You might remember a few weeks ago when I made my "new year's" post that I had decided to focus on 2021 as 52 separate weeks.

To be honest, this concept has been ah-ma-zing.

​Every Sunday afternoon, we sit down for a family meeting, where we go over our menu for the week, make a grocery list, discuss the calendar, and review our annual and weekly goals. 

It sounds almost too simple to say that one half-hour meeting on Sunday afternoon has led to three weeks of success in 2021, but it's true!

I thought it might be helpful to run you through the process off our Sunday afternoon meetings, in case you wanted to try something similar with your family.

Over Christmas break, I spent some time researching some intentional journaling ideas for 2021.

One of the ideas I found all over Pinterest was doing a "one line a day" journal.

The basic premise is that you write down ONE line in a journal each day of the year.  

​I am sitting here in my quiet kitchen, reflecting on 2020 and looking ahead to 2021.

Wasn't 2020 just absolutely insane?

There is no way that I can sum up our experiences this year in one simple blog post. 

Our family spent 6 weeks in quarantine, due to COVID-19.  Harlee and Matthew spent 8 weeks,  I contracted the virus in September and am still fighting some of the symptoms right now...four months later.

So many friends of our lost family members to this terrible virus and we are still praying for them every day.

A tornado blew our barn away and caused some damage to our house and several other buildings on our property.  However, this unfortunate circumstance truly jumpstarted some pretty big property improvements. 

We rebuilt the barn, fenced in our property, built the Rustic Rooster (a loft playhouse for the girls), and are almost finished with our detached garage...complete with a kitchen, workout space, and bathroom.

When school started in August, I totally fell off of the blogging wagon (again), but learned a lot about leading a school during a global pandemic.

It's been a year to remember and I would be lying if I said I wasn't ready to forget most of 2020 and move forward.

One of my 2021 goals is to blog every week, so look for a post soon about my word-of-the-year.

Love, grace, and peace from the farmhouse tonight, friends,
Hannah

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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

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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

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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

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And let's be honest...it can be so dark and gloomy outside!  ​

Days and days of inside recess.  Need I say more?

In the education world, the "third quarter slump" is alive and well.

But this year...I'm not in the classroom.  

I'm sitting in an office doing a job that I love working with a team of leaders and staff members that just warm my heart.

I have lamps and a little peaceful fountain and I can use the restroom whenever I want.

We have had a few unexpected days off and I feel like I'm basically in control of my house right now.

And I'm still feeling the "third quarter slump".

I think sometimes this time of year is just hard.

This time of year is often lacking sunshine. 
Illness is making its way around.
It's cold...and sometimes snowy or icy, making it hard to get from point A to point B.
It's dark when we leave the house and often dark when we get home.

And let's be real here...some of us feel like we have already failed at some of those goals we set on January 1st (less than a month ago).

The winter blues are very real, but there are a few things I've found that help me to heave myself out of that third quarter slump when the days feel long and not as enjoyable as we would like them to.

For example, participating in the Farmhouse654 12-week challenge has given me some direction over the next twelve weeks.

My days are filled up with purposeful tasks that help me to meet goals that I set for myself at the beginning of the year.

Another example would be the fact that Matthew and I have booked a cruise for mid-July for our 15-year-anniversary.  This helps me to be hyper-focused on a few financial and health goals I would like to accomplish before then. 

There are some projects around the outside of the house that we would like to get finished before next school year.  This winter, we are working on identifying these projects and breaking them down into manageable steps we can start NOW. 

In fact, Mr. Farmhouse and his crew (our dads, brothers, cousins, Harlee) got the outside fence posts put in a few weekends ago when we had a spring-like day!  And he's out there again today...at 19º.  Brrrr!

2. Keep Moving

This weather makes me want to hibernate.

I want to run to the car in the morning, drive to work, do my job, leave work, and come straight home to curl up in my bed.  

I don't want to do anything extra...including housework, cooking supper, or especially exercise.

However, I have found that when I set a schedule to get some movement into my days, I truly and honestly feel better.

Even if it's only three times a week, if I can get onto that treadmill and force myself to DO something...it really makes a huge difference in how my week goes.

