I’m still here in Alabama with my daughter. Her health has not been great lately and we’re still trying to figure out what’s going on. Hopefully we’ll get some answers soon and she’ll be on the mend. In the meantime, I’m grateful my job lets me be remote and that is going very well. I even got promoted last month!!!
However, this apartment is super small and I don’t leave often in case my daughter needs me for something. In order to stay sane, I’m focusing on the good and here are some things that are saving me right now.
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Routines
I’m sticking to my routines. They are not 100% faithful, like if my daughter had a bad night and I get up late the next day, but they are always there as my guardrails, ready to guide me back to center. These routines are based off the Miracle Morning and habit stacking discussed in Atomic Habits. Here’s what I love keeping in my routines (and some things I plan to add):
AM
- Empty dishwasher; make coffee
- Meditation, affirmations, and visualization
- Yoga (I did buy a yoga mat for Phoebe at Target and I’ve been using it!)
- Read a personal development book for 15 minutes (on Libby – that’s up next!)
- Writing in my bullet journal – gratitude and tasks for the day
- Shower, get dressed, light makeup
- Setup another cup of coffee, collagen water, and breakfast (yogurt, defrosted blueberries, honey and granola)
- Start work for the day
Mid-day
- Setup lunch for Phoebe and me
- Tea refills – current favorite mid-day tea – It helps my brain stay focused in the afternoon.
After Work
- Clean up desk and to do list
- Start dinner
- Chill out with some evening tea or glass of wine (going to stop drinking wine this week)
- I’m also going to start taking a walk after dinner this coming week
- I’m trying to keep dinners planned, yummy and healthy. We think Phoebe may need to stay away from fish, but here’s a yummy dinner from this week – salmon with lemon and ginger, black rice and roasted zucchini and asparagus
Weekly Weekend Tasks
- Laundry
- Clean up apartment
- Menu plan for week
- Grocery shopping at the local Target
- Doing my nails (see last post!)
Libby – Digital Library Books
Books and libraries are my happy place! I can’t wait for when we move into our new house in Austin officially, and I can use that new address to get not just my new driver’s license but a library card at the local library. That new library better support Libby for borrowing books electronically! Our old library in Pennsylvania does and that account is still active for me and I’ve been using it since we moved to borrow books in the meantime. Especially being here in Alabama away from all the tasks I need to do for home, I have more time for reading. I’ll read personal development in the morning and a lighthearted fiction book in the evening. I don’t have the mindset right now to read any deep fiction books. They must be lighthearted and uplifting!!!
Bullet Journal and Notion
My bullet journal and my erasable pens are my saving grace all the time, no matter where I am! I prefer to use the grid bullet journals (think it’s because of my engineering background). I also love colored erasable pens as I love to live with lots of color and I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so a messy bullet journal makes me cringe. I like to keep it as neat as possible.
Every day, I start my day’s plan with three things I’m grateful for and then go into my tasks based upon my goals right now. I use that day’s plan as my guide all day for what I need to accomplish, even on weekends. I pair that with Notion, which is on my phone and my computer. I use that to organize everything else, like long term planning and goals (based off the 12 Week Year). I also keep my favorite recipes and notes organized in Notion too. I have not created any of my own templates for Notion, rather, I’ve found templates from numerous smart people on YouTube and the templates that come with the app.
I will tell you, I can’t wait until these blog posts become more of a conversation with anyone that happens on my blog and likes my posts. So with that in mind, do me a favor … Tell me what your current challenge is and what is keeping you sane?