books

How to Find Time to Learn Something New

Is there something you’d love to learn more about?

Would you secretly love to start a business? Or learn to sew? Or learn more about parenting or marriage or farmhouse decorating?

Each of us probably has an interest or hobby that we wish we had more time to learn about.

But how do you find time to learn anything when your regular responsibilities take all of your time? Well, here are 9 ways you can add learning into your day.

Watch online courses or YouTube videos while you are getting ready for the day.
Load an ebook or audiobook on your phone and tablet so it is easy to access regardless of where you are.
Swap watching 1 TV show for reading or watching an online course.
Make use of different formats. Read a fiction ebook after your spouse is asleep and a nonfiction paperback book during the daytime. Listen to an audiobook or podcast when you are doing laundry or cleaning house.
Find 15-minute chunks of time throughout the day to read or watch videos. Short periods of time add up quickly.
Pick great books and abandon those that aren’t. If you really like a book, you’ll make more time to read it.
Speed it up. If you are listening to an audiobook or podcast, listen to it at 1.5x speed and you’ll finish it quicker.
Join a book club or find an accountability partner. Just like anything else in life, you are more likely to follow through if other people are in it with you.
Delete the social media apps on your phone and tablet so you won’t be distracted from spending time learning.

So maybe you are thinking that these are great tips, but you’re wondering why it’s important to learn and do new things at all?

As author Norman Mailer said, “Every moment of one’s existence, one is growing into more or retreating into less.”

This is so important to me, and hopefully, to some of you. I don’t want to be the same person I was even five years ago. I want to be a better, wiser, more godly me. And the only way I’ll get there is by constantly pushing myself to learn and do new things.

I hope you want that for yourself. That’s what this blog is all about– simplifying the things in life we must do in order to devote ourselves more to the most important areas of our lives.

February 2018: Goals Review & Things I Loved

Another month bites the dust. Our month was filled with Super Bowl watching, Valentine’s Day celebrating, lots of baby preparation and goal crushing.

Even though we’ve barely started the year, I have been impressed with how much easier it has been to make huge progress on my goals simply by breaking them down into 10-15 minute tasks. (If you want to read more about how to do that, check out this post about how to shatter your goals.)

Without further ado, here’s how I’m progressing on my first half of 2018 goals.

My 1st Half 2018 Goal Progress

Simplify home management.
My biggest meal planning victory this month has been making Francesca’s meals and snacks in advance. I made 4-5 meal options and 5-6 snack options and put them all in one of my produce drawers that are on the bottom of the fridge. She can open the fridge and pick out what she wants herself. It has been a huge sanity saver since she usually gets hungry before we do, and I was always in a rush to get something made for her. On the cleaning front, we are trying out our newest purchase- the ILIFE A4s robot vacuum. I want to use it for a little while before letting you know what I think, so expect an update next month.
Spend more time making memories with my family.
We celebrated the Super Bowl together at home with lots of man food, like sliders, sausage balls and a cheese tray. I knew my hubby would really appreciate that.

And we always celebrate Valentine’s Day at home because the restaurants are crazy, but we all 3 enjoyed playing with our gifts. Then on the weekend, Francesca went to a church for a parent’s night out, while we went out to eat alone.

We also went to the Shrine Circus a couple of weeks ago. Francesca loved the trapeze, and we were amazed by the motorcyclists. Very impressive that no one was decapitated.

Prepare for new baby’s arrival.
Well, everything is as ready as it can be, which is good since baby Julia is coming this month. All the clothes are washed, the Moses basket and swing are ready and the car seat is installed. The checklist is complete, although I doubt we’ll ever be ready for the crazy that is a newborn and a toddler.
Make quality time with Jesus a part of my morning routine.
I have kept up with my 1 and 2 Kings First 5 study and am looking forward to the next study that starts on March 12. It will cover Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah and Micah. If you’d like to join me, you can get the Prone to Wander experience guide here.This has been such a game changer for me that I’m making it one of my top 3 to-dos after baby arrives. If I can get sleep, prayer & study time and exercise done, I will have won the day.
Prioritize quality time with my husband.
I already mentioned that we were able to go out for dinner while Francesca went to parents night out. Going to dinner is a perfect occasion for us to be able to really talk without the distraction of an activity. The past couple of dates we’ve enjoyed talking through a few of those “would you rather” questions as we eat.
Spend more time with my daughter doing things she enjoys.It is really difficult for me to do active things with her at this point, but I’m still trying to make an effort. We had a playdate, visited the Children’s Museum and went to the park.
Eliminate or reduce time wasters to spend more time on goals.
A friend recently recommended unroll.me, which shows you all of your email subscriptions. Even having already cleaned out my inbox, I still had 54 subscriptions. They show you a list and give you options for each one to unsubscribe, keep in the inbox or put in a daily digest.The other tactic I’ve been using successfully this month is focusing on the day’s top 3 tasks before looking at emails or checking Facebook.

