Behind-The-Scenes: My Current Routines, Habits, & Hacks

Welcome to Captivate and Close. I'm Kinsey Machos, business consultant and marketing strategist. And I'm going to show you how to attract and enroll high paying clients using my break through online marketing strategies, all without having to rely on complicated funnels, disingenuous clickbait, or spammy sales tactics. These are the messaging marketing and selling secrets that virtually no one is talking about. So let's dive in. Hello, so good to be here with you today, I hope you are having such a great week or weekend, maybe you're just getting started with your week, whichever time or day of the week that this finds you. I'm excited to dive into this topic, which is definitely a more personal type of episode, I was actually looking at the history of the episodes that we've been rolling out over the last few months. And they have been very strategic level, you know, tactical level based, which is really great. And it's also in line with, you know, the season that we're in, we're in a very strategy strategic season of putting some pieces in play, and we're gearing up for a really big shift in the company. And so I've just been so focused on those strategic components, which, of course, you know, is infused within the overall content, and what's top of mind and also just like what we're hearing from our audience as we roll out these new initiatives, but it's been a while since I've delivered a more personal note. And of course, within the episodes, I think it's I hope that you still glean a little bit about my personal life, because I think that's important. But when I was looking at even our top downloaded episodes, it is a blend of both strategic and the personal ones of me just sharing, you know, a personal story or something like that. So it's just a good reminder of infusing that into the overall content strategy just because just like you want to connect with me, right, your audience wants to connect with you at a deeper level. And really sharing more about behind the scenes pieces is super important. So I hope this topic finds you well, I think that I'm always studying other people and their routines and their habits. And it's also one of the things that I have been really focused on and is an really, really core value of my life. And also the company, one of our core values as a company is that in order to really show up as your best self, we take care of ourselves, if that is the Priority Health is the number one priority. We know that we cannot sacrifice our well being for the sake of other things or other people. And so this is infused within the overall structure of the business and also my life. And this has been a really big and robust journey. For me, I think it even started at a very young age. When I in hindsight, I know now I had, you know, body image disorder, if you will, I don't you know, whether or not I technically had a disorder or not, I don't know. But I definitely looked in the mirror and saw a skewed version of my body. I always thought I was quote unquote, like fat, which is crazy. Because if you if you even look at my stature now like I'm slender, and I've always been slender, I mean, you know, during the college years, I definitely put on what did they call it, like the freshman 40 or whatever. But that's a story for another day. But I've always been, you know, petite. And I remember in junior high and coming into high school, the version of of what I saw in the mirror was so ridiculous. And if you look at pictures of you know, my body type and things like that, I was like stick thin. So in having that skewed reality of what my body looked and you know how I felt I came into teens, early adulthood already starting to experiment with diets and stuff like that. Now, again, anything that I did, then I know now like, not good. So I understand that but I think just kind of giving you some insight of that overall journey and when it started and when I started to lean into really optimizing for my health and making sure that I was focused on the right things to get the results that I wanted. Now, again, when I was younger, I was really really confused. And it you know, I understand now where The gap was, but I've just always been focused on that piece. But coming into entrepreneurship, where your entire business relies on your brain, and you, you know, the you are the vessel of the business, it became more important than ever to really dial this in, and just feel so good. And this is something that people don't talk about enough. But I really want to feel good, I want to feel creative, I want to, I want my best ideas to be accessible to me, I want to feel energized, you know, the older I get, the more aware I am of the things that impact me. And that maybe before I could have gotten away with but just really prioritizing my health, not just my physical health, like how I look, but also my mental and emotional health. And as I've gotten older, these things are the are so intertwined. Whereas before, I don't think I noticed it as much. So I'm definitely more prone to the emotional or mental depths. So some depression and anxiety, those things will seep in. And yes, there's instances, again, this is this is my own journey. This is not to push anything onto anybody else, or say that, you know, this is the right way, and there's a wrong way. But for myself, I found that the things and the shifts that I've made over the years have really helped me stay above that and not have to rely, you know, uncertain antidepressants or what have you. So I don't want to go too deep into that. But I think it's important, just to be open and vulnerable in the fact that, you know, I do struggle with those things. And if I am not careful, I can easily get sort of kicked off the horse, whether that's from fatigue, or burnout, or even just not feeling well, the brain fog, the the mood, I just feel like I have gotten so much more sensitive to the environment, and the diet and the, the exercise all these things. If anything's kind of out of whack, it hits me a little bit harder. Now, again, my girlfriend's will say like, I'm definitely a very sensitive person, I, I probably have some sort of sensory disorder because I feel things so deeply. And so there that obviously, you know, probably plays into that. But also just really being in tune with my body and listening to it, and really paying attention into, again, what it needs, what it doesn't need, and how I can feel my best. So that's some context of even like, the lens of which I want to deliver this information from in my journey to fine tune, the routines, the habits, the hacks behind that. And the importance of it, the importance that it plays in not just my business, but my life. The other thing too, is I really started to notice big shifts hormonally, when I was in my later 20s, like coming before I even turn 30 There was a lot going on in my body. And a lot of it, I think was through the stress of my corporate job. But when we were starting to do try for our third baby, I actually had two miscarriages. And I knew that my body was completely out of alignment, hormonally, mentally, emotionally. And there was really no foundation or baseline for it to kind of sit on, you know, there was really no anger. And again, I was under so much stress at that during that season of of my life with the you know, working so hard I was going to I was in graduate school, and then my husband was still deploying at that time, which is crazy to think about that feels like ages and ages ago. But really, it was, you know, seven, seven years ago, that's when I really started to, you know, aside from the really surface level things that I was studying or reading around exercise and diet, I started to go deeper into my health transformation in regards to the hormone the hormonal impacts and what stress was doing to my body and that's when I saw my first functional practitioner and not was the start I was about 28 ish I want to say 2728

