Birchbloggers Book Club Review: Better Than Before

Reading is one of my favorite things to do.  Being in a formal book club hasn't fit into my schedule (but it's on the list for sure!).  So you can imagine how excited I was that I was chosen to review a BRAND NEW book for the March Birchbloggers Book Club!

I am a(n):

• Obliger with a Rebel streak too. 
• Owl. 
• Procrastinator.
• Overbuyer. 
• Abundance lover.
• Opener. 
• Familiarity Lover. 
• Promotion Lover. 
• Small stepper.

A what?! 

Ever tried to create a new habit or break an old one?  I bet if I sat down to really think about it and was really brutally honest, I try to create new habits every day...and often fail. 

Those things I listed about myself above....knowing those things about myself is putting me on a much better, more likely-to-be-successful track to making habits stick everyday.  I can thank Gretchen Rubin's new book Better Than Before for that! 

I am still reading...and still learning...from the book.  But already, I have had a chance to really look at my motivations and my own habits and decision making in order to make the daily adventures of life a little more productive.  I am learning that instead of fighting against my personal tendencies, I can use them to make my habits and lists work FOR me. 

Some of these tendencies surprised me.......I am planner in my professional life so being a procrastinator, for instance, made me pause.  How can I say that I can effectively manage a long planning process as a procrastinator? Well, my creativity comes out against a deadline; that's when I do my best thinking and planning!! 

Promotion Lover - I need to see results; I need to hear people acknowledge progress; I need to see that the work I put in is getting my closer to the goal, whatever that goal is.  And this doesn't surprise me at all.  Another book I love tells me that my love language is spoken - I need to hear things in order for them to be true in my life.  

Owl for sure, though with kids, I have learned to be productive in the mornings as well.  In fact, as I read this section, I thought "of course I would be a lark....I have three kids so there is no other way to be other than a morning person".  I was wrong.  When do I do most of my work?  When are my most productive hours?  After 6pm.  Almost as if the sun distracts me and I need it to be dark in order to do what I know needs to be done.  

As I get further into this book, I am learning more about habits and how to make them stick.  Most of all, I am learning more about how I function...and I am becoming "better than before"!!! 

Final verdict.....LOVE this book and I can already see its impact on my daily life.I have pages marked, notes in the margin, and it goes everywhere with me so I can re-read sections as I need reminders.  

My New Motto: Balance is SO over-rated

Yep. I had a blast in Disney last week. But really, I was there for work. A friend and I attended a conference for meeting planners (now, that is a tough crowd!).

Sometimes at conferences, the motivational speakers can be a hit or miss. And coming from a planner, it can be tough to tell ahead of time how someone will be received by the audience. You stand on the side of the stage and pray that everything goes well. The opening keynote speaker at this conference was Cindy Novotny. I had never heard of her and, honestly, figured that it would be another session about finding my work/life balance that always seems to be just out of reach.

About 3 minutes into her presentation, she stood in the middle of the stage and said "You are busy. Everyone is busy. You choose to be that way. Get over it."

AMEN!

I left that session so energized and excited about how busy I was/am lately. It really made me realize that I love being busy, that the off-balanced balance we have at our house works for us, and that I have too many plans (professional and personal) to sit around and stress out about my lack of balance. Sometimes work takes most of my time and sometimes my family takes all of my time. And that is okay.

Cindy gave all the attendees at the conference a copy of her new book, Living with No Balance....And Loving It!. And I read it in 2 hours and am going to re-read it again every time I see a period of craziness ahead of me.

Tears

Yesterday apackage arrived at the house from a good friend of mine, Bri. She sent me a belated Mothers Day gift. In the box was a birthday part invite for her daughter, an adorable preppy-girl outfit for Grace, and a book.

I was psyched about the bok cause we have been reading the same 3 books at bedtime for the past few weeks and honestly, I was ready to toss them all away. But Bri fixed that with the book in the package.

And after I read it to Grace last night, I had to find the tissues.

So thanks, Bri. A wonderful book. Well it was wonderful from what I could tell through the tears!!!!

Must go to B&N Tonight

I was at a committee meeting yesterday (yep, I added one more thing to my list of responsibilities---chairing a committee for the professional association I belong to!). And in between talking about committee stuff, one of the girls was talking about a book she is reading.

And now I am intrigued.

The Secret by Rhonda Bryne. Have you heard of it?

The premise is that you will things to happen, good or bad. One of the reviews says this: This book makes you think about what you think about. What's your attitude toward life and what you expect. Bad expectations begets bad results. Positive expectations brings more positive outcomes. The old saying: "the best time to make a sale is right after you make a sale." This book applies this concept to all aspects of your life.

Law of attraction says that people have direct control over what happens in their life soley through their thoughts. Interesting. Not sure how much I believe that but my interest is peaked. So if I simply think that Grace is never going to have another accident on my bedroom carpet right before we walk out the door in the morning.....if I think really positive thoughts about that it will happen?! Ummm, I am sold!

Maybe its worth a read. It cant hurt right!?