Things I Loved in February

Tree Hut Shea Sugar Scrub
After noticing that my skin looked dry and wintery, I picked up this body scrub at Ulta. It is easy to use in the shower and leaves my skin feeling super soft. Now, if only it wasn’t blindingly white. 🙂
An Hour Behind on Amazon Prime
If you are an Amazon Prime member, check out this cute movie featuring Barry Watson from 7th Heaven.
Strawberry Kiwi Breeze from Smoothie King
We seldom visit a smoothie bar but decided on a whim to stop at a Smoothie King that recently opened near us. My hubby got this drink, and I was super jealous since it turned out to be so much better than the one I chose. Now I’m on a mission to recreate it at home.
Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay
I struck out on several of the books I read in February, but I did enjoy this one. If you are a fan of Jane Austen or just like an easy read every now and then, check out this book.
Jeff Foxworthy Interview on The Tonight Show
One day when I woke up in a funk, I did a bit of YouTube browsing and found a video of Jeff Foxworthy talking about his kidney stone. Hysterical and completely turned my day around.
Christy Wright on Instagram
I am a huge fan of Instagram, especially Instagram Stories. I don’t follow hardly anyone I really know, but I use it to follow influencers and authors I like. One of my favorite people on there is Christy Wright, creator of Business Boutique and one of the Dave Ramsey personalities. She posts a lot of her normal life on Instagram Stories. It has been so funny this month to watch her pet shenanigans. There was the saga of her son’s dead fish and her recent flight to Minnesota to pick up the cutest dog ever. (The Facebook Live videos she’s been recording lately are great too if you are a gal who has or would like to start a business.)

Thanks for helping keep me accountable for making progress on my goals again this month. I’d love to hear how your goals are going too. Feel free to email me at defeatingbusy@gmail.com and let me know.

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January 2018: Recap and Things I Loved

Maybe I’m just nosy, but I love reading recap and recommendation posts from my favorite bloggers.

Plus, doing a recap post each month helps keep me accountable for meeting my goals.

So, at the end of each month, I’ll write a post to review my progress toward my goals and share a few things that I tried that month and loved.

My 1st Half 2018 Goal Progress

Simplify home management.
Though I’m still struggling a bit to get a good plan for lunch, planning my meals once for the whole month (using themed dinner nights) was a huge help. I also decluttered quite a bit in December and at the beginning of this month, which has sped up my cleaning routine considerably.
Spend more time making memories with my family.
I didn’t make a lot of progress on this in January, but I’m going to make this a bigger priority in February.
Prepare for new baby’s arrival.
I knocked a few easy things out this month like making a few freezer meals, pre-registering at the hospital and washing all the baby clothes and accessories. I plan to really hit this one hard in February as well.
Make quality time with Jesus a part of my morning routine.
I am doing a study on 1 and 2 Kings through First 5 and am getting so much out of it. I have been working through the study after my workout on weekday mornings. Weekends feel more challenging and less structured, so that’s an area I can improve in the next couple of months.
Prioritize quality time with my husband.
We did squeeze a date night in at the end of the month when my parents came to visit, but I still want to work more on connecting, especially before our little one comes and things get really crazy.
Spend more time with my daughter doing things she enjoys.
This goal has actually been going well. We joined the local children’s museum at the beginning of the month and have been there twice. She loves getting out and doing activities, so I have made sure to take her somewhere to play one day per week.
Eliminate or reduce time wasters to spend more time on goals.
I have found more time by unsubscribing from emails, only checking emails when I set aside time to respond and batching errands and phone calls. Spending less time on Facebook is still a challenge, as well as deciding how I can still be productive when my brain needs a break.

Things I Loved in January

For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn
This book about what women need to know about the inner lives of men was a quick and easy read and opened my eyes to a few things I’d never considered. Check out my Facebook video recapping what I learned.
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
I read this book after Money Saving Mom recommended it. Though it is fiction, it helped me to better understand the life of a paraplegic and what would make someone consider assisted suicide.
Milestone Birthday Gift
My mom celebrated a milestone birthday this month, and I stole this idea from Pinterest to put together a basket of gifts related to things that happened the year she was born.
Dr. Jart Black Label Beauty Balm
This is technically the second time I’ve purchased this BB cream, but I am a huge fan. It is good for all skin tones, is very moisturizing on my dry, winter skin and covers my skin’s imperfections without feeling heavy.
Prayer Journal
I have been using this prayer journal as a way to write brief thoughts from my Bible study, a couple of prayer requests and things I am grateful for that day. So far, I love using it, especially since I prefer a paper journal to jumping on my computer immediately in the mornings.
The Happy Planner
I started out the year with The Day Designer, but the page-a-day format wasn’t working for me, so I switched to the Happy Planner. It has been so fun to be crafty for five minutes each Sunday night adding stickers and stamps to the layout for the coming week.
Geostorm
We watched this movie recently, and my hubby and I both enjoyed it. If you like a good action movie and aren’t bothered by unrealistic plots, add this to your watch list.
The Champion by Carrie Underwood & Ludacris
I know what you’re thinking. Who would put these two together on a song? But trust me it works. They recorded a song to promote the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics.
I Will Be Confident by Steven Furtick
Check out this video Steven Furtick and the peeps at Elevation Church put out if you need a kick in the pants to go after something God is calling you to do. Epic.
BLT Flatbreads by Emily Bites
It has been a long time since I’ve tried a new recipe that I absolutely loved, but these BLT flatbreads hit the spot. These were great for lunch but are an option for a light dinner too. Just a note: they are low calorie and Weight Watchers friendly, but they are not dairy or gluten free.

Thanks for joining me for this recap post.

I encourage you to review your goals at the end of each month as well.

When we stop to evaluate our progress, it motivates us to keep going and gives us the chance to celebrate how far we’ve come.

Here’s to an epic year!

And if you enjoyed the section about things I loved this month, sign up for my email newsletter. Each week, I always share something from the week that I am loving- whether it’s something I’m watching, listening to, reading or making.

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