Posted in Relaxation

Weekend Downtime

Posted on by tracydee

I have been guilty of working 7 days a week on a regular basis in the past. As a full time student with a couple of part-time jobs, it’s hard to justify taking a day off. However, it’s so necessary to recharge your brain and your body.

For the last several weeks, I’ve tried to work no more than 2 hours on Saturday and Sunday. I typically don’t mind working Saturday morning until about noon and then taking the rest of the day off. And Sundays I usually work in the evening to get prepared for the week ahead so it doesn’t feel like too much work.

With the warmer weather approaching, I’d like to create a schedule where I stop work by 5:00pm on Fridays and don’t pick it back up until 8:00am on Monday mornings. I usually teach on Mondays so this means I need to make sure my lessons are done by Fridays and any grading I have to do is also done by Friday.

As for my schoolwork, it is on me to complete this final paper and graduate in the next 2 months. Perhaps it is a bit of wishful thinking that I can institute this weekend free of work rule now, but I’m going to give it a try starting next weekend. I am going to submit my paper by the end of this weekend to my advisors for their feedback and work diligently throughout the week on all of my part time job tasks.

While I wait for the paper feedback, I will plan my lessons for my class for the next 3 weeks so that I’m ahead. Since most of my work revolves around creating my own schedule, it’s up to me to make sure that I get my tasks completed during the week day hours.

Here’s to taking back my weekends for relaxation and recharging! And more time for my hobbies such as gardening, art, and reading.

Posted in Work From Home

Do you work from your bed?

Posted on by tracydee
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

At the beginning of the pandemic I’m sure many of us worked from our bed because it was comfy and convenient. If you’re still doing that, it could be taking a toll on you mentally and physically. Here are some of the tips I use that I tell my friends and students when I’m working with them:

  1. Designate a specific work space separate from where you sleep. If you’re having trouble sleeping at night and constantly use the computer or scroll through your phone, you may want consider putting those down and making sure the bed is your sleep zone. For a long time, I didn’t have the luxury of a separate room so I had a tiny desk that I used in my bedroom. Then I used my kitchen table when I had my own one bedroom. Now, I’m fortunate to have an office and it has made a huge difference in my mental capacity to get work done and separate sleep and rest time.
  2. If you do work in bed, use some sort of support for your laptop like a lap desk. This helps keep it flat and cushions the surface for you underneath. I use this more when I’m on the couch and watching TV in the background if I’m doing any type of mindless work. Some people even prefer to use a laptop tray to hold their work items.
  3. Use a battery operated alarm clock and put your phone across the room at night. Resist the urge to check your phone for texts or emails when you first wake up in the morning. Most people use their phones as their alarm clock, but a simple switch to another alarm can create that barrier to get your morning started off on the right note.

*Note that links are affiliate links and provide a commission if used.

Posted in Manifestation

Utilizing Daily Affirmations to Change Your Life For the Better

Posted on by tracydee

Daily affirmations can change your life. One practice I started several years ago rather inconsistently was listing out what I was grateful for. I found that on the days I started with a thankful heart I was more focused, productive, and positive. Even if I don’t get a chance to write it down, I try to at least think about it each morning and remember all the good things I have going for me.

More recently, I added daily affirmations to this practice. In December 2020, I downloaded an app called I AM and I did pay for the premium version. Now I’m sure I could have found tons of free resources online, but I really do like the app’s layout, design, user interface, and affirmations. It has become a lifesaver in times when I can’t think of affirmations on my own.

Each morning, I scroll through my mix and I write 3-4 affirmations in my journal. If I find myself anxious or stressed I pull them up on my iPad in the app or look at my journal. More recently, I started sharing my affirmations on Tik Tok and letting people know how it is impacting my life.

How Daily Affirmations Have Changed My Life

I truly feel more inspired and at peace with myself since starting to use affirmations. In fact, on the days when I don’t implement them or forget to say them, I can feel a difference. My confidence has grown and I love and believe in myself in ways I didn’t before. I even see the fruits of my affirmations in a dream opportunity now traveling and working with students in new places every day. Even my city apartment is gorgeous. Now I have faith that I can utilize affirmations to manifest the next chapter of my life.

daily affirmations
Photo by Eva Elijas on Pexels.com

Today’s daily affirmations are:

  • My soul is at peace and my body is healthy and beautiful.
  • The key to my future and my life is my mind.
  • I trust the process of love and life.
  • Just breathe and know that everything will be okay.
Posted in Manifestation

Daily Affirmations

Posted on by tracydee

One practice I started several years ago rather inconsistently was listing out what I was grateful for. I found that on the days I started with a thankful heart I was more focused, productive, and positive. If I don’t get a chance to write it down, I try to at least think about it each morning and remember all the good things I have going for me.

More recently, I added daily affirmations to this practice. In December 2020, I downloaded an app called I AM and I did pay for the premium version. Now I’m sure I could have found tons of free resources online, but I really do like the app’s layout, design, user interface, and the affirmations.

