With the new year upon us, wouldn’t it be great to start the new year with a clear conscious by having all those unfinished work tasks/projects completed?

I’m talking about those tasks/projects that play on our mind, weighing us down and preventing us from feeling like we are on top of things.   They are almost always thought of in a negative frame of mind and make us feel like we are failing.

Let’s get started and make it a reality!  

Think about (or actually stand in) the room that you do your most work in, whether it be at your office, in a home office or a space in the home where you spend the most time working.   Picture it in your mind or if you are there, look around and get a really good feel for exactly what your office contains.  Pay close attention to the following:

·    The ambience – is it too dark, musty, unventilated?
·    The layout of furniture
·    Miscellaneous items and their placement
·    The many piles of paper all over the desk
·    The contents of drawers and cupboards

Now ask yourself the following questions:

Paying your children pocket money is a topic that can initiate plenty of discussion between parents and kids: what is acceptable, what is fair, what is expected.  We must acknowledge every family's dynamics are different and we each have our own experiences that dictate what we believe our children should learn from their pocket money experience: whether it should be given at all, if it should be tied in with chores or not, and of course the big one - how much?

Where to start Firstly, I encourage you to write down your own ideal of what you want to teach your children through giving them pocket money; what you did and didn't learn through pocket money; how you felt about the tasks you had to do; and how tasks were divided between siblings. 

Whether your child is starting school or whether school is just 'old hat', being prepared and having an organized approach to it all gives your child the best chance of reaching their potential. A stable home routine is vital to your child's success at school, with organization being the 'key'.

Have you ever said to yourself, "I've been trying to get this done on and off all day, and still haven't finished it - this is ridiculous!!!" If you have, you know about the effect constant interruptions has on getting what you need to get done.  When I made an effort to improve the way I did basic day-day jobs a few years back, I realised I could finish jobs more easily, if I didn't double-handle so many things, and didn't only half-do so many jobs.  What I needed to do, was  focus on making sure I completed one job before going onto something else.

1. Firstly, I became more aware of how I let

In the current economic climate, it is more important than ever to watch your pennies. 

Prices for practically everything are going up exponentially - groceries, petrol, house prices etc. Getting back to basics and adjusting your expectations of what you think you need vs. what you actually need is a great place to start.

Create a Budget None of us realize just how much we spend until we do a budget. I know to most of us (including me) they are the last thing you want to spend time doing, but it's worth spending the time to see what is actually coming in and going out. You will be surprised at the results and it will give you a clear picture of where you can achieve ably cut down or out!

If there’s a wedding anniversary coming up and you’re having trouble with gift ideas for your partner, here are some ‘classic’ suggestions you might like to consider.

For years this has been the ‘traditional’ list of wedding anniversaries and while we’re all familiar with the significant ones like the 1st, 25th, and 50th, it’s the ones in between I find really interesting.

Search for something beautiful made from the material of your anniversary - be creative and do have a little fun with it.  When the gift has been given, don’t forget to let your partnerknow the significance of the item as it corresponds with the number of years you’ve been married.

Traditional List:

• 1 year is a paper anniversary
• 2 years is a cotton anniversary
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