Month

February 2021

February 24, 2021

You’ve Got Wildly Important Things to Do

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Pretend we’re at a coffee shop together. 

I’m your best friend, and you’re pouring out your heart.

You’re telling me you don’t have enough time to do the things that are really important. 

You feel stuck.

So I do what any good best friend would do. I lean in real close and I say, “You know what? You’re in control of how you spend your time because you’re an adult.”

(Just a little tough love—and then I buy you another coffee with extra whipped cream on top because I’m a 2 and you’re my person.)

But here’s the thing. The passions that burn inside of you—the things God put at the core of who you are—they matter. You should be investing your time into those wildly important things.

And I can’t just sit here without putting a hard stop to all those excuses.

I want to see you living out your truest priorities as the strong woman God has created you to be. The tyranny of the urgent, vague feelings of inadequacy, and lack of boundaries should not have a monopoly on your bandwidth.

Yes. You do have a boatload of roles to manage. Yes, there’s a pandemic, and, yes, the world is crazy, and, yes, there’s a lot going on. We all have a lot to manage right now.

But you also have so much more agency than you often like to admit. (That’ll preach—we’re also stepping on our own toes here…) You have time. You have choice. You can set healthy boundaries. You can ask for help. You can seize our moments as opportunities to lean into the future with intention, and set your future self up for success. 

You just have to choose to become an owner in how you spend your time. 

Manage Your Time, Manage Your Life

There’s so much that can be done to make your life a lot more manageable. With the right tools and mindset, you can introduce more peace and stability into your days than you previously imagined possible. You can make new space to breathe, think, and solve problems in a way that infuses confidence and growth into your lifestyle. ⠀⠀⠀⠀

You can open up time and mental energy you forgot you ever had. You can become the rested and creative version of yourself you know is trapped inside. You can dream and set goals—and achieve them. Starting now.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

And we want to help you.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Imagine sitting down every morning with a hot cup of coffee to an ever-relevant, powerfully clarifying, and deliciously addictive strategy session with yourself. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Imagine a planner that intuitively guides you through a series of highly effective time management techniques and reflection habits. Imagine a subscription box that delivers motivation right to your door, making sure you never run out of the gorgeous little booklets that empower you to bring order to your chaos.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Imagine a planner system that feels like a second brain, a cozy home for all of your creative brainstorming, and an aesthetic addition to your lifestyle collection, all rolled into one delightfully portable unit. A system that makes your craaaazy life simpler, saner, and more beautiful—almost effortlessly. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

You could be unboxing a system just like that in a matter of days. 

Dear one, it’s no secret—as co-founder of the Evergreen Planner—that I have a vested interest in you diving into this planner system. But what you might not know is that getting this product to market was one of the hardest roads to having a successful business that my sister and I could take. In a world where downloadables are created once and then sold countless times with relatively low overhead, this planner wasn’t born out of asking ourselves how we could start a business that would be profitable and fun.

Evergreen Planner was born out of our own desperate needs to get our lives sorted.

The earliest prototypes of this planner system quickly became a vital part of our own personal strategies for balancing home, hustle, and heart. We would use up our prototypes and then go a few weeks without our planner, and slowly watch our productivity systems begin to shudder and grind to a halt. We began to understand, on a deep level, how much we needed this planner to be a hub for our brains—a place to store and organize all of our details, rhythms, tasks, and calendars so that we could continue to uplevel in the things that mattered most. 

What started out as a fun planner project quickly grew into a core conviction—especially for McCauley. Though she was a mentally organized person by nature, she found the planner to be key for massive personal and lifestyle growth. She pressed forward—against all odds, despite me moving hours away, through five pregnancies and a handful of serious health events, overcoming one manufacturing tangle after another—and she would not stop pressing forward until she knew that this planner system was made available for you to purchase.

Why the passion?

Because you’ve got wildly important things to do.

What if this planner can help you reach PAST the mountain of wet laundry reeking of ongoing potty training sessions and draw from the abundant giftings God has given you? 

What if this planner can empower you craft your own unique and dynamic lifestyle that fuels the goals that Providence has implanted into your core?

What if this one simple (but powerful) approach to productivity can help unleash your family’s distinct potential—and your distinct potential as an individual—to help change the world?

Dear friend, hear us.

We really do believe you have a place to serve that only you can fill. God has given you a combination of life experiences, particular skills, relationships, interests, and personality traist that make you uniquely able to serve in God’s kingdom in ways that neither of us ever will. 

We want you to figure out the most essential work for your life, and get busy serving in those deeply powerful ways that no one but you can.

We believe in what God is planning to do through you, and we are humbled to offer the Evergreen Planner system as a powerful tool to help you get organized around your vitally important work.

xx,

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It’s time to finally make space to thrive. Do your future self a favor and SUBSCRIBE before the doors close for this quarter’s shipment! (Our sub box won’t open again until June!)

We invested countless hours of research into uncovering the best time management practices in the world. We wove them into one intuitive, minimalistic system that can be used daily.

