12 morning habits that will change your life!

Have you ever noticed that your best days start with a great morning? The most successful and happiest people have solid morning routines. Having a great morning routine does not mean you have to get up at 5 a.m. (although it’s fine if you do that!), but it does mean that you are intentional about the activities that are part of your morning routine. Here are 12 of the best habits to incorporate into your morning routine. You can start with one and add on when you’re ready.

1 – Wake up early (or earlier than you are waking up right now). Try to allow at least 1-½ hours for yourself in the morning before you have to leave for work or start your day.

Why: this allows time for you to do important things that matter to you, without being interrupted and without anyone else needing something from you. Early morning is a good time for planning your day, journaling, exercising, meditating, creating something, or working toward a goal that you would like to achieve for yourself, outside of your work or family goals.

How: try waking up just 15 minutes earlier. This will also mean going to bed 15 minutes earlier at night. Once you have this routine down, try 15 minutes more.

Bonus tip: if you have not read Mel Robbins’ The 5 Second Rule, check it out! In her book, Mel talks about changing her own morning routine and “launching” herself out of bed like a rocket, before she could talk herself out of it. Doing that – counting backward 5 – 4 -3 – 2- 1 – and physically moving out of bed changed her life. She then discovered the science behind it. So if you haven’t read her book or watched her TED talk, I highly recommend it!

2 – Write morning pages.

Why: morning pages will change your life. Seriously. They are therapy. The process is so simple — writing three pages of whatever comes into your head first thing in the morning in a journal or notebook (not in a digital format). Write whatever pops into your head and whatever is on your mind. Somehow this whole process brings clarity and helps you to overcome negative “voices” telling you that you aren’t good enough or that you cannot do something. Morning pages also help to clarify what really matters to you and what you want to do in order to live the life you want and be the kind of person you want to be.

How: get a pretty journal or just a plain spiral notebook. Use the kind of pen that makes you happy. (Flair pens work for me.) In your earlier morning wake-up time, get your journal and just write three pages. Put it away and forget about it until tomorrow. Then write again. You can read more about morning pages here. Consider reading Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way.

3 – Review your goals.

Why: keeping your goals uppermost in your mind, first thing in the morning, will keep your focus on what is most important to you and what you really want to achieve. I like using Rachel Hollis’ system of the Start Today journal. Rachel explains the process HERE. You can read more about setting goals in my post HERE.

How: pull out your planner and review your goals. Rewrite them every day if you are using Rachel’s tips, or just read them out loud. Read your to-do list and shift items around as necessary in order to be sure that you are doing the things that need to be done and the things that matter most.

4 – Schedule and time block your day.

Why: If it’s not scheduled, it’s not going to happen. Look at your to-do list and your calendar and actually write down when you are doing to do each task. Of course, sometimes when you do this, you may find that there truly is not enough time in the day for you to get to everything on your list. Don’t panic. List what is most important to do and shift less urgent tasks over to tomorrow’s list or to later in the week. Sometimes you might drop a task altogether.

How: see my post on time blocking here.

5 – Express gratitude, meditate and pray.

Why: If you focus on the good (in a person, in a situation), you will find the good. And the opposite is true as well. Even though there may be many things that are “wrong” in your life, think of the good that is there. How: Keep a gratitude journa, add slips of paper to a Happy Jar, use the 5-Minute Journal, whatever works for you. But think of at least five things for which you can be grateful. Then spend some time meditating or praying or both!

“Prayer is when you talk to God. Meditation is when you listen to God.” ~unknown

6 – Work out or do some form of exercise.

Why: when you read the morning routines of successful people, many of them make time for a workout in the morning before their day begins. Plus, lots of research points to the benefits of morning exercise. Even if you don’t have time for a long workout, doing a short workout gets your body and brain motivated for the day. Research also says that morning exercisers are more consistent with their workouts. For me personally, I love knowing that I got my workout in, no matter how busy or crazy my day gets.

How: choose something you already enjoy doing or try something new! Do you like to run, practice yoga, do barre workouts, lift weights? If you need some structure for getting a great workout routine started, consider Amanda Tress’s program Faster Way to Fat Loss. Her program is the best I’ve found for staying motivated and on track with both fitness and healthy eating.

