Once a very clean and healthy eater, you’ve forgotten what a vegetable tastes like. Your plans to switch jobs, which you were once very excited about, have taken a back seat while you try to tell yourself that “things aren’t that bad” and maybe leaving isn’t such a good idea after all. Or, maybe, it’s been so long since you’ve been to the gym that you totally missed the fact that your favorite (and most convenient) location has been closed for months. Oops. That last one was an actual, real-life example. Slip-ups. Pitfalls. Mess-ups. They happen to all of us, and they happen for many different reasons. Sudden illness, loss, a broken relationship, a big move. Sometimes these things are very short-lived; other times they throw some long-term difficulties our way. Whenever things go sideways and our lives get derailed, we often also lose focus. Our goals or plans for the future all of a sudden don’t seem all that important. Then, as some time goes by, you’re beginning to think about revisiting some of those once–very-important ideas, but somehow, you can’t find your way back. What do you do? Where and how do you start? Is “starting over” even […]

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Ever have those days when nothing major happens, it’s just an ordinary day, but all of a sudden you start feeling uninspired and find yourself feeling stuck? I love it when there’s a lot of excitement in my life. I love it when there’s a lot happening, I love having fun and good things to look forward to. Sometimes, however, things can get a little quiet. A little calm, normal… ordinary.  Other times, you find yourself dealing with a difficult situation and it can consume you to the point where it’s all you think about. So, what do you do to feel better? How do you move past that feeling of being unable to move forward and how do you transform those “ordinary” days into “extraordinary” and exciting ones? 10 THINGS TO FOCUS ON WHEN YOU’RE FEELING STUCK GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE When was the last time you did something for the first time? Something fun that made you feel free and curious again? Try something new, something you’ve never done before- this can sometimes be one of the quickest ways of getting out of a rut. It doesn’t have to be anything huge, expensive or time-consuming, as […]

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7 Habits That Kill Your Productivity So many distractions, so many goals and so little… time. Doesn’t it sometimes seem like the more you try to focus on getting things done, the less productive you end up being? Take creating a schedule or a to-do list, for example. I am a notorious list-maker and I swear that some days I spend more time creating my schedule or a to-do list, than I actually do on completing those tasks. Or, I’m working on something important, and the next thing I know I’m compulsively browsing the Internet looking at cat videos. I mean, cats ARE the unofficial mascot of the Internet, some will argue that the sole purpose of inventing the Internet was to share cat videos, and despite my fear of them (childhood trauma, don’t ask) I still find them cute. The point is, productivity has always been a work-in-progress kind of a thing for me, and I’m guessing that some of you share this experience. Life happens, things change, and when they do, you have to work around that stress or other life events, to stay productive. Busy doesn’t always equal productive and the important thing is to focus on […]

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Time management: Daily habits that will help you save time Around 40% of the decisions we make every day are made out of habit. This is actually not that surprising, but it also means that you can “train” yourself to develop new habits by constant and persistent repetition. Time is one of the most valuable resources you have, it’s also a very limited resource. Having good time management skills will help you live a healthy and productive life. The first step is learning to value your time. We often waste our time on such small, insignificant things, we procrastinate, we put things off. Sometimes it’s other people that waste your time- but that doesn’t usually happen unless you allow it. So how do you develop habits that will help you save time? By constant and persistent repetition. What are some of the most important time-managing habits to work on? This depends on our individual schedules, responsibilities, and priorities. These are some of those time-managing habits that helped me the most. TIME MANAGEMENT: DAILY HABITS THAT WILL HELP YOU SAVE TIME 1. MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MORNINGS + EVENINGS Spend a few minutes in the evening planning for the next day. Prep as […]

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Being busy, and being productive are two different things. Being productive means working smarter, not harder. It’s something that I’ve struggled with for the longest time. You could always hear me say “I am soooo busy” but at the end of the day, I’d do a quick recap and realize that I really didn’t get as much done as I thought. I’d feel exhausted, but in reality, I really haven’t done anything very productive. I’m sure you know that feeling. You’re sitting down to work, or plan on doing something. Then you get that notification on your phone. Is it an email? A text message? You pick up your phone (oh…you know…”real quick“) and boom. You’re distracted. You can say that when you procrastinate and put things off to be done at a later time, you’re stealing. You’re taking something away from yourself. Something you can never get back. Time. Think about it. If you were to spend only 20% of your time really focusing on those most important tasks and give 100%, you’d have more time. More time to do things you enjoy, more time to set new, bigger goals, and more time to take care of yourself (like […]

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