Category Archives: finance

author, blogger, Family, finance, Flexibility, home learning, Parenting, Wordsmith

Be Compartmentalizing your Life

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When I was a ten years old, I remember lining up at the Scotia bank in Spruceland strip mall with my dad on Friday afternoons so that he could get cash for the weekend before the bank closed. This is such a vivid memory that I can even remember some of the clothes I was wearing when I went and some of conversations we had with people as we lined up (weekend fishing trips, accidents that happened in the bush, local hockey scores…).

When was the last time you lined up or were at the bank in person?

This week?

Last week?

A month ago?

A year ago?

I am genuinely curious. Would you let me know?

My bet is that you are like me and you are checking your banking online at home, scanning in any cheques you receive and receiving and sending e-transfers rather than going to the physical bank building. And this story about banking is exactly why I want to talk about “compartmentalizing your life”.

(Sidenote: I am actually speaking to myself about this topic, but I thought you would all like to be a part of my musings and unconnected thoughts and personal stories as I connect them.)

August 1st, 2023, I am starting on a new teaching/work adventure and right now I am dialing in my schedule and thinking about what I do during each day that I really need to account for and compartmentalized. I am not only thinking of every single thing that I do throughout my day in person, but also what I am doing online. My brain hurts a bit. Have you ever tried to account for everything you do within a week?

My first stop on this brain train has started with banking. I do banking throughout my days as bills arrive, as e-transfer requests come through and check our banking regularly as money moves in and out of our account monthly. Banking is now moving over to Sexy Neck. Boom shakalaka. He now has a handy-dandy chart with everything that regularly moves in and out of our account plus a lovely storage system for the boys and I to use to place the bills. Viola, first stop done.

My second stop has been around regular house cleaning. What currently happens around our house, well until yesterday, is that I do cleaning during the weekdays so that we don’t spend the evenings and weekends doing this chore. What did I do with this gargantuan list? I hired a cleaner. Yup, I did. This goes back to my first year of teaching when we had our beautiful friend Faye clean for us. It was such a gift. I decided to take on a few extra students and give myself the gift of a clean home every two weeks. Write a Student Learning Plan and report cards or clean? I am choosing SLP’s and report cards any day of the week!

My last stop as I have gone down this list making exercise to compartmentalize what I do in my day-to-day life involves redefining the blue (Sexy Neck) and pink (mine) jobs in our lives as parents as we raise three amazing young men into adulthood. (It makes me incredibly happy-sad that our oldest is graduating in two years!!) At one of our weekly chats, Sexy Neck and I sat down and redid this list from over five years ago. The blue/pink job list now sits proudly on the fridge. I know what things I am taking care of and he knows what he’s doing. We always try to help each other out, which is a beautiful thing, but when we are in the busy seasons that happen in the magnificent world of education, we can always fall back on this list to keep things running smoothly.

Banking.

Cleaning.

Parenting jobs.

Compartmentalizing these three things so that I can find space to add a 28 hour work-week into our home learning, dog walking, movement loving family!

Have a fabulous Friday folks and love what you do.

xoxo Joanna

author, Book, Business, Family, finance, philosophy, positivity, Self-help

Be Creating a Full Time Family 

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A family where we can choose to spend most of our time together. 

A family where the children have equal time with both parents. 

A family that can be full time living life together and part time at work. 

My personal definition of a full time family. 

  
A place where we choose our schedule and money is of no consequence.  (What is money anyways, but a concept of trading money for time.) We are working very hard, every day to create residual, freedom income.  Sexy Neck is working with a contractor to create a rental home on our property. I have launched a book into the world and I love coaching people using nutritional systems I love.  The company gives me rebates for supporting and loving people to reach their individual energy, performance, weight loss, healthy aging or even financial goals. 

My dreams continue to become reality as Sexy Neck and I walked our boys to school together today.  As he is an educator with similar hours, I can count on two hands how many times he has been able to walk with us to school in the last four years. 

I will hold to my full time family vision, not knowing ‘how’ it is going to unfold.   My mom’s death taught me that sometimes we can’t just figure things out, we must walk them out. 

With excitement.  

With gratitude for each day. 

With moments like this. 

As a full time family. 

  

author, blogger, Business, Communication, dreams, finance

Be in Massive ‘Inaction’! 

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I had a breakthrough weekend at a business conference last Saturday.  It was truly incredible for the inspiration for action that it provided.  I realized that when you go to conferences, you need to create an action plan to help follow through and to stop from becoming adrenal junkie conference hoppers. Just hopping from conference to conference looking for that next ‘high’ or breakthrough.  

Conferences in Las Vegas.  

90 Day Game Plans. 

Massive Action.  

Goal setting and vision creating.  

I was so inspired that I decided to create a plan of ‘Inaction’! 

Less action.  

More Focus. 

Less doing.  

More being.  

My phone now sits on the fridge between 2:30pm and 7:00pm EVERY day.  

My computer is off unless I decide to sit down for 15 minutes and give ‘er with focused, concrete goals to be achieved.  

My ‘work’ is done in chunks of time lumped  together and spread throughout  the day when it works for me.  

My life is back in balance and MASSIVE action is coming from my ‘Inaction’. 

I am connecting with people on a deeper, less interrupted level. 

My boys and I are reading more, hanging out more and I am more present.  

I own my own schedule again. 

My calendar doesn’t run me and my technology doesn’t suck my time away into a vortex of nothingness. 

And the most ironic thing, my business is flourishing! 

Stop.  

Look at your time.  

Do you need to create some space for some massive ‘inaction’? 

Stop doing.  

Just be.  

You. 

finance, fun, health & fitness

Be Waiting not ONE single moment more…

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16 weeks ago I begin a challenge.

The basics were take “before” photos, “after” photos, write an essay when you are done and put some products of your choice into your body using the business that I partner with.

My choice.

No other rules.

No checklists.

No counting.

Just me, my dreams, my goals and making daily choices.

I uploaded a quote from Ann Voskamp onto my phone:  

 I made a decision to move my body every day, except on rest days.  I ate in moderation and I used the scale and measurements to monitor my process.

Thank you to everyone who supported me, accepted my new “routines”, joined me on the journey and coached me along the way.  This is life changing stuff…

Pour into myself.

Pour out to others.

One relationship.

One day.

One beautiful imperfect life.

Me!

  How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. —Anne Frank

finance, Goals

Be a River, Not a Reservoir

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As our household moves from one income for almost SIX years, to FIVE streams of income in the next year, we are talking about what to “do” with this ‘extra’ income.

We have been intentional and made it work so that I could stay at home raising our world’s greatest resource, our children.

We are very fortunate, that we have lived without televisions, cell phones, movies, extra cars, boats and recreational toys for the last six years.

We haven’t been trying to keep up with the Joneses.

We are the Cann’s.

And….

We “Cann” do it. (You had to know I was going to say that!)

As we move into these five different possibilities of income, we are open to how to continue to be a river with our money and not a reservoir.

Which small businesses can we support?

Who can we donate to and bless?

What activities could our boys try that we couldn’t even consider before?

It is a true blessing to not cringe anymore when the boys have a hole in one of their running shoes. (And we got ourselves five people with shoe “wants”! Here is our front closet of summer flipflops, soccer cleats, running shoes and sandals.)

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It is a great gift to be able to donate to anyone that may ask.

It is humbling to have more than we need to run our household.

May we continue to pass on these great gifts to the river that surrounds us.

The river of beautiful people in our city and around the world.

May God multiply all that we do.

With gratitude for all that we have.

With thanks for all that we can do.

With humble hearts for all the opportunities we have to share life with people.

Thanks be to God.