7 – Make your bed or at least tidy up your space.

Why: this makes you feel accomplished before the day has even begun! Somehow, having orderly surroundings calms you down and helps you to focus on the bigger, more important things you want to do with your day.

How: just take five minutes to make your bed, hang up any clothes, stack the books, clear the clutter, wipe the counters. Even just five minutes makes a big difference.

8 – Do the most important things first.

Why: whatever your biggest task for the day might be, try to get it done before breakfast. Of course, some important things might not be completed in that time frame (writing a book, for instance), but doing the most important thing first means to spend some amount of time working toward that goal before you move on to other parts of your day. For example, if you are polishing your resume for a job search, work on that in the morning. That feeling of accomplishing or at least working toward an important task gives you momentum for other tasks during the day.

How: just choose a chunk of time BEFORE you go to work or begin your day at home. Whatever time you choose, schedule that block of time. Then set a timer for the amount of time you can work on that task and, as Mel Robbins says, 5-4-3-2-1-GO.

9 – Think about your day in detail.

Why: thinking through your day and visualizing how you want it to go is a powerful tool for helping you feel empowered and ready to make positive and healthy choices. Visualizing your conversations with people, your work situations, your health habits creates neural patterns in your brain which helps direct your actions to actually make those positive choices happen! This is why successful athletes use visualization. It might sound crazy, but it works!

How: you can just sit, close your eyes and visualize if that works for you. I usually do this while I am showering and blow drying my hair. Other people like to do their visualization on their commute. Choose a time that works for you.

10 – Connect with someone you love.

Why: starting your day by sending love out into the world makes you feel good! Plus, being reminded of the important people in your life keeps you focused on what and who are most important.

How: Enjoy your coffee or breakfast with your partner or family, make a phone call, write a quick note, send a text — whatever helps you to reach out to someone you love and remind them of your love.

11 – Develop a quick get-ready routine.

Why: getting ready for work or for your day can be stressful and take way more time than it should. But when you can quickly shower, do your hair and makeup and get dressed, it makes your day start on a better note.

How: develop systems for all of your get-ready routine segments. Organize your bathroom supplies so that everything can be grabbed and used quickly. Throw away (or give away) anything that does not work for you any more (dried out mascara, a hair dryer that doesn’t work, lipstick that is not the right color for you, etc.). Keep your closet organized.

12 – Try intermittent fasting!

Why: there are lots of resources and explanations of what intermittent fasting is and how it benefits your body. You can read my post about it HERE. I started fasting as a health habit to balance my hormones about a year ago. A side effect was that I lost ten pounds! Plus, it makes your mornings so much quicker and easier when you’re not having to prepare and eat breakfast or pack up breakfast and snacks for the day.

How: note the time when you finish eating or drinking any beverage besides water in the evening. That is the official start of your fast. You are naturally fasting overnight. Try fasting for 12 or 13 hours to get started. For example: if you stopped eating or drinking at 7 p.m. the night before, you would postpone breakfast until 7 or 8 am the following day. If you want the most benefits from fasting, try to extend your fast to 16 – 18 hours. So in our example above, you would postpone eating your next meal until 11 am to 1 pm.

There you go – 12 morning habits that will change your life! Rember to try just ONE habit. Then add on another habit when you feel ready. I would love to hear how these habits work for you!

When is reading a waste of time?

If you’re like me, you are always looking for ways to use time better, be more productive, get more done. So, here’s my question — is reading a waste of time?

I am a fifth grade teacher and I am a voracious reader. You do not even want to know how much money I have spent on Amazon books alone (not counting books I buy from local independent bookstores). It’s not a bad thing to be a voracious reader, right?

I’m questioning that right now. Here’s why.

In addition to all the books and magazines I read for myself, I also read many books about education issues and how to be a better teacher of particular subjects. Since I have a master’s degree in literacy instruction, I am especially interested in any book that helps me improve my teaching of reading. Some recent favorite books of mine are by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst: Notice & Note: Strategies for Close Reading, Reading Nonfiction: Notice & Note Stances, Signposts & Strategies, and Disrupting Thinking – Why How We Read Matters.

