Review, Refocus & Readjust – Mid year goal review

Posted on July 25, 2023 by Bhanu Misra Marya

As we round out the first half of the year and slide into the second half, I thought it would be a great idea to provide some inspiration to reset, readjust, restart and refocus.

Review your goals and determine priority
Before blindly continuing to do something that may no longer be serving you, take some time to review your goals. Maybe you’ve plateaued in some areas, or maybe you haven’t given enough time to one area of your life. Even better, maybe you’ve accomplished a goal and it no longer requires your attention. Creating self awareness is really important and it’s also a good idea to get organized in a way that makes sense to you. Maybe writing the goals that you will continue to work on on a sticky or using a Moleskin to help refocus an area where you’ve been lacking.
Disrupt and edit your routine
Once you’ve figure out what you want to focus on, redesign your daily habits to meet those goals. It’s true what they say…success is a series of small wins. Use your day planner, Gcal or Notion to structure your day and include activities that help you work towards ticking off those goals by end of year
Level up, track your progress & give yourself grace
As you continue your goal achievement journey, do you best to stay accountable (whether that is through a private IG account, blog or good ol’ pen & paper). I’m a big believer in documenting your life and it’s always nice to see how far you’ve come. But what’s even more important is giving yourself grace. Working towards your personal and professional goals are not meant to be invigorating and inspiring so remember to take breaks/rest, celebrate your wins and smile!

7 ways to stop self sabotaging

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Bhanu Misra Marya

I always say, life is a journey. Sometimes you are running top speed through the valley and other times you are grasping for oxygen at high altitudes. Most times you are going steady through long stretches of mini climbs and plateaus.

But one thing I’ve started recently saying to myself is that I’ve got to live life like it’s rigged in my favour. And that statement alone has made me realize that through self and situational awareness – you can quickly see what activities and behaviours are supporting you and what are self sabotaging you.

Below I share 7 ways to stop self sabotaging yourself. Whether that’s in personal relationships, with you 9-5, business pursuits or personal goals – consider how you may be engaging in these activities and how it’s effecting how you live your life.

💫 leave any situation where you are not valued

💫 deprioritize your mental wellness for anything

💫 what everyone else is doing

💫 disregard your feelings, instinct, needs or emotions

💫 showing up as someone you are not

💫 stay on a path just because it’s the path you are on

💫 live as someone you are not

5 Productivity Tips to start the month off right

Posted on April 2, 2023 by Bhanu Misra Marya

Not many people I know are like me in that they feel the start of a new week (ahem Monday!) or even the 1st day of the month is like the 1st day of school. It’s the feeling of fresh starts, dreaming big and new routines. I also love reading about people’s organization methods and goal setting – so I thought I’d share to abundance of resources on Google and share tips for a productive month!

Set up your monthly calendar: Appointments, Celebrations, Get togethers, Extra Curriculars, Fitness classes, Classes etc. Getting it out of your head and getting all down in your calendar just makes sense. I use a combination of Goggle Calendar and my paper planner monthly view
Set up goals for the month: whether it’s finishing a book, getting out 3 fitness classes/running x km or maybe it’s doing something you’ve never done before – working towards something helps get you out of your comfort zone and develop character.
Set up a monthly to-do list: I definitely think some of the activities on this list will be created from the monthly goals, but it may also include routine items (ie: run the washer clean cycle, sign up for swimming lessons) and bonus items (ie: artistic projects, going to the art gallery). I personally love the bonus activities – it makes my soul smile
Set a budget: Something is to be said about being mindful about spending. Not just because mindless shopping and over spending is a waste of time and money. But because it’s not good for our environment. So whether it’s a “no spend month” or a cap on eating out, it’s definitely worth a try.
Deep clean something! I think it’s a good habit that I’m starting to implement whereby I clean something that has piled up. Whether it’s a junk drawer, a basement closet or the baseboards. Schedule it in and get it done!

