It’s been a few months since I have posted, and I am so excited to be with you again today!!! It’s no secret that fall is my FAVORITE time of year! It’s a time where God shows off some of His greatest masterpieces, and we are reminded just how lovely change can be. It’s also a time to openly express gratitude, count your blessings, hold your family close, and embrace the community around you.
That being said, I am SO GRATEFUL and deeply appreciative for readers like you who continue to support me! I have transformed so much over these past 11 months physically, mentally, and spiritually. Your support helps motivate me to keep the momentum going, and share my story with you! I hope that continuing to share my health journey inspires you to reach deeply within your own inner potential to make healthy choices TODAY that bless your life and the lives of those around you!
As we welcome November, I am starting a new mini-series centered around “No”vember. Saying no is something we all struggle with on a daily basis. How many times have you signed up to do all the things, and then later resented yourself for it?
When we say yes to everything, this can often either make or break our health progress. Without a routine that builds in time for our wellness, our health withers and we are not living out the best version of ourselves.
We are entering a season where “being busy” is glorified, and dare I say, expected of us. But I want to challenge you to not buy into that lie this upcoming holiday season. There is a freedom in taking control of your routine to build in time for what truly matters to you. I am going to share with you some strategies on how you too can build a routine focused on living an abundant life that serves your family best!
Say No to “Just Surviving”
As a stay at home Mom, I am often asked what my daily routine looks like. Since I am also a sports Mom, I joke that my routine changes about once every 2-3 months!
Summer was an absolute whirlwind with lots of growth and excitement! Summer camp, tutoring, soccer, gymnastics, and CrossFit were at the center of our family’s bustling schedule. We also successfully potty trained our toddler over the summer (celebration!!)
For fall season, we are maintaining the same activities, but also added school to the mix! We have a 1st grader and a half day preschooler in Young 3s. Oh, and did I mention Ryan coached Connor’s soccer team?! And that I joined a Fitness life group through my church? So I guess we did add a few more things to the list…
From the outside, it may look like I am running around aimlessly, and just “trying to survive” like every other well-intentioned Mom. It’s true that we got a lot going on, but can I tell you a not-so-secret-secret? I’ve never been happier, and I am living my most abundant life. Because we are structuring our days around the activities that are most important to us.
Nothing quite fuels me more as a Mom than to watch my children try new things and become more confident in who they are. It lights my heart on fire. As a parent, I feel it is my critical mission to give my children the tools to discover their identity, talents, and God-given gifts. I also want my children to prioritize their health, and develop healthy frameworks that will serve them well throughout their entire lives. I view every activity we sign up for as a tool to accomplish these very purposes.
That’s why I am a sports Mom and my husband volunteers to coach. That’s my ‘why’ for why I stay up until midnight waiting for gymnastics classes to drop so that I can sign up my daughter for the next round. That’s my ‘why’ for picking up team t-shirts, dispersing team photos, organizing volunteers, bringing snacks, and handling team communications. Because it is important work, and it matters to me.
Make no mistake though – maintaining this schedule also comes with tradeoffs. There are many opportunities I have to say no to on a daily basis in order to keep our routine sacred. It means not being able to join play dates with friends as often as I would like. Or getting up early on Saturdays for games instead of watching Saturday morning cartoons. Or missing another adorable pop-up craft show. It is work for sure, but the reward from sticking to our family plan is absolutely worth it!
What is it that you need to say no to have the life you truly want? It first starts with identifying your own mission statement.
Where is the Time Going?
Our culture glorifies being busy. There is pressure to fill our calendars with activities and side hustles because sitting idle is viewed as ‘not doing enough’. On this quest to ‘be enough’, we often lose sight of ourselves and our true priorities. We stumble through life in a haze, unsure of the direction we are heading, get stuck in a ‘reactionary’ cycle, and live in constant stress and overwhelm.
Our daily actions reflect our priorities. Read that again. What does your current routine say about your priorities? Are those priorities in alignment with the true priorities that light your heart on fire?
Time doesn’t just magically appear. You have to create space for it. And that requires saying no…a lot. That doesn’t mean just saying no to new opportunities that come your way…it might mean saying no to habits/activities that are already a fixture in your life.
Where are you currently spending your time? If you aren’t sure, do a time edit. Write down what you did every hour on the hour for just one day. What themes are you seeing?
