There is a phrase that I have used over and over in my lifetime.

Life can change in an instant.

Until this point, I have used this most when discussing moments of tragedy in the lives of my friends and family members.  

However, over our school's spring break during the first week of March, we started to hear more and more about the Coronavirus crisis in our country. 

Within a few days of the original mention of the virus, we had extended our spring break into the next week...and then the following week...and then through the rest of March.

Just four short weeks later, we are now under a state-wide "stay-at-home order" and we won't be returning to school in the foreseeable future.

Just. Like. That.

School.  Gone.
Church.  Gone.
Track season.  Gone.
Piano lessons.  Gone.
Dance class.  Gone.
Family trips to the grocery store.  Gone.
Eating out at restaurants.  Gone.

Yes, life can change in an instant.

And just like that, we're navigating the world of "home-schooling".  The girls have some assignments from school they are working on and we are really getting back to the basics of reading books for fun, exploring outdoor play, and being creative "just because".

Just like that, we're worshipping via Facebook Live on Sunday mornings and connecting with believers all over the country.  We're watching sermons cuddled up on the couch and taking communion with homemade bread made by our daughter.  The girls are spending over half an hour every morning studying God's Word together...an opportunity they would not have if it weren't for our current situation.

Just like that, we're practicing softball outside in the evenings, riding the ranger around the gravel roads, and having art class with sidewalk chalk under the sun.

Just like that, our house is clean, laundry is caught up, and we have decluttered more unnecessary belongings than I ever would have thought possible.

Just like that, we are eating out of our pantry and freezer, only going to the store for necessities.  We're making meals at home and sitting around the table every single night.  We are laughing and telling stories together and taking time to enjoy each others' company.

Just. Like. That.

Just a little over a month ago, we were meeting ourselves coming and going every night. 

We were leaving the house at dark and getting home at dark.

We were running kids from one activity to another every single evening.

Yes.  Life has changed.  

There are many challenges surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.  

There are many scary aspects of this virus and I am thankful that there are so many people in our country taking it so seriously.

As we work to get through the current crisis, I hope and pray that we can be intentional in continuing to connect with people. 

And maybe...just maybe, we will be able to use this time as a reset for our families. 
A reset for our communities.
A reset for our country.

Maybe when we again have freedom to congregate, we'll remember what this time felt like. 

The simplicity. 
The togetherness.
So many stories of people helping people.
The everyday miracles that are coming to light during the time we are spending "stuck" in our homes.

Feeling hopeful in the farmhouse tonight, as we spend our time together -- apart,
Hannah

♥️🏡​♥️

Something happens on Friday afternoons, as I prepare my desk at school for the next week and lock my office door before heading home.

I feel a sense of accomplishment at tasks I've been able to complete through the week and a sense of relief at the idea of a few days "off".  

The week's end is a time of reflection and a time of looking forward to the future.

I've developed a routine for Friday afternoons that has helped me to leave the school with a sense of peace and contentment.

It hasn't always been this way though.

I used to stay at school late into the evenings playing catch up from the previous week and organizing my post-it notes of tasks that I needed to accomplish the following Monday.

Thanks to Google Calendar and a few books, like The 12-Week Year, I have figured out a better system.

I began to wonder if the same concept could work at school.

First semester of the next school year, I decided to try it out.

When I got back to work in August, I made a 12-week plan for first quarter.

I made a list of all the things that needed to be accomplished between the beginning of August & the end of October.

I started to divide them out based on what dates I needed to meet certain deadlines and then I took it a step deeper and divided the tasks by days during that week.

This was working fine, but I found myself writing and re-writing my lists for each day and it started to become a disorganized paper mess.  Yes, the tasks were getting finished, but it was exhausting to keep up with my paper system and I hated the "cluttered feeling" that my desk had at the end of each work day.

That is...until I found Reminders.

​One of the things that Google has added over the last year is the integration of "Reminders" into the Google Calendar platform.  

​Essentially, ​I can make my "to do" list using Reminders.

The difference in using this platform is that I can give my "Reminders" a date and time!

The magic of Google Reminders is that the tasks AUTOMATICALLY MIGRATE when you don't mark them complete!

Each morning, I open my calendar when I get to work and look at any tasks that have migrated over to the current date.  I check for a few things.  First, I love to see if I completed the tasks and just forgot to mark them complete.  Next, I see if the tasks are still relevant.  If not, I delete them.  If they are, I assign a time later the same day or later in the week to work on these tasks.

On Friday afternoon, when I start to prepare my office and desk for the next week, I now open up my Google calendar and look at the tasks I was unable to complete during the week. 

I look at my upcoming weekend and the next week's calendar and I fill in any tasks that I need to complete. 

I collect any resources or materials I might need to complete these tasks and I put them in folders I have labeled with the days of the week.  

Then I clean off my desk, turn off my lamps, and head out the door.

Feeling good at this week's end,
Hannah

​❤️?❤️

You may remember at the end of 2018 when I shared about my morning routine on the blog.

Although I knew how important a morning routine was, it wasn't until I read The Power of Habit last year that I learned how beautifully automatic mornings could become.

Another example might be reaching for your house keys to unlock the door as you walk to the house when you get home.

​​These sequences of events are automatic. 

You don't even think about them. 

There's practically no thought necessary to get the mail from the mailbox or unlock your house.