3. Turn on the Lights

It's no secret that sunshine is good for the soul.

Seasonable Affective Disorder (SAD) is the scientific name for the winter blues.

While experts have lots of suggestions to help beat the winter blues, they all seem to agree on one thing...the importance of LIGHT!

Turns the lights on and turn them on early.

Start the day with artificial lights on to trick your body into thinking that rest time is over and it's time to get going.

Open blinds or curtains to let as much natural light as you can throughout the day and SOAK THAT STUFF IN!

4. Stay Connected

When we are feeling down, we sometimes have a tendency to slowly separate ourselves from others. 

We spend more time at home.

More time cooped up inside.

More time disconnected from others.

There's a fine line between taking some at-home rest & relaxation with your own little family and putting up walls to start and build a barrier with the outside world.

And it's all a slippery slope.

The more time we spend disconnected from others, the easier it is to not let people in.

The more days we go straight home and avoid human interaction, the easier it becomes to think of that as the "norm".

Stay connected with others.  And not just online.

Meet up with a friend for coffee.
Make a phone call (gasp!) to a friend.
Go out and run errands...talk to people!

5. ​Do Something

Finally...do something.  Do ANYthing.

Sometimes the winter blues can become extreme and paralyzing.

And sometimes it is hard to make yourself do anything above and beyond your necessary daily responsibilities.

On days like this, I think it's important to just START.

Do ONE thing.

And then do another thing.

Take it moment by moment, task by task.

Do something and then sit down and rest.

Do another thing and then sit down and rest.

We sometimes need to work through our days (or evenings) like this...just babystepping our way through some of those tasks we tend to put off during the winter.

Sometimes those first few tasks can get our motivation rolling enough to make some serious progress...even on a hard day.

Here's the deal.

The winter blues are real.

They can come at different times and at varying degrees for all of us.

For my dear friends struggling with clinical depression, I know that these five suggestions won't cure that. 

There are medications and therapists and lots of options for support available and I hope and pray that you are taking advantage of these things.

However, maybe...just maybe...focusing on some of these suggestions will help to lighten the blow of the dark & cold days that comes with this season.

Day by day,
Goal by goal,
Step by step.

We can do this.

Looking forward to spring here at the farmhouse,
Hannah

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Well, friends.

We made it.

2019.

It sounds crazy to say that.  I just keep thinking, "Wasn't 1996 like a few years ago?"

Anyway, for so many of us, waking up on January 1st brings a renewed sense of motivation and excitement for what can happen in this fresh new year.

​Over 2018, I read several books to work towards becoming the best version of myself that I can be.

Almost every single one of them spoke in the beginning about the importance of having a vision for your life.

"Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others." ~ Jonathan Swift

Your vision has to be yours alone.

Picture the life you want and decide TODAY to take steps to get there.

I'm hosting a "Twelve-Week Challenge" group here on the blog and over on Facebook.

So that's my one non-negotiable daily habit.

However, I have some other habits that will definitely help our days run more smoothly, so I have listed nine other daily habits that I would like to track each day.

I love using a habit-tracker for things like this, so I created one on Google Docs to track my progress.

You can view MY January habit-tracker HERE and follow along, if you'd like.

If you would like a printable BLANK copy of my habit-tracker, click the image below.

Using the insight I gleaned from these authors, I have set up a 12-week challenge to set goals for the first twelve weeks of 2019, to keep myself accountable, and to check my progress throughout the next three months.

After setting up my goals and weekly challenges, I thought to myself that maybe you all would want to join me!

Excited for the new year here at the farmhouse,
Hannah

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One of the comments I hear often from friends and family is, "I don't know how you do it all."

Well, let me be frank...there are days that I DON'T do it all.

I am a known procrastinator, who has been fortunate (or unfortunate) to be able to put things off until the last minute and still successfully pull them off...for YEARS. 

One of my biggest struggles in life has been to keep our house clean and organized and we are STILL working to put systems into place to help keep things together. 

A few of the successes I had over 2018 were:

• taking a step back and slowing down significantly on my photography business,
• building a few habits here at the house (making my bed, for instance) that are now on auto-pilot each day,
• reading several books (thank you, Audible!) to help me grow as a Christian wife & mom,  and as a school leader,
• and developing systems to keep things running smoothly in my new role at work.

