Helpful Links for the Productivity-Challenged (Coffee Sips and Lovely Links)

As I glance at my planner and think through my day, I often realize that I have spent hours "working", yet nothing checked off my list. Perhaps it was the 20 times I checked my email, or the two hour conversation I had on Facebook chat, but somehow the work is still left undone, it's 11pm, and I have to be up for work at 6 in the morning.

Does this sound familiar? 

I find myself in this situation far more frequently than I care to admit, and I always SAY that I am going to correct it. And I may do better for a week or so, but then guess what- I suddenly go back to my lifestyle of procrastination, killing time, and falling behind in almost every aspect of life!

And yesterday when I shared my problem with time management on Instagram, it seemed that many of you share the same sad, dark plight. 

But fear not! If you can relate, then today's post is perfect for you, because I am sharing a few helpful links for aiding you (and me) with better time management skills.

7 Surprising Time Management Secrets- I think #4 is one of the most difficult for me to follow.

I have been very slowly taking Ruth Soukup's course on productivity and it is fantastic. But since I cannot provide that course for you for free, I found a blog post about time management that she wrote. It's called How to Take Back Your Time in Just 5 Simple Steps. Enjoy!

Erin of Very Erin has an awesome list of tools for productivity for bloggers, creatives, and entrepreneurs. Check out 7 Tools and Resources to Increase Productivity.

"We are really good at being busy, but we are really bad at being productive". Couldn't agree more OR wondering what the point is? Check out Erica's post, 8 Productivity Hacks to Totally Transform Your Day.

These ladies all have some great productivity and time-management tips to share, so I hope that these resources will encourage you in a productive direction! Being productive and good with our time is not easy, but if we want to advance, grow, and become the peculiar treasures we were created to be, then it's important that we work on this area since it affects so many other aspects of our lives.

Is time management and/or productivity something you struggle with? Why or why not? Comment below.

Coffee Sips and Lovely Links // Vol. 2

Happy Friday, lovelies!

This week has been insane. For those of you who don't know, my husband and I live in Charlotte, NC, and the riots that you've seen on the news are only 20 minutes away from our house, and about 10-15 minutes away from where we work.

It's scary, it's maddening, and it's serious. But we have been very blessed. We live outside of the city, so if we hadn't watched the news or been on Facebook, everything would have seemed completely normal.

I want to see healing for all the hearts that are hurting, and I want to see this violence stop. But God is good and He is going to take care of everything. He will make all things new one day, and until then, He is working out all things in His time.

We don't need to freak out or lose our minds. We need to keep living life well and work towards helping others in whatever ways we can and are called to.
We don't need to spend every two seconds checking our news feeds, living in fear.

So as a pick-me-up, I've rounded up three different links for you all to enjoy. I hope they encourage you to keep living even in the face of fear, even in the face of hurt, and that they help draw you nearer to God.

Ally of The Speckled Goat (who by the way is one of my all-time-favorite bloggers!), share's about how change is hard, yet God is still very good. If you are struggling with change right now (or even if you aren't) this is a great read.

Do you know anyone who is either pregnant, a new mom, or someone who has lost a baby? Healing Grace Childbirth Services is an excellent ministry that offers resources for expecting moms, new parents, families looking to adopt, and even bereavement services for those families who are dealing with losing their baby.
And this month, I am happy to have Healing Grace as my sponsor for the second time.
Join me in supporting them by either liking their page, telling a friend about their services, or sharing this post.

And for all those who are struggling along with us here in Charlotte in regards to racial tension, riots, and the like, here is an article by Kevin Deyoung on how to handle all of this in a more godly way.

Happy Friday, friends!