by Erica Johnson

Short on time? Always running late? Or feeling like you’re pulled in about 20 directions at the same time? Think that many of us feel at least one of these attributes at one point or another…so what’s the solution? Time Management! To some those two words may sound impossible, to others it’s part of their every day life. For me, I’d like to think I fall under the uber organized “planner” with my calendars and to do lists that keep things in order and place.

Although I’m far from perfect on time management, I’d like to think some of my tid-bits may be helpful to jump starting a time management gameplan:

• Keep a calendar (or two). My calendar…it literally holds my life in it. I have two that I keep; one on my phone (that keeps all MAJOR daily time blocks which directly impact my personal availability) and a physical spiral bound calendar that keeps daily assignments, due dates, other team member’s events, etc. I can’t live without my calendars. And for anyone trying to work on time management, it’s a must.

• Invest in Post It Notes. If only I owned stock in the Post-It Note company for how many I go through…large sizes, small sizes, square sizes…Post It Notes are my second key thing to time management. I always have a “hot list” going on my desk for the week…but then use small post it notes to flag KEY things that are a must do for the day or will post a small one on the back of my phone to remember things I need to do at home that night. It keeps a key reminder in front of me and is a huge reward when you get to throw it away because the task is complete!

• Block Out Time. This is one area I need to work on more, but it completely works if you make it a priority…if you’re an on the go gal like I am, you’re constantly being asked for your opinion here or there; to approve or sign this or that; pop into a strategic meeting or follow up with a donor/patient/partner and the next thing you know the day is gone. However, when I do take the time to block out my day (close my door to focus on one project until it’s done) it’s amazing how much gets accomplished. Vs. when I’m freely available to anyone/everyone 24/7, my time gets pulled and my Post It Notes don’t get accomplished. So block out time, focus on a project, accomplish it and move on.

Time management truly is a choice. We all have friends that are in constant chaos or never seem to get tasks accomplished and yet they’ll complain that they don’t have time…however they sure are busy talking/texting on their phones or getting their nails done, etc. When handled properly, time management is something that will become easy and part of daily living allowing for free time to go get your nails done and still have checked off your to do list! It’s very possible and will make your chaos, seem much more organized and easy to manage. (Now back to my to-do list…still have some Post it Notes to complete before I can call it a day!)

A bucket list rebuttal

View of San Francisco from the top of Twin Peaks, so incredible!

by Tori Carruth

If you read Erica’s post last week, you know that we’re doing a series right now on bucket lists! This was actually my idea (humble brag), but now that it’s come to fruition I couldn’t decide what I actually wanted to write about. Do you ever have so many thoughts and ideas you can’t decide on one because they’re all just kind of scrambled in your head? Same.

If you know me at all, or even if you don’t, you may know I’m a bit of a pessimist. Not that I’m a negative person, my disposition is usually quite sunny and I’ve been told my aura is bright yellow, but I’m still a bit of a “worst case scenario/glass half empty” kind of gal. With that being said, I decided to take this blog in a little bit of a different direction today. I’m not going to tell you what I want to do in the next 10 years.

I used to have a long list of places I wanted to go, eat, shop, and get the best Instagram picture, but I found that every time I wasn’t checking things off, I felt like I was failing at something. For example, in June I had the opportunity to go to San Francisco for work, and all I wanted to see was the Golden Gate Bridge. I had this idea in my head that I’d get the perfect picture with my hair blowing at the right angle and the sun setting, you get the point. I didn’t get to go to the bridge, and instead of being thankful for everything else I saw, I was just annoyed.

Fast forward: I went back to San Francisco this month, and just by chance had to cross the bridge. I didn’t get any pictures at all, but because I was actually enjoying the moment instead of worrying about crossing something off my list. It also made everything else I got to experience that much more special because I wasn’t constantly thinking about the next big thing I needed to do. Some of the spur of the moment places we went were 10x better than the original “list” I had in my head.

I appreciate what bucket lists are for. I’m all about writing down what you want out of life whether that’s to backpack around Europe or become the CEO of your company. However, it’s important to remember that every vacation doesn’t need an itinerary, every sight to see doesn’t need a picture that will get hundreds of likes, and you’re not a failure if you haven’t completed a list (or even started one).

xoxo

Tori

by Erica Johnson

If your house is like ours, we’re busy! However, having date night has always been a priority to my husband and me. We used to always say that date night had to be a night out, but we both love to cook and realize how much healthier it is (and how savvy we can be) by making date night a fun home night.

When I’m in charge of cooking and planning our date night, one of my favorite (busy day) go-to meals is this chicken recipe. It’s a family one that I’ve tweaked over the years to make my own…but it’s a one stop shop baking dish recipe (which is even better!) So what’s all in it?

Healthy Sweet & Spicy Salsa Bake

· Chicken breast(s)—depending on how large the breasts are, or what all I’m making on the side, we’ll sometimes split a breast. We prefer the organic chicken breasts (yes, they’re a bit more $$ but you omit all the injected chemicals into the meat and we feel they taste better too!)
· 1 Cup Salsa of your choice (I like a Medium spice Peach or Cilantro Salsa Personally)
· 2 Tbsp Ketchup
· 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
· 1 Tbsp Worchester Sauce

Mix all of the sauce ingredients together and pour over chicken. If cooking the chicken only, bake at 350 for around 30 minutes until cooked through. If you’re adding in veggies to the baking dish to make it a full meal, add your choices (I go with onions, peppers, potatoes and jalapenos) at around 20 minutes and cook the entire bake for around 40-45 minutes until chicken is cooked through and veggies are at the consistency you prefer.

