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Yesterday I mentioned one of the big takeaways from meeting with Holley Gerth was a growth plan.

Crystal at MoneySavingMom.com is a growth plan genius.  She is great at setting goals, reaching them and blogging through the process.  Have you seen where she’s been getting up at like 3:30 in “the morning?” She’s a beast.

Anne at Modern Mrs. Darcy also sets goals for the year and then writes follow-ups.

I have great intentions and even wrote a fuzzy list at the beginning of the year.  However, I never created a plan to carry it out.

Why a Growth Plan

When Holley wrote my brand guide, there was a section called “Growth Plan” at the end. She began by saying:

You are energized by reflection, applying what you learn to your life, and sharing that with others.

After a few action items, she wrote in conclusion:

Overall, just give yourself what you need to grow as much as possible and take every opportunity you have to pursue that in your life—it’s how you connect with God as well as yourself and one of the primary ways you bless and encourage others.

If you read my Strengths Finder, you’ll see it also says I’m energized by lots of information. It’s just how I’m wired. 

However, she asked me how I was scheduling these times of learning and I just had to shrug my shoulders and say I’m not.

Enter my written growth plan.

 

The Growth Plan

I was responsible for coming up with the details of what my growth plan entailed.

Holley had me list all the ways I wanted to grow, whether it was from my ever-growing list of books, podcasts, bible studies, independent studies, or online classes.  

Next, I decided how I’d actually get things done.  She pushed me to write down a time of day to start, duration of session, frequency (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly), and even where I wanted to be sitting.

First, I created a list of devotional/prayer books I wanted to tackle for 30 minutes each morning.

Morning (AM daily – 15 min)

• Upside Down Prayers
• Valley of Vision
• Power of a Praying Parent
• Praying for Your Husband

Devotional (AM daily – 15min)

• The Promised One
• Chase
• Beth Moore David

 

Next, a list of Biblical topics I wanted to research weekly.

Research (weekly 1-2 hours)

• Favor
• Parables
• Shepherd

I also planned to schedule my week of blog posts during this weekly time of research based on input from the Advisory Board I mentioned yesterday.

I then created a list of the books I wanted to read. While this list is always fluid, I have already marked off several of the ones from my original list.

Books to Read (evenings, 30 min-1hr)

• God-sized dream
• Sparkly Green Earrings
• Billy Graham Nearing Home
• Blue Like Jazz
• Battlefield of the Mind
• Made to Crave
• Wonderstruck
• Mended
• Everything

 

And finally, there were other special learning opportunities that I wanted to tackle during special events, while I worked (listening to podcasts), or online classes on weekends

Learn (special events, weekends, while I work)

• Photography class
• Michael Hyatt podcast
• Andy Stanley leadership podcast
• Simple Mom Home Fries podcast
• Crocheting
• Canning

 

Working the Plan

Am I doing all of those things?  Not all, but mostly.

However, it’s been fantastic to have a written plan that I can refer back to when I start feeling lost on how I should be spending my time.  Usually, I’d think about the very long list of things I wanted to do and then hop on Facebook and waste my time.

I feel so full.  I don’t feel like I’m wasting my time and filling myself full of junk.  I have a renewed sense of passion and purpose I haven’t had in a long time.  Most of my learning is faith-based and the more I learn about God, the hungrier I am.

 

Something Had to Give

Here’s the kicker though. 

In order for all this to happen, I had to let something else go. 

And guess what lost in the battle?

TV.

Sure, we’ve been sitting as a family and watching Duck Dynasty like crazy fools (Hey!) but the shows I’d watch on my own? I haven’t watched them in weeks with no plans to catch up.

I know. I know!

I’m not suggesting everyone needs to give up TV.  I’m just saying the past few weeks have proven I feel my best when I’m full of all kinds of information and facts and sermons and new things to learn. 

Maybe this is just a season for me. And that’s fine.  Growing seasons don’t last forever. 

But for now, I’m working this new growth plan and I love it!

 

What is one thing you’d like to learn next?