Thinking back that feels like such a young age but they do say that you will have the shifts in for women. It starts so much earlier and I think too, when my functional practitioner X really gave me a really good visual, it's like when you're walking so close to the ditch already, anything can really throw you off, it's like one little thing is going to knock you off into the ditch. And so it's getting your body further away from the ditch, right, conceptually, and putting in that buffer where your body isn't on fire all the time. And so that's when I really started to go on that healing journey. And not just mentally and emotionally, but physically and really looking at what I was eating. And you know, it wasn't about losing weight anymore, it wasn't about watching my calories, it really was about that holistic health and not just looking good, but feeling good. So I would say my later 20s was the start of that, that piece. And that's when things really started to shift for me. And ever since then I've just been going deeper and deeper. And then of course, having a business, you know, shortly after that coming out of corporate and starting my own business, the need was so much higher of like really protecting the vessel. And so I invest a lot of time and money into my body, and really making sure that it is getting what it needs. And I have that longevity and vitality behind it. So there's so much that I've learned and I don't, I don't want to, you know, do a whole vomit of all the things but I think just sharing even my particular routine and how I moved through the day, and some things that I do that really helped me sustain in my business and in my busy, busy life is going to help you maybe even you know, think differently about your routines, or maybe there's certain gaps that you might be experiencing, maybe that will give you the answers here, or even to think differently about it. So I think that we always look at, you know, there's a lot of like, you know, social media push around, like your perfect morning routine or whatever. And I got really stuck there. And it was like, that was not sustainable. For me, I think just again, looking at it from start to finish in that whole day, but also the whole life. And where you might have opportunity to dial that in. So you do feel good. You know, when you're knocked down, it's really hard on the business. Of course, when you have a team, it doesn't feel you don't feel that impact as much. But when it's just you are you in a VA or even you know, if you're launching or you are going through a big spring season, if you get knocked down, it can be really dangerous. It can feel, I don't want to say be it's not necessarily life is over. But it can feel really detrimental. And so it is important to protect your body, it's a very, very important to be dialed in. And I think when you're an employee, right, you can kind of get away with it, like, Oh, I've got sick days, you know, somebody else can cover the job. Like you're, you're basically replaceable, but not the case with entrepreneurship. So I want to talk about just some things that are working for me, my specific routine, and some things that that you could maybe even implement right away, that could give you a small but mighty shift within your overall mental, emotional, physical health. So I hope that even that initial context, though, of like, what my journey has looked like, is helpful because I think even sharing what I'm going to share, like, this is not something I discovered overnight. It's been years and years and years in the making. And even it's it for me, it's always evolving. I'm always fine tuning and with every season of life, it's different, right? My mornings are very different now than they used to be because we have kids going to school at different times, right, which then throws a little bit of a curveball. So I'm always evolving with my life and really leaning into that and what that season needs, and fine tuning and tweaking and adjusting. So I think that that gives you permission to play around with it and test things. And again, there's not a one size fits all, but knowing that this has been a journey and where this is coming from right the where it started, even when I was a teenager, you know, having an eye for you know, not really liking the way that I looked even though it was completely distorted, but really been on that journey ever since. So, I want to talk to you about were really my routine and what that looks like during the week. Now, one of the things that I again, really, really love is how do you create some element of structure with some fluidity. So if I stray too far to either one of those, I'm going to be off balance. I find that if I'm too structured, any little curveball completely throws me off, it's like, it's like my brain becomes too rigid to be able to even to even be flexible, right. And so any type of routine that you're going to create for yourself, I think it's important to create an, the elements of both both structure and also flexibility. So I want to just preface this, this thought of a routine with that piece. Because I do think it's really, really a if you're more of that person of like free flow, and you're like, I just want to go with the flow and let things come, that's great. But that's not going to that may not give you that structure that you need to create the results you want to create. But if on the other side, you're too rigid, and you have to pivot, right, let's say your child is home sick, or you have to move up a deadline, right? That rigidity sometimes can also be a detriment. So just really building elements of both based on your personality and your life, and really assessing what's working. Again, I have tested so many different iterations of scheduling, and routine and diet and all the things. And it's really about what works well. For me, it's not always what's easiest. So I will say that some of these habits that I've had to develop have been more against the grain of sort of like, my default human of like what my default wants, but it is supporting me for what I actually really desire and want to create in my life. So