Each morning, I scroll through my mix and I write 3-4 affirmations in my journal. If I find myself anxious or stressed I pull them up on my iPad in the app or look at my journal. Today’s affirmations are:

  • My soul is at peace and my body is healthy and beautiful.
  • The key to my future and my life is my mind.
  • I trust the process of love and life.
  • Just breathe and know that everything will be okay.
Posted in Personal Skills, Time Management, Work From Home

Time Management Tips

Posted on by tracydee

I rarely hear people say they’ve got too much time on their hands. It’s often more about the lack of time that frustrates most. We all get the same amount of time in a day and how we use it has important implications for the outcomes of our lives.

Time management is an area of my life where I am constantly looking to improve. I seek ways to plan and be more productive. I used to thrive on being busy thinking that that was a marker of effective time management, when in fact it is not. Now, I seek ways to engage in deep focus and practice self care to make the most of the time I have. Here are some of the strategies that I use.

  • Single task. In order to turn my focus to the task at hand, I close out the email tabs, turn off the notifications, and focus on one item of my to do list at a time. Each day I use a template to write tasks for the day.
  • Modified Pomodoro. Google the Pomodoro Method and you’ll find lots of articles and resources. I use it, but sometimes I modify it and use the amount of work time that fits best in my schedule. So instead of 25 minute work chunks, I might do 30 or 45 or even an hour.
  • Prioritize. I keep my recurring tasks and upcoming to do items on a program called TickTick. Each day, I use that as my guide to prioritize what needs to be completed. I set aside 15-20 minutes each morning to start my day with prioritizing that way I’m not caught off guard as the day goes on. If something comes up, I can decide if it fits in my priorities or if it can be moved to the next day.
  • Improve technology skills. This is an important time management tip for anyone working from home. If you spend a lot of time on the computer, then finding quicker ways to complete tasks saves time. Time saved by technology can be spent on other priority areas. Utilize the free resources available to brush up on your tech skills.
  • Calendar. I use Google calendar to color code all of my meetings and tasks. I add big projects to my calendar and block off time to complete them. I also use a paper calendar because I still like to have things written down.

*I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Posted in Personal Skills

Websites for Personal and Professional Learning

Posted on by tracydee

One thing I’ve been focusing on this past year is professional growth and personal learning. I’ve done this through participation in a number of online courses. There are so many resources out there for us to continue to gain knowledge. I will share some of the places where you can go to take courses on a variety of topics and some of the courses I took.

  1. The Science of Well-Being: I took this free course through Coursera last summer. I enjoyed the discussions on building habits and practicing strategies to increase personal wellness.
  2. Alison.com: I took a free Time Management course on this website as well as a mindfulness course.
  3. Google SkillShop: Google has so many amazing free online tutorials and courses that you can take on lots of topics. I took their educational foundations course for online learning. Next, I plan to take their skills course on Google Ads to see how I can use that for my blog.
  4. LinkedIn Learning: While these courses come with the premium membership, you may be able to gain access through an organization or your company. It is worth asking about partnerships to see what is available for you to take some courses.

In addition to these online platforms, YouTube has video tutorials for almost anything that we want to learn. It’s how I got started with my Etsy shop, building this website, and starting my own YouTube channel. The moral of the story is, keep learning, keep growing, and keep seeking new information!

Posted in Personal Skills

Mini-Goals: Small Ways to Stay Productive Throughout the Day

Posted on by tracydee

Today, I’m focusing on mini-goals. I’m working toward a larger goal of graduating this semester. To do so, I must meet certain tasks and stay within my timeline to get there.

Setting mini-goals to stay productive throughout the day may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t make the time. Whether you need to get out of bed and start your day earlier than usual or quit procrastinating on a report that’s due tomorrow, there are many ways to set mini-goals to achieve more throughout the day.

Here are my tips for tackling mini-goals:

  1. Each day, take your big task list and write down what you can REALISTICALLY accomplish during your work hours. I capitalized realistically because I used to make my to-do list as long as humanly possible because that obviously made me more accomplished somehow. Now, I take time each morning to carefully select what I believe I can accomplish in a day. This helps eliminate some of those feelings of inadequacy at the end of the day if you didn’t get to everything on your list.

  2. After that, I work in small time chunks and I set goals either with myself or my work partners. It might be something small like send off two emails or review 10 rows on a spreadsheet. A big goal that keeps us motivated should be something just out of our reach, but mini-goals are things that keep us moving forward and not stagnant. Sometimes, I’ll set time limits as well and work within those parameters before moving on to another task.
  3. Constant reflection. This one I’m going to credit to my therapist. We are working on fact-based thinking. Anytime my mind starts to wander or worry about things I cannot control, I will bring it back to the present goal with facts and logic. I’ll keep you posted, but I’m excited at the personal development prospects that this tip has in store.
mini-goals
Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

What are your tips for staying focused on your mini-goals and progress?

Posted in Personal Skills

Overcoming Lack of Motivation

Posted on by tracydee

I have another post I was going to write about using Google Slides because I just made a new YouTube video (check it out here), but I’m trying to work on something much bigger and I’m just not motivated. So instead, I’m going to procrastinate a little bit longer by sharing some ways I’ve overcome lack of motivation in the past and how I’m going to use that to my benefit today.