Does anyone else need a lift?  And no, not a face lift or a lift to the Walmarts.  Do you say that—can I get a lift?  I wonder if that’s regional or what.  I don’t say it so I’m curious.  I don’t saw Walmarts either but I think it’s funny to read it that way.  Anyway.  A lift.  Do you need one?  Just a general, let’s make life just a teensy bit better kind of lift.  I do. 

And I’ve realized more and more this week how big of a difference the little things make. 

Getting up early. 

Going to bed on time.

Flossing. 

Taking your medication. 

Reading. 

Drinking more water.

Stretching. 

Being grateful. 

All these habits add up to a positive, consistent, healthy, productive life.  And some of us need a little help.  Yes?  I mean, seriously, if you are drinking 8 glasses of water AND flossing AND getting up early every single day, we need to have a conversation.  One in which you might feel some pain.

I got in on a Beta Release of a new iPhone app called, wait for it….Lift.  Lift’s tagline is “unlock your potential”.  Basically, Lift just gamifies all these little, daily, sometimes-annoying but necessary tasks that make your life better.

It’s a simple app but could be very powerful for some people.

You just add the tasks you want help remembering to do.

Then each day, you get to click a huge button that turns green after you’ve done it.

OK, so I’m silly and easily pleased and love checkmarks so this helps me.  You also get to see a summary of what you’ve done in green.

Now listen.  It seems like it might be worthless but I have gotten out of my bed, gone to floss my teeth just so I can click that little button.

I know, it’s probably sad that I need motivation like this but at the end of the day (literally), it really helped.

I think it would be even better if I had more friends!  You can “like” someone’s check-in and see their comments.  I try to share what I’m grateful for or what I made for dinner.  I think it’s kind of inspiring.

Maybe it would give you a lift too? (pst, it’s free)

It’s feeling like a list day.  And after seeing BooMama’s list, it’s feeling like a Friday Favorites list.  Here are the things moving me, making me smile and wanting to dance a jig.

1.

If you are a parent, go pick up The Power of a Praying Parent.  Amanda did a review on it so I bought it and now I wish I’d be praying these prayers for years. 

2.

Source: nikkisfixins.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

 

I made this cilantro lime rice last night. I had also put some chicken in the crock-pot with some chicken broth and then shredded it. I combined them and it made my mouth dance. The kids? Not so much. But so easy just to leave some plain rice out for them.

3.

These new (to me?) gluten free chocolate chip cookies are amazing. Almost as good as regular Tollhouse ones.  Locals, I picked it up at the new Harris Teeter.

4.

Source: perfectionpossibilities.blogspot.ca via Amy on Pinterest

 

I finally caved and I’m wearing a chambray shirt today. I bought it months ago after seeing it starting to pop up on Pinterest.  Loving it.  For some reason I feel like I should go sailing in it.  What’s with that?  I also feel like I’m back in the 90’s but whatever.

5.

 

I posted this on Facebook this morning from Sarah Morgan but it’s worth repeating.  It’s a very Friday video.  Many favorites are in there–Grease, Footloose, Dirty Dancing, Coyote Ugly, Step Up, High School Musical. And 100 bonus points if you recognize the dancing scene from True Lies.  That alone makes me laugh.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

With September around the corner, you might think this is an awful time to talk about pool maintenance and I’d probably agree with you except that many pool owners are SICK of their pools right now and I’d like to offer some help in their weakest moment.

The pool is turning green AGAIN.  The water is cloudy AGAIN.  You haven’t seen sparkling water EVER.  And worse, you’ve dumped half your earnings at the local pool store this summer.  If that’s you, then LISTEN UP!

Getting Desperate

We’ve had our above-ground pool probably 5 years or so.  We opened our pool mid-May this year.  I always have a hard time getting the water clear so I wanted an extra head start.  I started going to the pool store 2-3 times a week.  They’d check chemicals and I always had $50-100 worth of chemicals to take home.  They would always say if it doesn’t clear up in 2-3 days, come back, so I did even when I followed their instructions to a T to no avail.

Four weeks later in mid-June, most of the green was gone but the water was never clear even though the pool store guys kept telling me the numbers were perfect.

