An Evening Ritual

I ran today!  It’s amazing because we’ve been in a constant state of icy/freezing/cold drizzle since mid-week last week.  And Michelle and I still got some of that on our run (wrapped in my robe under a blanket and my feet are still cold!) today but the key was it wasn’t raining when we started.  We went for a good 6 miler on the river and then warmed up on the R Bar patio talking training plans.  We may have wagered a deal that ropes me into another full…..maybe.  Don’t mix a shivering me with a mimosa.

6 miles, 50:03, 8:21 average.  Splits: 8:43, 8:18, 8:14, 8:09, 8:13, 8:27

Confession time.  Last week was a major struggle for me.  We were coming back east from a ski trip in Lake Tahoe and I’m not sure if it was the time change, the couple of days of skiing, lack of sleep on the first few nights back or all the germs of travel but I got knocked down again.   Zero energy.  Not just too-tired-for -workouts low energy, but the so tired I had a headache and nausea tired.  Or maybe the cause was vice versa.  Whatever it was, I was an unproductive sleepy and sick gal for the latter half of the week – making appointments when I could and sleeping all the rest of the time.

I’m feeling much better now after taking it easy Thursday and Friday, and sleeping over 14 hours each of those days.  Things are about to get extremely busy both for my personal running training with upcoming races, my coaching at the studio and some other growing client bases.  It’s all so good, and I want to be alert, focused and energized for all of it.

Bedtime helpers

I’d really like to get back to the days when I would wake up an hour before 6am classes to have some time with myself before my days got crazy.  I miss the quiet morning time, reading, practicing yoga for myself and having a clear mind to think about the flow of the day.  But simply setting the alarm for 5 am hasn’t been working for me.  I just snooze until the very last possible minute.  So, the next logical place to go is the front end of the sleep cycle.

I’m creating an evening ritual, and once I’ve mastered this for two weeks, I’ll start working on the morning ritual.  Every night beginning at 9:30pm I will:

• Turn off electronics – email, blog, scrolling, texts
• Drink a big glass of water
• Brush/floss my teeth
• White strips
• Face washing routine – wash, toner, lotions, eye cremes
• Lotion – legs and hands, this winter dryness is killing my skin!

Ritual essentials close by.

This should put me in bed at 10pm, where I’m allowed to read until I get tired.  I think it sounds like a pretty good plan.  I think the 9:30pm time could be a challenge since most nights I get home from my last appointment after 8 and I like to cook dinner and do some work on the computer.  I’ll have to be more strategic about what I get done on the screen during the daytime.

Do you have an evening ritual, or you just get in bed when you’re ready?  How  do you fight overwhelming fatigue?

Sunday Vibes

Hi Friends!  I hope you’re enjoying this Sunday, even though an hour of it has fallen to Daylight Savings.   This past week was the first official week of business for StudiOne yoga+fitness and man it was a whirlwind.  It’s so cool to walk in and know that the studio is part mine and to have complete ownership over my classes.  I’ve loved welcoming friends and strangers into the space and hope to create an environment that makes fitness fun, exciting and a desirable part of people’s days.

This week was strange and exciting.  Stressful and wonderful.  Fun and hectic.  Pretty much any set of antonyms you can think of is how I felt about the week and having this new gigantic responsibility in my life.  I’m thankful for my partner and the army of supporters I have to speak fears to, and little excitements like our first drop in student.

With all this new studio stuff going on, I’m trying to be more intentional with my time.  That means no more lazy Sundays.  Or should I say, not-quite-so-lazy-Sundays.  That’s not to say I’m not relaxing and catching up on all the Bachelor gossip before tomorrow’s big finale (#teamjojo), but I have created a very specific list of tasks to get done that I know will make my week easier and breezier.

1.  Change sheets – and make bed.  As hard as I try, it never gets done in the chaos of the early mornings during the week.  But on Sundays, one of my first tasks is to take the sheets off the bed and throw them into the laundry.  While they’re in there, I clean my room and make the bed with the spare set.  It sets the tone for the calming day, and hopefully start to the week.
   