(I am also a big fan of Kylene’s book When Kids Can’t Read: What Teachers Can Do, but that’s a subject for another post.)

In their book Disrupting Thinking – Why How We Read Matters, Kylene and Bob teach a simple framework for students to use to help them to think more deeply about texts. I have been using this framework with my students, with great success. It is not quite automatic to some of them yet, but with consistent application of this simple but powerful framework, my goal is that this way of thinking will be habitual to them by the end of the school year.

Here is the framework:

While using this framework with my students in a discussion one day, a student mentioned that this framework is helping him to slow down and really think about what he is reading, instead of just pushing on through to get “done”. Other students chimed in and said that they used to spend more of their time “just reading”, but that this framework was now helping them to actually stop and think about what the story or the information means to them. It was a powerful moment for me as a teacher. But it was even more powerful for me personally.

I had to think about what my students had just shared and I wondered: How often do I just devour a book or magazine article or devotional or inspirational book, and then just walk away? How often do I actually reflect on the questions in the HH part, especially the Heart questions? I’m great about telling you what I read, what it was about, what the author said. But how much of this do I actually take to heart and actually do something with what I read? How is all of this voracious reading actually doing me any good and changing me personally or changing my teaching practice? How much of this just gets overwhelming so that nothing changes as a result? That’s when the reading, while enjoyable, is not doing me any good and could even be considered a waste of time.

So that happened one day, and the very next day I read page 71 in a daily inspiration book called Rise & Hustle by Mike Whitfield. The title was “Why Reading Books Doesn’t Do Any Good.” (Of course, as a teacher and a reader, I immediately disagreed with the title, but I knew Mike probably had a point to make and he got my attention.) In that day’s reading, Mike talked about the very questions I had asked myself the day before. It is at moments like this that I know God is speaking to me.

Mike says:

“After all, what’s the point of reading and reading . . . and reading . . . and reading without actually applying anything you have learned because you’re just overwhelmed? You’re not giving yourself enough time to process it. This is when reading books for self-improvement doesn’t do any good.”

Well – it must be time to make a change.

Here are my plans for changing that and for becoming a more intentional reader. I want to take my reading to heart and actually apply what I am reading and learning.

*Choose just one book in whatever category I want to read. For example, read only one education-related book at a time, one self-improvement book at a time, one inspirational/faith-based book at a time.

*Depending on the size of the book, I will read one or two chapters OR just read five – ten pages. And stop for the day!

*Keep a notebook handy while I’m reading. As I read, I will jot down insights I have or questions or ponderings — whatever comes to mind that has to do with the reading. (Funny how I ask my students to do this with their reading and have not been doing this myself.)

*For the next day or two, I will review what I wrote in my notebook at random times so that I can keep the reading in my mind. As I think about just this small part that I read and what it means for me, I will probably get more insights into how to apply what I read (the HEART part of the framework).

*Before reading the next “chunk”, I will review my notes again and write down any other thoughts or insights that came to me while I was busy doing other things. (Because that is when we often get our best ideas — when we’re doing other things!)

We’ll see what happens. I have a feeling that using the BHH framework will change my reading life, as it has changed my students’ reading lives. I would love to hear from you if you try this too!

A 12-step plan for decluttering & organizing your space

Do you have too much stuff? I know I do. Most of the time I keep my stuff under control by putting things back where they belong, recycling or giving away what is not useful to me any more, and throwing away what is not useful to me or anyone else! But occasionally all that stuff starts getting in the way and stressing me out. Here is a plan that I follow for a decluttered and organized space.

First, what are the benefits of decluttering and organizing in the first place?

When the space around me is clear, my mind is more clear. When I have stuff everywhere and I am trying to focus on something I need to do, I get distracted by all the other things and tend to jump from task to task. Anyone else do that?
I often find things that I had forgotten I had and that might be useful in some way. This especially happens with the clothes and accessories in my closet. It’s a great mood boost to find a necklace or sweater or scarf that I had forgotten I had! It’s (almost) as good as buying something new.
A decluttered and organized space makes me feel more in control, even with a crazy busy schedule. When I am feeling busy and frazzled and then I open a closet door or drawer or see a table space that is decluttered and organized, I always feel like at least one area of my life is under control!
Decluttered and organized spaces give me focus and momentum for completing other tasks that are important.

