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My Habit Trackers, To-Do Lists and Journals

If you want something done you either do it now or you schedule it. Since you can’t do everything at once, you might be creating a pretty long list.

I’m proud of the accomplishments in my life, but I’ve got more on the way. In fact, I think I am just getting started.

I’m proud of what I accomplish each year, month, week and most days. It’s not luck. What I finish is the result of goal setting in my journals, habit tracking, and a daily to-do list.

I am sharing with you the exact tools I use, both physical and digital, of how I work in hopes you will find some value in them and try them out, as well as share some of your tools and processes in the comments.

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My One Word for 2023

A few years ago I added an important ingredient to my annual planning and goal setting process, the ‘my one word for the year’ theme made popular by writers Jon Gordon, Dan Britton and Jimmy Page in their book, One Word That Will Change Your Life.

The concept from the book is that the properly chosen word can summarize our goals and resolutions for the entire year into a single word. A single word allows focus, simplicity, determination, and according to the authors, a greater percentage of success than just making a list. I however do both.

Their book guides you through a helpful process centering around three questions:

What is needed? What’s in my way? What must go?

I have improvised my own method of getting to my own word that works well for me. My method centers around the guidance in the book, my journaling, a deep reflection on the previous year, and listing words that I believe are suitable and choosing among them.

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When Imbalance is Needed

This evening I received a wonderful email from someone who read my book, Along Came a Leader: A Guide to Personal and Professional Leadership. It is always awesome to get a message like this, and this email from Devon asked a great question.

“What measures can I use to prioritize the dozen areas of my life I am passionate about? There are so many projects in which I long to go full speed ahead. However, I have only so much gas and horsepower.” ~Devon

This was my reply:

A balanced life? Hmmmm…

I wish I knew that secret but I will share some of my thoughts on this.

I keep a journal. It helps. I track some basic daily habits in a grid.
I write down my goals for the year. I write monthly goals as the months arrive.
I have a daily to-do list of a few items.
There is honestly always leftovers.

I review my goals often.

The problem I have noticed is that some years my goals are the same as the previous year.
That is when imbalance is necessary.

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Goals Still Matter

People Spend 100x More Time on Social Media Than They Do on Planning Their Life

I rang in the 2023 New Year with my family watching a football game and the ball drop in NYC simultaneously on television. Our celebration plans had been impacted by a rogue flu bug that had made its way into our home. Still, we started the new year with some laughter, reflection and as always, hope for a brighter new year.

I’m a goal junkie. I love resolutions, goal-setting, journals and really anything that I believe helps people to design and plan for a more dynamic life. I think others do too, but some catch that wave of cynicism and say, “Why bother,” while inside their minds and hearts I doubt any are hoping and planning for the new year to be worse. C’mon.

I spent the holiday break reflecting on the previous year and making plans for the new year. It was fun. I enjoyed thinking and planning how I am going to write and illustrate a new children’s book, get in a little better shape, and spend more time with those I love. I’m the father of four daughters… we have a lot of plans for the year!

I believe goals still matter. I get frustrated when I see posts and social media shares that belittle resolutions. Why cast a shadow on someone who wants to get better?

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October is National Bullying Awareness Month

Free Guide: What to Do With your Life when a Bully Steps into it

October is Bullying Awareness Month. This is a great time for schools to organize events and programs to help educate students, families and staff about bullying.

I have created a free resource you can download titled, What Everyone Needs to Know About Bullying. I hope you will share it with everyone you can. I believe it delivers a message that many need to hear and practice.

I will be updating this this free ebook very during the month of October. I also hope to release an audio version of it on my Wired Educator Podcast so you can listen to it while you drive, workout, walk the dog, or whatever. I really want this message to spread to help as many lives as possible.

The bottom line is this: The opposite of bullying is leadership.

We need to teach and train students to be better leaders online and off. It’s that simple. Everyone talks about the importance of leadership, but few, very few, take the time to teach it.

I will be sharing my What Everyone Needs to Know About Bullying with schools and parent groups throughout the school year. I would love to share it with you!

