// Four Tips To Maximize Productivity + Creativity

I love being productive. Who doesn't, right? But with two kids, it can sometimes be hard. Nevermind trying to be creative. Half of the time I'm just too zonked to feel creative, and the other half of the time I'm just too busy to execute the ideas I come up with. Things have gotten a lot better since I started implementing a handful of these tactics, and I thought I'd share them with you today! This post is in partnership with HP's new x360 tablet and computer system, and their upcoming "That Bass" tour with Meghan Trainor (!!!). Peep the details below!

CREATE AN EDITORIAL CALENDAR

If you're a blogger or utilize social media for your business, an editorial calendar is key! I started using one in 2011 or 2012, and I spend a good portion of time carving out my blog's plan one month at a time. I blogged about my system once before, and it's relatively the same still, but I've found new ways to make it work for me. There's really no skill required. Just plan out your blog or social media posts in advance to ensure that you have quality coverage throughout the month. I really love my method because it allows me to move things around (even to another month!) and go with the flow. You can create an editorial calendar on your computer, Google Calendar, or in a planner like I have. I love being able to write things out and see them in a three dimensional form, so the planner really works for me. If you'd like to see more about how I plan my editorial calendar, let me know and I'll whip up a post!

READ, READ, and READ SOME MORE!

There are endless resources out there for maximizing productivity and creativity. From books to blogs to podcasts (Okay, I guess you listen to that one...), there are so many tips and tricks just waiting to be discovered. I am a huge fan of business books. I can devour half a dozen of them in a month because I get so pumped when I read them. Whether they talk about being a work at home mom, a creative, or just discuss ways to find likeminded people, I am all about it. I feel like we should never stop learning, and thankfully these books and blogs make that so easy. A few of my favorite business-minded books include: The Boss of You, Turning Pro, Craft Inc., Creative, Inc., Blog Inc., Mom Inc., Tribes, and ReWork.

CREATE A "LITTLE BOOK OF IDEAS"

I've written about my "Little Book of Ideas" hundreds of times on this blog. If you've read for any length of time, you've probably seen me reference it before. Just like my editorial calendar, it's nothing special. Just a notebook that I keep in my purse and use to jot down any ideas that I have. I doodle thumbnails for designs, hash out blog features, and keep a running list of topics I'd like to write about. If I'm feeling especially stuck and can't come up with something for the blog, I can pull out my book and see pull out a topic just like that! I also write a lot of lists! I love having an app for that (more on that next), but when it comes to a general "to do" list for the day, a handwritten list is the way to go for me. I love the act of marking them out once finished. There's something so gratifying about that. I usually keep my to do list on a little legal pad and then toss them into my book of ideas if they're on-going. 

Utilize Apps to help keep you on track

If you're more of a digital maven, maybe apps are more your speed. While I love me some handwritten lists, sometimes apps just can't be beat. Mike and I share several "list boards" on Wunderlist together and they make grocery shopping a breeze! Sure, grocery shopping may not be "creative" but it sure is productive. If either one of us notice that we're running low on something, we just pop it on the list and it updates across both of our phones and any other device Wunderlist is installed on. Same goes for Evernote. I love that I can "snip" pieces of webpages to save into Wunderlist, and then I can access them from any device.

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These four tips were inspired by the 4 modes of the new HP x360 tablet and their new #BendTheRules campaign. They include laptop, tablet, tent and stand modes (clockwise from top left)! Mike sort of took over the tablet as soon as it arrived and he (unofficially) made it his own. He's been glued to the Kindle and NPR apps, so stealing it away from him is easier said than done haha It's been super handy (when he's out of the house) though, because I've used it in tent mode to stream YouTube instructional videos on so many things lately! Namely how to set up my new serger that I got for Christmas haha! 

I'm also supposed to tell y'all about the new Meghan Trainor tour that's taking place right now (!!!) across the country. HP is sponsoring her "That Bass" tour and it's sure to be a fun time for all. Linden loves her song "Dear Future Husband" and it's our post-afternoon-nap tradition to dance around in the kitchen to that song and he just laughs and laughs and laughs. 