   Fresh sheets

   (Later, while I was out on my quality time date, Miley peed all over these clean sheets.  Sometimes Sundays don’t always go as planned….)

2. Do laundry – Nothing like fresh clothes to start the week.  For me it’s 95% sweaty workout clothes and 5% weekend outfits.  I’ll usually have to do one load mid-week too but I do everything on Sunday.
3. Grocery shop- I’ll usually pick a recipe or two to make for the week ahead.  I purchase these ingredients plus several staples (eggs, almond milk, peanut butter, bananas, a green vegetable) and fresh flowers on Sundays.  Then during the week I may have to swing by once for an item or two.  I learned today not to go early afternoon….
   

   Gerber Daisies for today

4. Cook one or two meals for the week- I don’t plan or prep every meal for the week in neat little rows of tupperware containers.  But I have found that if I can make even one meal on Sunday, I eat much better during the week.  I normally get home from my last appointment at 8pm M-Th and if something’s not ready in the fridge, it’s cereal, take out or no dinner at all.  Luckily this week I’ve got rainbow salad and mushroom soup prepped.
5. Take out the trash- Save this for after all the cooking.  Grab office, bathroom, bedroom trash bags too and take it all out.  I’ll also scan through each room for obvious pieces of trash – rogue pieces of mail, packaging, receipts etc.
6. Write all appointments down- While things are cooking or after a nap, I’ll sit down and plan out my weekly schedule.  This may not be as crucial for people with consistent work schedules but I’m sure even within your 9-5 you have specific appointments etc.  I’ll map out each day’s training appointments, classes and social events.  It helps me see which days may be particularly exhausting and which ones I can treat as recharge days.
   

   Appointment calendar

7. Fill in the gaps with my workouts – I keep a separate planner to track workouts in.  Sometimes I teach a class and do it with them, sometimes I just boss them and do my own workout later.  This second planner helps me keep those things straight.
   

   Workout calendar

8. Clean out car- I don’t always get to this one.  Like today since it rained all day.  But I do feel so much better on Monday mornings if I at least took all the trash out of the car and moved extra clothes and water bottles and coffee mugs back inside.  It’s amazing how much can accumulate in just a few days.  If I’m feeling really productive, I’ll take it to get vacuumed (once a year maybe 😉 )
9. Update budget- I try to deposit checks for both business and personal accounts as I get them, and update any purchases on my budget spreadsheet as they come in but anything that falls behind gets paid or logged on Sundays.  I started tracking everything I earned and burned in 2015 and it is by far the best lifestyle habit I’ve picked up post-college.
10. Quality time- This is my love language.  I’ll use time on Sundays to refill relationship cups with Miley by going to the dog park or with friends by taking a walk or meeting for coffee.  Sometimes its an evening drive to see the fella or a night in with him in Tulsa just spending a few hours catching up.  Long distance family members may get a card written or a phone call.  It always varies but I try to give some quality time to people on Sundays since the rest of the week is usually very distracted.

If you’re looking for a way to make your week more enjoyable and less hectic, I’d recommend starting to slowly add one of these ten tasks to your Sunday to-do list at a time.  Doing it this slowly shouldn’t interfere too much with brunch plans or sleeping in ;).

 

Vote for the June Challenge!

In order to help my small business blossom on social media, keep myself challenged in a daily fitness routine and form a new habit, I am bringing back the monthly challenge!  This time, y’all get to vote for what the challenge will be from four categories!

Vote for your favorite!

The winning challenge will earn a post a day from me of a task or pose or exercise move to complete in order to get stronger in that category and help you form a new habit!  So far, from Facebook and Instagram, Planks are winning :D!  Prizes and recognition to be won throughout.  Voting ends at noon (Tulsa time) on Friday and the first challenge task will be posted Monday, June 1!

Which new habit would you like to work on in June?!