If you are a parent, read this ebook with your child. If you are a teacher, make copies and share it with your students. If you are and administrator, share it with your staff. Have conversations about the material.

Kelly

Order Kelly’s books, Along Came a Leader and Unthink Before Bed: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness for your personal library.

Looking for a speaker for your event? • Kelly Croy is an author, speaker and educator. Want to learn more? Send me an email. • Listen to Kelly’s other podcast The Wired Educator Podcast with over 226 episodes of interviews and professional development. •

 • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

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Sharing My Children’s Book at Right To Read Week at Bataan Memorial School

Ten Social Emotional Tips for Parents and Children

Last week was Right to Read Week at Bataan Memorial Intermediate School, and I had the honor and privilege of being invited to share my children’s book, Unthink Before Bed: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness.

First of all, the students were absolutely amazing! Over 300 students gathered in the cafeteria for my presentation which included my start as a reader, writer and illustrator, then transitioned into a read aloud of my book, then a live speed drawing of characters from the book set to music, and ended with a question and answer with me any my co-author, Jedi. Jedi is my dog and a character in the book. Everyone was so well behaved and mannerly. Each listened actively as I read the book aloud to them and shared images of the pages on the computer screen. They loved the speed drawing. The question and answer was a lot of fun, but Jedi stole the show when he came out at the end. Every student petted him as they left. Again, these kids were so polite and well mannered. What a great audience. I love Bataan School.

Contact me if you’d like Jedi and I to visit your school.

The Presentation included:

  • My love of reading, writing and drawing.
  • The most influential books in my childhood.
  • How I made the book.
  • A read aloud of Unthink Before Bed.
  • A speed drawing I created to music using my iPad projected on the screen set to music. (Kids loved it!)
  • Question and Answer time.
  • Everyone met my dog, Jedi, a character in the book.
  • Everyone pet the dog as they left. (Almost everyone.)

I encouraged the students to use devices to create not just to consume. I also shared a highlight from the book that devices have bedtimes! Devices are great, but they are often only used for consumption and limits are not placed on them. I like to show people what they can really do with a device creatively.

Unthink Before Bed teaches some great Social Emotional lessons. Imagine reading a book to your child that is fun and entertaining, AND helps them learn great coping skills they will need the rest of their life.

There were ten social emotional lessons in the book that I reviewed with students to help them cope with anxiety and stress: 

  • Create a routine.
  • Put on pajamas.
  • Devices have bedtimes.
  • Store devices in another room.
  • Practice long, slow breathing with eyes closed.
  • Picture your surroundings and your body.
  • Use all of your senses to picture nature.
  • Think ‘just one thing; and the eventually ‘nothing.’
  • Give thanks.
  • Know you are loved and that tomorrow will be great.

I think Unthink Before Bed is a great book and hope you do too. You can order your copy here.

~Kelly

If you like what you’ve read, please share-out with our friends on social media and tag me. Don’t forget the #LeadEveryDay hashtag. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts.

Educator, Author, Keynote Speaker
Twitter: @kellycroy
Instagram: @kcroy
Website: kellycroy.com and wirededucator.com
Podcast: The Wired Educator Podcast
and of course: Facebook.

Sign-up for my newsletter here:

I’ve written two books, Along Came a Leader a book on personal and professional leadership, and Unthink Before Bed: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness .

Send me an email. 

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Get Out of Here!

Every time we leave town our problems shrink because our perspective grows. 

I had the pleasure this past week to leave town and visit family.

While I enjoyed: hanging out with relatives, good food, and exchanging fun stories, another blessing crossed my mind; it is a wonderful gift to change your location, routine and perspective.

The nine hours in the car wasn’t easy, but my wife and I really got to spend some time with one another. Physical discomfort of sitting for so long aside, there is a genuine importance to switching up your routine and literally getting away from the perspective from which you see the world the majority of the time.

As hard as I try to bring variety and a fresh perspective to my work and my family life, I fall into a routine. I see the same things. I do the same things. I talk about the same things. Most significantly, I observed, my approach to life becomes a bit routine.

