Achieving Work Life Balance this 2016

About two years ago I posted a How I Balance Life and Work. Again, I admit that I am way far from achieving the ideal work-life balance.  I am trying hard to prioritize work but still enjoying life's precious moments. For someone like me who's a Jill of all Trades, Master of None, balancing work and life is an endless chase to be honest. 

But its a process I enjoy. I've always mentioned how being productive works as my driving force. My system isn't perfect but its definitely improving year after year. Today I'll share the things that helped me so far in having a thin line between life and work.

Bullet Journal

I know, I know I might sound like sirang plaka but to be honest having  this productivity system called a bullet journal really helps. It became my physical brain holding most of my ideas, my plans and other important matters. Now even a simple notebook to write your to-do list or brain dump your ideas can help too. For more information about Bullet Journal visit THIS LINK. 

Batch Similar Tasks

OH EMM GEE!!! This made a lot of difference in managing my life. At work I batch similar tasks in a day so I can get massive technical plans and technical documents done in a week. At my blogs I also batch writing posts, taking photos and scheduling which post will be published on a particular day of the week. Its so much easier plus I get to have time for personal stuff too.  

Set Goals, Plan and Prioritize

G-P-P!!! I love this. At the start of each month I set goals I want to achieve that includes both work and life. From the goals set I plan my course of actions then I select the most important ones and try to do them first. Clear goals make life so much easier because you have an end to look forward to.  READ: Personal and Financial Goals for 2016.

Stop Treating Work as My Everything

I realized that proper time management is the only key to achieve work life balance. When you manage your time well both at work and at personal stuff you are guaranteed to get things done. For 2016 I seldom arrive late for work and I also spent time to cross out items from my bucket list. 2015 has been the toughest year in terms of my work. I spend mostly working overtime just to finish the tasks so it won't pile up. That year I still hasn't adjusted well with my new role as technical document specialist. But for 2016 I stopped treating work as my everything. I leave the office as early as 6pm and just arrive at work earlier still have enough time to continue the work done from yesterday. Time with your family is as important as work ...actually its more important.

Time Management

I realized that proper time management is the only key to achieve work life balance. When you manage your time well both at work and at personal stuff you are guaranteed to get things done. For 2016 I seldom arrive late for work and I also spent time to cross out items from my bucket list.  READ: Time Management Apps You Need to Download

You know what I learned so far? That work-life balance is highly achievable. All it takes is desire to succeed. You don't need a lot of money to stay productive. You just have to know what you want and how you will achieve it. 

MORE POSTS TO READ:

1. My Extra Income Year-End Report
2. My Must Do's Before 2015 Ends
3. My New Special Project: PinayOnlineRakitera!
4. My Pampanga 2D+1N Itinerary and Expenses - New!
5. My Tagaytay 2D, 1N Itinerary + Expenses
6. Personal & Financial Goals for 2016
7. SavingsPinay September Quick Recap
8. SavingsPinay's August Quick Recap + Join Our Facebook Forum Group!!!
9. SavingsPinay's Best Posts in 2015
10. SavingsPinay's October Quick Recap

7 Productivity Tools That Worked for me in 2015

I've been into living a productive life in 2015. I discovered tools that gave great advantage in getting things done. Without these tools I knew last year will have a lesser success rate. 

Below are 7 Productivity Tools That Worked for me in 2015.

Google Calendar

Google Calendar is by far a must have for every blogger. I use GCal to plan my contents in advance whether it would be for my beauty and lifestyle blog IzzaGlino, this blog or my YouTube Channel. I love how I can easily create an event which represents what blog post will be up on what date. I can drag if ever I miss the publishing date and I can easily edit if I change my mind on the post titles. I can also color code for easy references. 

Evernote

This has been a great tool for me in terms of my blog writing. I use this to draft my posts and to collect blog post ideas. I have it on my phone which helps me create blog posts on the go. I am not used to creating contents straight to the Blogger New Post web so Evernote literally made my 2015 a better one for its simple digital note-taking system. I can create notebooks, tags and simple layouts on how I want the blog posts to look like. 

