Let’s Go Full STEAM Ahead!

Miss Southwest Sierra Marie Bonn sat down with me to talk about her social impact initiative “Let’s Go Full STEAM Ahead!” You can listen to my conversation with Sierra on my Podcast.  The episode is titled “Let’s Go Full STEAM Ahead!

Let’s Go Full STEAM Ahead! is an initiative to promote STEAM education and engagement.  STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math. Let’s Go Full STEAM Ahead! empowers young women to pursue STEAM careers. 

Sierra teaches her curriculum in classrooms, camps and college campuses across the country. 

On her website, she shares new technological advances, student-friendly STEAM experiments, events in and around the State of Kansas, and highlights inspirational leaders.

Women in STEAM Week is the third week in October, each year.  In addition to learning about influential women, you can nominate someone who has made positive contributions to STEAM in your community by visiting her website, LetsGoFullSTEAMAhead.com

 

Pageant Queen Principles of Health – Exercise

 

Are you swimwear ready? Whether you are a pageant contestant, current titleholder or not, your personal style begins with good health and fitness.   

The Pageant Queen Principles of Health and Fitness begin with exercise.  Physical activity is an important part of every morning routine. Studies show exercising first thing in the morning followed by a healthy breakfast is best for elevating the metabolism after a good night’s rest. A higher metabolism throughout the day not only continues to burn calories keeping You appearance ready but also helps you stay energized for all those appearances.

Additional reasons why it is a great idea to work out first thing in the morning include:

• Leaves time for other priorities: Now that your workout is done and over with first thing in the morning, you have the rest of your day to complete other tasks.
• Increased energy levels during the day: Exercise has been proven to increase energy levels and focus throughout the day. By working out first thing in the morning, you are getting a head start on your day.
• You’ll be less likely to skip your workout: It can be easy to get distracted at various points of the day that might sabotage your workout (less motivation, fatigue, overdue school work). By working out first thing in the morning, when your mind has very few things to concentrate on just yet, you will be less likely to skip your workout later. (Source:NIFS)

*BONUS: For every 1 lb. of muscle you gain, your body will burn an extra 6 to 10 calories per day at rest. Gain 10 lbs. of muscle and you could be burning an extra 100 calories while at rest (Source: BuiltLean).

Self-Care Strategy: Volunteer

Miss America Serves Day is April 7th this year and titleholders, contestants and volunteers will be serving their communities through their personal platform in addition to raising funds for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMNH).

My personal platform is raising awareness of cognitive impairments and the importance of self-care to decrease the effects of stress on the brain. Volunteering is one form of self-care that I have identified as it helps me to focus on the needs of others and how I can help them.

Volunteering is good for your mind and body as it provides many benefits to both your mental and physical health.

Volunteering combats depression.

Reducing the risk of depression is an important benefit of volunteering. A key risk factor for depression is social isolation. Volunteering helps you make positive connections, eliminating isolation, and can contribute to your overall happiness.

According to an article from Harvard Health Publishing volunteering has positive implications that go beyond mental health. A growing body of evidence suggests that people who give their time to others might also be rewarded with better physical health—including lower blood pressure and a longer lifespan.

Evidence of volunteerism’s physical effects can be found in a recent study from Carnegie Mellon University, published in Psychology and Aging. Adults over age 50 who volunteered on a regular basis were less likely to develop high blood pressure than non-volunteers. High blood pressure is an important indicator of health because it contributes to heart disease, stroke, and premature death.

This week, during Miss America Serves week, consider ways to improve your health through volunteering. If you would like to help me make miracles with CMNH, you can donate here. All funds raised go to the local CMNH hospitals.  Whether it is $1 or $100, every dollar counts and can make the difference in the life of a child or the family of a child who is in the hospital.

Visit CMNH to learn more about Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Pageant Queen Principles for Productivity

You don’t have to be Miss America to use pageant queen principles to prioritize your life. These principles will help you organize your time, manage your business and get things done!

Pageant participants realize that only one girl will walk away with the crown. While it is a competition, the true competition is with themselves; being the best they can be. All the preparation they put into the competition helps them focus on their strengths and passions preparing them to seize all of the opportunities that cross their path whether they are awarded a sash and crown or not. They understand they are always wearing an invisible crown and operate accordingly.