The #1 suggestion would be to declutter an area right before you use it. For example, if there is “stuff” on my kitchen counters and dishes in the sink, I take care of all of that before I start cooking. If there are “organized piles” on my desk or work area, I sort and file or return them before I sit down to work on a task. Get the idea?

But — what if you feel like your whole house or living space or classroom is a mess? Here’s my plan for getting organized for massive space decluttering!

1 – Here’s what you need: a pad of paper and a pen. I like to use those two column steno pads you can buy anywhere.

2 – Set a timer for 15 minutes. (Of course you can do this for longer if you want to and you have the time. But sometimes getting started on an overwhelming task is, well, overwhelming. Setting that timer lets you know that you have “permission” to stop when the timer goes off, which helps you get started in the first place. You can do anything for just 15 minutes!)

3 – Start at your front door. Whether you have a foyer or entryway or whether your front door opens into a living space, start by moving clockwise around that space.

4 – Label your paper with “living area” or whatever you call your space. Now as you walk around the space or look around the space, make a list of what you like or what is working for you in the left column. This is the part that will make you feel like at least some areas of your world are in good shape!

5 – Make a list of what needs your attention in the right column. This can be anything — the paint color you want to change, the drawers you want to declutter, the deep cleaning you want to do, the furniture or pillows or accessories you want to replace or buy some day.

6 – When you finish in some room or one area, move clockwise into the next area and repeat the process.

7 – When the timer goes off, you are done for today. Depending on the size of your space and depending on the number of items you put on your list, you may not be done. That’s okay. Repeat again tomorrow and the next days until you done.

8 – Now what to do with these lists? Reread the things you like or that are working well in your spaces. That gives you positive momentum to attack the things you want to change!

9 – With the lists of changes to make, you might want to code them with color, letters, or abbreviations. Cleaning tasks can be organized together with one code or color, decluttering tasks with another code or color, and decorating tasks with still another code or color.

10 – Put a big star beside the areas that are giving you the most stress. Those are the areas you will want to attack first! Even if you have several of these areas on your list, don’t get discouraged. Just go after the first one on your list or the one that is most stressful of all the stressful areas!

11 – Schedule a time to begin today or tomorrow. If it’s an especially busy time for you, or if you have young children that limit how much you can do in one day, just schedule 5 – 10 minutes. If you have a longer block of time for this, great, but don’t be discouraged if you only have a few minutes. A few minutes’ work every day is better than nothing!

12 – Now get going. I love Mel Robbins’ book The 5 Second Rule and her video about 5-4-3-2-1-GO. Just get started. Take baby steps if you need to. Work in small blocks of time. Before you know it, the areas that are causing the most stress will get decluttered (and maybe even cleaned or re-decorated!), and you will feel so much more in control of your life and your work.

Let me know how this works for you!

10 tips for revisiting goals & resolutions

The end of a month is a good time for reviewing goals and any resolutions you might have set for the new year. For some people, this can be a depressing exercise as they see all the things that they did not get done. Don’t get down on yourself! Use the progress you’ve made (or the lack thereof) to set some new goals and to decide on your next steps!

Here are my 10 tips for reviewing goals and resolutions:

1 – read everything you wrote at the beginning of the month. See my post about setting goals here. Maybe it’s because I am a teacher, but I find that “grading” or “scoring” things gives me so much clear information about what is working well and what might need to change or be improved in some way. Try it – give yourself a rating of 1 – 3 on each goal. A 3 = you achieved that goal. A 2 = you are working on that goal and made some progress. A 1 = you didn’t do anything toward that goal.

2 – while giving each goal a rating, try very hard not to get down on yourself. No one can get everything done all the time. The idea here is to honestly assess your progress and to decide what is still most important to you and what might need to be saved for another time

Back to the teaching example — a student’s bad score on a test or assignment can be disheartening and frustrating. But that number is just a piece of data. Figuring out the story behind the data and reflecting on next steps is where you can begin to overcome that frustration and get some clarity about what to do next.

