A space for sharing, encouraging and growing
If you’ve discovered this blog or website by accident or are just curious what I’m up to, welcome! I hope you can find something helpful and inspirational while you’re here that can help you simplify your work — at the office or at home — so you can create time for what matters most.
I’m Brianna Wall, and I am a proud resident of Moore, Oklahoma, where I’ve lived since 2011 with my husband, Corey. We were small-town high school sweethearts and married in 2010. In 2015, we welcomed our son, Bryson! I’m a nationally-certified communicator and award-winning editor, designer and writer. I work with the best team in marketing and communications at an electric cooperative in Oklahoma and have spent the last seven years as editor of its publications, designer of its marketing materials, pursuer of digital engagement and more.
One of my passions is sharing what God has entrusted me with. In addition to my professional service on a variety of national task forces and councils, I’ve lived out my passion through volunteer work with my church and within my community. This blog serves as an extension of that passion. It provides me a space to help other busy professionals and family organizers find time in their day for the people and things they love.
Over the years of giving presentations and simply having conversations with friends and peers, I’ve discovered some of the habits and routines I’ve created for myself might benefit someone else. I don't know about you, but staying organized wasn't something that came naturally to me before I became a mom. Among the countless things I have learned since, it's that if I don't find a way to get myself, my work, my home and my family organized, nothing will work as it was intended to.
One thing I know is that organization doesn’t just happen spontaneously without any effort.
How it Began
I really started taking inventory of my time when Bryson was born in 2015. All we heard as new parents was how time would fly and we wouldn’t get it back. As a curator of memory-making moments, I have been super intentional about my time since 2015. One of my biggest fears became looking back in 30 years and realizing I worked Bryson’s childhood away with nothing to show for it, and not being able to get it back. So I decided right then that our family was my top priority, and everything else would have to revolve around it. I set boundaries and, to this day, I rarely let anything interfere with them. Those who try to schedule meetings and events on weeknights after 5 p.m. know what my response will likely be: Sorry, I can’t make it.
Now, I intentionally set aside time every week and every day to organize my time and energy. It doesn’t take a ton of effort, but if you have goals to meet, a family to love, a business to run, nonprofits to support and a home to tend to, it’s not all going to magically flourish without any strategic thought given to it. What I have found, however, is that a few minutes each week can make all the difference in feeling overwhelmed by your calendar or feeling ready to tackle all the things on it.
Managing multiple projects, a family, a community presence and a home can be exhausting if not done well. In reality, we need to be expert managers of our time. By creating habits that simplify some of our processes, we can better organize our commitments and have plenty of us to go around.
I don't know about you, but I want to spend less time worrying about projects and tasks during the time I should be present with those who matter.
Who is This Blog For?
This blog is for anyone wanting to make the most of the time they’ve been given, either personally or professionally, as well as those who are tasked with communications for their businesses. I am happy to share what I’ve learned in my 11+ years communicating with a diverse, evolving audience.
Are you looking to make better, more effective use of your time?
Do you work on an understaffed or one-person marketing or communications team?
Are you a new marketer or communicator?
Do you need inspiration to update your brand’s outdated look with a fresh, modern feel?
Are you a small business leader looking to grow your online audience?
Do you dread learning new software or just don’t have the time?
Do you wish you were better at setting and crushing your goals?
If you answered YES to any of these questions, I think you’ll find something useful on this blog as I add more content to it. I want to help increase your confidence in the incredible work you are doing and provide some inspiration to keep growing and learning.
I also offer creative services and, if it makes more sense to contract out these services so you can focus your time and resources on bigger-picture goals, just give me a shout.
Why a Blog?
The introvert in me loves writing my thoughts and ideas. If you've known me long, you might remember my first blog where I wrote about our DIY projects, our travels and early adventures with Bryson. Now, with over 11 years of communications experience and a growing portfolio under my belt, I feel ready to write again with the hope that I might be able to inspire someone to make a few changes so they can find time for things they love.
During conversations I’ve had and presentations I have given at the state and national levels, I have shared some of the same practices you'll see on this blog and have fielded questions from inquiring minds. What that tells me is people are constantly looking for ways to grow and adapt to their changing worlds. I am always looking for ways to be better, be more giving, more empathetic, and I've found that if my life is somewhat organized, I can more easily be the person I want to be.
While I’ve struggled in the past with staying organized and prioritizing projects as they are thrown at me, I believe a space where I can share what has worked for me will be best consumed on a blog. After all, I am certainly not afraid to try new things and assess whether or not they were worth my time and energy.
Oh, and a Podcast!
Do you love listening to and learning from podcasts? I do, and I feel like it’s a great outlet to share a variety of voices from the different worlds I’m part of. Search Creative Cues on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you stream your podcasts (or go here!), and you'll find a welcome episode, as well as Episode 2 with special guest and marketing guru Chris Fox with Fox Strategies!
The Creative Cues podcast is intended to share supplemental content for what you find here on the blog. I’ll feature guests who represent an assortment of communities — small businesses, nonprofits, communications, design, and personal and professional development — who will share their knowledge so we can all create time for what matters most!
How Will This Blog Benefit You?
As a publication editor for seven years, I have managed the implementation of digital communications into a predominantly print world and have tried a lot of things that have worked and failed. While I also love design and functionality, my true passion lies in helping those tasked with communications simplify their work so they can create time for what matters most to them.
While there are people depending on you to deliver a message or represent your community well, there are more important people who need the best of you, not the left-overs. So let’s start prioritizing the things that truly fill us, while also kicking butt at communications.
Whether you’re a small business leader looking to engage and grow your audience but are not experienced in this area, or a one-man shop at your organization tasked with doing all the things, I hope you find something here that not only helps you save time, but inspires you to plan and prioritize all areas of your life.
Be sure to subscribe to Creative Cues at the bottom of this page so you can get alerts when I add new content and follow it on social media (Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook) for new post alerts, time management hacks, software shortcuts, encouragement and inspiration. As this blog grows, I would love to feature work from those of you who are crushing it!
I also have a shop that features templates and free downloadable content as well as custom notepads and dashboards, packaged content and my Be Intentional card sets! I'll be adding more, so be sure to check back or subscribe below to see if there’s something that picks your interest!
Thanks again for stopping by — I truly hope something here inspires you to create time for what matters most.
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