I'll go over just a sample of my routine for one of my days in the week. And you can just kind of hear, again, some of that structure, but also some of that fluidity and also how I think about my overall week, so that I can feel really solid coming into the days with a plan, be as productive as possible without burning myself out, and also protect my time with my family. So the first thing that I do before I even move into the week is look at what we have coming for the week. So this is going to include sports activities, meal planning, like I'm really just looking to the week to get some structure around it and make sure that those appointments are on the calendar, of course, we have like a bazillion orthodontist appointments anymore, or, you know, dentist appointments, it's like when everybody's due for tea, or when one person is due for teeth cleaning, like everybody's due for a teeth cleaning, right. So it's like, all these little things that come first, again, I just want to reiterate like I work around my personal life. So this is reflected in the way that I plan for each week. So I put those items on the calendar or make sure they're there, right parent teacher conferences, practices, games, etc, then I go back to the other items and make sure that I have those other key priorities in the business locked in, right, these are coaching calls, team calls, any sort of elements in the business that we have going out week, those are sort of the standing items that are locked in. And we're really, you know, working around. But I also have some other blocks on the calendar that are for, you know, production time. So I'm creating, I'm completing, you know, if there is some content due for a new event that we have, or some curriculum that we're building, I make sure that I have really great spacious time for that, because it does take me a little bit of time to get in the flow. And so I find that if I only have an hour or even a couple of hours, it's not enough time for these bigger projects. So I I leave a couple days on my calendar each week for just work time. I've found that the less context switching the butter, now I'm still trying to really dial this in because it does feel still a little harder to do. But anytime on the days that I have like coaching calls, having then switching to some production time or even, you know content creation time, it's a little bit harder for me to get in flow. So the better you can really keep your like activities with like activities, the better, the better, you'll be. So consider that. But again, this takes time to really dial in. So I like to keep my coaching calls on the same days. Team calls, right I'm even calls in general that is one activity that can be batched with each other, right? It's like those are like activities that can be done in the same day without having to context switch too much. So I'll look at those sort of standing items and then I'll look around the creative time in the production time to see how that's panning out but these are standing things that don't really shift much from week to week. But of course there There might be some things here or there, especially if we have some appointments or whatever. But usually I schedule those appointments around, you know, these others tiny standing items, so it's usually not an issue. So I have sort of a template, if you will, that goes along with, you know, these blocked times and sort of these, you know, recurring activities that are happening week to week. But looking at what we have coming as a family and personally, that really helps keep my husband and I in line and stuff with, you know, who needs to cover what and, you know, if we have to move our work schedules around at all. So that's the first thing is even just like looking a week ahead to see sort of big picture, what is that week look like? Then when it comes to each day, it just feels like at least we have a rhythm there and we know what's coming.

But all generally start each day with those top three priorities. But I want to talk about first like how I wake up and what that morning routine looks like. So I generally love to wake up before my kids get up. Now, I am not going to lie to you and tell you I do this every morning. One of the things that I've actually shifted to that has been working well really well for me is I don't set an alarm anymore. It's actually one of the worst ways to wake up. If you think about it, like my nervous system. Again, I'm so much more sensitive, I think to most people. But I'm also very aware. And I think this is something to take away in that you think about your body, like waking up to like a screeching alarm. Like, that is not how we were designed to wake up, or at least I don't think so. And I just noticed that it is just, it doesn't really kickstart my day the way that I want him. So I actually don't set an alarm. And if you are going to bed at the right time and you're getting the right amount of sleep, you should your body should wake up when it's meant to wake up. And so what's really cool is actually I let my body do what it needs to do through even the cycle that I'm in, right. So I'll know that I need more rest when I'm getting closer to my cycle, right. And I also know that I need less rest when I'm kind of in that high octane right around like that ovulation period. So if you're not really aware of your cycle, and you're not tracking that, and seeing how that impacts your mood, and your energy, and even how you're feeling about yourself, I strongly recommend doing that I actually have an app that I follow. It's funny because I've had this app for years and years. And it just basically repeats the same thing. You know that each month. But just having that reminder of like, oh, this is why I want to burn everything down right now is because I'm like, my hormones are plummeting. And I'm about to start my period. And I need, you know, of course, I'm feeling so insecure, right. And you have to know that this is all hormonal, right? This is like, this is what your body is going through. And it's totally normal. So really try to avoid making any decisions during that time. But also, it's impacting your energy levels, and your really what your body is needing from you. So it's important to pay attention to that. But I was gonna say I have this happen, unfortunately, I think it's because I already have it downloaded. But it did, I guess, like get retired or something. So you can't download it anymore. But I'm sure there's more out there that you can find that it's just, you plug in your typical site, like the length of your cycle, you know, 26 to 28 days, maybe it's longer. And then it helps you just kind of track and you'll start to even know, you don't even necessarily need to look at it, because you'll be able to feel sort of the ebbs and flows and like that peak season when you're ovulating. And then when you're coming down to that and this is really, really helpful to know too when it comes for rest. So I know when I'm going to need to sleep in a little bit and sleeping in for me is like, six 613 Now if I'm really tired, especially like after traveling, or we've been staying up late, you know, sleeping in might be more like seven. But aside from sort of those nuances, if I'm going to bed around 10 and get a good sleep, I'm waking my body's naturally waking up between five and 530. Now, I think it's really important to have that time to yourself before kids wake up. But also what's more important is getting the rest you need. So that's why I just kind of let my body wake up naturally and when I am more fatigued, you really like taking that sleep, and then moving the components of what I was finding in that soul in that you know, in that time where I'm by myself moving those components, you know, later on in the day. So what I do in the morning, before kids wake up is generally meditating slash praying. So really saying I really like a prayer to really anchor me for the day and then doing the meditation Um, slash visualization of, you know, my vision. And if there's something specific I