I read and listen to a lot of personal development. I am always trying to grow my mind, my career, my business, etc. One of the things I have read over and over again, is successful people have a morning routine. It has been shown that having a morning routine sets the stage for prioritizing, more-effective time management and greater productivity. It helps eliminates the stress caused by chaotic mornings. I would read this over and over again, yet I still was not implementing it. Yes, I would wake up and work out, but that was it. I did that and then rush to get the kids off to school and then head to the office. It is something I just keep putting off. Then, I received a e-mail. I listen to the Rise Podcast by Rachel Hollis. Rachel is a New York Times best-selling author of Girl, Wash Your Face. If you have no read this book, I highly recommend it. She is a motivational speaker and helps women, in particular, become better versions of themselves. This week she has a new book coming out called Girl, Stop Apologizing. I pre-ordered the book and can’t wait to get on my hands on it. I am sure I will be done with it by the weekend. As a thank you for the pre-order, she sent out a worksheet and some tools on how to create an “empowering” morning routine. I am taking this as another sign that I need to implement my own morning routine ASAP. So starting today, I am starting a morning routine. It is going to look something like this.
- 4:45am – wake up & make coffee
- 5:00am -journal and write down my affirmations
- 5:15am- workout
- 6:00am-7:05am- get ready for work, drop off kids and head to the office.
- 8:00- pull into the parking and do a 5-7 mins of meditation before walking into the building.
Now this schedule may vary a little bit, in the the days I work from home, I get up a little later, but in general this is what I aiming for. I will report back at the end of the month and let you know how it goes. In the meantime, why don’t you give it a try. I would love to have an accountability partner.
Happy February! So… how did month 1 of 2019 go? Was it a productive month? Did you get half way through it and realize you have accomplished next to nothing on your list. Even if that is the case, it is okay! Each new month gives us a chance to start over. I have to admit, I did not get everything on my list done. If you recall, last month to keep myself accountable, I shared my goals for January. At the end of the month or the beginning or each new month, I review my goals, check off what I accomplished, move what needs to go on next month’s list or just remove it completely because it no longer is needed or serves me. Let’s see how I did.
My 3 big goals for January -lose 5lbs -launch blog- and clean bedroom closets. Well, I lost 4lbs and a rather happy with that. I got all 3 bedroom closets cleaned and organized. The one thing I did not do, but almost there, was to launch my blog. Yes, as you read this, I have been writing for a few months so you all would have some content to read. The launching of a blog is not as easy as one would think. So this goal has been moved to February and fingers crossed it will happen. The other goals on my list:
- Read 1 personal development book ☑ I read “The Rise” by Danette May
- Start my European vacation scrapbook ☑
- Run a race ☑ Chilly Willy 10k
- Run 50 miles ☑ 57.6
- Start Transform 20 ☑
- Stick to my cleaning eating plan ☑
- Buy new bedding ☑
- Pay of Nicholas’s cell phone ☑
- Add to savings ☑
Overall, January was a productive month. This blog not going live, bothers me a little, but here is to getting it done in February. Speaking of February, here are my goals.
- Launch blog
- Finish Transform 20
- Set up my next online health and fitness group
- Read one personal development book and one book for pleasure
- Have a stress free trip to Disney with the boys
- Run 65 miles
- Organize kitchen cabinets
- Save additional money on top of what already goes into savings.
I would love to her your goals for the month and how you did in January. Drop me a note and let me know.
When I first started running, 6.5years ago, music was what got me through my runs. As my distance increased, music was just not doing it for me. Someone in my running group mentioned podcasts and I decided to check it out. 3.5 years later, it is just about all I listen to on my short and long runs. Some of my favorite topics, Disney, true crime, personal growth and development, running and more. Today, I am going to share some of my favorites and in return, I would love for you to share some of yours.
- American Scandal – this tells the story of some of our countries greatest scandals.
- Another Mother Runner- running, specifically mother runners.
- Be Our Guest- my favorite Disney podcast
- Best Case, Worst Case -true crime
- Best of Both World- a great podcast for working moms
- Build Your Tribe with Chalene Johnson -how to build a business
- Criminology- true crime
- Real Crime Profile- true crime
- Rise Podcast – Rachel Hollis- awesome personal growth podcast
- Style Your Mind-another fantastic business building and personal development podcast.
- The Chalene Show – personal development
These are just some that I listen to on a regular basis. There are others, but these are my all time favorites and highly recommend. Now it is your turn. Please share your favorites so we can continue to build our libraries. Remember, sharing is caring. Have a good one!
In a couple of days, I am about to embark on a new fitness program. In addition to my running, I workout to other programs. The length of the programs change from program to program. This new one is 6 weeks long, 6 days a week, but only 20 minutes a day. All that is needed is a step. Don’t let that fool you. This isn’t going to be your 90’s step class. I have a feeling those 20 mins are going to be the longest 20 minutes of my life. Wish me luck!
I did something that changed by life. I became a marathoner! Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would run a 5K, never mind 26.2 miles. However, when I saw that it was the 25th anniversary of the Disney Marathon, I just had to run it. It was hard, humbling, tiring, exhilarating and fun all at the same time. At mile 16 my IT band started to give me trouble. I began to panic. I had 10.2 miles left to go. What was I going to do? My good friends, Maria and Maura were tracking me. They noticed I had slowed down a bit. They, along with my friends Erin, Kim and my sister Jen, reached out to me. They encouraged me to keep going. They were with me every step of the way until the finish line. In fact, Erin met me in Epcot, right before I crossed that finish line.
I remember running around Epcot, passing all the countries and thinking I was really going to do this. All the training miles, early morning workouts, blisters, chafing, blood, sweat and tears were worth it. As I rounded the corner, heading toward Spaceship Earth, I heard the song “How Far I’ll Go” from the movie Moana. I lost it. I knew how far I would go to accomplish my goal and I did just that. Crossing that finish line was amazing. Though I have no desire to run a full any time soon, I will never forget the feeling of accomplishment. It is true what they say
“Everything you ever wanted to know about yourself you can learn in 26.2 miles. – Lori Culnane
