Loving the TikTok trends of monthly mini goals and Taylor’s Swifts new $hit. Had to make my own!
Have you tried this trend?
Feb Mini Goals
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Category Archives: Lifestyle
January Reads
I’ve been trying to read 20+ pages a day which has really helped me to read more efficiently. And because of that I managed to finish 2 books in a little over a month! I’m trying to diversify what I read because I’ll normally read business/strategy/career books and get bored and not want to read for a while. Or read thriller/suspense/fiction one after another and then I feel like I’m consuming without learning anything. So to prevent that – I switch it up (ie: thriller, followed by business, followed by fiction, followed by self growth, followed by thriller etc). It’s a good way to stay motivated and the habit of reading a certain number of pages of day helps too! Read on to see my reviews :)
How Women Rise by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith
This book had me nodding in agreement throughout! The authors present 12 habits that women specifically do to serve them well earlier in their career – actually end up holding them back when they further their career. What I really like about this book is that they talk about women-specific behaviours that I’ve learned also learned from other sources (like women not speaking up for their accomplishments). The peer reviewed sense of it really made me feel like these things I do are common to all women and I shouldn’t feel bad. More specifically, the habits of building relationships and never leveraging them or try to be perfectionists – I was immediately able to see the habit in me and other women I knew. With each habit, the book provided an example and actions to overcome it. A great book and something I will reference and read again.
Find How Women Rise at Chapters Indigo (Canada)
Such a quiet place by Megan Miranda
This book is about a close knit community and the strange things they know about one another and the efforts they go to preserve what they believe to be the truth about their neighbours. The story reads well and although I wouldn’t say it’s a page-turner, it was definitely something that kept me engrossed. Harper’s roommate is sentenced to 20 years in prison for a crime. But her conviction is overturned which sends all of her accusing neighbours into a frenzy (and against Ruby). Including Harper, who although believed Ruby to be innocent, but now wants to remain on the inside with her community. There are twists, turns and random pieces of information that don’t necessarily add to the story but are still interesting info about the characters. Definitely a great vacation ready! *fingers crossed* we’ll be able to take vacations this year ;)
Find Such a quiet place at Chapters Indigo (Canada)
So glad I can come back to my self-care rituals
This week was a great reminder as to why I need self care rituals. On the days that I am pushed to my breaking point, by situations, by people, by context – it is my self care rituals that give me peace.
My rituals are the the part of my day that make sure when I am out there taking care of everyone and everything else – that I also make time for myself and my wellness.
Self care rituals are THE FORMULA to support your mental wellbeing.
It’s a built in way that you do something for your mind, your body and your soul everyday.
Another reminder: Get enough sleep, have gratitude and always be present (aka put your phone down and you head up)
AM Routines based on energy levels
Have you ever noticed how you feel at certain times of the day compared to other times of the day.
Or maybe you have times of the day where you are more productive or have more clarity.
You may not have realized but how you feel, how productive you are, or when you are thinking most clearly – is directly related to your energy levels.
Considering this, you might know exactly when your high energy time of the day is. I’m definitely a morning person – and love to get things done in the morning.
But not all days are the same. On occasion, I may wake up feeling like my energy is off. But even on those days I still want to be productive or have ideas that I want to execute on – I just can’t get to it (like there is a disconnect between my willpower and my ambition!)
When this happens, it’s important to acknowledge that energy, instead of attempting to force yourself to work through it. So creating routines to help you work efficiently during different energy levels can make a world of a difference.
What I love about this idea, is that you can still feel accomplished at the times when you don’t want to accomplish anything. This is a great system to put in place for yourself so you can get out of your head and execute.
I’ve created an AM routine list based on energy levels (and will definitely develop another for PM routines).
Hopefully this will inspire you to take a look at how you can optimize how you work through your energy levels.
It’s time for another chocolate cookie recipe
It’s been 3 days of “back to remote” learning. 3 days too long!
Sending good vibes to all the parents who are finding themselves in the 3rd lockdown (which means doing everything all of the time).
With that said – I’ve got a few things to share 1) an amazing new cookie recipe and 2) a few things that are keeping me focused.
I’ll start with what’s keeping me focused:
- My morning routine! Meditate & Journal – helps to get my mind right and even if the days goes to sh!t, at least I took some time to set up my mindset
- A daily walk: I try and go in the morning but if meetings don’t allow for it, I get my dose of vitamin D and forrest vibes in the mid afternoon
- Daily workout: Whether it’s a fully body releasing stretch or a heavy lift day, workouts are a way to increase movement in my day after sitting at my own work desk or hunched over a JK’s desk
- Prioritizing a personal goal: whether it’s reading for 10 minutes, making some art or making progress on a project – making time for myself makes me feel good
And for the days when even the above doesn’t work, we will always have a great cookie ;)
Sharing a new recipe I tried: Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie (because sometimes making cookies does WONDERS for the soul)
Crystal Ball of Delusion
Showing up as your present self:
Passage from a book…
One of our favourite ways to abandon our self control is to justify our sins of the present moment with planned virtues of the future. For example, research shows that simply planning on exercising later, can increase the likelihood not eating healthy right now. This way of thinking not only reeks of moral licensing, but also introduces another critical flaw into the mix. The assumption that we will somehow make a different decision in the future, then we do today. (ie: today I will skip my workout, but tomorrow I will double up or today I will binge my favourite TV shows, but then I wont watch anymore for the rest of the week.)
We simply give our future selves too much credit. Counting on them to do whatever we can’t bring ourselves to do right now. We are too quick to assume we’ll be more enthusiastic, energetic, willful, diligent, motivated, brave, morally strong in a couple of days, weeks or months.
Such optimism could be okay, if we knew we could actually follow through on it all. And we both know thats now how it goes. When the future finally arrives, the nobel idealized version of ourselves – is nowhere to be found. And the demands we face aren’t nearly as easily as we told our selves they would be. What to do then? Put it all off again of course, hoping that our saviour will rescue us next time.
This type of thinking simply burdens our future self with impossible load of tasks and responsibilities.