There is a pretty important finish line waiting for me to cross in a couple of months and the closer I get to graduation, the harder it seems to motivate myself to complete everything needed to get there. Plus, it’s challenging right now being stuck at home and not feeling as inspired. That’s why the nature breaks are so important. I’ve stepped outside about 8 times already today and it’s still early afternoon.

Here are some tips that worked for me in the past that I plan to implement today to keep me going toward my goals:

1. Keep my eye on the prize and identify my why.

Even though the tasks I have to do seem unimportant or boring in the moment, they are part of something bigger. Something that will take me one step closer to graduating and finally achieving a huge milestone in my life and my career. I’m going to take 10-20 minutes to list all my reasons WHY I’m doing this now and how this will benefit me in the future. Now, if you do this exercise, and you find that it’s hard to list anything or you can’t think of any benefits, then perhaps that’s a bigger question of whether that goal is really meant for you.

2. Plan for success.

When I was training for a half marathon, I knew that I wouldn’t continue if I didn’t have a plan. I mapped out 16 weeks in my calendar, wrote down how much I wanted to run each day and set a pace goal. I didn’t always make it exactly, but it was there as a guide and always kept me moving in the right direction. I also slept in my workout clothes so that when that 4:45am alarm went off, I was already halfway ready to get out there and run. Today, I am going to plan out the remaining tasks I have to reach until my deadline and prioritize the ones that need to get completed first.

3. Work in bursts and take breaks as needed.

Taking breaks may seem counterintuitive, but sometimes we just need to step away from something to gain clarity or motivation to keep working on it. A time limit helps direct our focus on a specific task related to a larger goal and gives us a break to look forward to. One method is the Pomodoro technique, which breaks tasks into 25-minute chunks of work followed by a 5-minute break. There are many online timers you can use for this technique. Another way to stay motivated and focused is through a program called Focusmate. This website pairs you up with another person LIVE on video who is also working on a task for 50-minutes. You complete your individual tasks knowing someone else is working alongside you.

If you’d like me to write a longer post about any of the topics above, feel free to leave a comment below. Let’s continue to learn and grow together to become the best versions of ourselves!

Posted in Outdoor Adventures

Connecting With Nature

Posted on by tracydee

In this digital age we spend so much time in front of our screens, especially if we are working from home. That’s why it’s really important to get out of the house whenever possible (and do so safely). This past week, I took a half day to go to a nature park and spend some time breathing in the fresh air, listening to the the birds, and smelling all the fresh scents of being in the woods by the water. I’ll share some pictures below and then some tips to connect with nature and stay motivated while being stuck at home more often.

Nature and Self Care

  1. Plan your week on Sunday if you can. Look at everything you have to do and try to make sure you can get outside for a walk at least a few times a week, every day if possible. I set timers in the morning and afternoon to get outside. If I don’t have time for a walk, I try to open the door and take a deep breath of fresh air.
  2. Explore new places outdoors. The park I visited was about 45 minutes away and I had never been there before. I took my time exploring and I only saw part of it. I look forward to going back and visiting more of it. I can’t wait to get out a map and pick out some new adventures to try for my next self care day.
  3. Don’t underestimate the power of fresh air, a cool breeze, birds singing, or green plants. I used to live in big cities so the immediate nature wasn’t always at my doorstep, but with a little walk or drive, I could find a nice quiet park to walk around and enjoy the green space. And if you don’t have time for that, research some calming plants to keep nearby in your work or home space.
Posted in Work From Home

Setting up for Video Calls

Posted on by tracydee

Setting up for video calls requires some effort and I’m actually getting kind of tired of it. This past year, I’ve spent almost every single day on my computer on some sort of video call, either for work or just spending time with friends. So when I can, I turn my video off for meetings or calls. I do this to take a mental break from the eye gymnastics of looking at myself (admit it, we all do it) and everyone else in the call at the same time. By the way, in Zoom, you can use hide self-view if you want to remove the temptation of viewing yourself!

Here are some tips I use while on video calls for the best quality and ease of viewing:

  1. I have a 2020 Macbook Air (I did a YouTube review you can watch here). One downside to this particular Macbook is the poor camera quality. Therefore, I utilize a ring light to improve my video quality. The ring light I have includes 3 settings, but there are many other options you can choose from. It’s a great investment to quickly improve the quality of your video.

2. On Zoom, I like to maintain my view of other participants in the call while someone is screen sharing. To do this, I make sure I have the Side-by-Side view option enabled. And then I can drag the panel over to see more videos if I want to see more of the participants. You can view the instructions on how to do that here.

3. A laptop stand is also a great investment for video calls. It is important for ergonomic reasons to raise your laptop to eye level, but also for connecting to the video participants. And if you don’t have a laptop stand, you can use reams of paper or books to prop up your laptop and bring your camera to eye level.

There are many more tips to set up your video calls for success, but these three should get you started!