So how do pageant queens manage to juggle school, jobs, oftentimes a small business, community service which can number in the hundreds of hours, family and relationship obligations, all while maintaining a health and wellness routine giving them the confidence to cross a stage in a swimsuit?

Balancing all of their responsibilities requires preparation. They prepare in 4 areas that are pretty consistent across various organizations and I have identified them as Being, Body, Brain, and Success. As a result, I set my planning routine around these major categories and coach others to do the same.

I like to start with Success.

Pageant Queens understand that a “crown” merely provides a platform for delivering their message. In order to have a successful pageant season, they must identify their passion and purpose which will drive and motivate them to reach their goal. Then they envision reaching their goal by employing the strategy of visualization. They dream of seeing themselves standing on stage, hearing their name called out, walking in their evening gown with new sash, crown, and flowers while waving to the audience and thanking the judges. They even practice their “I can’t believe I just won” face…why?

Studies show visualization improves motivation, coordination, concentration and has been understood since Aristotle described the process over 2,000 years ago, “First, have a definite, clear, practical ideal; a goal, an objective. Second, have the necessary means to achieve your ends: wisdom, money, materials, and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end.”

Once she has the vision, a Pageant Queen will assess her strengths, weaknesses, and resources. She will create a plan of action to reach the crown and set up a system for tracking her results based on her identified passion and purpose.

Since titles are passed on to a new Queen each year, her deadline is clearly defined and she can set up a timeline for reaching mini-milestones that will all take her to her ultimate goal. Sharing her vision with others…that journey may or may not result in a crown and she knows that. Her actions align with her purpose.

Mini-milestones are defined in three major areas of Being, Body, and Brain. Her planning routine is broken down to reflect this all while moving her towards her intended goal … the coveted crown.

Being covers her spiritual house, so to speak. Her relationships with others and is also known as her network. It includes her platform, also known as her community service, and how she intends to make the world a better place. She will need to track sponsor relationships and fundraising in addition to her volunteer hours.

Body covers her physical house. Her health and wellness, nutrition and fitness routine and trackers for maintaining an appearance ready physique and giving her the confidence to stand tall, smile and shine the light of her crown on what matters most to her: her goal of helping others.

Brian covers her mental house. This is her scholastic focus and personal development and may include entrepreneurial goals.

As you can see, each of the identified areas allows for a framework of creating a self-management system that is flexible enough for Pageant Queens to tailor but structured enough to provide a guide for reaching her potential. This empowers her to prioritize her life, organize her time and manage her business and it can do the same for you.

Join the conversation on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram

One Book July 2017 – Review of Week 2

This week found me a tad bit busier than last week and not feeling 100% but I was able to stay on task, due to prior planning, and get the things done (in a timely manner) that needed to be accomplished.  I didn’t get many personal things checked off my to do list but that’s okay with me.  This week highlighted the importance of having a flexible planning system.

Observations and changes made this week:

The first and most recognizable change for me this week is the TN cover itself.  I have been struggling with the LOVELY TPS Floral TN since my initial set up.  While I love, love, love it, the 1.5″ spine is just a little too small for my needs right now.

I am using my One Book July to experiment with tracking all of the things that need to be done this month, both personal and professional.  As the festival and pageant are at the end of July and the first week of August, I have little to do and lots of time to do it…STRIKE THAT, reverse it!

The next change I have made is the addition of a dump book.  I have one dedicated to all the details that I need to stay on top of this month in preparation for the festival and pageant, however, I didn’t have something to capture all the other items.  So, I dedicated some of my self-care time to creating an insert and have already started collecting items to be organized after my Incompletion Trigger List review.

