I’ve actually had this idea for a book for a while. And last year I finally figured out how to get it published! Today I realized it’s been up on Amazon for a whole year!
The title is called CREATE MY DAY: A Success Journal to Stay Organized and Motivated
Self care is something I never really thought about when raising my son and working full-time. It wasn’t until life got super hectic that I realized I was running myself ragged.
I made it through. But my health and happiness weren’t what they could have been. I was taking care of my son who had special needs, but we didn’t even have a diagnosis until he was in his teens.
Self care was for people who had endless time and money on their hands and could go take a yoga class, then go have lunch with friends followed by a massage.
Hmm… definitely not my life. LOL!
I was trying to stay organized. I made to-do lists, used post-its, and a calendar. But I never could keep up. There was no time for myself.
So now years later, I feel like I have finally stumbled on a secret.
I finally figured out that self-care did not have to cost money, it didn’t have to take up a lot of time, and heck! I deserved it!
I am now able to do bits of self-care in the corners of my life. It can be something as simple as turning on music in the shower and rocking out, or stretching in the kitchen while I have something on the stove. I can spend little bits of time communicating with friends by text on and off over a couple of days instead of trying to carve out a 30-minute phone call.
But just doing those things on autopilot didn’t just start all on it’s own. I have to have some intention and awareness of my needs. I had to do some research too.
Then I had to get it down on paper. Self care ideas, my goals, and keep everything positive. Once I started to write it all down, I saw patterns of what was working and what wasn’t.
My ideas were written all over the place. On pieces of paper, notes on my phone, texts or emails to myself. It was a mess! I needed a system.
So that’s what I made. A self care system.
And this system will work for anyone who wants to be more intentional about self-care and taking ownership of their own happiness and progress.
But really, who needs a success journal?
It’s for all those women out there who take care of others,
Who neglect themselves because there’s no time,
Who put off their own self-care,
Who have set aside their own goals and dreams,
Who want to feel more productive and accomplished,
Who want a road map each day,
Who have a desire to make themselves a priority but haven’t done it in so long, they don’t know how anymore!
Does this sound familiar?
I started this book for anyone who needs a gentle push, reminders, or to start a “Me First” routine. It doesn’t mean everyone else gets left out. It just means YOU are no longer willing to leave yourself behind!
I spent many years just playing “Whack-A-Mole” trying to get through the day, take care of my special needs son, and work full time. I can tell you that I never made myself a priority. But I am sure I’m not alone. I think that most moms and especially families with extra stressors of some type or another, rarely put their own needs in front.
My absolute target audience for this planner is moms of special needs families. But really it’s for anyone who has spent much of their life taking care of others, neglecting themselves, and is completely overwhelmed by the day-to-day attempts to get it all done.
It’s a road map to decrease that feeling of overwhelm that can drive anxiety.
It’s a simple page to plan one day at a time and includes goals, appointments, and a to-do list. But there is also a place for your wellness, including a menu planner and a place to track water, mood, and exercise. And then you can work on your attitude! Set the day with a positive word, then later jot down the best moments of the day, including a place for a daily gratitude entry.
So what made me get out of my wheelhouse and publish a book?
Well, I’m just feeling a bit older these days. I wanted a distraction, and I wanted to see what other skills I could muster up. I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to keep working in a hospital as I get into my 60s. It’s not an easy job on my body, but I still love what I do, and I think I’m pretty good at it too. But I think I can be good at other stuff too. I’m just dipping my toes in the water!
I was also super excited to get my first official review.
While it is against Amazon’s rules for me to actually post the review here, you can go right to Amazon and see it for yourself. And maybe there will be a few more ratings or reviews! Yep, and this one review had me tearing up, and I was super happy and proud that I could help someone out in this way.
So how did I start?
I got the idea from YouTube, of all places! You can pretty much learn anything you want in a five-minute video. I’ve used it for home and car maintenance, gift ideas, you name it!
What’s the easiest way to self-publish a book?
I used Kindle Direct Publishing – KDP through Amazon. But there are a lot of other things I had to do first.
One, I had to learn about the technical parts of making a book. About margins and bleed, types of paper, best size, number of pages (not too thick or you won’t be able to keep it open), keywords to optimize search so people can find your book, and all the other stuff in between.
Two, I knew what I wanted in the book, but I didn’t know how to get it all on a page. I had to learn how to use a graphic design program and found the easiest for me was using Canva. I used it to design the cover and the interior. I also published a bunch of basic lined notebooks just to make sure I figured out how to do it correctly. You can find my favorite one here.
There are probably over a million lined journals on Amazon by now. It was super easy to do, and the best part was designing the covers. You can get creative or just keep it simple. I designed a handful of them. At this point, I had all the design, formatting, and uploading figured out.
Three, I am still learning the best way to share this book so people know about it. Marketing, keywords, landing pages, yadda, yadda, yadda…
What’s the best way to use this book?
There’s no right way. Do what works best for you. Some will use one page for each day. But you could also do one page per week or only use it when things get crazy and you need a few days of focus.
Are you in???
If you are looking for a change in your life, then you need to have a plan. Don’t know where to start? Then start with just one day at a time. As you start filling out pages, your focus will become more clear. Your inner geek will start to analyze which habits are good and which are bad and take over!
There are a lot of great planners out there. Many are set up with so many sections that it takes half a day to fill it out. Others are too simple and are just to-do lists.
Create My Day: A Success Journal to Stay Organized and Motivated is somewhere in between. It’s designed for someone who is either very busy or not focused (or both!). It’s simple, yet it covers all the bases. You don’t have to spend a lot of time thinking about it. It doesn’t require that you be creative or clever.
It does help you understand your routines so that you can tweak them when necessary. It keeps you focused and organized and reminds you to also take care of yourself.
This book is for all women who need a little push to give themselves some TLC.
Thank you for checking it out! And if you decide to purchase any of my books, I would love to hear what you think about them! Just leave me a review on Amazon!