Do you have any tips you'd like to share on how to maximize productivity? I'm all ears! I need it now more than ever! haha Hopefully some of these tips will help you make the most of your time and talent! xoxo

Ultimate Lists: Blog Organizing

Truth: I am a list maker. Like, I make everything into lists. Groceries? A list. Craft supplies and building materials? List. Budget? Definitely a list. Pros and cons for absolutely any and everything I can think of? Gonna put those babies on a list. And not just any old list.. not a list in my phone, or Evernote, or on my computer. They have to be hand-written. I don't know why, but I only seem to function well with hand-drawn lists. I think it might have to do with the simple satisfaction of writing something down and then checking it off. Kind of like a "Ha! Take that, list!" Weird? Probably.

I've always carried around a little blogging notebook with me in my purse. In fact, I've probably referenced my "Little Book of Ideas" about fifteen hundred times over this blog's three year existence. I've always written down blog post ideas, shopping lists, lyrics to songs I want to remember, etc. (The funny part about my blog notebook: I only use an exact replica of the original I had. No other notebook has worked for me. I think it's another psychological thing. I should've stocked up at Barnes and Nobel years ago!) Well, it got a bit hard to control a month's worth of blog posts at a time in that little thing, so I upgraded to a blog-specific planner (The Editor, anyone remember those?) It was fine and well for a while but I never clicked with it. I ended up buying a janky Cambridge planner at Walmart I think. It was a 2012/2013 one and ran about $13. It was in May when I got it and I was so flustered that I couldn't use it until July haha I had always just written posts down permanently, in pen, directly on the planner. But I'm a fickle person and things happen right? I'd always end up scribbling them out, and another thing that makes me abandon lists: if they get ugly. Yep, no clue why. Anyway, Kaylah blogged about her method... it was the same as mine, except she used post-it notes. Um genius?! Why did I not think of that?! (Another fact about me: I looooveeeee Post-It notes. My computer and desk and corkboard are constantly covered with them, and then some.) I started doing that immediately and my feelings toward my blog planner and my blog in general definitely improved.

I know some of you are rolling your eyes at me right now thinking "Okay Kaelah, you're a bit of a drama queen. They're sticky notes.... not that big of a deal!" but I'm serious. It changed the way I blog. I started planning out entire months of blog posts at the beginning of each month before I jetted off for 2+ weeks in June. It seriously helped so much. I'm all for finding any way to be more efficient, productive and organized. So sticky notes on every conceivable surface may not seem organized and efficient to some, but it's a heaven send for me. My brain just understands that sort of thing. :P

I don't often carry my big Cambridge planner with me, but I've been drawn to a few purses lately that allow me that luxury. Just yesterday our little fam loaded up in the car with pens and paper galore and headed over to Panera just to have a brainstorming session. Mike and I used to have those several times a week before Toby came along, and now we just pencil him in! It's a great way for Toby to play some of his educational games (he loves puzzles!) and draw/write while we're out. He was calm as as a clam, too. I stuffed my neon (!!!) bag from LuLu*s full of all of my gear and we were off. We sat there for about an hour just dreaming up things we want to do and build and share with y'all here. Mike is in the backyard building some of them now!

While I don't always take my big planner with me, I always have sticky notes, my little book of ideas, and multiple pens in my purse. Seriously, being in the car is like the best creativity booster for me so I try to be prepared. A little bit of a tangent -- but is anyone else here a pen snob? I hate using anything that is not a Uniball Vision .7mm pen. I love to doodle and make my lists all decorative, etc, and they're the only pens that are consistently fluid. And the Post-It notes? They have to be the "Super Sticky" kind. I'm telling ya, it's all a mind thing. Gotta have my preference or none at all. (Psst... note the mistake in the photo below. I notated it with an "LOL")

When it comes to design/freelance work and having clients, I prefer to give each client a folder on my desktop that includes all of their graphics, paperwork, etc. But I always make sure to create a single "file" in my desk with everything written out from price of project, to payments, log in info, and specifics that I get back with each mock. I keep all of my "current' clients on a clipboard hanging in front of my desk, and I'm able to quickly check the status of everything. 

Maybe it seems silly to devote an entire post to my love for all things list-making, but I seriously don't think I'd be able to function without them. I'm still an unorganized mess in certain areas of my work/life, but I'm slowly but surely figuring out what things work for me. How about you? Are you a list person? If so, what are your weapons of choice?