My weekly spread is where the “work” gets done in my One Book July.  I noticed that I didn’t consistently use my dailies but went back and filled in what I accomplished, instead of using it for pre-planning.  I used stickers to create “word pictures” to help with my memory and this resulted in aiding my recall.  Therefore, I have decided to pre-set up my dailies this week.  Let’s see how that works for me.  I have had a new memory and discovered a 20 year gap…this blank spaces do not mean I don’t remember anything for those 20 years, but rather all instances relating to a specific memory group (i.e. an annual picnic that I have no memories of or the location it has been held in, although I apparently have attended it numerous times).  This leads me to look for ways to re-associate people, places, and things in hopes of being able to access the memories eventually. So, I am attempting to use more stickers in my planning routine to create word pictures in my mind.  Well, see how this works.  This week will be the first time I include the sticker associations in the “guts” of my planning and I am hopeful I can report a success next week!

This Michael’s Recollection’s Hourly Vertical Planner sits on my desk and does double duty as my memory planner.

This is the weekly box spread in my One Book July and functions as a weekly overview of my events and appointments using pictures.

This is a printable from Ray Blake at My Life All In One Place and functions as the “guts” of my planning. I have not previously utilized stickers in this section as it houses tasks…this is where I take my “To Do’s” to “To Done” and document any changes to my planned schedule of events with actual events.

Finally, I have decided to set up my dailies for the week to see how I can better utilize them in the TN.  However, I typically use my hourly planner for itemizing the details of my white spaces.

How are you using your One Book July?  What have you learned so far?  I would love to know how has this “experiment” helped you stay on track to reach your goals.

See you next week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The SetUp

After initial research into how I am going to structure my planner for One Book July 2017, I have decided to transfer all of my necessary planning and project management into a pocket-sized TN (traveler’s notebook) from The Planner Society.  

Behind the scenes of my YouTube setup video

The OnebookJuly2017 Challenge is to use One Book and One Pen for One Month.  However, there are no rules save for the rules you may set for yourself.  The goal, as I understand it, is to “get back to basics” and streamline or in some cases, learn what you need to be successful in your planning routine.  

Since I am a goal planner, I have included my current projects in each area (Being, Body, Brain) to help me reach my goals.  My goal for One Book July is to streamline all of my planners into one carry along planner/wallet that I can have to track EVERYTHING!  In order to keep moving forward, I need to assess where I am in any given project, once I evaluate my progress I can decide if I need to make changes or not.   

What I have learned so far:

• Sometimes, I can not focus and am easily distracted.  When this happens I need to step away and do something else, usually a craft project, like mixed media to help my mind get clear and refocus.  Then I can come back to the task at hand.  It is helpful to know this about myself because I don’t get as discouraged and take a long leave of absence from my goals.
• When I am riding the struggle bus, I need my planning system to have a structure and functional form to help me stay focused and follow my plan.
• When I am hyperfocused, I need the real-estate that white space provides.
• Having this self-knowledge is helpful in knowing which system to work out of at a given time to help me keep moving toward my goals instead of getting frustrated and giving up.

Knowing how you operate and researching the tools to help you is key to setting yourself up for success.  

Visit my Resources page to find the inserts I am testing as well as other valuable information I will add from time to time.

See you next week for an update to One Book July 2017 !!

Developing Your Style – Start with YOU!

 KNOW THYSELF

“The essence of knowledge is self-knowledge.” – Plato

“Who am I in the midst of all this thought traffic?” – Rumi

It is important to ask questions and reflect on the answers you develop in order fully know who you are and what motivates you in the areas of Service (which I identify as Being), Syle (identified as Body) and Scholarship (identified as Brain).  

Being is how you identify yourself in relation to your contribution to the world.  It encompasses your platform which identifies the type of SERVICE you share with people and organizations.  Your BEING can be identified as your purpose; your personal mission statement and ultimately defines your STYLE.   

Brain is your (SCHOLARSHIP) educational pursuits, both personally and professionally.  Additionally, it covers areas of personal development to include your TALENT.  

Body is a large category that includes the areas of health and fitness, as well as your physical environment.  The sum of these three parts (Being, Body, Brain/Service, Style, Scholarship) is also categorized under Body/Style.  You, your style, your image is a brand and is the output of all the other factors contributing to the definition of who you are.  STYLE, then, is HOW you relate to the outside world; your family, friends, school, and community.

Hopefully, you can see how important the knowledge of who you are and what you value.  It is not only important to your core identity but it is extremely helpful in determining the what and how you plan to give, do, and be during your year of SERVICE as Miss (Local/State).