want to meditate around, I'll use, I'll use YouTube or Insight Timer to have a more specific type of visualization or meditation. But I have been meditating consistently for the last couple of months. Whereas before, it was like, just kind of when I felt like it maybe a couple of times a week, but doing it every day has been a game changer. For me. Again, it wasn't one of those things that you don't really get the adrenaline, or even the dopamine hit like you do with something like even exercise, or, you know, drinking your coffee. So it's a harder thing, I think, to build into a habit, because it's sometimes it's not like you're going to see an instant benefit. Sometimes you do, though, with a really good one. And sometimes if you need it, like a distress, or a D, if you're feeling really anxious, this really, really helps me. But that consistent visualization of stepping into your future and staying aligned to what you want, versus letting life just pull you back. That's huge. So doing not every day, I haven't missed a day, I think in the last 45 days, which has been so cool. I just strongly recommend this. And again, meditation for me doesn't mean sitting in silence and try not to have thoughts. I think that's what I always felt so much resistance around because it is hard to keep my busy brain still which, which is why I need meditation more than ever. But guided meditations are very, very powerful. And I think just as effective. So that's what I do in the morning. And then I walk I walk every day walking and getting that fresh morning air for me is like, oh, it's like it is it just awakens me moving my body is really important. But here's the thing. I don't I've never been the person that loved to do like those hardcore exercises in the morning. And I am not somebody that loves to sweat in the morning, I forced myself to do that for a very long time. But I hated it. And looking back, if you think about even that the dopamine hit and the sensory if you think about like going into the gym, or, you know, I was doing cyclebar Even and like the music and the lights and the intensity. It's just like, I my body isn't ready for that. And so easing into the morning has been really, really life changing. And I've been doing this for the last year because I just felt like I was I was feeling more tired than I was before. It's like well, I if I'm exercising, it shouldn't feel like that. But it was just the placement of it, it was the time of day. And I just want to start that morning off with more of that in green and the grounding. And so walking. moving my body, though, is important. And I think this has been so critical in just starting my day with that piece, but not going balls to the wall, like I felt like I needed to. So just walking every morning has been so good. So I'm meditating and praying and walking before kids go, get up. But like I said, if I needed the extra sleep, I'll just move those things later in the day. And it's not a complete, you know, I'm not like oh my gosh, my you know, my life is ending because I didn't get this and I get it in later. And I'm like I think my body for letting me sleep. Think that pressure of like have to do this every time the same day and I need to wake up with alarm. It's just like insane. This is insane that that society has really, you know, ingrained these weird things into us. And I've kind of gone against the grain a little bit there. So I hope that there's some pieces there that you might be able to pull out. So that's really the bigger pieces for me that I've made shifts around in, you know, letting my body wake up when I need to. And putting those pieces before the kids go before the kids get up just again the simple things and then of course drinking water so I'm trying to drink water first before I drink my coffee, which is really hard. I think it's just because again, it's a habit. First thing I did was press that brew on the you know press the blue button on the coffee machine, but I really tried to get in my first like 16 to 24 ounces of water before I drink my first cup of coffee. I also put collagen peptides in my coffee. I've been doing this for years again some of these things you guys I don't I don't know. But I will say my hair is thicker it grows really fast. My nails are thick you know collagen peptides if you think about some of these other things like there's all the scientific research to show it but it also just becomes habit and I'm also like why not? And if I'm going to believe that there's there's there's certain things that are creating that vitality and the energy and sort of you know, the sustainability around I'm like heck yeah, I'm gonna do it. So just sole thing there. I put peptides in my coffee and then I have my first cup of coffee usually around the time that the kids get out of bed. So our oldest he goes to school really early. So I usually take him around 745. And then the other two are starting to get ready around that time and they go to school, around

845. So it's kind of interesting. And it'll be like this forever, because we have, you know, our youngest just started elementary and elementary starts the latest. And, you know, we're going to have a high school high schooler soon. So my mornings are always going to be open. And because I want to be available to them, and I really have been trying to not rely on my phone in the mornings. So I have actually moved my phone charger out, we actually have a charger station out in the kitchen area. So everybody puts their phones there at night. And this has been such a game changer, because now before it was like I would decompress by just scrolling on my phone. But what that does is it actually wakes up your brain it has like the sensory around like the, the lighting, and also like that wasn't really conducive to like settling my body in my brain in for a good night's rest. Also, the first thing I was doing when I would wake up is look at my phone. Gross, right. And again, there's no judgment here, if that's what you do, but if you think about it, like that is not the first thing I want to do. But it just becomes so habitual. So instead of trying not to do that, with a phone next to me, we just moved our phones out of the bedrooms. And this has been also something important because our teenager now has a phone and we want to emulate good phone habits. And what's fascinating is like you really catch yourself more, when you realize that there's just things that you don't want your team doing, right, he's like, or on your phone, it's like why don't want him looking at his phone while we're sitting down watching a TV show together, right. But that was something that we were doing. So we've been a lot more conscious about our phone usage. And making sure we're good examples, not just for our kids, but for ourselves and getting out of some of those habits because it does kind of build. So in the morning, leaving my phone on focus. So at a certain time, I think it's at seven o'clock, so I'll use it to get a meditation. But then at seven o'clock, it turns in the audit the focus, the Do Not Disturb turns on so that I'm not getting like Slack notifications, and things like that, because we do have team members that are in different time zones. So we have some big things going on, I'll absolutely like hop on and stuff. But I don't want any notifications in the morning, I don't want to look at my email until I start work