Education Archives

The FriYAY Series

October 7, 2016

Hydration, goals, monograms, and daily reminders

It has been a while since I’ve written a Friday update! I have been covered up, but here I am. Things are getting a little more balanced around here.

-This week has been focused on prioritizing. I am teaching a unit on time management in one of my classes, and it always makes me take a look at my own life. I’ve been making plans (as you can see, I am no longer using my Passion Planner because it ran out – but I am trying this floral, $9.99 Target planner for this school year.) I’m trying to be better about looking at my weeks and being very deliberate about my priorities and when I can fit things in…as well as when I need to say no to things to take care of my own values.

-I was so excited this week to look at my progress on my six week shred! It really lifted my spirits and I know it’s only three and a half weeks, but it feels good to have stuck to something. My clothes fit better, I feel more energized and excited about picking out what to wear, and it has been a really nice way for my mom and sister and I to stay connected.

-I have picked up a new Monday afternoon class at Hot Asana where I teach yoga, and that has helped get me back in a groove with my own yoga practice. Lately I had felt like I was kind of in a yoga rut…using the same playlists, having trouble making it to take classes, not feeling inspired to write brand new classes. But with my new class time, more consistent practice on my own mat, and holding yoga club meetings for the students at the high school, I feel revamped. My new S’well bottle that is beautiful, bright, and keeps everything freezing cold doesn’t hurt, either!

-After buying a sample of it at Ulta, I finally bit the bullet and purchased the Living Proof dry shampoo (this one comes with a free gift!). It actually makes your hair feel and look clean, not to mention the a m a z i n g smell that stays in your hair all day. I still love my Dove dry shampoo the best all-around, but if I constantly had $22 to blow on dry shampoo, this would be the one.

But…most importantly…back to speaking of planners…I do have my eye on the pre-order 2017 Passion Planner in Blush. I just can’t help myself. I am who I am.

Happy Friday! Enjoy the weekend and stay out of the rain!

Goal Digger

May 3, 2016

The last few weeks, I’ve been putting a lot of thought and effort into goals and plans for the future. I’ve been teaching my students about goal planning and resource management, so last week we discussed short-term, long-term, and even visionary goals. I am always surprised to hear what some of my students’ goals are; many of them have general goals to go to college, be happy, get married and have kids, etc. But then there are those students who write things like “One day I hope to become a child Psychologist, focusing in play therapy.” Or students who already have their plan to start a successful business during high school, selling handmade items like key chains, dog collars, leashes, monogrammed items, etc. As cheesy as it sounds, I know I’m supposed to inspire my students, but a lot of times it’s the other way around.

I have always been the person who loves to write things down, so lately I’ve been making lists of my goals and mapping out plans. I recently started a couple of summer jobs that have already begun before school is out, so I’ve spent some time really planning out how I’m going to manage all of that and still stay on top of my personal and financial goals. I was feeling so excited about my lists and my plans and my visions for the future. Coincidentally, my best friend and talented photographer Whitney recently attended a beautiful and informative wedding photography workshop and was thinking about her own goals and dreams. We discussed making vision boards soon so we can help ourselves stay focused on our dreams and goals.

I got this ‘AHA’ moment and had the idea to have my students create vision boards. I rearranged my lesson plans to fit in two days of hard work. I read several articles and tutorials online and finally ended up modifying this page to create my own instructions for my high school students. At first, they were very typical high school students: “Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! MISS WEAVER. We have so many projects in here.” “AND we have a test this week?!” But the funny thing is, after about 15 minutes of really getting into their projects and planning out their pictures and what to include on their vision boards, they started feeling it. They drank the Kool-Aid.

This is a picture of what I wrote on the board as their quick glance go-to while working on their vision boards. The actual instructions sheet was much more detailed.

Please, please, forgive me for the iPhone photo quality here – you can’t always grab your go-to photographer when you’re at work in the middle of the school day to come take high quality photos of your students’ work. Here are some of the products of their hard work.

I am so proud of those kids. It really doesn’t matter what your goals are, as long as they mean something to you. There’s nothing wrong with being driven and striving to accomplish personal milestones. Just make sure to enjoy your life and your ups and downs on the way there.

I have always had big dreams, and sometimes I feel like I haven’t done enough – but when I look at my life, I’ve done some pretty awesome things and checked off some big items on my bucket list already. Who knows what the next year or two of life will bring? So I’m focusing on crushing my goals and also remembering to take care of myself and enjoy the ride. There are a million paths to reach one destination, and that’s part of the fun of being a goal digger.

The Passion Planner: for those of us who are passionate about plans.

October 20, 2015

This one goes out to all my Type A kindred spirits…and to those of you who are maybe a little too breezy and need to make a plan for once in your life.