3 – if you got a 1 in anything, that is great, believe it or not! This is where you can learn and grow the most. The first thing to do with your scores of 1 is to truly evaluate whether or not that goal is still important to you. If not, drop it. It might have seemed like a good idea when you set the goal, but maybe it means nothing to you now. Just drop it. And drop the guilt about it.

4 – If you scored a 1 but the goal is still important to you, ask yourself two questions:

1 – would this goal be more appropriate to work toward at another time of the year? For instance, if your goal is to organize your closet, but January is a busy month for you at work or with your kids, maybe closet-organizing is not so important to do in January. Could you move that goal to some time in the spring or summer instead?
2 – what baby steps could you take toward that goal? Which brings me to tip #5.

5 – I have found that baby steps are the key. See my post about baby steps and time management here. It always seems like you are making no or very slow progress toward achieving a goal while you are taking those baby steps, but at the end of a week or a month, you will be amazed at how much you actually accomplished. To get back to that closet example — if you spend 5-10 minutes per day on organizing your closet, you will feel like it’s going to take forever. But those minutes add up and give you momentum for completing the task. If you spent 5 minutes just five a days a week, you would have put in 1 hour and 40 minutes by the end of the month. If you spent 10 minutes just five days a week, you would have put in 3 hours and 20 minutes. Finding those blocks of time in a busy schedule might have been near impossible, but 5-10 minutes is not impossible.

6 – back to the goals in which you scored a 1 — it’s time to seriously evaluate whether or not that goal is right for you. For instance, if your goal was to learn to speak Italian and you have done nothing toward that goal, ask yourself some questions:

Why do I want to learn to speak Italian?
How will it help me?
How will it help other people that I love?
Is this a goal that is possible for me to achieve right now?
Should I save this goal for another time of the year or another time in my life?

7 – If you decide that the goal is not right for you right now, but you still think it would be good to achieve it some day, put it on a “Someday” list. I keep a “Someday” list for lots of things — books I want to read, places I want to go, restaurants and stores I want to visit, recipes I want to try, etc. Add a category for goals you want to achieve!

You may decide that this goal just isn’t that important for you, so cut your losses and move on! I know I’ve said this before, but I am hereby giving you permission to just take it off your list and don’t feel guilty. There is never enough time to do everything. It’s so important to choose what really matters to you and the people you love, and to focus your time and energy on those goals.

8 – If the goal really is something that you want to achieve, it’s time to start thinking about those baby steps. What is one small thing you could do that would help you move toward that goal? Back to the learning to speak Italian example — here are some baby steps that would help:

Google “how to speak Italian” for websites, apps, programs, etc.
Check out Babbel and pricing
Google a site where you can listen to Italian speakers while reading the words on the screen (maybe while they are reading something?)
Ask friends or your Facebook community for ideas and resources — you never know who might be a great resource for helping you find other resources!

Get the idea? Make a list of small, easy to do tasks that could be done in 10-15 minutes. Then get started today. Do one task. Tomorrow, do another. For tasks like googling resources, know that this is a task that you might do daily for several days since you will find so many resources to check out. That’s okay. The object of the game here is to make daily, incremental progress toward learning to speak Italian, and finding resources will take some time.

9 – if you got a 2 in anything, that’s great too! This shows that you are making progress toward the goal. What can you continue to do to move toward achieving that goal? If your goal was to lose ten pounds, and you only lost eight, congratulations — you are on track! Think about what is working for you in achieving that goal and what you might want to change or improve.

10 – if you got a 3 in anything, that’s awesome! Is that goal something that can now be part of your routine and move off of the goals list? For instance, if your goal was to write morning pages every day, is this now just part of what you do in the morning? If so, it can move off the goals list because it is now part of your life.

Now take all of this information you’ve gathered on your goal progress and make a list of new goals for the next month! You might also list the baby steps you will take first toward each goal. Being able to cross those baby steps off your list as they are achieved builds momentum and helps you keep moving forward to achieving those goals!

I would love to hear how this works for you!