that morning is really sacred. And so I'm trying to be really present with the kids getting that helping them get ready getting myself ready. And also just kind of like tidying up the house and making sure it's I just like the the rhythm and the calm and the peace in a tidy home. And I don't like starting the day off with chaos. So this is something that I've been really dialing in. Again, this is not something that's happened overnight. So I just want to encourage you to start with one small thing. But the mornings are important to start off with a bang, right? So think about those little shifts that you could make that will allow you to have a little bit more of that peace and calm. I think if we start our day in chaos, it's really hard to come back from that. It's like the rest of the days, you're kind of like setting the tone for that. So same thing to say of like, if you're not resting, it's going to be hard to feel rested for the rest of the day. So prioritize what you need, and then build around that. So that's what our mornings look like. And the last by the time I get back really my my day starts at nine o'clock. So I don't have anything scheduled before that. And really a nine o'clock appointment is almost too early because I don't like having to run to my desk. We also have late starts on Wednesdays which our kids start school later on that day. And so I'm usually not starting until about 915. So I also have been moving away from morning appointments, morning meetings now with the exception of one on Tuesdays. So we have our team call first thing Tuesday morning to adjust for Abby, our virtual assistant who's in the Philippines and we there's like a tiny window of time works for her to meet in that it's the first thing that day and so we also have some other calls scheduled that Tuesday. So Tuesday is kind of the Tuesday mornings are a little bit more full but outside of Tuesday. I don't have anything scheduled before noon. I really keep my mornings open because that's when I'm a little bit more higher energy, more creative and also sometimes coming right off of that morning into calls like just didn't feel good for me. Now, of course, sometimes I'll schedule, you know, meetings or calls outside of that in the morning if I feel like it fits. But it's not something that's recurring. And I really try to protect those mornings for you really thinking about when are you highest energy, when are you most creative and building your schedule around that not, you know, the things that come easy, you don't need your highest brainpower for that. If you need to be creating curriculum or content or, you know, building out new assets in your business, like, that's going to require more brain capacity. So make sure that you're aligning that recurring time each week to be with when you're going to be feeling the best. And for me, again, it's later mornings. And then also I get like a boost in the afternoon. So I try to keep my calls around that 12, between 12 and two o'clock mountain time. So that's what the mornings look like. I tried to protect the mornings without calls. And then really how I think about the scheduling of any sort of meetings and or coaching calls. So I moved through the day do what we need to do, one of the things that I we really been trying to work on as a team is making sure there's more structure around our conversations around our projects around how we're managing our tasks, and our activities. So we have a slack as our primary communication tool. And then Asana as our primary project management tool, what we were finding before is that we were using slack for everything like tasking things out kind of troubleshooting on certain, you know, activities or projects. And we've been really trained to use those two things separately. Like you have to use Asana as a project management tool, as the tool that it was designed for, we're not tossing things out in Slack, Slack is really for that conversational piece. And making sure that there's more rhythm in that day of like, everybody knows what they're doing, and what they're focused on. Right. And then using the supporting tools for that we've been really trying to get more rhythm there. And, and make sure that we're not over Systemising, or ever communicating, but also just having more harmony in the day to day operations, which again, is not perfect, and there's so much more opportunity in that, especially as our team is growing. But for you that is something to think about even if you only have one, you know, EA or VA or even contractors, making sure you're not just like, oh, like you're always talking to them, or is this like, you need to have some structure there. Of like, even for me, I turn off slack notifications, when I'm in my creative time is like people need if it's an emergency, they know how to get a hold of me. But I turn off my this is I turned on my not Do Not Disturb when my day starts. So really, though, at seven o'clock, it goes on, right for the morning. And then I have a little window of time where it goes off. And then it goes back on when I start my workday. And there are certain people that can push through that if you call more than once it'll push through. But like my husband or my son, if he they call once or text me it'll pop up. Same thing with like the school. But this has been so big for me because I get so easily distracted. And it goes back to even context switching. If you are picking up the phone, when somebody calls you, when you're in the middle of an activity, now you have to completely start over, you lose a good 20 to 30 minutes, just by answering maybe a two to five minute phone call. I didn't realize the impact on this until I did and I really have been so much more focused on my distractions, removing those distractions and putting more structure in my day, not just in the quote unquote, time blocking. But also the supporting infrastructure for that is like distractions are off. I'm not like going back and forth, like having a conversation with the team and also trying to produce this thing. Again, there's not it's not perfect every day. But this is how I think about it. And this is how I what I try to design because I do need to get the most out of my day it is shorter, I end my workday around 345 Four o'clock. And so in those hours, right, especially because Fridays are really open for the most part, I really want to get the most out of those that day. So I'm not working at nights or working during the weekends. And so in order to do so I do have to put this discipline in place and it is sometimes really, really hard to follow but it is so worth it and rewarding once you start to create that cadence and structure for yourself. So that was kind of a tangent, but it also gives you some some things to think about even as far as like what kind of distractions are you letting into that day and where could you optimize or even maximize more of your hours by, you know, less context switching or even, you know, making sure that there's streamlined communication with you and your team. So you're not just in Slack all day, because there was a period of time that that's what I felt like it was doing. Okay, so that's really the bulk of the day, and how I started to put some tools and resources in place to maximize the time that I was spending in my business so that when I clock out, quote, unquote, clock out, I really can truly clock out.

