1. Vitamin D

aka…. vitamin sunshine!! This is a given.  The sun makes everyone happy! As we near summer, I’ve been making time for more lunches outside. And after a long stretch of work i’ll take a book out, sit in the sun and all sudden I feel calm again.

Oh man — this alone is making every day a little sweeter.  I feel happier and notice the difference in the overall quality of my day.

All you need is 10 minutes! Take a break! Go find the sun. Vitamin D is good for your immune system, your nervous system, your brain, your lungs…! You need it! And coming out of winter, we are all probably a little deficient in vitamin d.

2. Cooking Dinner Daily

(I live in the bay area… I live a fast-paced lifestyle…)  I recently believed that cooking was not a good use of my time. I couldn’t justify being in the kitchen over working, studying, or creating something.  While I do enjoy cooking, I thought of it as a weekend thing.  Doesn’t it take forever to cook a meal? Not really…. actually…

What I’ve been doing lately: I buy 6 different cuts of protein: chicken breasts, ground beef, tilapia, salmon, a cut of beef, and the 6th is whatever else I’m feeling that week (shrimp, bacon, more chicken..).  Then I buy 6-7 different veggies: green beans, asparagus, zucchini, mushrooms, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower….

Then I pair a protein with a veggie — I’m not picky about it either — and boom! There it is.  It’s pretty simple – sometimes, I’ll add rice, potato or salad to a plate.

To my surprise, cooking a simple meal every day has NOT overwhelmed me or stolen my time.  I actually feel like I have a better grasp on life now that I’ve incorporated cooking a meal. lol. Takes 20 minutes + 2 pans + olive oil + my flavor creativity (garlic, onions, seasonings…) It has also forced me and my husband to sit and eat a fresh meal together – There is something special about that.

What about meal prep? Yes! we are major fans of meal prepping! That’s what we were doing before. While it’s great for fitness goals, I was using meal prepping as a way out of cooking daily.

Perks of cooking dinner daily: 

• A fresh meal
• Eat together
• Turns my day into night – I’m an entrepreneur and many days I work till late hours in the night with no pause.
• Leftovers turn into tomorrow’s lunch meal prep.
• I feel like I’m winning at life and being a wife (except jimmy likes to take over in the kitchen – He loves to cook – I don’t mind that at all)

3. Sticky Notes

2018 might have been one of the weirdest starts to a year. Sometimes it would seem like I couldn’t get my head on straight… and I’m pretty sharp… my head’s always on straight.  But THIS YEAR, I experienced my first anxiety attack. I was having trouble handling external pressures and I could not figure out how to organize my brain.

I tried all sorts of planners, journals, online todo lists… Nothing was really working or making me feel grounded.

THAT’S when I thought to simplify.  STICKY NOTES!!!

Every idea, to-do, campaign, strategy, goal, affirmation, —- I wrote on a sticky note and stuck it on my wall. 

It was so gratifying to see everything that goes through my mind on my wall.

Here’s are some of the things I put on my wall.

• Things to remember for taking care of my home
• Health goals and strategy
• Singing lesson plans
• People to get back to
• Finances to manage
• Morning routine habits
• Night routine habits
• Business blogs to read
• Courses to finish
• All the parts to building funnels
• All the parts of a marketing campaign
• All the parts to integrating marketing platforms
• Headline, Copy, Sales ideas
• Videos to record and edit
• Pictures to take and edit
• Affirmations

Somehow, this gave me so much peace. To top it off, when I would complete a task, I’d remove that sticky note —- Not gonna lie, I think that feels even better than checking off a to do list.

And you know what else, seeing everything that I do made me proud of myself. It allowed me to validate my own feelings and overwhelm. I do a lot. I wear many hats. I love what I do. But girl…. better restrategize.

I’ve been doing the most self reflection I ever have in my entire life. I’ve analyzed every hour of my day, every emotion that comes with it, ever role I have, and job I have to do.

 

4.  A Blanket on the floor

This new habit happened at random. I couldn’t find my yoga mat so I grabbed a soft blanket instead.

A couple things happened:  1) Yoga, of course 2) Diaphragmatic breathing 3) Foam rolling 4) Mediation 5) Read more books 6) Napped with my dog

This blanket on the floor made room for things that helped me be more mindful and thoughtful of my body and breath.  I found that everything I did on this blanket made me grateful. Yoga centered me. Diaphragmatic breathing and foam rolling made me aware of my good health. Meditation took my mind to a place that made me ask questions like “how can serve more?” “What’s my purpose?”, “How can I love more?”. Books = knowledge…and who doesn’t get grateful for knowledge? And then there’s my dog, Moomoo… He made a dog lover out of me and I am so grateful for his love every day.

This blanket has become a special place for me.

5. Burning Candles

Why did I not do this more before?  I have been burning candles the whole month of April.  Day and night.  It just makes me feel good. I like to see it, smell it.

The main thing:  Having a candle lit seems to help remove any anxious feelings that I may have.

6. No Phones At Night

My husband Jimmy and I decided to take on the habit of not being on our phones an hour before bed. We do slip every here and there… however, the intention to remove our phones from the last hour of our evening together has been so rewarding. Doing this made room for great conversation but most of all …laughs!  Jimmy wakes up super early for work, so by 7-8pm he’s pretty delirious. This makes for some of the strangest times I’ve ever experienced. So many nights in this past month have ended with us laughing our faces off!

It’s easy to just spend the last part of your day scrolling… but I wonder what would happen if we ditched the scroll?  Would you read a delicious book, write a poem, play your guitar, draw, journal, have juicy conversation…  Try it. See what happens. Then tellllllmeeeeeee.

7. Affirmations

This goes back to the sticky notes and getting my brain together.  I have affirmation sticky notes all over the place now.

I’m all about the power of words, your voice, your mindset and the message you tell yourself.

The world is pretty loud and in your face – and most of the time the messages we hear are not so good. If you aren’t interrupting it with something you know is good, what do you think you are going to be focussing on?

Affirmations I’ve been telling myself:

I’m full of new ideas

I can solve any problem

I am here to serve

My body is strong and good to me

I will find the good in every moment

I am surrounded by good people

*I’m not making weak promises here – I’m feeding my mind good fuel. I am helping shift my worldview. 

Here’s the opposite of all my affirmations (Which phrase do you tell yourself more?…subconsciously)

I’m full of new ideas  –  I don’t know what to do. 

I can solve any problem – I can’t figure this out

I am here to serve – I’m here to make something of myself

My body is strong and good to me – I’m so tired, my body isn’t being kind to me

I will find the good in every moment  – I wonder what sh*! will happen next? 

I am surrounded by good people – Good people are hard to find these days. 

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