31 tips for getting “unstuck” and moving on

It is almost the end of January and it’s a good time to review those goals and resolutions you set earlier this month. How are you doing? Feeling stuck? Unmotivated? Getting “unstuck” and moving on to achieving your goals is easier than you think. Here are 31 ways to get started! Try a different one every day or use them in whatever way appeals to you.

1 – set super small, easily achievable goals for the day that will move you toward those big gigantic goals you have set for the year. For example: if your goal is to lose ten pounds, think about what small goals will help you move toward weight loss? Eating more fruits and vegetables? Drinking more water? Trying intermittent fasting? Researching a new way of eating (such as Paleo or Keto)? Exercising for at least 15 minutes daily? Set one or two small, do-able goals for the day. It might seem like it will take you a million years to achieve your goal if this is all you’re doing daily, but think about this: small steps are better than no steps at all. When you feel ready to take on more, then you can add on!

2 – Speaking of small, do-able steps, try jotting down just three things that you need to do today. Just three. Try to choose the three things that are most important to complete today. When you have completed those three tasks, then you can add three more. Somehow, just keeping your immediate things-to-do list to three items is less overwhelming and gives you energy and motivation to get more done.

3 – Listen to music. I am a big fan of Spotify and I use different playlists for different tasks. If I need to concentrate and focus on some mental task, I use coffeehouse or spa type playlists that are instrumental only. If I need to be jump started to go work out after work, I listen to a playlist that is created for workouts.

4 – Read just 5 – 10 pages of a book that inspires or motivates you. Here are some of my favorites:

Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis

Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis

You are a Badass by Jen Sincero

Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Becoming by Michelle Obama

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

Atomic Habits by James Clear

High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard

Miracles Now by Gabrielle Bernstein

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Grace, Not Perfection by Emily Ley

The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson

The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

5 – List five things for which you are grateful. It can be something small, like your cat’s purring, or something huge, like good news from a medical test. Just write whatever comes to mind. I start every day with listing five things and I end every day with thinking about gratitude as I fall asleep. If you want something a little more formalized, try using the 5-Minute Journal or try Rachel Hollis’s Start Today journal which you can read more about here.

6 – Organize or declutter just one small area that is getting on your nerves. Very often, that would be my desk or work space. Sometimes it’s my purse, my kitchen counters, or my car. Just seeing things more orderly and efficient helps bring clarity to my mind. Read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up or watch “Tidying up with Marie Kondo” on Netflix for inspiration!

7 – Make a list of what you want to be, do and have in your life. Don’t judge what you write — just write whatever comes to mind. Keep writing. When you think you are done, read over your list again and add more ideas as they come to you. What to do with that list? You could keep it in your planner or transfer it to your phone and read it every day. Or you might want to try making a vision board. This site explains the concept and shows you how to create a vision board online. Some people prefer to create their vision board using photos (from magazines or online images) and gluing them to a piece of cardboard or sturdy paper such as cardstock. Whatever appeals to you and inspires you!

8 – Take a look at your planner. Is it working for you and does it appeal to you? If the answer to either one of these questions is NO, consider getting a new one, even if it’s not the start of a new year. Your planner needs to be an important part of your life and something that helps and guides you, not something that gets on your nerves. See my post about time management here. Some planners that I like and have used are the Erin Condren planner and the Bloom daily planner. And of course you need Flair pens for your planner! See my post HERE about using your planner to help you better manage your time and to set goals.

9 – Do you write in a journal? Some people do this faithfully, every day. Other people write in a journal just occasionally. I have found that writing something daily works best for me. Get some kind of notebook, even an inexpensive one, and just start. When I read Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way, I started writing daily morning pages as she describes in the book. Here is a link to Julia’s explanation of this process. It is amazing what comes up when you are writing morning pages. It’s an inexpensive form of therapy! Morning pages do NOT have to be written in the morning only. Any time you are wrestling with lots of things on your mind and feeling stressed and unfocused, sitting down to write whatever comes to mind will help you get some clarity. See my post here about activities you can do for mental self-care.