While I've made lots of changes over the last year to help with the simplification of things here at the farmhouse, I'm still a work in progress.  

None of the growth I've made in 2018 would have been possible without some tools that I have discovered and used over the last nine months.

The Getting Things Done method has five main steps and the first one is to "capture" all of the thoughts in your brain by writing them down or typing them somewhere.

Allen calls this capturing and I call it a brain dump.

As part of my evening routine (and sometimes through the day if I'm having a hard time focusing on one task), I set a timer for about five minutes and start typing out every single thought that comes into my head.

These could be tasks that I've been putting off, worries that I'm struggling with, gifts I need to buy, people I need to call, projects that I'm dreaming about, blog posts that I want to write, and a thousand other things.

I'm basically taking all of the thoughts in my brain and capturing them so I can "clear my head", as the old saying goes.

When I first started this method of productivity, I would use a piece of paper to complete my brain dump.

And then...I discovered Trello.

Trello

Trello is a list-making platform that has a web-based component, as well as an app. 

It's an online tool for managing projects and to do lists and it is AMAZING.

Simply stated, my Trello is filled with boards that are made up of various areas of my life (shown below). 

I have everything...a long-term Bucket List, Christmas details for this year, a board for each girl, Farmhouse654, Finances, Meal Planning, Newkirk Photography, School, and Self-Care.  

On each of these boards, there are categorized lists and cards on each list.

You can add notes, links, images, due dates, checklists, and lots of other details to cards...AND you can easily drag cards from one list to another!

My Brain Dump is on my "Getting Things Done" board.  I set a timer and add things as they pop into my head.

Today (so far), I'm planning to finish our Menu for this week, get the Christmas decor put up, and go through a daunting stack of envelopes on my desk (that I've been putting off!).

I need to update my KonMari list for our purging project that we're planning between now and spring break, so I will move that task to "Current Projects", as it's an ongoing project and not something that will be completed today.

In my "Daily" column, I have those items that I need to do each day -- cleaning out my school bag each night, so I don't forget something important, reviewing my calendar each morning, and going through my list of current projects to see if there is anything I could move to my "TODAY" list.

My "Waiting On..." list are tasks that I cannot complete without some other piece of the project being complete.  An example would be planning our Alaskan cruise for next summer.  The cruise and flights are booked and we got our passport paperwork all sent off for verification last weekend.  Now we're in the process of waiting for them to be sent back to us before we need to move forward with the rest of the detailed planning.  So that task is sitting in the "Waiting On..." list until we get passport confirmation in the mail.

Someday Maybe includes items like "Explore Doctorate program", "Finish Book", and "Design Home Addition" -- dreams or thoughts for somewhat far into the future.

My last two lists on this board are "Desk Items" and "Waiting Room Items".

These are lists of tasks that don't have to be done right away, but could be completed while I'm sitting at my desk waiting on hold on the phone or sitting in a waiting room, working from my phone.  It's nice to be productive when you're tied up on a phone call or waiting on a child to get finished at the orthodontist.

Google Calendar (with Reminders)

Google Calendar is where it ALL comes together.

From my calendar on my desktop at home or school, as well as my iPhone calendar, I can see all of the personal and school events we have going on, my Special Education meetings, event invitations, and my personal favorite part of the calendar...reminders.

I can easily add tasks by clicking anywhere on the calendar and setting a reminder.

The option is there to add a time stamp and have the reminder pop up at a specific time or check the box next to "All day" and have the reminder be part of the ongoing "to do" list like the one you can see above.

When you click the "Add day" option, whatever reminders don't get checked off that day will automatically move to the next day!  Fancy-Schmancy!

I hope my Brain Dump, Trello, & Google Calendar explanation makes sense!  My system is definitely still evolving, but I feel more in control than I have in a long time!

So...what questions do you have for me?  What did I leave out?  Would a video be helpful?

Have you moved into online planning or do you enjoy paper/pencil more?  

What are you doing this week to set yourself up for a successful 2019?

Dreaming of an organized new year at the farmhouse, 
Hannah

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