Making art and sharing lessons

Posted on March 8, 2023 by Bhanu Misra Marya

I’ve been on an art kick lately. What does that mean? I’m making art daily. Whether it’s painting, canvas embroidery, digital art on the iPad, ink pen mindful drawing and of course photography! So today I’m sharing my art (++ the time lapse process of making said art) and some quotes that have profound life lessons in them!

It’s always hard, until it’s easy

Create more than you consume

When you figure out how to love yourself, everything changes

The world just reflects your own feelings back at you, reality is neutral

What ever you think, you believe and will shape your reality

The tools for learning are abundant, the desire to learn is scarce

Need to get started, quit talking and start doing

Book Review: I can’t make this up, life lessons by Kevin Hart

Posted on January 25, 2023 by Bhanu Misra Marya

Done & dusted!

I’ve finished my first book of the year!

I can’t make this up, life lessons by Kevin Hart!
Get from Chapters Indigo
Get from Amazon.ca

I couldnt have started the year with a better book. Kevin takes us on a personal account of his challenges and perseverance as he chased his dream of becoming a famous comedian, actor and now author!

The book starts off funny, mellows out for some serious themes in the middle and ends on a funny yet inspiring. His positive outlook, consistency and belief in himself is relatable and a great way to begin the year!

Some of my favourite quotes:

“How you handle rejection is very similar to how you’ll handle success. If you’re strong enough to handle rejection without taking it personally, without holding a grudge, and without losing your passion and drive, then you’ll be strong enough to reap the rewards. But if you’re too weak to handle failure and disappointment, then you’re too weak to handle success, which will only end up damaging your life and happiness.”

“It turns out that the things I hated most as a child are the same things that serve me the most as an adult.”

“You are already in your experience. So you can either resent and resist it, and make it that much less enjoyable, or you can accept it and find something positive in it.”

One qualm I had about the book – is that there are no date references!

How to make better to do lists!

Posted on January 15, 2023 by Bhanu Misra Marya

Planner, Crystals, Productivity, Smart Goals, Work Smarter, Women in Tech, Lifestyle, Life Lately, Life Tips

To do lists are the micro levels of my big dreams. Big dreams are astronomical, may take months or years to achieve them, require persistence and consistency. Consistency is where our daily to do lists come in.

I do want to preface this post by saying the following:

we shouldn’t be slaves to our to do lists
to do lists don’t own us
to do lists are meant to serve us

So if your daily to do list, post it or weekly planner spread is making you feel bad about yourself – throw it out, take a beat and start over again when you are ready!

We shouldn’t feel productivity debt (feeling like you always need to be doing something and rest is not deserved unless your to do list is completed) from not completing everything on our to do list & there is nothing you NEED to do to earn your existence.

But when you are ready to schedule the day you want to make it amazing – read on!

Side note: I’m writing this as I was feeling overwhelm trying to use notion. Notion is meant to be a tool to keep your life organized but there was too much scope creep in their product – for me at least. The idea that it might also need to look aesthetic, link to a Spotify playlist and my Pinterest mood board was a little too much. So I realized I need to step back and figured others might need to too.

So how do we make our to do lists work for us?

Figure out your big dreams, goals, priorities and projects. But also think about the habits you want to build and routines you want to have.
Pick a medium that works for you. Could be paper or digital, simple or complex. You’ll also want to choose a template: Is it just 1 sticky note for the day, or multiple colour coded ones, is it a weekly spread planner or an hour-by-hour list of tasks. This can obviously change but it’s a great idea to try something out.
Fill your list with your daily living + tasks that will help you got to your big goals. Example are meetings, but also your workouts (goal: to focus on fitness). It could be having lunch with someone and blocking 2 hours in the morning for writing (goal: to write a book).
Pick something to fail at. Not everything has to be checked off and not everything has to be done well. So knowing what can be moved to another day vs a non-negotiable will help you stay intentional and not feel like you aren’t moving forward.

Remember – it’s all about getting to outcomes (not getting things done). Your to do list should be on your side helping you build intentional habits and keep you 1 step closer to your goals!