Organization

Buy or make a few colorful clipboards to help you stay organized throughout the day. Load the clipboards with paper you like: lined, plain, graph, colored, white, or perhaps a variety. I saw plenty of beautifully designed clipboards like http://bit.ly/bFnsva Busy Mom Boutique. You could decorate your clipboard with wallpaper, scrapbook papers, ribbons, whatever suits your personality.

Next, hang your clipboard over a hook near your desk or other area where you’d like to be reminded of things to do throughout the day. If it’s easier and quicker to use a nail, go for it.

Now you have an easily transportable list you can take with you. It’s inexpensive and fun.

Let me know if you end up designing your own. I’d love to see a picture of your clipboards.

Glass votive candle holders can be used to contain a lot of little things cluttering up your medicine cabinet

1. small tubes
2. scissors, tweezers, nail clippers
3. Q-tips
4. medicine droppers

They look nice and are inexpensive.  You probably already have some just waiting to be used.  Send me before and after pictures of your beautiful, organized cabinet.

Highly recommend Buried in Treasures to help you sort, discard, and keep your treasures. If you have a relative or friend who is struggling with keeping too much, this book will help you understand them better.

One of my favorite books is Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell.  As he’s going through Navy Seal training, he talks about Rear Admiral Maguire, Commander, SPECWARCOM.  The advice Captain Maguire gave Marcus and the other men applies to all of us.

First of all, I do not want you to give in to the pressure of the moment.  Whenever you’re hurting bad, just hang in there. Finish the day. Then, if you’re still feeling bad, think about it long and hard before you decide to quit.  Second, take it one day at a time. One evolution at a time.

Don’t let your thoughts run away with you, don’t start planning to bail out because you’re worried about the future and how much you can take. Don’t look ahead to the pain. Just get through the day, and there’s a wonderful career ahead of you.”

Mercy me, how many hats do we need to wear as mompreneurs? Sometimes I feel like I am in a complete whirlwind – and not because it is tornado season either…we just need to wear so many hats!!

Every day for the past couple of weeks has been different – every hat is out of the closet and piled up in the middle of my office floor. It’s a mess.
- Booking agent hat: Need to get a contract off for a performance, (have to find the right contract) and solidify some other performances.
- PR hat: Have magazines, mastheads and product review blog lists all over my desk. Need to write a Press Release that has to get done ASAP. Like everything else.
- Distributor/Shipper hat: Need to ship off product to several music reviewers at magazines -bubble wrap is being joyfully popped and pranced upon by my 7 year old son as I am typing.
-Performer hat: We sang at a private event Friday eve, a lovely winery Saturday eve and an out of town church service Sunday morn. I LOVE THIS HAT. Next to my Mommy hat, this is my favorite. We’ll be singing at the College World Series Opening Day and just learned we’ll be singing for the US Olympic Swim Trials!
-Record Label hat: Just got all our info on how to submit for the Grammy’s. I’m new to the Academy, so…its all a blur. Contacted a Grammy governor, have three pages of notes – in the middle of my office floor, with all the other hats.
-Vendor hat – sold products at all these events, and am regularly contacting stores and distributors.
-Advisor hat: Helped a client pick out music for an upcoming event. Need to learn two new songs by next Friday.
- Student hat: Spent time on the phone with fellow Mompreneur, beautiful Diana (Dee) Ennen, who is truly one of my mentors. She really helped me get focused today. Helped me pick an outfit to go with a few of those hats, so to speak.
- Mommy hat: My most prized hat!! Son has watched the Looney Tunes DVD so many times this week, he has it memorized. He’s pretending to be the road runner, and running through the piles on my office floor. We’re all getting cabin fever. Need to go swimming with my family – as soon as I’m done with work.

Tomorrow is Saturday. I am not going to work. I am going to clean my office. I will find some space for everyone of these beautiful hats that I truly cherish, and organize them on a shelf.

‘Til Monday.

To stay motivated, I try to surround myself with messages and stories of inspiration.? (and of course a dose of Donny)? I recently read a story of a woman that spent 35 years planting 50,000 bulbs on 5 acres in the mountains one by one? What she created is a breathtaking view on an obscure mountain top. I would imagine that many people would think she was crazy. Haven’t each of us experienced that along our path?? What one can learn from her is the importance of moving toward your goal, even if it seems overwhelming at times. I think so many people want the finished product right now and if it doesn’t happen then they give up. We need to remember the journey is just as important as the destination. Make small goals and celebrate each of those goals along the way. So sit down right now and make a list of small goals you can commit to. Those goals can be as easy as compiling a weekly to-do list, hanging it in clear view and checking off at least one thing a day.

Another helpful way of making you stay on schedule is to commit to events that are scheduled ie craft shows, holiday shows, tradeshows. Many of the holiday shows are already taking applications for the November shows so start looking now. During my initial start up stage, I made a commitment to attend the FAO Toy Auditions to give myself a date to have my prototype completed. They are conducting them again this year http://www.fao.com/custsvc/custsvc.jsp?sectionId=234 .? It’s a GREAT way to get feedback from the industry. My second commitment was for the Toy Fair in NYC. http://www.toyassociation.org. Next year the show will be held Feb 15-18, 2009 but you need to start applying for space now. The bottom line is to create deadlines and commitments that don’t give you the ability to back-out.? It’s easy for each of us to put something off until tomorrow but when you know outside sources are relying on you, it makes you accountable.

Each one of these small goals will eventually lead you to your final destination…..if, in fact, there ever is a “final” destination. In the end, the days and years will pass one way or another so you can either sit back and enjoy the view you’ve created or live with the regret of the time wasted not pursuing your dream.

All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them Walt Disney?

I’m new to blogging with Mompreneurs, so I feel honored to start out today, having just received some great news, which I’ll share in a minute. But it has all happened because of setting goals on a dry erase board. 10 or so years ago, I purchased a huge dry-erase board. It has been the center focus of my office, in the last 3 places I have lived.

I started it one January, and wrote all of my short term (1 year) and long term (2-5 year) goals and things that I need/hope to accomplish on the board . As the year progressed, I’d refer to the board regularly, not always consciously, but it was always there. I now do this every year.At the beginning of the new year, my brother and I visit the board, check off all the things we accomplished, re-assess what wasn’t, and set new goals for the year. Then we high five all that was accomplished and wipe the board clean and start anew. (This year, cuz we’ve been so dang busy, we weren’t able to get to this til yesterday, but I’m glad it was somewhere in the first quarter!)

WOW!! We accomplished over 95% of the things we set out to do last year!!! What an amazing feeling!!! As we wiped clean each goal met, I felt amazingly proud! I had to pull my hubby and son in the room just to show them how empty the board was!!!?2007 was a great year (and a quarter!) And 2008, even with the Writer’s strike, we are kickin’ butt in the goals department.

By the way, “finding other Moms online that are in business” was one of my goals – and it lead me here to Mompreneurs Online – one of the happiest goals I’ve met this year! The other on the top of my list – win a Grammy for 2009 – I am now an official voting member for the Academy, as of yesterday!! “Stardust” will be submitted for Grammy consideration at the latter half of the year. I also just received a letter a couple of hours ago that we have been selected to sing the National Anthem at the 2008 College World Series – OPENING DAY!!? Two years ago, this reality was just simply a hopeful dream? written on a dry erase board!

What are your wildest dreams?? Write them down.??Visualize?them every day. Take the daily steps you need make?them happen, and before you know it those dreams?are unfolding just for you.

Music Mom Cher