Ready to Change Seasons?

Recently, I bought a box of Ticonderoga® pencils—my all-time favorites. Not long before that, I picked up a fresh pack of highlighters. I’m constantly underlining things I want to remember and look back on!

Maybe it’s the nostalgia of “back-to-school” time, or the memories of reuniting with friends after summer, but I still feel a certain excitement when September rolls around.

It’s been a minute (well over 22 million of them!) since I was last in a classroom as a student, but my love of learning never faded. That’s why I believe this time of year offers a unique—and powerful—reset opportunity, no matter your age or stage of life.

Labor Day and Back-to-School—A Time for Celebration and Reset

The end of August reminds me to take a moment to pause and reflect. Some years I look back and regret not taking more time off or I find myself a bit disappointed about unfinished projects I thought I’d get done while there was more time because of cancelled meetings...

Having a great morning routine will make all the difference between a good morning and a great morning!

Ever have one of those mornings when you feel like you are running slow and behind from the start? And it seemed to follow you all day long?  Wanna change that? How can you go from frazzled to fantastic?

Have routines in place!!  A routine is a specific set of things you do on a consistent basis.  These things should include personal hygiene, quiet time to focus your thoughts, stretch / exercise and having specific times to wake, go to bed, and have self-care.  By setting these up, you are creating boundaries around the way you spend your time and this puts you in control! 

Where to begin:  Tomorrow begins the night before! 

A good place to start is by having an after-dinner routine to help the morning routine. It's a huge win in getting to your destination on time without being frazzled!!

After dinner:

• Clean the kitchen (who’s turn is it?)
• Load and run the dishwasher
• Befor
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Consider your workspace. Is it a place where you are able to concentrate away from distractions such as television, the refrigerator, or something at home that will pull your attention away from your task?

Location, location, location!

 A dedicated area is important when working from home. If you don’t have an office in your home, or an extra bedroom, then create a room divider to provide a dedicated workspace.  Along with the room divider, have a work bag for you to define the start for your workday (walk into you workspace, unpack, plug in and look at the daily tasks).

Allow for coffee / lunch breaks but be disciplined to get right back to your workspace. 

Working with a schedule to allow for a couple of breaks, lunch and quitting time will help you to be more productive. Use an electronic calendar and designate specific colors for appointments and set alarms for reminding when an appointment is to start and when you need to get back to work after lunch.

Scheduled appointments...