Did you know that humans are wired to make a specific amount of decisions each day?

We each have a certain decision-making capacity and we often use a lot of our decisions on meaningless activities.

(Sidenote: This is often why people make poor food choices late at night. They've hit their decision quota for the day, so they're unable to effectively decide "no ice cream" is the correct option.)

By creating healthy habits in our morning routines (and in other areas of our lives), we create automatic sequences and cut out decisions.

Here is my morning routine:

• Wake up
• Make the bed
• Put on the workout clothes that I laid out the night before
• Workout
• Start the coffee pot
• Shower & get ready for the day
• Make my coffee
• Bible Study/Prayer Time
• Get the kids up and ready

Now...in all honesty, over the last few months, my third and fourth steps have gone away.

I injured my hip while training for a half-marathon back in the fall and I wasn't able to workout for several months.

Now I'm healthy again and will need to re-train myself to include that working out habit in the mornings.  For now, it's a daily decision.

The beauty of the habit cue is that we have the power to change our habits.

Last summer, I started experimented with habit loops.

When my feet hit the floor every morning, I would turn around and make the bed.

Within two minutes of my alarm going off, I have already accomplished something and now every time I walk by the bedroom through the day, I will remember that accomplishment.  

As part of my bedtime routine, I've laid out my workout clothes and my clothes for the day.

Once the bed is made, I put on my workout clothes and head outside to run, to the basement to the treadmill, or to the living room to workout with a video.

It is automatic and once those clothes & tennis shoes are on, it sure is easier to get that movement taken care of first thing in the morning instead of having to decide to fit it in later in the evening.

After my workout, I start the coffee pot as I walk to the shower.

When I'm out of the shower and ready for the day, I make coffee and do my Bible study.

Enjoying my mornings at the farmhouse,
Hannah

Last year, I set a goal of reading 30 books in 2019.

I probably met this goal, but I can't say that with 100% certainty because I didn't track my books after about January 15th.

This year, I'm using Goodreads to track my books and I've already finished book number 1.

My first book of 2020 (which I will admit, I started in the last few days of 2019) was Outer Order, Inner Calm. 

One of my biggest take-aways from the book was this quote..."Nothing is more exhausting than the task that's never started."

I am the queen of systems and procedures and lists. 

Sometimes my "task list" includes upwards of 100 items.

After reading this book, I went through my list and moved most of the items to a specific scheduled block on my calendar. 

This simple act was a relief because by giving each task its own specified time, I "started" the process of marking the item off of my checklist.

The piece of advice to schedule time to work on tasks is just a very small example of the wealth of knowledge Rubin shares in this book and I would highly recommend it.

It's the first day of 2020.  

When the clock struck midnight in the wee hours of this morning, we moved into a new day, a new month, a new year, and a new decade.

If you read my post about brainstorming for the new year, you have probably already printed and filled in the 2020 dream sheet I created.  If not, grab one of your own here.

Now that you have identified some of your dreams and goals for 2020, let's move into being a little more specific in our goal-setting.

I created another printable to help us get specific about the things we want to accomplish in 2020.

Because January 1st is on a Wednesday this year, I am giving myself the next four days to plan and get organized to dive into another 12-week challenge.

Today, let's identify our goals for the year and get organized in our plan for accomplishing those goals.

Remember...less is more!

Don't create some elaborate plan to do 1,500 different tasks in 2020 or you'll burn out by January 11th.

Instead, create some manageable and measurable goals that you can stick to!

Thanks so much for keeping up with life at the farmhouse in 2019.

I'm looking forward to growing together over the next 365 days.

Happy 2020 from the farmhouse, friends.
Hannah

❤️🏡❤️

Print your goal sheet to write out your goals or type them out to print!
Editable 2020 Goal Sheet

I didn't set too many specific goals in these areas yet.  I just took the time to write out some of my hopes & dreams for 2020.

Some of the items on my list include projects, like creating a "quiet time" area in my office and making an action plan every month to mark off some of my "procrastination tasks".

Some are daily habits -- working out every day, drinking enough water, planning healthy meals for my family, and reading my Bible & journaling my prayers.

Some are just goals -- sending more personal cards via snail mail and being intentional in everything I purchase for our home.

Are you ready to dream for 2020?  This is the first step in building the life you want over the next twelve months.

Feel free to download your own worksheet below and take some time to brainstorm today!

Up early, dreaming about the future here at the farmhouse,
Hannah

❤️🏡❤️

In 2017, I started this blog when we bought the farmhouse.

I so enjoyed sharing with my readers the transformation of certain rooms, as we moved in, painted, and even added a bathroom upstairs.

I loved to share parenting stories, marriage joys & struggles, and decorating ideas.

There were some weeks during the last year and a half that I was blogging every single day.

Every. Single. Day.

And yet, when I opened the blog today...my last post was in June.  JUNE. 

That's SIX months ago.

However, a few days ago, I wrote a blog post to share as a guest writer on our minister's blog.

And it sparked something in me.

I realized how much I had missed sharing in this way.

Blogging feeds my soul.

So in 2020, I'm committing to a weekly blog post.

Not only to pour into my readers' lives...but for myself.

Happy Last-Week-of-the-Decade, friends.

Love from the Farmhouse,
Hannah

​❤️🏡❤️