So I usually am between, you know, 330, and four, and then and sometimes when, you know, my oldest isn't in sports, and he's coming home from school, he usually gets home around 330. So even when he walks in, even though I'm still wrapping up, it really isn't the time that I'm like, trying to start new projects, like, that's a wrap up time, because he's home, and he's funny, and very distracting. But I also want him, you know, I want to be present for him if he needs it. But generally, I wrap up around four, and I go get the kids I walk, we live right down the street from our elementary, so I'll go meet them, and also move my body more so generally, in there are within sort of moving my body and walking every morning, I also built in strength training. And this is just going to vary based on like, where I'm going, if it's at the gym down the street, or I've been experimenting with another hit class at a different gym. You know, sometimes even again, I'll still do like cyclebar, and things like that to try to mix it up. But I'm typically building that in later in the week, I try to kind of front load my week and really, truly maximize those hours within. So I'm not leaving, I'm not leaving to the gym, but I will frequently walk some days, I walk up to three times a day, just to get the juices flowing. If I'm feeling like I'm stuck, or I just need a break, especially after like coaching calls, staring at the Zoom computers at zoom, you know, staring at the computer, I just need to refresh and walking is the best thing just being in nature for me is so important. So I'll have breaks in there and stuff like that. But I'll wrap up, I'll go get the kids. And then we're really on to the second part of the day, which is, you know, shuffling kids around and making sure everybody is getting where they need. And, you know, some days or some nights, I feel like I'm just like driving all over the valley. But this is really also a key time because I have kids in the car. And that's where we get to talk and I get to learn about the day. And also just make sure that, you know, we don't need to be taking friends or carpooling or whatever. So there's all these little details in my life that become like definitely growing. So there's a lot more things to keep track of. And so oftentimes in those evenings, especially if I'm just in the parking lot waiting, I'll kind of make sure I'm up to par on some of these things like notifications from all these different sports apps of like, oh practice got changed, or, you know, uniforms got delivered, or

the game that's coming up, who has snacks like all these things all I'll really use those little breaks throughout the evening to make sure to just keep up on some of the the news of sort of what's evolving through the week. Also, this is where my husband and I really try to again, kind of stay in touch with like, you know, what's changing what's not, I feel like we have to be so in stab with each other and the family because things do shift so fast. It's just fascinating. One thing changes. And it just kind of like throws a loophole in everything else. So we do have to allow for that flexibility, and just really stay in sync with each other to make sure everything's covered. So we will really be moving through the nights pretty fast. Now it's seasonal, right? Right now, football season for the boys. But they'll move into basketball season, which is a very different practice schedule and game schedule, so the weeknights will shift. But for each season, we know when we're having dinner as a family, and what that looks like. And we really try to still have that as an anchor. Now I know it's not going to happen every night. But when we do have the window where everybody's home, without it being too unreasonably like late or early, we will still build in those times at least three to three ish times a week to have dinner as a family that's still really important. And I don't think it has to be every single night I think it can be just as effective doing it, you know, three times a week, and really making you know, creating that quality time together. So dinners look a little bit differently as far as you know what we're doing, but I'll either have something prepared that I did over the weekend, or we'll have something simple that I can whip up like before school starts or sorry, before I get the kids and or even in between, you know pickup and drop off and really even scheduling the meals around like how busy each night looks like. So as we start to wind down for the night, we also start to like again, we're everybody's picking up after that. themselves. So it's like, okay, the house is tidied, it's all good. But then when people come home, it's just like a wrecking ball. So now we're taking the evening, like everybody needs to pick up their stuff, put their things away, you know, get the things off the stairs, unload the dishwasher, put clothes away, just kind of again, doing what they need to do to keep the house together and organize and keep themselves together and organized. And making sure that everything is where it needs to be for the next day. And then we really start to intentionally wind down for the night. Now my boys are like, super intense, like they need a lot of time, especially our five year old knees a lot of time for wind down. So we're intentionally starting to put those pieces in play. You know, when it comes to even like, the summertime is obviously harder to do this. But as it gets darker a little bit earlier just is so much easier, because just with it getting darker earlier, naturally, our bodies really, you know, aligned to that. So we're just making sure that things are settling down, I, I mirror the lights to the time of night too. And this drives my This drives everybody crazy because this I have to do this everywhere. But I promise, you have like this is so important. So if you think about even your circadian rhythm, and like how our bodies are used to using light to really set that right, if you have all your lights on at night, when you're trying to settle down for bed, it is it you may not be you may not think it's impacting you, my husband swears that it doesn't. But I promise it does. You know, he wants to have all the bright lights on all the time. But we have to really subtle the lights. And even when it comes to like our shades, I'm starting to close our blinds, you know, around the time that we're starting to settle down. So I really try to get the house, the energy and the lights aligned with where we're at in sort of the wind down of the night. I'm really, really weird about this. But I promise it makes a huge difference. And I comes back to even my sensory issues. But I cannot be in bright lights when my body is trying to wind down from the night. And I think too, when you think about, you know how much I'm doing in my business all day, like I'm already having a little bit sensory overload. And then if you think about even like all the people and all the things and where we're going, you know, in the later evening, I just need that extra wine I think we all do. So I'm starting to really settle the home down not just from, you know, kids and activities, but the blinds, the lights and the noises. So even like my kids want to watch TV so loud and turn down the volume. So this is a really strong habit of mine. But it's really, really important. And I even am probably going to start looking into like the red lights and replacing our bulbs in our bedroom to have that more red light feel. Or actually, I think they're the orange lights, just to again, it's kind of