How to Get Inspired For a Productive Month

How to Get Inspired For a Productive Month - Kayla Blogs

If you’re signed up for my newsletter (or like my Facebook page!) you might already know that there’s some exciting stuff happening on the blog for the month of October! I’m joining Sara of Sara Laughed and Dani of Dani Dearest to co-host a productivity and time management workshop. Monday was the first day of the (totally FREE) online workshop and we kicked it off with a post from Sara about taking stock of where you are and preparing for improvement. Today I’m going to be talking all about inspo to help you get ready to kick some butt this month.

The best thing about this workshop is that Sara, Dani and I are also looking to improve ourselves throughout this experience. We’re all hoping to grow along with the other workshop participants so our posts will definitely be relatable. We’re not claiming to know everything about time management and productivity, but we are hoping that by collaborating and bouncing ideas off of each other in the Facebook group that we’ll each gain something truly special from the experience.

For me, the best way to get inspired and prepared for a productive month is to make an inspiration board/wall or write my thoughts down in a journal. I have a lot of bare walls in my bedroom (I moved in a month ago and still haven’t hung anything up yet… go ahead and shame me), so an inspiration wall is something that I’d love to do! In addition, I’ve been wanting to start journaling again because it’s something that I used to do everyday that I really enjoyed. Blogging is sort of like my journal (some days) but I think I could really benefit from writing things down more and having a journal to look back on at the end of the month!

Here’s my game plan for the inspiration wall:

Quotes, quotes, and more quotes.

There are an abundance of inspirational quotes on places like Tumblr and Pinterest. I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to quotes and typography.

Find literally anything that is inspiring to you.

A photo of someone you admire or someone you want to make proud. A lot of my goals revolve around my future career so I’m sure I could find some quotes or pictures related to speech-language pathology as well. Think about your goals for the month (we’ll be talking more specifically about goals on Friday!) and center your inspiration wall around that.

Make it “you”!

I’m all about bright colors and prints and making things look as girly as possible. If you’re into that, go ahead and join me! But if you’re not that’s okay too. The most important thing about the inspo wall is that it works for YOU. It doesn’t matter if it looks pretty as long as it inspires you!

And here’s what ideas I have for the inspiration journal:

Find yourself some prompts.

I’m terrible at just writing things down aimlessly. I think that writing down the details of your day could be helpful in a way, but finding journal prompts that allow you to really do some self reflection are even more important. I searched the Google and came up with these sources for self reflecting prompts:

30 Journaling Prompts for Self Reflection and Discovery

Reflective Journal Writing Prompts

15 Journal Prompts to Increase Self Reflection

Get a new journal just for the occasion.

This one is definitely not necessary but I find that when I have a brand new journal that I’m using JUST for the sole purpose of self reflection or journaling, I get much more excited about it!

Start off with a goal in mind.

On Friday, Dani is going to be talking about goal setting but I think it’s definitely good to start thinking about what your goals are for this month. What do you hope to gain from this workshop? What are your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to productivity? Use those types of questions to help guide your first journaling session.

I hope y’all have found this post helpful and, if you haven’t already decided to join us, you’re feeling inspired and ready to be a part of our workshop! [Join the Facebook group and read Sara’s first post to catch up!]

Homework: Create your inspiration source! Whether it’s a wall, a poster, or a journal… you decide!

Next up: On Friday, Dani will be talking all about goal setting! Check out her post here.

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26 Comments

  1. Kelly
    September 30, 2015 / 9:18 am

    These are great tips love! I love putting quotes that inspire me on my phone so if I”m feeling bogged down or unmotivated I can just look at them and I’m ready to go again!

  2. Sheryl
    September 30, 2015 / 1:11 pm

    Thanks for the tips!

  3. September 30, 2015 / 1:12 pm

    Sounds like a fun challenge and I love an excuse to get a new cute journal! Marissa

  4. Sara Holt
    September 30, 2015 / 1:39 pm

    I love quotes. I live through them!

  5. September 30, 2015 / 5:30 pm

    I have a journal, but an inspiration wall is probably what I need.

  6. Marissa Leese
    September 30, 2015 / 6:03 pm

    My computer monitors at work are covered with post it notes of my favorite quotes. One of my absolute favorites is “do the best you can, with what you have, where you are.” 🙂

    XO
    The Post Grad Gal
    http://thepostgradgal.wordpress.com

  7. Ruya Kirac
    September 30, 2015 / 10:04 pm

    I defiantly needed this post and I agree that having tons of quotes all around you can keep you motivated constantly.

    -Ruya
    sweetshortandstylish.com

  8. October 1, 2015 / 12:04 am

    What a great post!
    I have a Pinterest board with Inspirational quotes as well and am going to try to make a little mood board with all of my favorite quotes for my office at work to get me even more inspired.

    xoxo, Jenny || Breakfast at Lillys

  9. Ashley
    October 1, 2015 / 12:33 am

    Love this challenge! I really want to start journaling more and pinning more quotes for inspo!

    xo Ashley

  10. Courtney Dunsmore
    October 1, 2015 / 1:47 am

    What I need! I seriously need an inspiration board, it would do me good!

    Courtney//As We Stumble Along

  11. Ally
    October 1, 2015 / 10:13 am

    This will be so useful for me – my creativity has been running so low. Writing prompts are a great suggestion!

    Alessandra | The PumpUp Blog

  12. October 1, 2015 / 11:42 am

    Wonderful tips Kayla! I think it is so important to have inspiration when you’re trying to be inspired. I love making a colorful goal wall/bulletin board I can see every day. Seeing my goals always inspires me a little bit.

  13. Allison Ellzey
    October 1, 2015 / 1:02 pm

    Quotes inspire me so much! I love it! And I really need to start getting into journaling.

  14. October 1, 2015 / 4:43 pm

    I am a sucker for a good journal! Good starting point to get blog ideas flowing 🙂

  15. October 2, 2015 / 6:37 am

    Oh geez, I needed this post today! I have shameless motivational posters ALL over my house and office. I’m also a compulsive list maker. I learned from book called “Tested in the Trenches” that prioritizing 6 activities daily that MUST get done boosts productivity exponentially. Some seriously great tips!

    xo,
    Stephanie
    Diary of a Debutante
    http://www.thediaryofadebutante.com

  16. October 2, 2015 / 3:49 pm

    I totally need this in my life! Is it too late to sign up?

    • Kayla
      Author
      October 2, 2015 / 3:55 pm

      Definitely not! Go for it!

  17. October 3, 2015 / 2:10 am

    Oooh I might just have to get in on this productivity workshop. Great post!

  18. Lauren Scorzafava
    October 6, 2015 / 12:50 pm

    These are really great tips!

    xx
    Lauren Elizabeth
    Petite in Pearls

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