There's at the end of this novella tunnel

 Another Friday, another celebratory treat coffee. How did your week go? Did you take a moment to smile or be silly? I hope so. Today's cup of fun flavor is Jingle Bones, part of their Christmas in July celebration. It's a coconut, caramel, and vanilla blend.

This week I hit 4 co-working sessions, which the progress on my novella reflects. Yay! A big thank you to all my fellow co-workers for the inspiration and motivation in a variety of platforms. I'm in the final clean-up and formatting stage and shaking my head at the number of times I over use my favorite words.

My fingers are crossed to hit the finish line next week, will you wish me luck? I'm battling my self-sabotaging/procrastination tendencies which are telling me that this would be a FANTASTIC time to redo all the tags and categories on my blog and story posts.

Don't get me wrong. I know they are a mess and I am itching to redo them. But, I am also learning to prioritize, focus, and work on the projects and tasks that move me toward my goals (can you hear that in Sarra Cannon's voice in your head? I can.) So, begone shiny object! Begone!

Stop my month! I want to get off!

 Do you know that feeling? I knew Q2 was going to be busy and I knew April was going to fly by. But wow, what happened to May? From April 1 to now has been a one-way trip while strapped to the front of a bullet train.

Think about that visual. Can you relate?

There’s no way to point out any one thing but we are living in interesting times and the juggling of responsibilities, both personal and professional, has seemed all that much harder. Life has been about the flexibility, hasn't it?

And here I thought those stretching exercises wouldn’t pay off. I am *this* close to reaching my childhood dream of becoming a contortionist. Don’t judge. Ten-year old me thought that was the height of cool.

If I’m honest, the markers and milestones in Q1 and Q2 haven’t been all negative. Sure, I meant to write this specific post at the end of March and I’ve not completed any of the four(!) writing projects I had slated for the first six months of 2021. But there’s been some amazing wins this first half of the year. 

Chief among them? I hit the big 40lb mark when it comes to weight loss. (That number still blows my mind.) I’ve accepted the reason I’ve not finished those two novellas-in-progress is because the stories need more before I consider them finished (sigh), and I’ve developed a consistency in my day to day habits I once thought impossible. I’ve also delved back into the world of MM Romance with the release of two novellas. 3rd Time's the Charm came out in April, and Stormy Weather in May.

That’s a lot to celebrate.

Not so coincidentally, I’ve also been listening to and learning from some amazing thought leaders when it comes to mindset and upper limit beliefs. You might have seen some of my posts #MindsetIsEverythihg.

My favorites include Clarissa Guillen, Christina Oman, Dr. Edie, Pahla B, and Cara Harvey. Each of these women come from a different place in life and have a different focus, but all of them share the belief our thoughts create our feelings, which drive our actions, and which then produces our results. I’ll link each one to a favorite teaching so you can experience them yourself.

But understanding and working with my mindset isn’t the answer with all of life’s woes even though it does help me live each day with enthusiasm.  The weight of all my must-do’s (get-to's with a mindset shift!) is still there, and I’ve had to be both a little more creative and a lot more disciplined to get things done. 

As much as I tell myself I’m a shiny object lover and easily distracted and I want to do ALL THE THINGS, realistically, I can’t. My inner two-year old then lies on the floor in the middle of my writing space and kicks and screams because ALL THE THINGS! NOW! (Have you ever been in a store with a tantrum-throwing two-year old? Whoo boy. Good times. But you can't slink off and leave them there, no matter how much you are tempted.)

What can I do? Lower the pressure. Narrow my focus. No matter how much I don’t want to.

Honestly, reducing my priorities and goals to one item a month is hard. So damn hard. I fight myself every time I do it. For some reason inner-Chrissy is convinced she can take three classes, write three books, and work on three new habits every single day of the week.

Inner Chrissy is a machine. A Terminator. She is convinced she can out badass a 1984 Arnold every time she takes on a project.

Real life Chrissy? Not so much.

To translate this into my June, I have ruthlessly chopped my plans to one item and one item only: completing one of my novellas-in-progress. Then, and only then, will I move forward into planning my Q3 with a focus of only one project a month.