like telling your mind, it's time for bed. Because if you're walking around in a high sensory situation, you will your nervous system will align to that, right. So it's going to start to awaken, just wake up and it's going to be harder to have a good night's rest. So we're starting to wind down, we're also having a conversation about the next day of like, okay, did anything change, just reminder who needs to be aware, and then starting to put the kids to bed one by one. And then my husband and I will generally have a little bit of time, depending again, you know, sometimes we have games that go really late. So this will shift that. But generally we like to have that time where we're just kind of winding down together without the kids interrupting. We used to have a weekly date night that was like literally religious, I think for like three years in a row. And we haven't been able to hold steady to that as well in this season of parenting. But we will get back into it. But if anything, it's just making sure that we do have that time where we're talking and we're engaging, and we're not having to worry about, you know, what the kids are doing or, you know, we can really just focus on each other. So he also goes to bed a little bit later than me. So we have that time together and then all read for a little bit and start to wind down and then he meets me in bed. So one of the things that's been really again, impactful is not having my phone before bed. So if I do want to if I'm not quite ready to sleep, I'll read it's forced me to read and then on nights where I really just I don't want to read and I just want to like Veg or watch a show. So again different than scrolling my phone I think I don't know if scientifically I'm sure that the TV screen probably impacts you just like a computer screen but I don't feel that and I think veggie now and watching a really great show is better for me. And sometimes I just want that I don't sometimes want more information or I'm not in a place where I want to read and I just kind of want to veg. So there are though, it's harder for me to get into shows. So that's a difficult thing, my distraction. You know, I just like, my attention span is so short. But when I find a good show, I can definitely binge binge pretty good. So that's what our night routine looks like, I also tape my mouth at night, breathing through your nose will increase the oxygen to your brain. And I have noticed I just get a better night's sleep. So I take my mouth at night. And also my aura ring gives me stats as far as like the quality of sleep that I'm getting. And really keen into where I could adjust that. So I try not to get too analytical about this, because there was a season where I was like, it was making me crazy. And like, I would feel good. But if my aura ring told me that I wasn't feeling good, I would like not feel good, it was crazy. So I have had to find that balance with using my aura ring to support me and not really like sabotage. But it is fun to really dial some of those things in and figure out, you know, one of the things I'm working on is my REM sleep. So I'm not really hitting, it's harder for me to hit my REM target, which means I'm just not getting deep enough sleep some nights. And so thinking about what in that day, what did I eat, what did a drink that is contributing to that because that's ultimately what it is, or even, you know what I'm doing at night. If we're doing activities and things like that, again, it's harder for me to wind down. And even when I go to sleep, I'm not settling into a deep enough sleep. So that's one thing I'm really just focused on. Again, not crazy, like analytically weird about it. But it's something that it's it's kind of like a game for me, right? It's like, how could I make my sleep so amazing tonight, so I'm, I know though, if I don't have good sleep, it's over for me, I'm more irritable, my mood is unstable, I'm not able to think clearly. And again, it goes back to the vessel of the business, right? I want to be performing at my optimal rate. And sleep is always going to be the foundation to that, right. And it's going to also feed into your hormones and what you eat or don't eat. And so it's it's become a really, really big priority. For me, it's even harder, you know, when we travel and things like that. And my friends want to stay up later and do all these things. But I, I know that it's not even just the next day that I'm going to be impacted, it actually takes 48 to 72 hours to catch up from one bad night's rest. So I just have to really consider that. And again, sometimes these things impact me just greater than other people. So it's just honoring my body and what it means. The other thing too is I've really eliminated alcohol for the most part. So I will have drinks here in there. If we are out in, you know, traveling or even like when I went to LA I had, you know, a couple of drinks with friends, but usually at home, never drinking. And even, I'm starting to remove it from most social events. Because, you know, going through several cycles of 75 hard I realized how reliant I was on alcohol to help me socialize. So I have always considered myself a little bit like socially awkward. Whether that's true or not, I don't know. But I am definitely introvert, and alcohol loosens you up, right? It's like, oh, it makes it fun. And I always kind of connected, you know, social events, like having fun at social events, I connected that to drinking. And going through a couple cycles of sending a part, I learned that I can actually have fun without it. And because even having two drinks, even one drink actually makes me feel really icky. The next day, I'm like, well, what's the point? So I have for the most part really eliminated it again, I not going to say completely because there are times here and there that I do. But I have noticed such huge shifts in my emotional, mental physical

body, right even like, the blow to or even, you know, when you drink too much. And you the next day, it's like, it's not about really the hangover. For me, it was the emotional depths, I would have, I would feel really depressed, which would then creep into some anxiety. And then it was just really hard for me to get control from there. And again, it's not that I was drinking, you know, tons of alcohol in one setting. But I just noticed even a couple drinks did not sit well with my body. And so the symptoms and side effects of that weren't just not feeling good, but there was so much deeper than that from emotional and mental capacity. And so I was like, Well, why like if I don't, my body doesn't love it. Like, why would I do it? So that's been a really big shift for me, especially if you think about sleeping, you know, a couple I would say, a year ago, maybe two years ago, I used a glass of wine to help me wind down I believe that that was the thing I needed to we wind down and sleep better. And that was when I would say, who was probably before my first cycle of 75 hearts. So if you're not familiar with 75, hard, this is where you have to exercise twice a day. So 45 minutes a day one of them has to be outside, you have to drink a gallon of water every day, you have to read 10 pages of a personal development book, you have to take a picture of yourself and no alcohol and then you have to pick a diet. So this it's very it's, you know, with Andy for Sella, and of course so So dude, bro. So masculine, but it does help you build so much mental toughness. Because if you think you don't have time to work out, you have to make, you know, time for two workouts, oh, my gosh, it changes