while my kids are still settling back into life here after being with their dad for 3 weeks, I think it's working. They draw pictures and write "I love mum the best!" so I guess I am doing something right. School has just started to go back and I will be making sure we do all the homework and readers, plus I will attend the assemblies and help where I can.
2.) Annual family holiday. Still haven't picked where we will go but my kids are asking for camping and fishing, so maybe a weekend in March or April we'll go.
3.) Finish our furniture. I haven't started this.
4.) Create stability and routine. This is getting there. My kids have more definite chores and our routines are being established around school and other activities.
5.) Family pet. Haven't got a fish yet, but I did locate a pet store.

Health Goals
I got to the clothing size I wanted, in fact I got below it. I feel great in many ways, but still mentally struggle with my body. I am not as toned as I would like. I have no desire to look muscular, I still prefer a curvier, softer, feminine figure over the muscular athletic figure. I know my body is not as firm as I would like.
1.) Run 4 times a week. I injured my knee, which prevented me running as much as I wanted, but this goal is coming along.
2.) Commit to training. I haven't been paying myself to work out, and haven't worked out as much as I would have liked mainly because of the heat wave. I am doing better than last year though.
3.) Create and stick to a proper eating plan. This I am doing pretty well with.
4.) Run a marathon. This is an eventual goal and not one I expect to achieve in 2014. Since it is a goal of mine I put it here as a lot of 2014 will be training for that.

These are my main goals and the areas of my life I will be focusing on. With all of them I will be seeking balance and happiness in my life and the lives of my daughters. What are your goals?