Bullet Journal

Got obsessed over the idea of the Bullet Journal early 2015 and since then I got stocked finding the perfect set up for me. Bullet Journal is an amazing tool for people who love lists like me and those who want to efficiently use their time. If you want more information about Bullet Journaling and a peak on how I set up my bullet journal this year click HERE.

Pinterest

This saves me tons of time on my research process. It has everything I need from post ideas, journal prompts, what to do, places to visit etc. Pinterest is a lovely place to try something new, to learn something else and to realize something missing in your life. Whenever I have an idea in my mind I go straight to Pinterest to find other supporting articles and it will give a much concrete blog post. 

Iphone Timer

One thing I realized is that if I want to get things done I have to set my mind and my heart to it. Focus. And nothing made me more focused than adding a timer whenever I do a task. Whether it be a task at work or a task on my blog I use a timer as a measure of productivity. I mostly set it to 20 minutes with 10 minute break. I notice that I get more things done whenever I have a timer on each task.

Productivity Books

I hope adding books in the list of productivity tools is fine. For 2015 I was able to collect few productivity books that truly helped me along the way. I got Getting Things Done by David Allen, a phenomenal book about how to handle tasks smartly. I also got Don't Sweat the Small Stuff that showed me a better way of focus. I also had Motivation book for short term and long term projects. Organize Your Life is a complete book filled with organization tips from personal life, finances, home, setting up a party and more. 

Spotify

I've been a big fan of Spotify in 2015 and used it to be motivated  in finishing a task. I go over my current favorite songs and I'll be sure to enjoy doing what I do which yields to more things done. READ: My November Playlist

Simple Pen and Paper

I realized how simple pen and paper could work amplify my productivity. At times when I need to jot down my idea, my things to do or my schedule I'll simply grab a pen and paper and I'm done. I feel way better once I released all of my thoughts through writing. 

The above tools will still be part of my 2016 but I'll sure have better way using them. I am also looking forward for new tools I'll discover this year that can help me achieve a successful year. 

Can you share any productivity tool that worked for you too?

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10 Ways to Make the Most of Your Time

I want to be honest that I, too, fail in living my life intentionally. It feels like day to day challenge being able to lie up to the expectation of others. You wanted to be the productive you but the more you show that you can succeed in a task, the more people in your surround will depend on you.

But instead of "magmukmok" in the sad reality of being an employee, encourage everyone to be a better version of themselves everyday. Survive each new day by making the most of it. 

I would like to share the 10 Ways to Make the Most of Your Time that I try to accomplish as much as possible. Hope you can join me in this journey to productive living.

My 9 No-Fail Activities For a Better Work Day

I salute all women who are career oriented. I have my high regards on their will to work and earn a living on their own. But I know too for a fact how excruciating it is to balance career and personal life.

So to all the Juana out there, here are My 9 No-Fail Activities For a Better Work Day that will make you feel better.

5 Time Management Apps You Need to Download

I am all about productivity. Yes, I do have my hits and misses but I always see to it that I get things done. You may have read my 14 Days to a Productive Life e-Course and I have enjoyed sharing  to you my tips and tricks when it comes to intentional living. 

If you've watched my What’s In My Iphone video you'll know I don't have that much productivity apps. I only use my Sunrise Calendar and the rest are in my bullet journal. Yes, a bullet journal is my main productivity tool.

5 Ways You Can Save More Time in Your Life

For me, happiness is when I knew that I get things done.

I am happy when I finished a reading a book. I am happy when I had a productive day at work. I am happy when I know that I accomplished something that could be a value to my goals in life.

How To Get Through the Day

Last week I devoted a post on productive things that one can do on the weekends.(Read: What To Do On The Weekends) It was one of the most viewed post for May and I realized that far more than becoming financially independent, most of SavingsPinay Readers sees productivity as a major need too. And for this matter I will commit to one productivity each week probably Tuesday.

Personally, managing time has been an everyday battle for me. I have days when I feel unmotivated. I feel so much loaded in terms of personal, work and special projects that I still have to do. No matter how others view me as the most productive person they’ve ever met, I will always fall short on what I do. I stumble and will again commit one step forward and two steps back.