life things

5 Years Later

- Stephanie Leave a comment

I can’t believe it’s been FIVE YEARS since college graduation! That blows my mind. After almost a year (seriously, it took THAT long) of coordinating schedules, booking flights and planning carpools, 13 of us college friends all came back together in the place where it all started: Syracuse! We had a great weekend catching up, playing games, walking around campus and of course, eating too much good food at all the classic spots (aka: Funkin’ Waffles, Dinosaur BBQ and Tully’s 🙂 ) The weather was questionable for most of the weekend (lots of rain!), but we did have a minute to swim and play Kan Jam at Green Lakes. We also hit up Marshall Street for Cafe Kubal and to replenish our Orange attire collections, like good Cuse alums should.

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There were a lot of favorite parts of this weekend for me, but 2 things particularly stand out. Worshiping and praying together on Sunday morning in Hendrick’s chapel was one. Of course, praying for each other from afar is always possible, but being all together in the same space and feeling God’s presence is something we haven’t been able to do for 5 years (and it’s something we DID do for four consecutive years). So that was great and really encouraging for me. The second thing that I will always remember is meeting and spending time with baby Judah, Amanda and Rob’s sweet little smoosh. So cuuuute!

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Being together was so fun and I tried to soak it up, but the whole weekend also had a hint of bittersweetness for me, because I knew we’d have to leave eventually. We’re spread out all over the country, and judging by the fact it took well over a year to plan this reunion, I imagine it will take another 5 years for us to all be in the same spot again! We do have a decent sized New England crew, but Texas, Ohio, Seattle and Philly are all so far away 🙁 I think we need some weddings soon, k guys? 😉 😉

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Married for Life

- Stephanie Leave a comment

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Last year I did an in-depth blog post of cute/important things Nate and I learned during our third year of marriage. This year I barely posted about our anniversary on social media at all. Not because I wasn’t excited to be married for another year, but because this year was hard. I was hesitant to be super lovey-gushy-dovey about it, like anniversary posts usually are, because I wanted to be really real about it.

I wanted to post something like “every year gets better and better!”, but I had to get real. Year four wasn’t all roses and love notes. It honestly was a big kick in the “welcome to the non-honeymoon stage of marriage” butt. Maybe we had it really easy the first three years, or maybe this is what marriage is really like. Even though it was tough, year four was also an incredible adventure to Italy together. We joined a church planting team together, and celebrated birthdays and promotions together. And together is the only way I ever want to do it. So here’s to year five – and the rest of life together – and all the crazy adventures it will bring!

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P.S. We spent our anniversary driving 5 hours up to Syracuse for a college friend reunion (more on that soon). I was cool with that plan, because we don’t do anything over the top for our anniversary anyways. But! When we got to our hotel room, there were pretty flowers waiting for (I thought) us, but really for me! N had ordered them and had them delivered to our room to surprise me. Sweetest ever. <3

6 Productivity Hacks

- Stephanie Leave a comment

I’m a small business owner and any small business owner knows the feeling of ‘busy’. There is always something to do. Even at 11pm when I should be in bed, I could undoubtedly find something else to do. The whole world is busy these days, and it can be hard to differentiate between being busy and being productive. Productive, like… you know… when real, actual work is getting done.

I’ve read a few articles that touch on the topic of being busy versus being productive. Some of them say that replying to emails and sitting in meetings are just busy work, but not productive. Others say that anything related to making progress on a project is productive. I think any task has the potential to be productive, but it’s all in how you do it. If you’re constantly checking your email, but not replying or ‘dealing’ with the emails, I don’t think that’s productive. If you’re in a meeting that bangs out 3 big ideas and 10 ways to execute them, I need to give you all gold medals.

When you think about it, the big difference between being busy and being productive is ACTION. When your actions are goal-oriented, you can pretty much guarantee you will be productive. Busyness is filling our time with anything we can find to fill our time. Productivity is setting a goal and working towards it. I wanted to share a couple ways that help me know my day has been productive:

6 Productivity Hacks Letters from Rita blog

Morning Routine
I wrote about this last week, but I really believe that morning routines are essential for productivity, especially for those of us who work from home! You can read more about my morning routines and a few tips here.

Top 3 ‘Big Things’
I’m a total pen and paper girl. I have a legal pad that I keep by my computer and each day I’ll write my top 3 most important tasks for the day. (Honest truth: Sometimes one of those things is to work out, and I am totally ok with that being a big thing.) If I put my mind to it, I can usually get through my 3 things by the end of the day. If not, though, I put the task I didn’t finish at the top of tomorrow’s list.

Ugliest task first
I learned this from my mentors at Inspire Photo Retreats two years ago. I hate the mundane business-related tasks that come with owning your own business. I know that if I get them done earlier in the day, I have more time at the end of the day to focus on creating, whether that is painting, blogging or taking photos.

Dedicated ‘errand day’
When your office is in your home, you can get caught up in when to do your home-life-stuff (groceries, cleaning, bank, ect). I dedicate one day a week to doing errands. It means I don’t get as many business-y things done, but focusing on the other necessary life things means the other 4 days of the week I can solely focus on the biz.