✨⏳ TIME IS RUNNING out. This is your opportunity to get set up with EVERYTHING you need to take control of your time.

This one habit can CHANGE your life.

February 17, 2021

Intentional Pivoting: the Superpower of the Growth Mindset

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Posted in Goal Setting, Mindset

Last week, we talked about how to set solid quarterly goals, and then use them to get back on track.

But, if you’re like most people, the one question that tends to trip you up in your intentional living aspirations is this:

What if I set epic goals, but then things change?

We can totally relate to this.

In fact, just yesterday, Shelby realized that TWO of the THREE goals she set for the quarter no longer fully made sense to pursue.

It’s really easy to look at a situation like that and throw in the towel, claiming that there’s no value in long-term planning whatsoever. But that’s simply not true. Because Shelby set those three goals at the beginning of the quarter, she was able to make significant progress on both of the goals before they needed to be de-prioritized. Even though she didn’t reach the point in either one where her motivating vision was 100% fulfilled, the progress she did make gave her a lot of hope that the vision could truly be realized in the future. The work that she did in skill-building and mentally organizing around those two goals would not be wasted—in the future when she turned her attention back to those goals, she’ll have a framework of positive experience in place and ready to build upon.

This kind of a perspective is vital to the development of a healthy growth mindset.​

Taking into account the realities of changing circumstances—and then responding by intentionally pivoting on your goals in order to increase fruitfulness—is not the same as just neglecting or giving up on your goals. With the superpower of intentional pivoting, you’re able to stay in the driver’s seat (where you belong), even if Providence changes the terrain, the layout of the roads, or the direction you’re driving altogether.

How to Intentionally Pivot

These prompts will help you pivot intentionally in the wake of any major life transition. Transition periods can be as purposeful and fruitful as non-transition periods, even if in a totally different way. Think through these prompts as you go about your day, and then journal through them in your planner!

  1. Describe the change and its implications for your 3 main goals for this quarter.
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  2. Which of my quarterly goals need to be de-prioritized so that I can show up focused, strong, and enthusiastic for this transition?
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  3. What was my motivating “why” behind the goals I realize need to be de-prioritized? Can I fulfill the essence of my “why” in other ways? Will I naturally get back to these goals, or should I time-anchor my intentions by tacking a note to myself on a future month in my Annual so I’ll remember to consider reprioritizing that goal in an upcoming quarter?
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  4. What goal(s) do I need to keep pursuing, even in the midst of this transition? What are the most essential (20%) tasks / attitudes I should focus on until things start to settle down after the transition?
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  5. What is my vision for graciously going through this transition? What goal(s) do I need to set in order to facilitate that vision?

A strong and intentional pivot will enable you to approach the rest of the quarter with hope, energy and motivation – even if in an entirely different way than how you imagined you would at the start of January.

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Our quarterly subscription box of Monthly booklets will open to new subscribers in just a few days! Join the waitlist to be among the first to know. Don’t miss the chance to build a strong planning (& pivoting) habit that will carry you through 2021 with intention towards the things that matter most to you.

February 10, 2021

How to Get Back on Track with Quarterly Goals

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No matter how skilled we may be at developing solid rhythms, we all know what it’s like for life to get a little bit “off track.”

Whatever has thrown us off, we could all benefit from one key tip: set three focus goals for the rest of the quarter.

How exactly do quarterly goals help to get us back on track?

Imagine writing down your three main goals first thing in the morning, and then connecting with your motivating “why” for each one. You’ve just set up an accountability mechanism for yourself. You’ll start to become acutely aware of when you’re spending your time on non-essential things.

Then you’ll have a choice. Will you waste your discretionary time on every little distraction that comes your way? Or will you invest your time? In those quiet moments while the kids are still eating lunch, you could be making imperfect progress towards the completion of your essential focus goals. In that afternoon slump, you could be resting and recharging for your goals through meditation, prayer, journaling, playing, or exercise.

​Studies show that we’re on average spending 8+ years of our lives just watching TV, and 6+ years of our lives on social media. But you don’t have to let 6-14 of the most productive, amazing years of your life slip away while you’re binging screens.

That’s a pretty motivating thought, isn’t it?

Here are three things to keep in mind when it comes to setting quarterly goals:

