Samantha's Secret to Getting Her Chicken Checklist Done for 2026!

It is literally that time of year again! January. I know for me, time flies so fast. I always feel like I am a step behind. It is SOOOOO easy for me to get sidetracked or STUCK on one thing. As my friend Kayla says "Attention Deficit OOOOooo SPARKELY!"

But it is so true and when you have this list of things to accomplish or even the HONEY Do List that you want to get accomplished, it can seem so discouraging when it doesn't happen, so then we THROW OUT THE LIST!!! Am I right?

Well, for January I didn't plan the goals this year with out a gameplan and a new outlook. That gameplan is pretty simple and I could fail at a task or the whole thing, but I want to share with you some Quick Golden Nuggets, that have changed my life!

1. Mindset is Everything: Start with just listening to a Mindset Podcast/ Coach. It is amazing what one has done for me by just listening. A quick google search will bring up 100s but don't get overwhelmed. Just pick one that connects with you, The Mindset Mentor is the top rated and a good choice.

   
   

2. Failure is Learning: When you fail, it is a learning oportuinity. I know its Chiche.... but its really true. I stopped looking at failures as a draining point in my life. The faster I fail, the faster I can succeed! Now I take that failure and evaluate it. Was I not being Realistic? Was it something out of my personal Control? Or did I not have enough resources like time, money, or ability? And then I decide on how to adjust my issue and go again.

   
   

3. Have Your Own Back: This year I grabbed a planner. A hardcopy one. It is so easy for me to AVOID the calendar on my phone.... Anyone else? I have decided in order in my busy, hectic, and full of interuptions life, I need to truly have a schedule. I know I just said FULL of Interuptions and having a schedule in the same sentance. But there are a few KEY neccesities needed in my schedule, to simply make life work for my family and me. When I am scheduling my week, in one setting when I'm fresh and focused.

   
   

   1. Personal Time: I scheudle my time first! For me, its one hour after dinner where I take time to do whatever I want to do. Sometimes, its indulging in a much longer and hot shower. Reading a book. Taking a stroll in the farm and looking up at the beautiful sky and just Thanking God for his simple gifts. But it could also look like, family time or having a relaxing massage scheduled. By scheudling this first, I have something to look forward to all week or all day!

      
      

   2. Appointments & Non Negotiable: This is so I am being realistic with myself. It is scheduling times for meals, to my cattle feed rounds, Tractor Supply job, to collecting eggs and any appointments. By putting all these down even if they are an everyday thing, and I highlight them accordingly, I show how much time I have left in a day. Sometimes its none! But when I am being honest and have my own back, its usally a couple hours for activites, projects, or furtherment of my career/dream goals.

      
      

   3. Time to Shine: I then take some of that free time and scheudle my time to shine. This is when my brain is the most ready for action and mind laboring tasks, that are going to further my goals in life. For me its the early morning hours, when the house is asleep still. I look forward to it! And I have noticed it is easy to go ahead to get out of bed, without an alarm!!! Wow big change for me! Grab my coffee, with my natural creamer and go to work for me! (Maybe I have two personal times hmmm) For me this looks like learning, writing this blog post, updating the website etc. I try to take enough time that I can focus and get some quality work in about 3 to 5 times per week.

      
      

   4. Margin Time: I then scheudle time each day or on a specific day for margin time. What is that? Well, it is that time for those interuptions in life, that happened and messed up my whole day! I try to leave an hour for this a day currently, but I know this WILL have to be re-evaluated when we get into our busiest Summer scheudule. My hour is in the afternoon inbetween Late Afternoon Chores and Dinner. Sometimes it isn't enough and other times I am looking for things to do.

      
      

   5. Brain Dump: I then take a Brain dump list, that may of been accumulating all week... guys my first list was 4 pages long!!! and I'm sure I still left off many things. But instead of trying to remember every single thing. I simply write it down. On my phone notes or on a physical paper I clipped to my planner. Getting it out on paper is a RELIEF. Then I look at my time available and decide what I want to accomplish this week. Being realistic about the time needed to really do a task. I schedule this weeks and some of next weeks. Any big tasks or projects that seem overwhelming I break down into smaller, easy tasks.

      >>(One example this week is I want to do a tote wall build. While I have it scheudled for a couple weeks from now, this week I need to write down the supplies I need from Lowes and schedule to go pick them up. Thats easy I can do that! )

      Any Tasks that are Further Out like a vacation thats planned in August (it is January now I put in a FREE project manager app like ASANA or put in my calendar with notifications when I need to start getting ready for it. Then it will send me reminders on when I need to do something to be ready for it.

      
      

   6. LASTLY I Keep My Planner with Me: It is that simple, I keep it with me and refer to it. When I am wondering why I got to the chicken pen and see all the things that need done.... I look at my planner and say O ya, I need to do this because that is what I planned when I was thinking straight. This other thing is on my list or scheduled next week. And for those emergency situations I have my back there as well, because I have margin time to help.

By Doing these above things I am able to have my own back! I don't have to remember about the possibility of forgetting a situation, task, appointment, or dinner date! When I have more things come up, I either put it in margin time or back my extra scheduled tasks up to margin time, or I put it on the Brain Dump for next week's schedule planning. For me, the planner is Critical! I am notorious for getting lost in a task and giving it all the time in the day which then takes all the time in my day! So now I am realistic, if it takes an hour to feed all my birds feeders up for the week, then I schedule it for one hour on a specific day each week and I even set a timer! I can usually have it done in 40-45 mins! 15 - 20 Mins early! I have been finding time in so many places doing it this way!!

Here is a sneak peek at my planner...

Next week I'll share what I LOVE about this planner!

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