Do you know who this is? It is the most fabulous Anna Wintour. Longtime editor of American Vogue, now artistic director for Conde Nast. She's fierce and flawless and she KNOWS it. 

Last year, Anna gave advice to a room full of fashion-industry hopefuls. It was excellent advice. It was advice you imagine receiving from someone who has walked the walk for 20+ years. It was also suspiciously like the advice I received from many successful women over the course of my life. 

1. Learn from the pros first. This was presented to me as: Don't Reinvent the Wheel. Which is really great advice--why would you pour your precious time into creating something that's already been done?
2. Think about your long term goals. Let's take this one step further--don't just think about them, WRITE THEM DOWN. Know what you want, so you can go out there and get t!
3. Your personality and presentation matter. Yes, we'd love to live in a magical world where you can look at someone and know how fantastically awesome they are. However, we live in THIS world where failing to shower and wearing clothes that are mostly holes don't fall into the "professional attire" category. When you are off the clock, wear what makes you happy. When you are on the clock, dress for the job on your goals list.
4. Get employed, even if it's not your dream job. Oh gods, yes. It's easier to get a job when you have a job. Additionally, use your current job to meet people and learn things--even if what you are learning is how not to do things. 
5. Make sure you have a mentor. I would like to say one thing about having a mentor: IT'S THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR LIFE. I have multiple mentors: for work, for Scouts, for art, for parenting. Everyone who is ahead of you in this game called life has a story that they can share with you. They can tell you when you are headed towards a cliff or when you are getting close to reaching those goals you set. 

What's the best advice you've ever received? 

Way back in August, I started keeping a Bullet Journal. I liked the flexibility of the system & how easy it is to keep all of your various notes in one place. I started with a notebook that I bought on clearance at the Walgreen's but in March I upgraded to the recommended notebook.

In addition to the weekly task tracker pages, you can customize pages for notes or phases of the moon or menus. The front of the journal has a place to record page numbers and titles of pages so that you can easily find what you are looking for.

I am a dyed-in-the-wool note taker, so the ability to have my notes for work, Girl Scouts, and everything else in one book was awesome. Then I started looking around at how others were customizing their journals and I got even more excited about the possibilities. I have yet to take up a page for an entire day, but knowing that I can feels pretty liberating. I also find that having a bullet journal ties in nicely with the other new routine I have adopted: The Miracle Morning. 

I first heard about the Miracle Morning from BohoBerry, and I thought back to last year when I was daily practicing Early Wake, Daily Write. I was much more productive when I started my day before everyone else. The difference between Early Wake, Daily Write and the Miracle Morning is that there are more components to the Miracle Morning. In addition to writing, there's meditation and exercise and reading. There's a cute little acronym to help you remember the order of events--which is great at 5:30 am, when I'm not fully functional. 
SAVERS
S- Silence
A- Affirmations
V-Visualization
E-Exercise
R-Reading
S-Scribe (because SAVERW isn't a word)

I LOVE starting my day with the Miracle Morning method. It's great to be able to head off to work knowing that I have already gotten in my exercise. I use the affirmation/visualization portion to set my intent for the day so that I have a clear picture of what I will accomplish. 

Now, you can go out and buy this book, or you can see if your library has it. As I am a note-taker, I didn't feel the need to own my copy. I wrote down what I needed to and then returned the book so that others could have their turn. 

And guess what! Just like the Bullet Journal, the Miracle Morning is something you can customize to your own needs. There are mornings when I use the writing time to paint. And it feels SO GOOD in my soul. 

Maybe being productive isn't your thing. That's okay too! But if you are feeling stuck or like you don't have enough hours in the day, I highly recommend adopting some new practices.