everything I really does force you to prioritize your health over everything else. The other thing was, again, removing alcohol completely. That was when I learned that I don't need alcohol. And I realized that there's other things I can do to wind down and actually like the alcohol was actually like amplifying these other side effects and symptoms that I was experiencing, you know, like brain fog and some of the, you know, even mental health components. And so that's when I started to really lean into that. So just something against something that's working for me, and also just a, you know, potentially something to look into for yourself, there's nothing wrong, you know, with social drinking, or whatever. I think just really making sure that you are in fact, honoring your body and listening to what it wants and what it doesn't want. The other component here, aside from even just the routine is my diet. So when I first saw my functional practitioner, when I was like late 20s, that's when I started to really dial in my nutrition and experiment with different things. Several years later, I learned that I was gluten intolerant. And actually, gluten intolerance is linked to mental health symptoms or like mental health components. So it's like the brain fog, even some of that irritability, the mood, the symptoms like that, and I eliminate gluten completely. And that really, really helped, I realized that my cycle was so insane, I was just dipping so low, but then also going so high through, you know, my 30 day cycle. And I couldn't quite figure it out. Of course, it was hormone related, but there was a thing behind that that was driving that. And it was in part, of course due to, you know, stress, but also what I was eating what I was, I was like working out insanely way too much. And also just so hard on my body. So it was putting extra stress on my body, which was then again, increasing the cortisol and like doing all these crazy things to my hormones. So that was a big shift, when I started to see how these other things were playing into, you know, the ebbs and flows of my overall cycle. And so after I started to really notice that I would dip really low like right before my period and experience like really, really deep sadness and kind of depression like symptoms, some days, I wouldn't even get out of bed. But that's when I started to really dial in my diet, because that was playing into that. And when I eliminated gluten completely, I really saw some huge, huge shifts. Anytime I do accidentally habit I It is insane what it does to my body. So again, it's really listening to what your body needs and going on that discovery process to see like where where you could dial something in because everybody is different. But I have also recently been studying like the carnivore diet, and how the like the the the crazy, crazy study and research behind that. And I'm not fully carnivore diet, but I will say the majority of my diet is red meat, and some veggies Of course, and fruit. So I'm not eating again, I'm not eating anything with gluten or wheat. I really just tried to stay like, like raw like Whole Foods, but also really, really double down on my protein I feel best when I have like the protein that I need, I'm probably still not meeting my protein benchmarks. But that really has helped my body really sustain that energy and feel good and also like making sure that I'm building muscle and strengthening my body and not feeling weak. So as far as my diet goes really focusing on protein, meat, and of course like fruits and veggies and things like that. Sometimes I'll have you know, like brown rice or quinoa and stuff like that, but I don't really crave it as much so I'm really uh, well my favorite thing is gluten free pizza. I'll say that. So I'm still I don't really do a lot of like gluten free alternatives. I just find that when I eat whole, it's just the best for me. So that's where I've really dialed in my diet. And I'm still just learning more about the carnivore diet and things like that. It's really, really fascinating. So again, you just have to research and you're, you know, do your due diligence around what you really want to problem solve around. And then like these little micro steps in between, I don't think, again, this is like, these are things that I've been dialing in for years, almost a decade now starting with, you know, just going on that journey of like, wanting to feel better. But also now because my business is relying on me, and I want to keep up with my kids in my, my, my life is so full, and I want to have that energy for it. I want to feel that zest, I it is just always top of mind for me, how can I feel better, right? There's supplements that I've been taking, making sure that I'm getting the supplements and minerals that I need, because alone with just my diet, I'm not getting that full, you know, regimen in. So these are other that was something that started with my functional practitioner and what she recommended and again, just continued studies and research around what I do need and what my body needs, and really like how I'm feeling, I can usually get a good pulse on what I might be missing just based on what I'm feeling if I'm off. So that really is the comprehensiveness I think I got from sunup to sundown, what sort of generally my week looks like how I plan for that, and also the micro details of the days, but the resources, the tools, the support that I put in place to make sure that I can maximize my efficiency, I don't think it's like, there's this thing around high performance hacks, where it's like, we got to be like, we got to be so high productive all the time. And that's not really what I'm getting at. But I do want to maximize the time that I do have in my business, so that I can then really feel good about enjoying my personal life, you know, and really just feeling so present in all areas of my life. And if we're not feeling good, and our hormones are kind of wack. And mentally, emotionally, physically, we're not optimally like where we want to be, it just bleeds into every area of your life. And so I just think it should be a non negotiable for all of us to make sure that is the priority. And we're always on a journey to adjust, tweak and pivot because your body does change, right, your life changes, like there's things that you have to lean into. So again, it goes back to not creating so much structure or rigidity, while also really being on a journey to figure out what works for you. So I hope this was helpful, feel free to send me an email or DM on Instagram, if you have any questions about what I've talked to today. And also in general, I just would love the feedback. Did you love this? Was this helpful? Was it weird, I think but you know, sometimes I don't know how the content is going to land. But I know that even giving you I get so many questions from clients, even of you know, time management and productivity and things like that. But I also wanted to give you a bigger picture of like how I design my life, my life, and what that looks like from season to season. So I hope this was helpful for you. And the takeaway for you, again, is not to go and implement all these things. Because I do think that's actually going to be worse for you and you're going to feel defeated, and then give up altogether. So it's just like, where do you want to build more rhythm in your life? Where do you want to feel better? What do you want to dial in first and go from there? It's journey. Alright, my friends, I will see you next time.

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