  • Make your 3 focus goals realistic. What are three things you can realistically do in the rest of this quarter? What do we mean by realistically? Well, if you had the goal to start your 5am habit when you’re just 6 weeks postpartum, you probably should reconsider and bench that during a season that needs rest. Chart out goals that are contextualized for the season you are in.
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  • Make your 3 focus goals exciting. What things will REALLY move the needle forward in your life? What goals will really feel like they were worth the effort to craft an intentional lifestyle around making them happen? They don’t have to be exciting to anyone else but you. For instance, two of Shelby’s seasonal goals have to do with major home organization projects. Someone else might feel their eyes cross in boredom at the very thought of that. But Shelby has visualized what her life would be like if she mastered those areas of home organization. Her “why” for getting her digital and physical information organized is to replace the hours of time and frustration she spends every week hunting for files with writing peacefully with a cup of coffee in hand. Her “why” for getting her healthy kitchen streamlined is to cultivate an atmosphere of feasting and plenty at the family table. ​
  • Make your 3 focus goals easy to remember. The aim here is that these three overarching goals for the rest of your quarter will pop into your mind the moment you sit down to waste time on the mindless scroll. So you’ve got to make them super memorable. If your goal is to save $336.67 for a trip to the beach, round that puppy up to $340. Then when the thought, “save $340 by the end of the quarter” pops into your mind, you can take a few minutes to do some budgeting instead of spacing out and scrolling Facebook. If you have a benchmark for your business, make it really concrete so you know how you’re doing (i.e. instead of, “replace 3 days worth of income per week,”—bc, honestly, who can do financial math like that on the fly?!—say, “enroll 20 new students”). Then when you pull up Instagram, you can spend the next 20 minutes engaging with your ideal customer instead of stalking the cousin of that friend from high school.

​Writing down your quarterly goals with bite-sized action steps below them on a weekly basis is a game-changer. (The flex space on our week spread is an amazing place to do this.) And our day spread has a research-based section for writing down your seasonal goals every single morning, and then connecting them to your “why.”

World Class leaders and influencers constantly trace their abilities to successfully execute high-level intentions to their daily ritual of revisiting their goals. This is pro-level stuff, guys.​

A key to change is knowing what you want to do with those 6-14 amazing years you have hiding in the nooks and crannies of your day.​

Envision your potential. Keep top of mind three quarterly goals that align with your core calling. Adopt a progress-over-perfection mindset about it all.

…then pull out that planner and make space to thrive.

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Are you on Instagram? Don’t miss our lovely Galentines Giveaway happening this weekend on Instagram! We will be giving away the full Evergreen Planner system to one lucky winner! That includes one of our genuine leather Covers and a Getting Started Kit. You won’t want to miss this!

February 3, 2021

Reversing Limiting Beliefs

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Posted in Mindset

Last week, we saw how the Gospel has dealt a fatal blow to the legitimacy of the limiting beliefs holding you back from serious personal growth.​ Then, you were prompted to pull out your planner and make a bullet-point list in response to this question:

What are the limiting beliefs holding you back from getting serious about your core calling?

​Today, we wanted to share with you the EXACT limiting beliefs journaling exercise that changed the Shelby and Kyle’s lives forever.

Limiting Beliefs Reversal Exercise

This exercise is incredibly simple. Grab your planner, and use some of the flex space to answer the following series of questions for each limiting belief you hold:

  • What is one limiting belief I hold?
  • Is it true?
  • How do I react when I believe the thought is true?
  • Who would I be without that thought?
  • What biblical principle backs this?​
  • What is my new choice?
Here is an example from Kyle’s actual worksheet back in 2015 (shared with his permission, of course!):
  • What is one limiting belief you hold? I’ll never be financially successful.​
  • Is it true? No
  • How do I react when I believe the thought is true? I get discouraged from working diligently to come up with viable solutions for income.
  • Who would I be without that thought? I would work confidently to build our income and savings.
  • What biblical principle backs this? Psalm 128:1-2, “Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.”
  • What is my new choice? To labor diligently and confidently steward the time, resources, and opportunities God has given me to increase our income and savings for the future, as well to help others and to leave an inheritance for our children.
Here’s an example of how he worked through a limiting belief that was true.​
  • What is one limiting belief you hold? ​I don’t trust God’s providence in uncertain times​
  • Is it true? Yes
  • Is it absolutely true? This is my usual reaction.​
  • How do I react when I believe the thought is true? I become despondent and fearful, and cannot think straight because of paralysis.​
  • Who would I be without that thought? I would confidently trust in God’s providence through troubling times.​
  • What biblical principle backs this? Psalm 37:25, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” Psalm 94:14, “For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.”
  • What is my new choice? To rejoice in the future, confident that God owns the future and is directing our steps. Our duty is to obey Him and work diligently with our hands, prudently.

 

What were the life-changing results of this journaling exercise for Kyle and Shelby? It honestly marked a turning point in their thought lives. Instead of allowing limiting beliefs to run amok and paralyze all attempts at progress, they became very intentional to reverse these thoughts and make healthier choices with their brain power. It laid the foundations for Kyle and Shelby to go from broke and barely making it, to steadily building real wealth (instead of debt) and diversifying their streams of income. It made space for the abundance mindset and personal growth they needed to provide real value in the marketplace, strategize solutions, and trust God with the rest.

If you feel stuck, this exercise is a powerful starting point for arresting a negative thoughts and emotional patterns and reversing it with intention. Out of the heart flow the springs of life. We love that our planner system gives us a very practical way to guard our hearts with all diligence.

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Are you ready to launch into an entirely new way of planning? We created the Evergreen Planner System because we felt continually limited by each planner we tried. The Getting Started Kit is the perfect way to try two of our core products – the Annual and the Monthly. Don’t wait until we launch our next subscription box – get the tools you need today!