This dish is so easy to make and makes for a wonderful date night healthy recipe. Then for the rest of your date night, it’s all about the small things to make the evening special…I always will have one of our favorite music stations playing, candles lit, a glass of wine (for my hubby right now only) and then like to typically have a sweet something for dessert as a surprise (we both have a sweet tooth and I don’t keep ‘naughty’ sweets in the house, so for date night I’ll find something that will be a special treat!)

Bon appetite! Would love to know what great healthy date night recipes you and your loved one devours in!

The Lazy Girl Workout Tips

by Alix Angelelli

I have grown to become the go-to blogger for exercise and healthy eating tips here at iGoPink. And I love living a healthy lifestyle BUT I can also be extremely “lazy”. There is nothing wrong with taking some YOU time to relax and completely veg or spend time with your girlfriends. On those days when you just can’t seem to get up and active I have some tips for you.

1. Grab a Buddy
Working out with a friend makes working out seem less painful. You and your bestie can go for a bike ride around the local park and chit-chat or go to a fun hip-hop class. When you workout with a friend you can have someone to talk to and pass the time while at the same time keeping your own personal motivator by your side.

2. Exercise During Commercial Breaks
Are you vegging on the couch and catching up on your favorite shows you DVR’d? Instead of fast-forwarding through the commercial breaks, use them as an opportunity to get some activity in. You can march in place for the commercial break, do some sit-ups or push-ups, or make laps around the house. By the end of the hour long show you recorded you clocked approximately 10 minutes of exercise time!

3. Try a HIIT Workout
HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts are amazing because they get your heart pumping and muscles working in a short amount of time. You can find bookoos of HIIT or Tabata (which is similar quick strong movements for a short period of time) on Pinterest. These workouts usually mix up heart-racing plyometric moves with body weight exercises.

by Erica Johnson

Last month we were given a great topic suggestion from a iGoPinkLife reader about ‘bucket lists’…do you have one? Should you have one? What’s the importance of one?

I’m excited to be the first contributor on this topic as I LOVE having a bucket list and I have for at least the last 5 years. Why might you ask? Dreams, goals, desires…and seeing them on a piece of paper just does something to your brain that makes you go, “what do I have to do to achieve that?”

For me, I have two lists: my personal bucket list and my professional bucket list. I was raised to always set your goals high and strive to achieve them…thus my professional bucket list is VERY long and detailed. As an entrepreneur at heart, I work…a LOT. My husband and I run multiple companies so if I’m not at the iGoPink offices, you’ll probably find me up at the crack of dawn working on one of our other companies, or wrapping up a design report after dinner at night. But we love it…we’re both very driven people and ‘work’ is enjoyment for us, as we love helping others!

Beyond my professional bucket list, I’m a believer in work hard, play hard. My ‘fun’ bucket list is simply that, FUN. I’m an ‘experiences’ person over a ‘things’ person. My #1 experience…travel. Since I can remember, I have LOVED to travel…I’d rather travel and experience new cities/cultures than any thing else. I can truly say that I’ve learned so much throughout my travels; met so many amazing people and today believe I’m a better/more well rounded person from those lessons.

In the past few years, I’ve marked some big bucket list items off my list…my top two would be going to Sydney, Australia (which is now my favorite city in the world and had truly been a lifelong dream of mine), and also getting to ride in a hot air balloon…the peacefulness in the air is indescribable as you watch the sun rise and overlook the beauty of nature. But that doesn’t mean that my bucket list doesn’t continue to grow just because I mark things off. There are a lot of other places I want to travel, and things I want to learn—i.e. would love to know how to take some great photography and also learn to play the piano, both of those remain on my fun bucket list!

So what is your bucket list? If you haven’t started one, it’s NEVER too late…nor is it ever too EARLY! Set goals. Dream of those goals…sometimes they take years and years to achieve, but it’s a goal to strive after. You’ll be amazed at how having a simple Word document on your computer with your bucket list or a post it note that you keep hidden with a few desires can make such an impact in your life and your dreams ahead! Do one today, you won’t be disappointed!

A fun and easy summer snack!

By Erica Johnson

As the summer wraps up, I’m sharing one of my latest obsessions and a fun way to create wonderful after school treats for the kiddos!

My current OBSESSION is Bai Waters. You’ve probably seen them in my other posts and recipes due to how much I love these waters. They’re not only sweetened with Stevia (verses artificial sweeteners) but taste absolutely amazing. (And no, we’re not a partner of theirs, although I wish we were…or that I had personally bought stock in this company for the amount that I love them!)

Last weekend I was looking for a sweet, cool and refreshing treat, so I popped open a bottle of my Coconut Bai water and also used a little bit of the Dragonfruit to mix it up some. I got some fresh berries and my popsicle maker from my local grocery store and my hubby and I got creative.

A little half and half on some of them, some filled with mixed fruit, others filled with only the flavored waters. TIP: if you’re doing half and half (and you want to try to make the popsicles look half one color, half the other) do a quick freeze on half of the popsicles BEFORE you put the stick in them…then add in the other half.

There isn’t a formal recipe to these and you can be as creative as possible with your add-in’s and fruit. What I can tell you is that they’re DELCIOUS, hardly any calories and a fun/festive way to brighten up an afternoon snack.

Get your kiddos involved! Bai has a number of different flavors and they truly taste like what they say on the bottle. Watermelon and Peach are next on my popsicle list to try! Enjoy and share your pics or flavor combos here!