What do you know about you?  How can you share your unique gifts, talents, skills, and abilities with your community and the world at large?  Download this FREE Style Inventory and to get started on identifying your personal brand. 

Crown Sticker Set – Free Printable

Here’s a freebie for you to use in your ‘Miss’ lifestyle planning.

This set was designed as an experiment to fit my Large Happy Planner.  It was one of the first full box sets that I attempted as I was looking for colorful and functional elements for the Large Happy Planner that was released in January 2017.

This set contains 4 full boxes, 4 heart checkboxes, 8 heart checklist flags for top three, 32 headers, 6 appointment labels, 8-weekend banners, 12 functional stickers, and a washi strip.

Just click on the images and save.

These can be cut by hand or can be cut using a cutting machine.

Cricut and Silhouette are two companies that produce cutting machines.

I currently own a Cricut Explore Air 2

It’s used to kiss cut stickers and works great but sometimes I cut them by hand when they are basic shapes like squares and rectangles.

If you are interested in purchasing a Cricut Explore Air 2 for yourself, please check out the link I have provided.  As an affiliate marketer with links to products and services, I receive a commission when purchases are made through said links.  It helps me continue to provide reviews of products and services I use and think you will find of value also.  Thank you!

 

 

 

 

Turning Goals into SMART Goals

What are your personal goals for participating in a pageant?  Or, why do you want to win the “Miss” title you are competing for?  Is it the scholarships, the personal development, to promote an issue you are passionate about, or all of the above?

Some areas of goal setting to consider for a successful pageant competition can be:

Style: fitness and appearance; how you present yourself and how you may be perceived by others; how you represent the local pageant organization, community, state and national pageant systems as a contestant.

Service: your platform and community service

Scholarship: keeping your grades up and pursuing financial awards for further education

Success: reaching small goals that lead to bigger goals

What are some of the goals you have set for yourself?

Once you have identified your “Why?” It is time to transform your goal into actionable steps that will yield results.  Actionable steps are the daily, weekly and monthly tasks that need to be accomplished in order to achieve your goal.  These tasks are specifically geared toward helping you become your best self in a given area.  The objective is to turn your goals into manageable, realistic steps.  This is done using a method known as SMART goal setting.  SMART goals are short and long term goals that are:

S- specific

M- measurable

A- attainable

R- realistic

T- time bound

An example of a SMART goal is as follows:

Goal: To teach goal setting

SMART Goal: To utilize TheOrganizedMiss.com as an educational platform for young women living the “Miss” lifestyle and to share tools to assist them in setting and achieving their goals.

Hopefully this guideline to SMART Goal setting has given you some new tools to help you reach your goals.  I am including a free printable entitled “Smart Goal Setting Steps” to help you get started.   Good luck and reach for the stars!

Remember: You are your only competition!

Success Tracker

The above quote is one of my favorites and highlights a secret known by many successful individuals.  In order to make progress in life, you must set and work towards goals. Whether you are working on changing a bad habit, acquiring a good one or implementing strategic action to obtain excellence in a specific field, goal setting is crucial to your success.  Just as important as setting goals are to putting you on a path to success, tracking the progress of your goals is a key component to achieving that success.

Show me your calendar/planner and I will be able to tell you what you value and how successful you will be in reaching your goals.  Do you goal plan?  Is your schedule and tasks organized according to your desired outcomes?  Do you track the habits necessary for success?  I can guarantee that if you do, you will make discoveries about yourself and be able to reach success in areas that before were out of reach.

I have designed a monthly calendar and success tracker for use in reaching your goals. This eight-page digital printable has a  monthly (July) view and a week on two pages.  The left side of the page has a weekly with Monday start and the right side of the page has “This week’s focus” and is divided into three categories (Scholarship, Service, Style) so you can easily identify and focus on the tasks to be accomplished.

 

The bottom section of the page has a Success Tracker for you to list the habits/actions you intend to consistently practice and monitor for a successful week.  The last few pages contain a Project Management section for SMART Goal planning and a Task Checklist.  The sooner you start tracking your goals, the closer you will get to reaching them!

Happy Goal Planning!