One Thing at a Time
My brain is a brain that jets around from thing to thing (and over to more things). As much as women pride themselves on being the ultimate multitaskers, when it comes to productivity, I’m not sure it really works like that. Put all of your energy into one task, and only when you finish that should you move onto the next!

Put Your Phone Away
I’m preaching to the choir right now. Not having my phone directly in sight is admittedly my weakest character trait, which means I get distracted by that shiny rectangle fairly often. BUT. I’m learning that when my phone is not near me – tempting me – I can get more real work done and feel more productive!

Here are a couple more reads on productivity / busyness:

Lily Singh’s 5 Ways to Get Real Work Done
Stopping the busyness
27 Ways to Get more Sht Done
Staying productive while working from home

Now! Go get ’em!! <3 <3 Stephanie

p.s. i took this photo, and YOU can download it from my unsplash page!

How to Set Your Morning Routine

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Let’s talk MORNINGS! I’ve been working since October to perfect my morning routine. It’s been a huge deal, actually. If my mornings are ‘right’ my whole day is more productive and what is better than a productive day?

My day begins when Nate’s alarm goes off, which could be any time between 6:00 to 7:15 depending on where he is working (he’s an auditor, so he goes where they need him.) He gets up and I stay in bed and peruse Instagram and Twitter for a while (yeah I’m one of those people. I should really stop doing that. Oh well.) I am physically out of bed by 7:45 or 8:00. I drink a big glass of water and eat a banana or a Lara bar. Then I get dressed for a run or Crossfit. Working out in the morning is CRUCIAL to my daily routine, because otherwise I’ll put it off until 2025.

Once I’m home from my work out I shower and immediately make my precious coffee. French press is my go-to, which you can read all about here. I make a bigger breakfast and read either my Bible or a book while I eat. I make it a point not to check my email or do any “work-y” things until at least 10, but usually 11 am. That gives me enough time to do my routine without feeling rushed. If I don’t do those “me” things each morning, the rest of my day seems stressful or just a little off.

How to set your Morning Routine - Letters from Rita blog

Working from home makes my mornings a little more flexible than those of you who have a 9-5. But, for those of you who also work from home and get to pick your own schedule, here are a few variables that determined how I set my morning routine. The most helpful thought I can give you is this:

What is most important to you?
Do you like to work out, read, meditate, eat a healthy breakfast? You probably already know the things that will make your day the best it can be, so write them down and then plan your routine around how long those things will take.

FOR EXAMPLE:

Length of snoozing (or checking socials)
Do you want to snooze (or read, or be on Twitter) for 30 minutes? Ok, well, set your alarm for 30 minutes earlier than your ultimate BE OUT OF BED time. And then when that time comes, wake up! Or get off your phone 😉

Work out / fitness class schedule
My morning routine is very, very dependent on my workouts. If you are the type who works out early in the day, a set class time is super helpful to planning out the rest of your morning.

Preferred breakfast type
Are you a simple breakfast person or an elaborate breakfast person? This trait will determine how much time you should allot to the best meal of the day. I prefer fried eggs or oatmeal, but on the lazier days, oatmeal is the better option.

You time
I make a point to read my Bible and journal or read a few pages of a good book for at least 20 minutes every day. It helps me find focus in my day. What recharges you? Do that for a while before you start working on the hard stuff.

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Once you factor in all this stuff, it’s easy to see how much time you need to allot to your routine!
STICKING TO IT: Once you come up with your perfect morning routine, try it for one week. If it’s working well for you, awesome! Keep doing it! But if you notice that maybe you didn’t give yourself enough time to snooze, or too much time to eat, you can always adjust it to make it better!
REMEMBER: It’s not the end of the world if your morning routine doesn’t happen perfectly every single morning. Sometimes a friend needs to talk so you grab a spontaneous coffee with her. Sometimes you really need to get those 4 important emails out as early as possible. It’s ok to tweak your routine some days, but it is also wise to try and stick with it as much as possible, so your important things become habits in the long run!

Was this blog post helpful to you guys? What is your current morning routine? I’d love to hear how other small biz owners are spending their mornings!

<3 Stephanie

photo by kris atomic ( i wish my mornings looked that gorgeous! )

Crazy Feeling

- Stephanie Leave a comment

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Remember how I wrote in my last weekly obsessions post that I have good vibes about this year? Well, I do. I only know for *sure* a few of the things that are happening in 2016, but I just have this crazy feeling that whatever else does happen, it’s going to be good.

Here’s what I DO know is happening in 2016:
– In April, my brother-in-law is getting married in Italy, which means Nate and I are going to Italy! We have very vague travels plans right now, but we’re sure that many Italian cities, hopefully Zurich, and definitely Barcelona are on our list to explore. Travel tips for any of those places are welcome!
– One Saturday a month in May, June, July and August, I’ll have a small booth at my town’s Farmer’s Market to sell my lettering work! Come visit!! I’ll be sure to request the booth next to the Bagel Man.;)
– For all of July and August, my lettering work will be hanging in the local coffee shop!
– Nate and I recently joined a Bible study group, so I am really excited to get to know all these new friends better this year! We’ll also be helping spread the word about a new church plant in our town, so that’s exciting.

That’s all I know! And for the rest, I’m gonna let God take the wheel!