Around this time of year, it seems like life gets hectic – the weather changes, decorations come out, and the invites start rolling in for Halloween festivities, fall gatherings, and holiday parties. Don’t get me wrong; I am not complaining. I happen to be a gal who enjoys staying busy, and anyone who knows me knows that I love a good planner. The truth is, holiday season or not, I generally have my hands on a few different projects, and I refuse to sacrifice fun events and time with my loved ones…so my schedule stays pretty full. With recently going back to teaching and beginning my yoga teacher training, starting this blog, and writing an eBook with my friend Tony, I knew this year was going to be every bit as packed as the last few, and that I’d need a heavy-duty planner to get me through. I try to be breezy and spontaneous, I really do. And every now and then you might just catch me asking about last-minute plans or deciding to take a day trip to anywhere. But the heart wants what it wants, and I can’t help myself: I love plans. I love lists. I love writing color-coded, bulleted lists and crossing things off one at a time. If that’s wrong, then I just don’t want to be right.

But whether you’re a Type A ~~champion~~ weirdo like me or a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type of person, the bottom line is that we all have to keep track of our crazy lives, and in order to make sure I reach my goals and follow through on my commitments, all the while remembering everyone’s birthdays, anniversaries, and wedding dates, I have to keep up with a planner. (Or do I get to?! Someone out there tell me I’m not alone in my passion for organization!)

Long story short, I came across the Passion Planner when a friend of mine shared a link to it on Facebook. At the time, it was just barely getting started as a business, but I was hooked immediately. This was the planner for planners. This was the closest I had come to the planner of my dreams. And it was only $30. $30 for a whole entire year of my life mapped out on lined paper. However, I had unfortunately just received a very nice Emily Ley planner for my birthday that I just had to have (not knocking those planners – they are also very lovely). Thus began my wait; I couldn’t justify getting a Passion Planner when I had JUST received one…so I made the difficult choice to wait until my planner ran out this December. And I was faithful…until my life really took a new direction in a lot of ways. Time for a clean slate. I made it a full 9 months before purchasing my academic Passion Planner for 2015-2016 and I haven’t looked back.

The creator, Angelia Trinidad, came up with the idea of the Passion Planner after she graduated; her aim was to help people achieve their goals and dreams through their daily activities. The site has links to download undated, printable planner layouts for those who are strapped for cash, which you just don’t see much of these days. The company also has a pay it forward program, where you can sponsor someone else with a planner.

Things I love about the Passion Planner:

Each day goes from 6am-10:30pm, which is fantastic for someone like me who is up with the birds and stays busy until bedtime.
Each day’s column is wide enough for a small sticky note, which I use to write out my lesson plans for teaching. This saves me from needing a separate ‘lesson-planning notebook.’
Each day has a spot for ‘today’s focus,’ so I can easily either create priorities for each day or remind myself of important events like birthdays, teacher work days, days for errands, etc.
Each weekly layout has an inspirational quote, a box for ‘this week’s focus,’ and a box for ‘good things that happened,’ so you always remind yourself to express gratitude for even the smallest things.
It has a nice silky bookmark to keep your place. Enough said.
It is a lovely, floppy, leathery-feeling planner and does not have a spiral, which I really appreciate. Spirals get messed up so easily and they get in the way for those of us who are lefties!
Each week’s layout also has a space for work AND personal To-Dos, as well as an open space for notes, reminders, brainstorming, etc.
It has a monthly calendar layout as well as the daily layout – this is very important to me for reasons that are too nerdy and too lengthy to write about.
Before each new monthly layout, the planner asks you to see what progress you’ve made towards your goals since the last month. It might sound cheesy, but it’s one thing to have big dreams and quite another to make them happen – and that comes with planning and recording progress. It has a whole brain mapping and goal-setting theme that carries throughout the year.
Finally, the planner is good for whoever you are – whether you are a student, a parent, self-employed, or someone with a job who is just trying to get your life together…it works.

(I think it needs to be said here that the people over at Passion Planner don’t know me from Adam’s house cat. They did not in any way sponsor or suggest this post. I hope they don’t mind that I am bragging about them on my blog.)

So, if life gets crazy for you and your cell phone just won’t quite cut it for scheduling, the Passion Planner can organize your agenda, your goals, hopes, dreams, to-do lists, brainstorms, notes…really anything you could ask for. It can carry you through the busy fall season, into the hectic holidays, and land you successfully into a new year. Plus, it comes in two sizes so you can decide how portable you want it to be.

From a very early age, I’ve known I have ~~a tiny bit~~ a healthy bit of OCD when it comes to organization…but aside from my Type A tendencies, having old planners is like looking back at your old diaries – it’s an awesome way for me to look back at my life and remember important moments, see how far I’ve come, or realize how blessed I am to be able to max out this one beautiful life that I’ve been given.

Now I just have to find time to learn how to play the piano, get my Master’s thesis published, and get my PhD. #goals