For anyone interested in the system I use to understand my priorities, plan my writing and life goals, and evaluate and adjust as needed,  there is a new round of the HB90 Method offered by Sarra Cannon starting on June 13th. (I'm excited to see the changes Sarra has made in her time tracking system.) Please consider using my affiliate link if you sign up and remember, once you purchase the course you have lifetime access and each new quarter is an opportunity to refine your process. 

How is Q2 of 2021 working out for you? What adjustments are you making to add time and energy to your life and goals? Leave me a comment or send me an email  - chrissymunder@yahoo.com. I’d love to hear from you.

Ready to join in the next round of the HB90 Method?

 I’ve always loved to plan and set goals. I never learned how to turn these plans and goals into effective action until 2018 when I found Sarra Cannon and the HB90 Method. Does that sound a little incredible? It’s true.

I shared a little about Sarra and the HB90 Method back in December, but the live class had already closed. I wanted to post early enough this quarter that anyone interested could still join in.

So! A new round of the HB90 Method will be starting on March 14th. If you are familiar with Sarra, visited her blog, Heart Breathings, or watched any of her YouTube videos where she shares highlights of her process and simply want to jump right in, please consider using my affiliate link to join. It doesn’t cost you anything extra and I get to feed my office supply addiction. Yay!

If you’d like to hear a little more personal feedback on my results from the class, please continue reading.

I’ve posted a few of my goals this year and as another month races to a close, I’ve already made more progress than expected. Am I going to achieve everything I hoped for this quarter? Of course not. I’m not a machine, or even close to a perfect human. I also am still working on my tendency to overschedule myself, set unrealistic expectations, and continually underestimate how long a simple task will take. Does anyone else struggle there? 

What I am doing is taking consistent action using a reliable, realistic system that is flexible to my needs, energy, and available time. You might say, well, that’s great, Chrissy. But you’re an author and Sarra’s a successful author and entrepreneur. I’m not.

It doesn’t matter. The process I’ve learned in the HB90 Method is one I apply to everything I’m working to achieve, in all areas of my life. It’s how I’ve already filed our taxes for 2020, decluttered the back storeroom, and posted weekly on my blog in 2021 when I hadn’t touched it in months. It’s how I finally sat down and voiced my dreams and priorities beyond a simple “I want to” and made a plan to make them happen.

You may have time for only one goal, or you may have time for eighteen. It doesn’t matter. There have been many quarters where I’ve only been able to focus on one simple outcome and, despite clinging on to my determination with everything I had, didn’t reach it. But I’ve finally stopped beating myself up over it because I know I made my plan and followed my plan to the best of my abilities instead of giving up or chasing after the next shiny thing that popped up. 

This sounds a little sales pitchy or too good to be true. That’s not my intention. What I do want to do is share the satisfaction I feel when I actually get to cross something off my dreams list and how I learned the steps that got me there.

Here’s a video of Sarra which highlights her 90-day planning. But the HB90 Method is more than pretty sticky notes all in a row. I’ve always been a visual learner and sure, that’s one of the reasons I love the method so much. But, as many of you know, I’m now more blind than not. It’s my ability to visualize Sarra’s method and translate the process to a system that works for me that makes it so valuable. I hope you find it the same.

How to Create your Schedule for 2021 (and beyond)

 I'm a little later posting this than I had planned, but that just seems to be the way 2020 is going. Luckily, a new year is just a few weeks away. Do you feel ready? I want to share a great live workshop video author Sarra Cannon posted on her YouTube channel, Heart Breathings on how to plan your 2021. It's geared toward authors, but the beauty of her system is that is that the principles will work for anyone with big dreams and goals who desires to implement them in a sane and realistic manner.

If you like the ideas Sarra shares and want to dive even deeper into planning your year or quarter, she also offers an online course called The HB90 Method, where she leads live training each quarter. Unfortunately, the live course has already closed for this upcoming quarter, but since most of the people I talk with are already feeling overwhelmed both mentally and financially, maybe a little rest and recharge time *isn't* the worst thing you do to round out this year.

 Want to cuddle up on the couch and ease your way into the new year? Go ahead and watch this, and some of Sarra's other helpful videos dealing with productivity and time management and put this class on your "classes to take next year" list.

If you do decide to join, please consider doing so through my affiliate link: HERE. This won't cost you anything extra and I will receive a small affiliate payment. Thank you!