I Wanna Be Me When I Grow Up
I'm Kara. I create content about personal growth, productivity, and technology, faith, and my well lived life. Subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a fresh new article, a roundup of anything I published this week, and other fun stuff in your inbox (most) Monday mornings.
...and Anticipate Joy
...and Anticipate Joy A photo from our most recent Southern Caribbean cruise, October 2026 This was actually the first article idea I had in our little duology on planning for all eventualities. (Read part 1 here if you missed last week's newsletter.) I got Gayle the book Disney Adults for Christmas. Something in the book sparked a conversation about anticipatory nostalgia. My note about the article idea it spawned was that I wanted to try to create that in as many ways as possible. And then,...
Plan for the worst...
Plan for the worst... Kona posing with our bags. The little duffle on the far end is his bag as he is off to my dad and sister's house for a visit. This week's newsletter is the first of a 2-part mini-series on planning - especially for planning the "big stuff". Today, we're going to talk about when and why you should plan for everything to go terribly wrong. I'm a glass-half-full kind of person most of the time. Yet, sometimes when I look at a situation, I see that there are ways that it...
What does done look like?
What does done look like? In her book Dare to Lead, Dr. Brene Brown discussed a project management idea of "What Does Done Look Like?" When I read the question in the book, it immediately resonated with me. The idea of it is not new in any way. While Dare to Lead is not a productivity book, nearly all productivity books have some sort of conversation in them about clarifying the intended outcome. David Allen's classic Getting Things Done talks about clarifying the "desired outcome" of a...
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year My 2026 Vision Board Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday. Ours was filled with a little sickness (I dealt with food poisoning on Christmas Eve), some cooking and baking, a lot of good eating, some fun, and even some painting. Meet my new office accent wall. The color is Sherwin Williams Cruising. My new office accent wall - and the first time I've managed pony tails since losing my hair to chemo. I still can't do a single pony tail, but two high side ponies like...
"Yes, and..."
I'm taking an intentional hiatus through January 5. I'll see you back here then. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. Giving Grief the "Yes, and..." Treatment My well-loved copy of the Cinnamon swirl bread recipe, complete with a little bit of mom's handwriting! I’ve been struggling with the holidays this year. We lost my mom in January of 2021. Ever since, the holidays have been different. And, while I’ve missed her presence every year, this year has felt harder and more grief filled....
Write It Down!
Write It Down! I sat down at my desk to write this newsletter after thinking of a fantastic topic the day before. And…………………. ………………………nothing. My brain didn’t even have the decency to throw off a bad topic or something from a previous newsletter. There was just simply nothing. Emptiness. A void. So, I offer this as a reminder to write it down - whatever "it" is. I think one of the reasons I struggle with this is that writing it down used to be simple. And, now, it's not simple. We have so...
Celebrate "Done!"
Celebrate "Done!" Kona is showing off our new holiday décor. We've done a lot more decorating this season than in past years. We actually started in early November on a weekend we were both home. That weekend we got the tree up and over the coming days Gayle took on the responsibility of adding lights and decorations to the tree. I added in some garland on the stair railing and a new sparkly garland gracing the hallway in our house (which Kona is showing off in the photo above.) One of the...
Our Final Monthly Check In of 2025!
Welcome to December "The days are long, but the years are short." ~ Gretchen Rubin I think of that quote by Gretchen often. In December, it is always top of mind. No matter how long and arduous some of the days, the years just fly by now. We get so little time on this earth - and yet it's ridiculously hard to remember how important and precious each moment is when we're caught up in the crazy of the day to day. My theme for December is to reminisce and renew. While I'm ready for the snow to...
Why is it so hard to ask for help?
Why is it so hard to ask for help? In last week's newsletter, I mentioned that November has shaped up to be sheer chaos. If you're wondering, nothing about this past week has changed my opinion. If anything, it's gotten even more chaotic. But, sometimes chaos makes necessity bring out tools we don't always want to rely on. So, for the next three weeks, I'm actually going to be talking about three of these tools. This week, it's asking for help. Why, oh why, when we are actually designed to be...
November Check In
November Check In Welcome to November. October was a whirlwind and November has shaped up to be sheer chaos. Ah, the joys of everyone trying to get things in by December 31! In the first newsletter of each month, I review life through the lens of a monthly theme which is all in the context of my word for the year. For 2025, that word is simple. As a reminder, here are this year's monthly themes. January: Feel the Flow (Habits and Workflows) February: Lighten Up (Physical Space Clearing and...
I'm Kara. I create content about personal growth, productivity, and technology, faith, and my well lived life. Subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a fresh new article, a roundup of anything I published this week, and other fun stuff in your inbox (most) Monday mornings.