One of the top questions I get (besides "How did you get your hair like that?" and "What hair products do you use?" ;-) ) is "How do you find the time to work on your dreams?"Two years ago, I used to ask the same question. As a new grad who was just getting into the rhythm of working a full-time job, I felt completely overwhelmed at the thought of making time for my goals. Then when I got engaged, finding the time to do anything for myself seemed even more impossible.Yet at the beginning of this year, I made a commitment.January 2014, even though I had just gotten married and now had to manage a relatively new job AND a new husband, I decided that enough was enough. If I didn't commit to going after my dreams then, when would I?Life was only going to get busier -- I would never "have the time." At the beginning of this year, I realized I would have to make the time instead.And that's what I've been doing! As 2014 winds to a close, I look back on everything I've been able to accomplish and I'm genuinely happy with my progress. I've grown this blog, met some amazing people, and in two weeks, I'm even hosting my first Think & Grow Chick event! Below is a summary of the top 9 ways I've been able to "do it all":1. Get up earlier. It stinks, but there is just no way around it. For the past 3 or 4 years I've been getting up at 5am, 6am at the absolute latest. The latest I let myself sleep in on Saturdays is 7:30am, but I still shoot for 6am. I've found that if I do the important stuff first in the morning, even if I don't finish it, I have a much better, less stressful day. How long is your commute and how long does it take you to get ready in the morning? Subtract that time, plus 30 minutes from the time you start work or school and start getting up at that time. As soon as you wake up, spend the first 30 minutes working on your goals, no excuses. Set a timer if you have to. Then get dress, and head off to the rest of your day!2. Plan for the week, on the weekend. I don't know about you, but if my household is crazy during the week then I almost never work on my goals because I'm so disorganized and distracted. To beat this, I get up early on Saturday, spend the first few hours working on my goals, then I clean up, do laundry/pick out clothes to wear to work next week, come up with a meal plan, go grocery shopping, and try to cook as much as I can ahead of time. By Sunday, my goal is to have the house clean, dinners prepped, work lunches packed, clothes washed and ironed, and work outfits chosen. This allows me to hit the ground running come Monday and work on my personal goals without worrying about basic stuff (what am I eating tonight? What should I wear tomorrow? etc.). This also helps with getting up earlier.3. Schedule "goal" time. If there is something you really need to work on, put it on your calendar. It seems silly but if you treat it like any other appointment it will get done. During the weekend when you are planning for the upcoming week (see above), look at all the things you have to do and take note of the windows of free time you have. Do you have an hour on Thursdays between classes? Or how about those two hours you usually spend vegging out when you first get home from work? Identify those times and schedule "goal time" in your calendar.4. Don't watch TV. I got into this habit because I couldn't afford cable in college but now it helps me with my productivity. Even thought I have cable now, I literally watch no TV -- not Scandal, not Real Housewives/Basketball Wives, not Love & Hip-Hop, nothing. I just don't have the time! I'd rather be working on my goals. I don't know how much TV you watch, but you want to limit it, if not cut it out completely. If you can't give up a particular show (pretty much everyone I know is addicted to Scandal), try to watch only that one show, on that one day, for that one hour during the week and ignore everything else.5. Use your lunch break & commute time. What's your lunch break like at work or at school? Work on your personal goals during your lunch break. Bring your lunch everyday (see #2) and use that time to work on your goals. Or workout if that's a personal goal and you have a gym at or near your job (that's what I do).6. Use the "cracks" of time. If you do nothing else, do this one. When I'm on the train or waiting in line somewhere...all those little "in between" times when I'm usually tempted to hop on Instagram or check my email, I try to remind myself to do something towards my goal. So for me, that might mean reading a book or writing a blog post, even if I have to do it from my phone. All those 10, 5, and even 2 minute "snatches" of time really add up!7. Use the "2 minute rule." You can do anything for 2 minutes. When I am seriously procrastinating, I'm tired and I want to go to bed, I tell myself "just work on a goal for 2 minutes." TWO MINUTES! That's all it takes! The hardest part is getting started so more often than not, once I've been working for 2 minutes, I feel okay to keep working for 5, 10, 30 minutes, maybe even an hour. I just use the 2 minute rule to get myself started when I really don't feel like doing anything. 2 minutes spent working on a goal is better than zero, ya know?8. Break tasks down. Speaking of the two minute rule, another mistake I used to make was believing I needed this huge stretch of time to finish whatever I needed to do. If I had a goal of, say, creating a worksheet to offer on my blog, I wouldn't even start on it unless I had 2-3 hours to complete it, start to finish. Since I pretty much NEVER have long stretches of time, I got smart and started breaking my goals and projects down. Instead of thinking "Oh man, I have to come up with and design this WHOLE worksheet," I would break the process down into: (1) roughly sketch the worksheet on scrap paper, (2) create a bare bones version in my design software (3) add pretty designs and quotes to bare bones worksheet, (4) make edits and tweaks, (5) show it to a friend for feedback, (6) make final changes and publish. Then I would focus on one and ONLY one portion of the process until I was finished. Once I started working on small, broken down tasks I was able to get things done in smaller amounts of time (see #7).9. Remember there is never a "right" time. Seriously, there is never a right time. You probably never will have a day where you are perfectly rested, your house is perfectly clean, your other responsibilities are perfectly taken care of, your friends, family, and coworkers are perfectly leaving you alone, and you have this perfect, 12 hour stretch to work on your goals, all during a perfect-weather day. It just ain't gonna happen, girl. Make do with what you have during the time you have RIGHT NOW, even if it's imperfect. Because it will always be imperfect. But imperfect progress is better than no progress. (P.S. -- I finished this post on my iPad at a coffee shop before getting in the road and traveling out of town for work. You have the time!!!)If the above wasn't enough and you want some more timeless advice, read this book, "How to Live on 24 Hours a Day":Online versionKindle versionIt's a free book that was written back in 1910 by a British man. The language is definitely from that time period, meaning its not a modern book at all, but the book is humorous and it offers excellent advice on getting more out of your day. You can read it in about an hour.So that's it my love! I hope this has helped you! And let me know -- what's the biggest thing YOU struggle with when it comes to finding the time for your dreams?