10 – Do you exercise or workout a few times a week? If not, consider options for getting a routine started. Even if you cannot exercise daily, you should aim for 5-6 times per week. Anything you are doing that frequently needs to be a good fit for YOU. If you like to run, that’s great. If you don’t like to run, find something else that will be good for your cardiovascular health and do that. Also think about changing up your routine from time to time. Switch from working with weights to a barre fitness class. Switch from using cardio machines at the gym to walking or running or biking outdoors.

11 – Remember the goal setting from tip #1? Choose just one goal. Close your eyes and point if you’re having trouble deciding. Now think about doing just one thing that will move you closer to that goal. When you have accomplished that task, or if you have achieved that goal, choose something else.

12 – Buy yourself something new that is within your budget. A little “retail therapy” never hurt anybody — as long as it’s not something you will regret. Some ideas: new underwear, new pajamas, a new accessory like jewelry or a scarf, some object from the Target dollar spot. Anything that will make you smile or feel pampered, but didn’t exceed your budget (which will only cause more stress). See my Friday Favorites posts for ideas!

13 – Try some new habit or routine. Think about something that you have been wanting to try or wanting to incorporate into your life, and start small.

14 – Speaking of trying something new — how about learning something new? Use videos on youtube, take a course with Udemy, use Babbel to learn a new language, watch cooking shows on Food Network.

15 – Try meditation. Some good apps are Headspace and Calm. Both apps teach you some “techniques”, but do not make you feel as if you are doing meditation “wrong”. Just try sitting in silence for a few minutes every day. See how you feel and try adding on more time.

16 – Try some yoga poses. Yoga with Adrienne on youtube is a good resource, but you also might want to try going to a local class.

17 – Think about creating a productive self-care morning routine. See my post about that here.

18 – Think about creating a productive self-care evening routine. See my post about that here.

19 – Change up your environment in some way. Could you move a piece of furniture or rug to a different area and see how it looks? Could you buy some home accessory that is within your budget? Try a new lampshade? Check out Joanna Gaines’ new book Homebody for ideas!

20 – Make a list of places to go and things to do in your area. Make plans to visit or do one of those things with a friend or family member.

21 – Make a list of places you would like to go that are not in your area. Plan some dream trips!

22 – Drink half your bodyweight in ounces of water every day. Notice how this makes you feel.

23 – Try something new with your hair or makeup.

24 – Plan some meals or recipes you want to try.

25 – Start getting up earlier and spending some time outside, if the weather permits. Maybe take a morning walk or just enjoy sitting outside and appreciating the quiet?

26 – Make plans to visit someone you love.

27 – Listen to a motivating pep talk on youtube. Search for speeches by Rachel Hollis, Barbara Sher, Simon Sinek, Mel Robbins.

28 – Listen to a podcast. There are hundreds of good ones to choose from! Go to the search feature of your favorite place to get your podcasts (Apple, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify) and type in whatever category interests you. Find one or two podcasts to try, download them and listen while you’re commuting, walking, cleaning, whenever.

29 – Go someplace new. Try a different route to or from work and notice what you see. Try a different grocery store. Visit a small local business that you haven’t visited before. Go to a different Target or Walmart from the one you usually visit! Just doing some routine things in a new way gives you a new perspective and ideas for what you can do differently.

30 – Draw, color, paint, make a collage, try a craft, write a poem, play an instrument, sing. Do something artsy to wake up a different area of the brain and help change your perspective.

31 – Ask yourself some key questions — “what’s the lesson for me here?” “how could I make this fun?” “who can I surprise with appreciation today?”. Make a list of what comes to mind when you ask yourself these questions. Another prompt to try is to say, “This situation is good for me because . . .”

We all get “stuck” sometimes. Knowing how to get yourself “unstuck” and move on is the key. Did any of these tips resonate with you? Do you have other suggestions? I would love to hear your thoughts! Email me at stillteachingstilllearning@gmail.com!

What is the wellness wheel?

Have you heard about the wellness wheel? To many people, “wellness” means being physically healthy or even being physically fit. However, the wellness wheel is made up of eight dimensions of wellness, all of which impact your health and well-being. The eight dimensions are: physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, occupational, social, environmental, and financial.

