Shaping My Days

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In my quest to become more intentional I have created a variety of habits to free myself from the work of everyday life. Now don’t be fooled. I don’t mean that I have magically found a way to not do laundry, cooking, cleaning, organizing, raising teenagers, etc. Absolutely not. Sometimes, the hardest part is not the actual doing but the starting and maintaining of the things that keep a household with teenagers running smoothly in a way that allows me to set intentions for my higher self. By making the mundane automatic (well, that’s the goal anyway) I can clear my will power to focus on my physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. And let’s be clear I have yet to achieve nirvana; however, I have noticed a shift in my reactiveness since I started this blog.

One of the habits I have created for myself is to give each day of the week a theme with a list of certain tasks to take care of that day. (Warning: thinking up names for each day of the week is a lot of fun and if you’re anything like me you start to think of color coding each day and making beautiful cards with the themed titles and a list of the coordinated jobs for that particular day. You have to actually follow it for it to have any real benefit.) What I have found is that I pretty religiously follow two of my themed days: Management Mondays and Free-Flow Fridays. (Notice the alliteration. Yup. If the initial sounds didn’t match I got a really bad perfectionist itch that couldn’t be satisfied.) On Management Mondays I pay bills, file paperwork, clean off my work desk, answer correspondence etc. Paperwork is often tied up with anxiety for me so I like to get that done at the beginning of the week so it’s not hanging over me the rest of the week. On Free-Flow Fridays I make a point to clear out the mudroom, my car, my pocketbook, and the garage. The idea is to keep the arrival to and the departing of our home open and free of obstacles. For me it’s not just a physical clearing but a mental clearing as well. It clears out the week and prepares me for the weekend.

What I really appreciate about having themed days is they help to pull me back on track when I’m unmotivated, overwhelmed, and/or more tired than usual. By referring to my daily theme I remove the extra burden of choosing what to do and instead just do what’s on tap for the day. By the time I’m finished with those tasks I usually feel a sense of accomplishment that leads to motivation to do more of what needs to be done or at least relief that I’ve mastered something on a bad day. For me personally, outer order leads to inner calm.  And inner calm reinforces my ability to grow as a thoughtful and engaged human being.

The rest of the week is a work in progress. I’ve had fair success with Transformation Tuesdays in which I change the bedding, wash towels, and clean the bathrooms. I’m still tweaking the other days and deciding whether or not every day needs a theme. And of course, I am flexible. If a bill needs to be paid on Friday I pay it. If I really want to clean my car on Monday I clean it. My theme days are just one way I shape my day to create more energy for my daily, weekly, and/or monthly intentions and goals. Routines and habits may be stifling to some people, but I am finding them to be very freeing.

I would love to know about the routines and/or habits you’ve cultivated into your life that have helped you to achieve your goals both little and large…

 

-Jen

Making Time and Starting Over

Leaving the world of stay-at-home mom to return to work last September while helping my oldest navigate her senior year of high school with all that that entails left me little time and motivation to blog.  Now that summer has arrived I’ve had a chance to reacquaint myself with my blog and it made me notice a couple of things: I really miss writing down my intentions, goals, and musings as well as the anchored feeling it gives me on this incredibly wild ride of life.  I realize more than ever that my life is in my hands and only I can create a passionate intentional life. Making time for the habits that support my journey is crucial to its fulfillment.

Making time is a habit. It’s starts by prioritizing those things that aid your journey and letting go of those things that do not. Around March I realized I wasn’t reading as much as I used to and I feel very strongly that reading supports my personal journey and enriches my life. So rather than aimlessly check my emails, Instagram, and Facebook while drinking my morning coffee I made the intention to read a non-fiction book and before bed to read a fiction book. Currently, my non-fiction selection is “Helping Traumatized Children Learn” by the Massachusetts Advocates for Children. This book is a no-brainer because I work in the public schools and desire to develop the skills that help traumatized children to engage in learning and socializing more effectively. During the day and before bed I’ve been reading the historical fiction novel, “The Women In the Castle” by Jessica Shattuck. This story takes place before, during, and after World War Two centering on the merged lives of three German widows whose husbands tried to kill Adolf Hitler. It’s a very riveting novel full of many personal layers.  I am very happy with my intention to replace social media with reading at certain times of the day.  This simple intention has helped me to shape a more fulfilling life for myself and given me a sense of empowerment to do more.

My desire, of course, is to make more time for blogging. This will be a challenge during the school year as I was AWOL during most of the last school year. I’ve been blogging when the desire hits me rather than making time to do it. And when I’ve been away from something for a while I find it more challenging to reengage. I think part of it is because I feel like I’ve failed and getting back into it brings me face to face with that uncomfortable feeling. Ugh. I feel scared already that I will fail at this again. Sigh. Well, what’s life but a series of falls and getting up again, right?!  The one thing I think I can do that may help me stay motivated is to make a list of topics to write about. I often come across other blogs, articles, and books that inspire me and although the spirit of the information stays with me I feel I would benefit more from them if I kept a record of them and explored them more deeply through blogging. After all, the intention of this blog is to hold myself accountable for the changes I wish to make in my life.

So, here’s to “making time” and “starting over”.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

-Jen

 

The Small Pleasures of Summer

I woke up with a pending migraine in my right temple. It was one of those migraines (I have many kinds of migraines) that could either grow into a monster or stay just below the radar if I took the right amount of Advil, drank the right amount of coffee, and avoided too much exertion. It was also predictably accompanied by a nagging feeling to give in and lay on the couch in defeat. But I knew I would only feel worse if I didn’t accomplish something and just maybe I would feel better both physically and mentally with a clean kitchen.(It was a depressing mess.) I figured I could always lie down later if my migraine did not improve.

Fast forward to an hour later with a clean kitchen and a showered and presentable, better-feeling self, I felt an instinctual pull to move to the great outdoors to tend to some needs before the afternoon heat settled in. I consciously took note of every sensation this morning had to offer. Walking bear-foot through the grass instantly grounded me reminding me of my connection to the earth. Rays of sunlight filtered down through the trees creating a kaleidoscope of shadows and light that centered me in the moment. I felt the warmth of the day envelop itself around me while I listened to the birds calling out to one another. Oh, what a beautiful day! I was grateful.

With my lifted spirit I refilled the bird feeders and birdbaths, made fresh nectar for the hummingbirds, watered the flowers and plants, straightened out the porch, and spent a few moments observing my summer backyard residents. Standing under the linden trees in full bloom I listened to the whirling buzz of hundreds of bees collecting pollen. The heavenly scent of thousands of creamy linden tree flowers flooded my surroundings. Then while watering my impatients I watched a very handsome eastern swallowtail butterfly flit from flower to flower in my perennial garden. He was gorgeous. Upon returning to my impatients I stumbled upon a family of flickers gently calling to each other while searching for insects on the ground.

It is these small summer pleasures that are so healing on so many levels even if only for a moment. In these moments I am not worrying or thinking. I am lost in the moment. There are so many more wonderful pleasures of summer. What are yours? I would love to hear about them.

-Jen