Just being on the road allowed me to count my blessings and change my perspective as we encountered people who were: homeless, in distress, in trouble, sour to the world, and challenged in many unique ways. Our family has our own challenges too, but what we saw was a reality of life that we are typically spared from during our work and school week routines. We don’t encounter these harsher realities, or when we do it’s on the news and a bit distant. (Don’t even get me started on how our social media consumption literally and figuratively filters the world into a false ‘magical place of beauty and perfection.’)

We all need a change in perspective a little more frequently.

My biggest takeaway: The problems I thought were problems are not really problems.

I had more fun than I deserved with some amazing family, but I am also thankful for the needed change in perspective our travels highlighted.

Routines begin to narrow our focus ever so gradually until we have a pretty fixed mindset.

Every time we leave town our problems shrink because our perspective grows.

I challenge organizations to encourage visits to conferences and other organizations, even ones outside of their line of work, and to bring outsiders with powerful stories and uniques perspective into your organization. We need to share ideas and takeaways. We must consistently work to expand our perspective.

~Kelly

If you like what you’ve read, please share-out with our friends on social media and tag me. Don’t forget the #LeadEveryDay hashtag. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts.

Educator, Author, Keynote Speaker
Twitter: @kellycroy
Instagram: @kcroy
Website: kellycroy.com and wirededucator.com
Podcast: The Wired Educator Podcast
and of course: Facebook.

Sign-up for my newsletter here:

I’ve written two books, Along Came a Leader a book on personal and professional leadership, and Unthink Before Bed: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness .

Send me an email. 

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The Six Obstacles to Innovation

Innovation is quite simply “finding better ways to do things.” Too often innovation is lumped in with technology.  It’s not devices that make something innovative, it’s ideas, methods, and systems. Hardware and software sometimes aid innovation, but not always.

In the end, innovation is about improvement, something you’d think everyone would rally around, but sadly that is not the case.

A lot of leaders and organizations say they want innovation, but do they? Most wait until they see others doing something innovative and then try to catch up. That’s not innovation.

Here are the six obstacles to innovation: 

  • Arrogance: People are too confident in the current way they are doing things.
  • Identity: People see themselves one dimensionally and are unwilling to grow or change, or they see themself as part of a group or time period of a particular method.
  • Lack of Curiosity and Unwillingness to Learn: People are not curious about new methods and avoid learning and applying new ways.
  • Fear of Loss of Control: People have too strong of a desire to be in control and are not willing to accept a period of time of not being the expert or in control. True innovation needs an environment where its okay for everything to not be worked out and ideas can be adjusted and adapted.
  • Lack of Empathy: People are unable to see other people’s needs for innovation and sadly focus on only their own need for continuity and order. People fail to see how a new idea or method would help others and rather focus on how this would be hard for them.
  • Competing Priorities: Most often innovative ideas get reshuffled to competing priorities due to interest, training, time, investment, or a lack of understanding. One person’s idea in a group is given more weight and value than a new, innovative idea. Many organizations will spend money in certain known and proven areas and avoid investing in new, unknown areas, only to spend more later trying to catch up with those that went first. Most organizations and individuals just don’t want to take the time to do things a different way. It takes time to change. It takes leadership.

The obstacles outlined above illustrate why the icons of innovation throughout history were all viewed as mavericks and rebels. They had to be. Steve Jobs, Nikola Tesla, Elon Musk, and others all broke away from the bureaucracy of how things are typically accomplished within organizations because they realized if they did not their innovative ideas would perish.

In my book, Along Came a Leader, I share six tenets of leadership. Vision is one of the six. I feel leaders need a strong vision.  The ability to see what could be is so important to leadership and acting on it allows innovation to take place.

If you are a leader of an organization or an inspiring leader, take note and avoid the six obstacles to innovation so your organization can advance and lead.

~Kelly

Kelly Croy is an author, speaker, and educator.  Send Kelly an email. • Sign-up for Kelly’s Newsletter. Listen to Kelly’s  The Wired Educator Podcast with over 219 episodes. • Kelly has written two books, Along Came a Leader a book on personal and professional leadership, and Unthink Before Bed: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness . • Follow Kelly Croy on: Facebook. •  Twitter.  •  and Instagram