Finding Help

I was so frustrated, I hopped on Google and soon found myself on poolforum.com begging for help (here’s my original thread).

After reading about all of their success, I officially switched our pool to the BBB method.  The B’s stand for Bleach, Borax and Baking Soda.

The BBB method means, ALL our pool’s chemical needs are taken care of by grocery store ingredients and not unnecessary, expensive pool store chemicals.  Just a few weeks later, I had clearer water than we’ve ever had it.

I haven’t been to the pool store now in two months and my pool is perfectly balanced and respectfully clear.

 

The BBB Method

 

I’m not going to attempt to teach you the entire system but give you an overview.

 

 

The first step is to buy yourself one of these Taylor test kits.  I know it looks all science-y but I promise, if you can count to 20 you can do this.  It’s kind of pricey, but if you’ve been going to the pool store regularly, you can handle pricey and I promise you will get every single cent back you pay for this.

The instructions that come with the kit are super easy and it’s literally just putting water in a tube and then counting drops of chemicals into the water and noting them.

The main goal each day is to keep your chlorine at a target level.  Your target level is determined by the amount of CYA (cyanuric acid), which is also measured in your kit.  There’s a handy chart over here to tell you your target Chlorine based on your CYA.

Once you have your CYA, then based on your pool size, you find out how much bleach will raise your water 1 ppm.  So, in my case, I know that 1 Liter bleach of will raise my Chlorine level by 1ppm.  So, one gallon of bleach will raise my chlorine 4 ppm.

At first, I would test every night and morning to see how much bleach I needed but I’ve found it is very normal that I lose about 4ppm every day from the sun and activity so my regular chore is to pour 1 gallon of bleach in the pool at night.

That’s it!

We spend about $15 a WEEK on bleach and the best part is I don’t have to go to the pool store!  We just pick some up at Walmart when we’re there!

More Numbers

Now, as you know there are more numbers the pool store looks at.  pH and Alkalinity are two of them.  Those can also be adjusted using simple chemicals.

Your pH target is 7.2-7.8 and you can raise it with Borax—yes that stuff in the laundry detergent aisle.  I’ve only had to do that twice this summer and it only takes 1 cup of it at a time. pH is lowered with Muriatic Acid from Lowe’s/Home Depot but thankfully I haven’t had to mess with that all summer.

Your Target Alkalinity is 120ppm but it doesn’t change much and I haven’t had to mess with that all summer.  It’s easily raised with simple baking soda.

That’s the basics but you can read more here.

Lessons Learned

It’s definitely been a different summer with our pool and here’s a few things I learned:

• Trust the fine folks at poolforum.com.  They are the true heroes here.  If you just get the kit, post your issue and numbers and then commit to BBB method, they will stick with you until your water is clear.  I still can’t believe it’s all free.
• Once you stick with them and read other posts, you’ll see the trends and start to understand what they’re doing. Once you know your targets and how much you need, it’s easy to maintain yourself.  It’s just as easy as reading a thermometer and giving your child Tylenol if it’s too high.
• The pool store chemicals raise numbers that you don’t need it to raise.  For example, your standard powder chlorine (pool geeks are dying at my naming) also raises your CYA levels.  Target CYA is something like 40-50 so you could be putting chemicals in there that you don’t need.
• Always, always take the steps out at the start of each pool season.  We regret not doing it every time.
• Change your filter’s sand. This can really hinder your pools ability to clear your water.
• Get yourself a skimmer sock.  It saved us from a ton of backwashing and annoying basket-cleaning.  I also make this a daily task. It’s not hard and so worth it.
• Most of all, like many things, no one cares about your stuff more than you.  Take control of your pool and take care if it daily.  This really isn’t a problem with the pool store, but the understanding that it needs daily care from US as owners. Understanding how to care for it daily without trips to the pool care specialist is paramount.

I can’t tell you how happy I am to be spending less money and less time with more results and more appreciation for our pool.

You can get started at the forum or find them on their newly launched blog,  Facebook or Twitter accounts.  I’m not being compensated for this post, just want fellow pool owners to find the same success!