How To Not Lose Your Cool With BACK TO SCHOOL

There is no doubt that back to school time can be the most stressful time of year for us mom's. We had all summer to relax, sleep in, and hang out with the kids. But now, its time to kick it into gear and get back to the real world. Right now I'm meal planning for the week! Who's got theirs done? I will post mine in the comments, but also had to tell you HOW GIDDY I am to kick off this PROJECT MOMLIFE - How To Not Lose Your Cool With Back To School!

Ok, this may be the #1 thing that was a GAME CHANGER for me when I found I was all over the board! Have you ever double booked yourself? Like told your friend you'd meet her for lunch, only to realize you are suppose to take your kid to the dentist? Or plan for a girls night, only to remember (THAT DAY) that your kid has a game or recital? Or, you have ZERO time to get something done for yourself?? So here's the straight scoop. We all have the same 24 hrs in a day, so this is what I found to work BEST for me, so I was in control of my schedule, and my schedule wasn't controlling me.

COLOR CODE YOUR CALENDARS!

Are you a digital (iCal or Google) calendar type? Or Paper type? Or perhaps both? SHARE A SCREENSHOT OF YOURS BELOW! Regardless of what calendar type you are, here's what worked best for me: COLOR CODING! Yup, if you are a paper calendar person, go get yourself some colorful pens (or borrow your kids markers) or highlighters and have a color for each activity. The same works for the digital calendars (see attached), as you can create a "color block" for each "theme" of your day.

Here's some of the themes to color block for:

* Family activities * Kids sports * Date night * Work Hours * Workout (yup, I schedule mine at 5am, so my notification goes off!) * Meal Prep * Personal time/self care * Downtime

I swear to you, once I stopped my life for a moment, to color block out what I needed to accomplish each day, I realized HOW much I could get done and how much I stopped overbooking myself or worse, OVER COMMITTING myself! TAKE ACTION - screenshot what type of calendar person you are! Also, is this something you will implement or do you have good system that works you could share? Perhaps a favorite app that keeps your schedule in tact?

Where are my list people?? Or if you are like me - SUCK AT LISTS. Or have like 100 of them, in different places! Not sure if you guys have heard of Brian Tracy's Eat that Frog, but helped me put into perspective, how I needed to prioritize my lists! Here's what I learned:

1. Write down EVERYTHING you need to accomplish the next day (do this the evening before).

2. Set priorities to all of it. Label them according to priority (or color code again!)).

? A: Must Do (serious consequences if not completed)

? B: Should Do (mild consequences)

? C: Nice to Do (no real consequences)

? D: Delegate (can someone else do it, to help free up time to do A & B?)

? E: Eliminate (time wasters that won't help you reach your goals.

☝️ You can rank each category (ie: A-1, A-2, etc)

3. Always complete Priority A, as this is that "frog" you need to eat. Maybe its the task you dread the MOST or scares you the most (for those of us in a business, this usually is the case). If you have physical goals, perhaps A-1, is getting up at 5am to workout. Or A-1 is meal planning. If you work for a living, A-1 could be up at 6am to get breakfast and meals planned.

TAKE ACTION - What's your NON-Negotiable? The MUST-DO task that you know needs to get done or else serious consequences (ie: no weight loss, no job promotion, etc).

Do you TRULY know how you spend your time each day?

I mean, like literally timed how much time you spend in the shower, checking your phone, watching TV, going to the bathroom (DON'T PRETEND YOU DON'T HIDE IN THERE

? - I do!!), folding laundry, talking to a friend, driving to and from places? I know it sounds crazy, but next time you pick up your phone to check social media, respond to a text message or detour through the kitchen to start on a random project, set a timer! See how long you do that activity!

Then ask yourself:

"IS THIS A MUST-DO??"

And if it's not, what if you moved it down the list or ELIMINATED it? What if that meant finding an extra 20 mins in your day?? What if that EXTRA 20 mins in your new could be used for:

>> A quick workout >> Reading a book >> Taking a bath >> Meditating >> Getting your business started >> Meal planning/prep for the next day

The options are endless.

TAKE ACTION - what is ONE THING you know it's a total time waster in your days?

Would you agree this is usually the FIRST thing that gets crossed off the list, because there is NO really consequence if it doesn't get done? But did you know that the LESS time we spend on ourselves, the MORE likely we are to fall into depression, gain weight, lose confidence and hope??

Yup, true story! I don't know specific stats, but being that I work with Moms ALL DAY LONG, this generally is the common theme. We DISMISS the necessity to do SELF-CARE! I want to give you a HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT, if you are one that neglects self-care, I want you to SCHEDULE one thing you can do for yourself, by THIS WEEKEND!

That could be: * Take a bath * Get a manicure/pedicure * Go for a walk - by YOURSELF or with a Spouse/Friend * Get in a workout * Schedule Happy Hour or a night out with your Spouse/Friend * WHATEVER makes you happy! TAKE ACTION - share either A) what your daily or weekly Self-Care activity is or

what you PLAN to schedule for yourself and WHEN?

You know the whole saying - you are who you associate yourself with?

I had to do some serious reflection a few years back when I started my fitness journey - as I had a lot that wanted to tear me down, think I was stupid for doing a "silly home business", always on a diet, too positive, etc. You have those people in your life? Perhaps you see it on your social feeds? Those that are SUPER political (not that it's not ok to have an opinion), SUPER controversial, always negative, doing things that don't align with your goals/priorities? My point is, if these are the people that you constantly see day-to-day or show up on your news feed and they AREN'T what you need to propel forward in life - guess what - TIME TO CLEAN UP YOUR FRIENDS LIST!

Yup, there is NOTHING wrong with that. Good news is, if it's FB, they won't even now you "unfollowed" them OR hit the "hide" button. I hide A LOT of friends that I want to stay i touch with, but just can't handle their daily banter about whatever "pity party" they have going on. Also, not a bad idea to reflect on how you show up on social media or when you meet friends. Are you ALWAYS negative? Have someone or something to bitch about. I mean don't get me wrong, girlfriends are for having these little bitch sessions, but if you find that's ALL that happens with a particular circle or people you follow - do you want that in your life?

TAKE ACTION - take a few days to see what types of people show up on your feeds or send you messages or call you. Are they the ones that lift you up? Rally around your "crazy idea"? Support your fitness journey? Give you honest advice, even if it hurts? Love you unconditionally? If not - will you release them/hide them/unfriend them? Raise your hand ?‍♀️ if you are going to be cleaning house on your circle??

I am fortunate to say - that my Momstrong community and my Team of Coaches, have become my family. They have become some of my best friends (it's ok to have MANY and from different stages of life), and they are usually the first ones I come to when I need to be Coached, I need advice or have a crazy idea. If you aren't already, I would love to have you a part of our MOMSTRONG community on Facebook! Just drop your info below and you will be redirected to our kick ass group!

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How To Not Lose Your Cool With BACK TO SCHOOL

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