newyearsresolutions Archives

How to Stay Organized this New Year!!

January 2, 2023

I love to share blog posts on how I plan! This year I wanted to put a twist on how to stay organized this year! I have recently moved more towards digital planners. If you know me, you know this is a shock because I have been a pen and paper girl forever. However, I recently discovered some really helpful digital tools that honestly have made the paper planners useless!

My all time favorite paper planner is the Day Designer. I love this for so many reasons, but my top is it has a spot to plan out your entire day. Working at the studio in the evenings means I seriously need to plan my mornings to be as productive as possible. I actually was able to swap the paper for these 2 super helpful digital organizers!

Google Keep

This is the real game changer that most people don’t know exists! It’s essentially an online to do list, however you can share it and collaborate on it! We use this at the dance studio but I’ve started using it in my personal life too. I treat it essentially as my giant life to do list.

Any time I get a thought, I jot it down. I have the app on my phone so it’s always near me and accessible. Having a big to do list seems daunting, but I love just seeing everything that has to be done whether it’s today or 2 months from now.

I’ve recently started organizing it with the day of the week then the item to keep my even more on top of things. I seriously love it and I like that I can share it too. I found it super helpful for even ordering Christmas presents with Jordan because we were able to share the list and check off who we got for!

The best part is, this is a free service through Google! If you have a Google account, you can access it today and really start to get your life organized! I did try the Apple Reminders app which is similar to this, but Google is more universal so I love this so much more!

Google Calendar

Like I just mentioned, I was an Apple girl but it’s not universal like Google is! I just love that I can share calendars with people so that everyone sees the exact same info. This is great for my entire week or month in a more general fashion. I have it set to download to my iPhone calendar app so that I literally see everything on all my devices.

This is a great resource to just share with others. Family events or just work stuff is so important to share so that’s why I switched to this. It helps the people around me to be as organized as I am so it makes my life easier.

I’ve even tried to plan out my days through this but most of the times I would just rather have this as an overall calendar. I do know people who block out their day with this and use it as their planner so it definitely can work for you!

As you can see I really don’t need the whole pen & paper thing when I have these two free resources. I love both and how they seriously keep me on track and productive. As we head into the new year, it’s essential figure out how to stay organized and I know these both will work for you!

Be sure to check out my Pinterest here and a yummy recipe here!

New Year, New Goals: My 2022 Resolutions

December 27, 2021

I cannot believe I am writing the final blog post of 2021. As each year passes, I realize it’s less about the resolutions you make and more about the new goals you set. For many of us, it’s easy to write down things that we want to do each year. I find that it’s more important to have actual steps to get your there. That’s why for me, I don’t make resolutions. Instead, I set goals with tangible steps that I can follow.

Last year, one of my goals was to create and upload a blog post every week for the year. I ended up with 49 posts instead of 53 but I don’t feel defeated. The consistency of writing and posting every week was more valuable to me than a number. This goal showed me that my blog can be a stream of income for me if I’m consistent. I wouldn’t have realized that unless I prioritized posting regularly.

Although I’m hoping for another year of getting things done, this year I’m actually less focused on things and more focused on myself and experiences. By the end of 2021, I was journaling every morning and reading every night, causing my anxiety to drop significantly. The theme of consistency came to my head as I was writing this list of goals for 2022 because when you continue to show up for yourself, you’re able to do so much more.

My 2022 Goals

My first and most important goal for 2022 is to be consistent with everything I do. Whether it’s getting in a little bit of movement everyday or continuing my morning/nigh routines, forming good habits is top priority. I saw first hand what consistency can do from last year by accident so I can only imagine when I’m mindful of it, how much I can benefit from it.

Be consistent with everything I do and form good habits.

I really think it’s important to look to the past year to create new goals for the next. Other than consistency, I found myself needing to create boundaries. Whether it was on a vacation or just spending time at home with Sky, I always online.

I found myself so burnt out this year. This was because I was always online doing something, even at night when I should have put it down. This year I want to create boundaries to limit time on my phone. Also, for after a certain time during the day or on the weekend so I’m not always working. I want to prevent burnout from before it even happens.

Create boundaries to prevent burnout before it happens.

My last goal for 2022 is to be present. Similar to my last goal, I want to not focus on getting a picture out of something I’m doing. I also want to just enjoy events and experiences for what they are and not focus on how I can post about them. Often, I find myself not able to shut off my content creating brain but I really want to focus on living in the moment.

I often find myself as a planner and thinking, if I do this I can post that. This leads me to not really enjoy where I’m at or what I’m doing. It’s so important to me to live in the moment and enjoy the time I’m spending.

Be more present

My biggest tip to you when setting new goals for the new year is to look back and take inventory of what made you happy or upset during the previous year. People love to say all of these huge and crazy resolutions but because they have no real substance, you most likely won’t achieve them. By making small changes based on your previous year, you’ll be more likely to form habits.

