Friday Roundup #2

I’m making the Friday roundup a regular thing you see..I think its a good way to have another look at what I’ve been writing about and also tell you a little bit about what has been going on for me personally. I try not to write too much personal stuff because i’ve heard that its bad for a blogger….I don’t know though I quite like reading things about people’s lives, it makes them seem more human…what do you think?

Anyhoo on Monday I posted about Warning Signs for Stress because when describing my blog to somebody they asked me, ‘What are the warning signs for when you’re getting anxious or stressed again?’ (i’m paraphrasing) so I thought it was an important subject to try and cover.

On Wednesday I posted about Most Important Tasks which is a really cool way of setting tasks and not getting too overwhelmed by a huge list so worth a read for tips on the organisational front.

Things that have been happening this week for me are

• A meeting about a talk I am going to do for a charity which supports people with pre and post natal depression on self-care. They are called Pandas and I’m excited to go along and hopefully help give them some ideas about self care
• Speaking of which, self-care month sign up is still on. A whole month of daily emails with self-care tasks in throughout June so sign up here
• On Wednesday I got hypnotised for the very first time ever. It was a pretty emotional experience but so worth it. I think it has probably changed my life actually
• I went out for tea with a friend which was nice. Gave me a chance to feel like a proper grown up. Something other than parenting and sitting in front of a computer to fill my time
• Writing an essay. I am studying an architect called Pugin at the moment. He likes medieval gothic churches which is nice! Also there is a Pugin Church literally over the road from my Mums house so I was very excited to find that out (I know I’m a geek) anyway the essay is due in while I am away at the end of the month so it’s got to be done ASAP so I won’t be sat in a static caravan in Wales somewhere trying to finish it while everyone else is playing on the beach.
• Hula-hooping. My exercise of choice again at the moment, so much fun!
• Not eating meat.
• Reading The Mists Of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Expressing Gratitude
• Doing a photography challenge over on Instagram

 

I found this on Pinterest actually but have no idea where it had come from unfortunately!

• Having really good responses to my first ebook Balance your Life Today available worldwide on Amazon and free if you are on Amazon unlimited or £1.99 (or equivalent)

And I think that is about it. Today I am going to paint something, hang out in the sunshine with the kids and do some reading.

Hope you all have a spectacular weekend!

Hope & joy,

Imogen x

Most Important Tasks

In my Leonie Dawson workbook that I filled out at the beginning of this year there was a page called

12 Zen Habits (From Leo Babuta at Zen habits.net)

They are all pretty useful and zen and go as follows

1. Set your 3 MIT’s (most important tasks) each morning
2. Single task (focus your attention)
3. Zero inbox
4. Process emails once a day
5. Exercise 5-10 mins a day
6. Work while disconnected
7. Keep your desk decluttered
8. Clear & declutter home for 15 mins a day
9. Stick to a 5 sentence limit on emails (make your words powerful)
10. Say no to commitments & requests not on your important short list
11. Eat fresh fruit & veg everyday
12. Follow a morning routine

I think we can all pretty much agree that these ‘Zen Habits’ are worth thinking about as we go through our days. In fact I have them stuck on the wall in front of me right this very second look

My favourite one is number 1. I actually do use this one every day now. Having 3 MIT’s is great because it isn’t overwhelming. It its an endless to do list. It is just what actually matters to you the most on that day. Sometimes there is time for more. Some days I have achieved my MIT’s by 11am and I have the rest of the day to frolic..or whatever. I take 5 minutes every morning to figure out what the 3 tasks are for that day that i definitely need to do. If i think of 4 i have to choose which ones are the most necessary to my day.

Todays MIT’s for example are

• Write blog post
• Go to appointment
• Start assignment

Today is pretty standard actually. Often my 3 MIT’s have something to do with self-care (appointment-actually for hypnotherapy) something for my business (today-write blog post) and often something to do with studying because there is basically always something I really need to do for that.

Other days, I know immediately that My number 1 priority is self care. Sometimes my MIT is actually to find time for a quick nap, or a bath, or just to read alone for a while. On days when I’m not feeling that great I know that that needs to be taken care of first.

Some days it is to do something fun with my family, to visit my grandma, to clean something, to business plan, to organise something for charity, to find time for yoga or a walk or to write in my journal if I haven’t done that for a while, to create something if i haven’t done that for a while.

You get the picture. I need to sit down each morning and actually give myself a few minutes to think about what the day holds in store for me and how I can work out when to do my MIT’s.

