Happy Friday!

Wow… not sure how this week flew, but here we are. Today’s episode of the podcast is short and sweet— it’s all about de-stressing and increasing productivity… and of course, living more beautifully.

How many of us feel overwhelmed lately? Between zoom fatigue, pandemic fatigued, work fatigue, feeling overcommitted… and for all my parents… parenting around the clock, we’re all in it right now. I feel it too.

I’ve started to implement the below tips into my lifestyle and it has helped me so much. I’ll be on this journey with you!

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Whether it’s work, relationships, finances, family stress, health, or to-dos that are making you feel overwhelmed, here are a few things I’ve committed to — to help ease stress and tension throughout the day… and night.

SHOWNOTES

1. Journal

This has been a great tool for me to get my thoughts down. Putting pen to paper is powerful… and it makes the chaos in our minds come together. 

At first, journaling can feel super intimating. It’s not like a middle school diary… it  can be something short and sweet in your calendar.  Here are a 4 things to journal every day…

• Write 3 things you’re grateful for every day. A lot of days, it’s the same. I’ll write my family, health, and community… or team members, beautiful sunshine, or a great workout that morning. I’ve been doing this for years and it’s amazing to start our day with an attitude of gratitude. It puts everything in perspective. 
• Then, write down one top task of the day … and 3 small ones. It doesn’t feel like a lot, but by the end of the week, you’ll look back at how productive you were with the important tasks. 
• How you’re feeling? Just check in. How are your thoughts? How’s your body feeling? Are you energized, tired… just make notes. It’s good for us to be in-tune with our minds and bodies. 
• How do you want to react to stress and things that come up during the day… do we want to be more patient, kind, empathetic, loving… but also firm on our standards. Whatever it is, write it down.

These entires should only take you 5 minutes. I normally journal over my coffee or post-workout smoothie while looking at my to-do list for the day.

2. Batch Your Tasks and To-Do List

We all do this- we tend to put off the things that are the most important, because they take most of our time and energy. Instead, we just do the smaller things, because they don’t take as much of our thought and dedication. I’m literally doing it as we speak where I have to put my creative energy into something that’s really important, so I keep putting it off to get the small things done instead. The small stuff will always be there… so allow yourself to batch your to-do list and your days. 

I just started doing this and so far… it’s going great. Of course I slip up when things come up, but it has helped me personally and professionally. Over the past year, I was 100% available for all sit down zoom calls, but also scrambling chasing Bella, but also trying to go live for a workout or film content… I was so scattered that I couldn’t focus my attention on one thing for very long.

We’re actually the most productive when we can sit down without any distractions. 15-20 minutes is the magic number to get into a flow state in our minds. This goes for relaxing and unwinding too. 

So now, I allow myself from 8-10am every day to focus on my highest priority task of the day. The morning is where I know I’m most creative, so I’ll block out these productive hours in my calendar. I just started using the calendar tool Calendly that syncs up with my calendar. My team can book meetings with me, but it’s also only within a certain block of time so I know I’ll be sitting for 3 hours of zooms, rather than 10 hours of back and forth. 

3. Eliminate and Delegate

Speaking of the smalll stuff… is there anything that you can eliminate, streamline, or automate? There are so many tools out there that help with this. I personally use Calendly, Slack with my office, and I love Planoly for social media content planning. There’s also Monday and Asana that you can try out with your team.

For home management and tasks, I also just downloaded Todoist with Brian where we can put together shopping lists, to-dos, home projects, organize bills, assign each other tasks (I’ll let you know how that goes, lol), and set goals.

Do you have any amazing tool? Share below!

I just saw this the other day – that Stress stands for- Someone Trying To Repair Every Situation Solo.  Are you asking for help where you can get it? This is such an easy thing to say… but I’m with all of you that are thinking, ‘but, it’s not possible’. This is where time-management, stress-management, and batching your tasks will help you the most.

4. Exercise and Nutrition 

Even though exercise takes some time out of your day, it will end up adding value to your day so much so that it will be the most productive 30-40 minutes you have. I was never a morning person until I realized it’s the only time I have for me.

Also… proper nutrition is key for our energy levels and brain fuel. Eating well is a form of self-love and respect. Your body deserves proper nutrition! Check out Tone It Up!

And as Elle Woods says …. ‘Exercise gives you endorphins, Endorphins make you happy…’ and you know the rest.

If you’re experiencing anxiety and nothing above seems to help, there’s nothing wrong about seeking help either. Again… it goes back to asking for help. Getting a doctor’s opinion is so helpful.

I’m also a big fan of therapy. When I was suffering from a lot of stress and anxiety that was work related, I saw a therapist that works with a lot of female founders and executives and again… it took time, but it was so worth it. 

5. Unplug 

I love this quote – “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it and plug it back in again… that includes you too”

Just last week I was feeling super anxious and overwhelmed. Instead of getting on my computer and working… we unplugged and had a great Sunday funday with friends. I felt super refreshed the next day and I didn’t feel behind… I felt fulfilled.

It’s so important for us to not wait until we’re overwhelmed or feel like we’re completely tapped out to need a break. In the future, it’s better to manage our stress and prevent ourselves from getting overwhelmed by implementing everything above. I’m also going to be taking my own advice, because I need it too. I’m with you!

Before we wrap up today… I want us all to do something. Take two fingers and place it on your carotid artery. Close your eyes and feel your heartbeat…. your body and your heart is working so hard for you every day with 100,000 beats.

Remember to take care of you… connect with you… calm your mind, calm your thoughts, and remember to start each day with gratitude. You can do it all.. not all at once. Ask for help… and let go of what you can not control. Your mind and body deserve exercise, self-care, and your heart deserves quality time with friends and family… 

Have an amazing weekend everyone. I love you!