Dr. Bill Hettler, co-founder of the National Wellness Institute in the U. S., created the wellness wheel in 1976. His wheel contained six dimensions: physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, occupational and social. Other researchers added the environmental and financial aspects later. All of these dimensions impact one another. Feeling “off” in one dimension will eventually impact all the others, so it’s important to pay attention to all eight dimensions.

Feeling overwhelmed? It’s not as hard as it sounds, and if you are working to incorporate self-care into your life, you are probably doing many of these activities already!

Physical dimension – this includes getting physical activity, good nutrition and enough sleep. If you have physical wellness, you are doing some form of exercise daily (walking counts), eating healthy food 80% of the time, and striving to get 6 – 8 hours of sleep every night.

3 self-care tips for physical dimension:

*physical activity for at least 15 minutes once or twice daily — walking, yoga poses, HIIT workouts, calisthenics — whatever makes you feel best;

*drink half your body weight in ounces of water and eat 8 – 10 fruit/vegetable servings daily;

*go to bed 15 minutes earlier.

Emotional dimension – this involves your ability to cope with life stresses and your relationships with others. If you have emotional wellness, you feel confident in your ability to handle life’s challenges and you have a few good relationships with people that you love and who love you in return. Connecting with your senses and connecting with others improve your emotional wellness. Plan regular leisure time activities for yourself.

3 self-care tips for emotional wellness:

*listen to music that you love & light a scented candle;

*watch a sunrise, sunset, or some body of water;

*develop and follow routines that you love and that you look forward to doing.

Intellectual dimension – this means knowing your unique talents and the ways in which you use your knowledge and skills. If you have intellectual wellness, you are doing things that encourage your mental growth. This helps you to have better concentration and critical thinking skills.

3 tips for intellectual wellness:

*read anything that inspires you or makes you happy;

*play a musical instrument or try a new hobby;

*tutor or train someone else to do something.

Spiritual dimension – this dimension includes your values and beliefs and your sense that your life has meaning and purpose. If you have spiritual wellness, you have clear values and a feeling of inner peace.

3 tips for spiritual wellness:

*pray or meditate, or both;

*read the Bible or other inspirational books;

*connect with a church or other organization that is doing work that you believe in.

Occupational dimension — this involves your sense of satisfaction with your work. If you have occupational wellness, you are feeling at least somewhat balanced with work and leisure time, you are building relationships with co-workers and you manage your stress at work.

3 tips for occupational wellness:

*build relationships with your co-workers;

*identify what is meaningful in your work life – if you can’t find anything, make a plan for changing to a job that will fit your values and skills;

*follow self-care tips for managing workplace stress.

Social dimension — includes your sense of belonging and connection with other people in your life. If you have social wellness, you are spending time with people you love and making time for family and friends.

3 tips for social wellness:

*make plans for and schedule time with people you love (this includes family dinners if you’re a mom);

*join a club, a church or other organization;

*develop good communication skills where you are assertive in expressing your needs and boundaries with others.

Environmental dimension — this dimension involves your surroundings, both at home and at work. Spending time in nature, keeping your home and work space somewhat decluttered and clean, and doing eco-friendly tasks such as recycling and reducing your use of energy and water can all impact your environmental wellness for the better.

3 tips for environmental wellness:

*declutter and clean your surroundings in whatever way fits your style. Some people prefer doing this in small batches and others like to go on a massive decluttering/cleaning frenzy! An orderly environment is the goal.

*be eco-friendly by recycling, planting a garden, conserve energy and water, walk or bike instead of drive;

*spend as much time outside as possible.

Financial dimension — includes your satisfaction with your financial situation. Finances can be a major source of stress. Taking steps to improve your financial wellness by sticking to a budget and cutting back on unnecessary expenses help to improve your financial wellness.

3 tips for financial wellness:

*develop and stick to a budget that works for you and your family;

*start a savings account and add to it each month – even small amounts help;

*cut back on unnecessary expenses (for me, it’s buying magazines), and reduce or eliminate your credit card debt.

In what areas of wellness are you feeling the strongest? In what areas do you want to improve? Think about setting goals for each area and making gradual improvement in all eight dimensions of wellness. Setting goals and working toward achieving them also adds to your wellness! I would love to hear your tips for any of the dimensions.

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