Habits are the most important part of goals because you have to form good habits to have your goals stick after you achieve them. I love the new year as a way to reset and be inspired. I also want the momentum to last throughout the whole year, not just until I reach my new goals.

Here’s to a great new year! Check out my past resolutions post here. Be sure to follow me on Instagram since I am really going to try to share more of my everyday life on my stories this year! @cassiedenisco

5 Ways to Stress Less in 2020

January 26, 2020

Welcome to 2020, the year where we all will stress less! I am an over thinker which leads me to have some seriously stressful days. I’ve put together some of my ways to stress less to ensure you’ll have a stress free year!

1. Meditate

Meditation started out as a simple 2020 goal but it has seriously helped me as a way to stress less. I swear that just spending those 10 minutes in silence can do wonders for your mind. I like to let those stressful thoughts just pass through my mind but I don’t act on them. Once I’m done meditating, I am so much happier and all around less anxious.

2. Spa Shower

This might sound bizarre, but have you ever showered with the lights off? I swear that it gives off this spa vibe and seriously can help to relax you. Whenever I’m feeling stressed out or worried, I make sure to save myself time for a good long shower. I’ve also heard some people use the Himalayan Salt night light which just adds to the spa atmosphere.

3. Treat Yourself

I can’t tell you how easy it is when you’re stressed out to completely ignore your self-care. I know an easy trick for my stressed out days revolves around spending a little extra time on myself. Whether it’s a face mask or self-tan lotion, just spending a few extra minutes alone and on yourself can help clear your mind.

4. Don’t Deflect the Stress

The only way to really rid yourself of the stress is to let it pass. Don’t try to compartmentalize your feelings or else they could just come back at a later time. As with all things, it’s important to attack them right away and head on. I like to write out what’s stressing me out and then I almost always realize it’s not that big of a deal once on paper.

5. Plan for the Next Time

If you stressed out over a grade or a deadline, make sure next time you study more or do your work earlier. It’s important to realize that a lot of our stress we inflict on ourselves. We overthink or put ourselves in situations that will stress us out so why not just try to avoid it before it gives you anxiety?

I hope that these ways to stress less in 2020 will be helpful for you. I feel like I’m the queen of thinking myself into stress and I know that doing these things seriously helps me to stress less. Do you have any good tips to stress less? Let me know in the comments below!

Follow me on Instagram @cassiedenisco! And check out my latest blog post here!

My Hello Fresh Review

January 19, 2020

In today’s world, if you scroll through Facebook you’re almost guaranteed to see an ad for Hello Fresh or even a Hello Fresh Review. I’m not going to lie, Hello Fresh does seem like a great meal solution. The fact that it all comes pre-measured and in one package makes life so simple so who wouldn’t want to give it a shot?

I received two free box coupons from my cousin so I decided to choose one veggie box and a meat & veggie box. There are no dietary restrictions in my house or kids but I did appreciate the types of box options. Once I chose the box, I chose a delivery day and got to pick the meals. I would give the app and overall 10 out of 10. It was easy to use and made what I was looking for accessible.

As for delivery, both boxes came on the designated day and were in the iconic Hello Fresh box. I like that everything was labeled out and I only got the necessary ingredients. It definitely helps to not be wasteful. I can’t tell you the amount of times that I’ve been at the grocery store for a recipe and did not use the full amount of stuff I got. It also is nice because it really helps with portion control and not having too many leftovers.

All of the meals I had were yummy. I loved the Couscous Bowl the most and my least favorite was definitely the Sausage Gnocchi. Whether you like a meal is based on personal preference so definitely no lost stars here. I LOVED the recipe sheets. They were so clear and informative. Not only did it give you step by step directions but it also said all of the pans and other things that you would need to use. The amount of time that you would need to complete the meal was also right on the front and it made meal planning so easy.

As for the negatives, one of the things I found was that the packaging is pretty wasteful. There’s plastic covering most of the foods because they are pre packed so I would like to see Hello Fresh maybe use eco friendly containers. I also thought that for two people, 60 for 3 meals seemed a little expensive. I can go to the grocery story for 60 a week and get enough meals for a week. I think to solve both problems of plastic and cost, it might be useful for them to make 3 meals out of the same ingredients for that week. It would probably cut down on the plastics and maybe the cost.

If you can look past the expense and plastics, I do think Hello Fresh is useful if you’re too busy to put together healthy meals for yourself. For an overall rating, I think I would give my Hello Fresh Review an 8 out of 10. I definitely would sign up and purchase my own boxes here and there when I know I’m having a busy week. I’m not sure if I would use it every week but I must say I am impressed overall with the company!