A few days ago something really weird happened. I forgot about an appointment I had scheduled AND I forgot to meal prep for one of my clients. Now luckily, I remembered in enough time to complete the meals before heading to bed that night, but the other, totally spaced. I am not one to put reminders or appointments into my phone. I am old school and still carry around a planner that I write all my appointments, to-dos, track my workouts, etc. This is the one I use. Rarely, do I need to reference my planner to remember what’s on my calendar for the day. For me, the act of writing it down is usually enough to lock it into my brain.
Now for a lot of people forgetting to do something or missing an appointment is no big deal, a daily or weekly occurrence. But for me, it triggered something greater. I had to stop and ask myself a few questions. What is this trying to tell me? Am I taking on too much? What do I need to clear from my schedule or life to be more focused? How can I honor the yes and no on my schedule better? Where am I deficient?
Being a health coach, I have learned certain strategies and exercises to help clients identify and answer these questions. I myself have been a client of the work and gone through these exercises with my own health coach. But sometimes we forget, fall back into old patterns, and need something to knock us on the head so we will pay attention.
A few aha’s I gained from this were #1 I need to make a point to review my planner each morning. #2 I need to prioritize and simplify my schedule with block scheduling. #3 I need to make time for self-care and mindfulness daily.
Clearing the clutter is essential when beginning a new endeavor. It can be physical or mental. For example, when I started a clean eating lifestyle I purged my pantry, fridge and freezer of foods that did not serve me anymore. On a monthly basis I will donate items to Goodwill or get rid of things that I no longer feel the need to hold on to. It is a freeing experience that I encourage you to try. Recently, I have been clearing up my personal care products aiming for more toxin and chemical free options, so there went 5 bottles of half used lotion. Clearing physical clutter from my environment is a form of self-care, it brings feelings of accomplishment, satisfaction, and calm.
Clearing the clutter on my calendar and honoring my yes and no is a bit trickier. Sometimes its hard to say no, but realizing that saying no means saying yes to something else. A lot of the time it means saying yes to yourself! We have a tendency to put our needs on the back burner to take care of our families, careers, relationships, etc. If you are constantly ignoring yourself it is hard to give 100% in these other areas. Eliminating activities that aren’t serving you will help recharge and get you to that 100%.
Work, health coaching, meal prep, school, workshops, exercise, blogging etc. there is a lot to juggle. Utilizing a weekly block schedule helped me organize and focus each area onto specific days and times that felt good and sustainable. It also made me think about what things were sucking my time away. I bet you can guess the #1 way, social media! It’s a blessing and a curse. It has been great for connecting with people around the world, promoting my business, and endless amounts of info, but honestly I know I waste so much time scrolling through apps. It’s a tough habit to break but I am on the road to recovery.
Leave me a comment and let me know how you keep your schedule straight and prioritize yourself. If you need help making that change send me a message I would love to help you on your journey to becoming 100%.
P.R.E.P. Health & Wellness 
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