Why don’t you try it? Could you list 3 MIT’s today?

Peace out,

Imogen x

P.S.

Have you signed up for self-care month? Free daily emails throughout June with self care tasks in for every day! Sign up here

http://eepurl.com/bl49EP

Friday roundup

This week I have Feng Shui’d my office. I am getting seriously good vibes in here now, I really love it and am loving working from here. I have created more space by clearing some things out and moving them to other areas and now my space its clear to imagine and create but also to do business.

At the beginning of this week I released my new ebook Balance Your Life Today. You can find it on Amazon for £1.99 (or whatever the equivalent is where you are). I am really proud of this book because it contains a basic overview of tasks to do to create a better balance in your life. It really works and I know because this is how I live my life. After struggling to create balance in my life I use all these techniques to make sure that it stays balanced now. The book cover areas like

• self care
• exercise
• food
• stress
• work

and more.

On Wednesday I announced the countdown to Self-Care Month which is a month long self-care challenge. I will be emailing a self-care task every day throughout June to help you balance your life by implementing more self-care. It is something we don’t often do enough and honestly, time should be devoted to self care every single day. So you can sign up for that here and it is all totally free.

I found out this week that the assignment I hated, that literally brought me to tears that I did a couple of weeks ago for my degree i got 29/50 so Im pretty Ok with that. Its a relief!

Yesterday was my 6th wedding anniversary and today is Mr.H’s birthday so it’s going to be a wonderful weekend of celebrating and congratulating ourselves on making it this far. It’s not easy but definitely worth it. And eating the chocolate orange and chilli cake I found on Pinterest.

Have a beautiful weekend gang,

Imogen x 

Evening routine

Following on from my post yesterday about creating a weekly routine I want to talk about creating an evening routine. If you work in the day or look after your family then evenings are sacred time. They are your important time for relaxing and regenerating. If you’re tired (I certainly am) then it’s easy to want to spend your evening in front of the TV. I understand that and I do that sometimes too. That’s fine now and then but what I want to suggest is that you also use this time for personal growth, hobbies, socialising, exercise, creating and self care.

What I do first is make a list of 5 or more tasks that I feel I don’t have enough time for, or areas of my life that are getting neglected. My list looks like this

• Crafting/painting
• Self care
• Socialising
• Quality time for my relationship with my husband
• Exercise
• Time spent in nature
• Reading

Now I work out how to fit this things into my evenings. I choose one per day, it doesn’t have to be rigid, for example if the weather is good I will go for a walk and tick off some time spent in nature. Sometimes I can’t get out for a walk on my own if I am on my own with the kids and I’ll have to work that time into another part of my week. Here’s how a normal week night could work:

At 7:40pm both children are in bed and I have cleared up all the pots and toys from the day. If i can go out I would go straight out for swimming, or to a friends for a cup of tea, out for a meal with friends, or for a short walk down to the river. If I am at home I could get the paints out or make something from my Crafts To Do board on Pinterest. On a Thursday, as I have said before I like to make time to pamper myself a bit (see Pamper evening post). On Wednesdays I make time to watch a film. If Mr.H is around it gives us quality time together which is something we can top up at the weekend. Generally, any one of these activities normally lasts from half an hour to 2 hours, which then gives me time watch something on TV then to read a bit before I go to bed. I very rarely go to bed later than 10:30pm. I would stay up longer and do more if I could but I know that if I do stay up longer I will pay for it in tiredness the next day.

I think everyone knows how much sleep they need and how much they can fit in to an evening. You have to use your intuition to figure out whether you are trying to fit in too much or if you are too tired to do much one evening. My belief is that this time is precious and often overlooked as a time to be productive in your hobbies or socialising. Why not try it for a while and see if you can pull another few hours of activity out of your day? For any more help or advice on creating routines and fitting more into your life then email me at imogenjhope@gmail.com

Much love,

Imogen x

Moving week

Well, moving week is here. We’ve had a weekend full of packing, organising and dismantling furniture ready for Thursday. I also managed to fit in time to write my first assignment for University and some crucial time for self care. March is here and the sun is shining (in between snow flurries) and I am excited! Not ready, quite, but I have faith that I will be.

I will try not to neglect my blog but posts may be on the brief side this week. I haven’t quite got the hang of scheduling them in advance yet. Any advice for that? 

I love the beginning of a new month. It feels like everything is refreshed and goals are renewed. This will be a big month for us and I can’t wait to get going!

Imogen x