If you don’t want to do a full blown time edit, look at the screen time history on your phone. That is often a telling sign of where your time is truly going. Decompressing with technology is like laying down on a beach blanket in quicksand. It subtly weighs you down, and before you know it, you are fully immersed. Reducing your screen time is a surefire way to be more productive and build more momentum towards your priorities.
What goals do you have for personal development? For your family? For your home? For work? Write it all down, and boil them down into key priorities. Think of it as your mission statement.
Below are priorities I have identified for myself that may also resonate with you as well:
My wellness is important to me because it allows me to a live a life of freedom. I can independently take care of myself while also being able to serve God, my family, friends, and community better. It allows me to have the freedom to be an active participant in my family’s lives, and engage in a wider range of activities that bring me/us joy. My wellness gives me a fighting chance to experience longevity in order to have the opportunity to watch my family grow old with me. I want to see the seeds I carefully planted in the early years of our family flourish to fruition, and to see my family thrive healthily and happily.
Or another example:
I want to create a life giving home where my family and I feel safe and comfortable. I want to create a welcoming space where fellowship, great memories, and laughter echoes from the walls. I want my children to look back fondly on their childhood home, and have lots of entertaining stories to share around the Thanksgiving table one day with their kids sitting amongst us! I want my friends to feel comfortable dropping by and having a cup of coffee when they need to vent. I want everyone who enters our home to feel welcome, comfortable, and safe.
These are some examples of the important matters I want to build in time for. If I’m too busy running around aimlessly doing all the things, I risk losing the life I envision for myself and my family.
Bottom Line: Once you take a moment to consider what is most important to you, it becomes easier to filter out what is not, and build a routine that fits your family best. Even as circumstances change, you will be able to pivot your routine with your mission purpose at the center of your heart.
Identify Resources Needed
As you consider your priorities, ask yourself what resources or outside help you may need to achieve your goals. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and/or take a hard look at your budget to determine what is realistic for your family. If you can’t make it happen in this season, determine what steps you need to take to propel yourself forward for next season. Don’t stay stuck and fall back on excuses. If it’s important to you and weighing on your heart, it’s certainly worth planning for today!
For example, my husband and I decided at the beginning of this year that we were going to make our health one of our top priorities. Past experience taught us that if we didn’t schedule our workouts and do organized classes, we weren’t likely to work out at all. Back in 2014 (before we had kids), we trained together for the Chicago Marathon. We missed that time training together, and we wanted to be able to workout together to motivate each other like that again.
However, this gets tricky when you have kids! We evaluated our budget, and determined that we could hire a babysitter for a few hours a week so that we could get that time together. We determined it was a great investment for us because:
- That time allows us to have a shared experience together as a married couple outside of our kids.
- We are working on our health which helps us give back more to our family and be better parents while also modeling a healthy lifestyle for them.
- Ryan and I help push each other during hard workouts at CrossFit to get the most bang out of our workouts!
Bottom line: think outside the box!
Create Space for What Matters
Once you tune in to what’s most important (and tune out what is not) and line up any needed resources, the next step is penciling in the time to hit what matters most to you!
Here are some examples of ways you can schedule more time for health and wellness:
- Scheduling your exercise times a week or two in advance
- Build in time for daily movement outside of traditional exercise (Ex: afternoon walks with your kids)
- Treat meal prep day(s) and grocery dates like appointments
- Schedule well checks or meeting with a nutritionist well in advance
Bottom Line: As the old adage goes, if you fail to plan then you plan to fail.
Communication is Key
Once you have identified your personal mission statement, identified any resources you may need, and blocked out the time, you now have all the tools you need to build your routine! Make sure you communicate the plan clearly to your partner, children, caregivers, etc. For me, I keep our routine on a large wall calendar in our kitchen so everyone is on track with what is happening that week! There are so many awesome options out there-find what works best for your family!
Here is the one I use that I absolutely LOVE!!!
https://courses.familyteams.com/family-plan-calendar
Bottom Line: Communicating your plan with your loved ones ahead of time is not only helpful to those around you, but also builds personal accountability!
Homework
What is it that you need to say no to today in order to live an abundant life? I want to know, Kettlebelles! Tell me in the comments below.
