Month: July 2020

Life, Wellness

I Just Can’t

by KatSneadLeave a Comment on I Just Can’t

Ever feel like just laying there. Not having to do anything. Really, even if you HAD to do something – you play a Jedi mind trick on yourself and resist up until the very last minute only to STRESS yourself the heck out to do what you really needed to do.

Ok, so I have to admit that I don’t want to do this. I mean, I DO! I’m so excited to write for you guys today, but if I can be honest… I have not been myself lately. My body is just so heavy these days. Heavy from the inside out. I can’t even explain it or articulate it well enough for you to understand … but I just haven’t been motivated to get at it. Get at anything, for that matter. Some days, the indifference towards people, towards my current situation, towards what’s happening in the world…. settles in way too well.

Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash

In my heart, I want all that I do to be intentional, to be meaningful, to make a difference in someone’s life. I mean, I want to do it, but my body won’t move. It just want’s to resist making something happen. I have an internal dialogue between the “I can’t-s” and the “just do it-s” going on more often than not. And lately, most days, the “I can’t-s” … win. So I just am. Laying here. Distracted. Then I look up from my phone or whatever the current distraction is at the moment, and it’s nighttime. Like, I should be asleep kind of nighttime. Then I have to force myself to get something accomplished. This usually means that whatever I HAD to do ends up with mediocre results. So I end up taking more time re-doing it or revisiting the project and it takes twice as long to complete. It’s been a vicious cycle as of late.

Have you felt the same way or maybe are you feeling that way right now? The heaviness of it all. As if, for some reason, the weight of the world is on your shoulders. Every major decision is left to you and you can’t handle it anymore. Well, for me – I’ve finally had it. I had to force myself to simply do. It’s not easy. But I do want to tell you that it’s ok to feel heavy. It’s ok to want to just do the mindless things for a moment. Whatever it takes to help you reset; BUT eventually, YOU. HAVE. TO. MOVE.

You just have to do it. One movement at a time. Then the whole muscle memory thing kicks in and before you know it, you’re in your groove again. Whether it’s working out, writing, a hobby, even work. Keep at it. Try and make it a point to not allow the “I can’t-s” to win TODAY. Now, Try that EVERY DAY. Don’t let your current circumstance direct your actions for too long. If you need a day, take a day. If you need a week, truly check out for a week and get away from it all to clear your head. It’s fine to need that time to yourself. But no matter what, you have to regain focus at some point. Becoming stagnant is not an option, if you want to grow.

Focus on the “I can do this today!” Focus on what’s ahead of you; something you’re working towards instead of what’s in your way and stopping you from obtaining that goal. You see, you’re still looking forward … moving forward, but the vision needs to be readjusted. If your days feel heavy, just keep moving. Simply, one foot in front of the other. Eventually, you’ll make it to where you should be.

Life, Wellness

Summer Declutter

by KatSneadLeave a Comment on Summer Declutter

Ok. I know you’ve heard of “Spring Cleaning” or even “Fall Cleaning”, but I have something new to throw your way: the Summer Declutter. I think that cleaning things out in the Spring as well as in the Fall are really important and necessary, but I typically do my heavy lifting right around August. Which is why I’m sharing this with you in July!

You see, August works best (for me, anyways) because it happens to be my “lull” in life. It’s after the summer vacays and staycations. Plus it’s before the hectic school/work/church/life balancing act has to happen. As an added bonus, it allows me a little bit more freedom to indulge in the cozy-weather, lazy time with family and friends and into diving right into the holidays. And, truth be told, with everyone quarantining, don’t you have a little bit of space in your schedule to fit an organizational day or two in somewhere?!

Recently, I stumbled onto an article from HGTV about why fall cleaning is better than spring cleaning (check it out at: https://www.hgtv.ca/cleaning-and-organization/photos/fall-cleaning-more-important-than-spring-cleaning-1930941/) and I’m totally on board with all of their suggestions. Now, while that article talks about the nooks and crannies to address while physically cleaning certain areas of your home, I want to talk to you about decluttering your life! (too much?)

Well, let’s narrow it down to 4 main areas:

  • Your Planner
  • Your Finances
  • Your Obligations
  • Your Space

This is where is gets fun (rubbing hands swiftly together – with only one eyebrow raised)! Is it weird that I’m giddy about organizing my life?! Don’t answer that…..

Photo by Caroline Hernandez on Unsplash

You see, it’s so important to get your mind right and control your surroundings before things around you get hectic enough to control how you react. I am all about “setting the tone”, “controlling your outcomes”, “expecting the unexpected”. Now, even though I KNOW that I truly control nothing, there’s something that puts me at ease in the preparation of – at least – being prepared enough to deal with the unknowns.

I know that if I plan accordingly, and allocate my finances appropriately, then I can truly commit to my most important obligations, then have my space to appreciate and enjoy it all.

Planner:

Set your schedule to include the most important elements of your days. Things like meditation, exercise, meal prep days, reset days, date nights, and of course work and creative times.

Finances:

Quit spending just to spend!! Be super intentional about what you’re spending your money on. Create a budget for yourself and start Christmas shopping early so that you don’t get hit all at once.

Obligations:

Minimize your obligations. You don’t have to feel guilty about not making time for everything nor everyone. Focus on the important things. I promise you that once you’re fulfilled, you will naturally have time for the other things.

Space:

Create a space around you without clutter so that your mind and soul (when in said space) also feels the freedom to rest and breathe. Save space for you and you alone so that you can be replenished regularly.

Are you ready for your SUMMER DECLUTTER?! It’s time parse it all out & get rid of whatever is holding you back from closing out the year well!

Balance, Productivity

Multi-tasking

by KatSneadLeave a Comment on Multi-tasking

With everyone #WFH (working from home) these days, “multi-tasking” between home life and work life has probably become an added skill on your LinkedIn page. But are you really accomplishing more? Are you really that much more productive? Only you can answer those specific questions, but I’m here for you to walk though successfully multi-tasking.

Since I’ve been working from home way before the shelter-in-place forced the remote-working culture on the world, people have been asking me for advice from how to set up their home work space to being disciplined enough to not binge on a bowl of cookies while working; in pajamas (at 10:00am) – you get the idea.

Photo by Tamas Pap on Unsplash

Whether you’re just WFH for the time being or this is in your unforeseeable future, the very first thing that you need to define is the difference between work and busy work. Think of it like this: WORK is what pays your bills; the tasks and projects that you need to submit; deliverables due by a certain time with an expectation of higher-level thinking and/or focus. Then BUSY WORK is what you can do to support your work (ie: organizing/sorting through emails, checking updates, mailing out items, returning phone calls, etc.) Once you have those two things defined, then you can move into multi-tasking between work life and home life … but not quite yet. It’s important to build out those two catagories on paper because you need to appropriately block out your time to accomplish both.

FACTORS:

  • Space
  • Time
  • Goals
  • Tasks
  • Tasks in lieu of …

SPACE: Create a space that mimics your office desk. This way your mind doesn’t have to absorb yet another change in your work life. Now, if you don’t have all of the fancy equipment that your corporate office can offer, try to at least invest in cords & supplies that can help transform household furniture into an upgraded work piece. Here’s my home/mobile office.

Amazon Items: iPad Mini case with keyboard, HDMI cable to turn my TV into a 2nd computer monitor, Mic Bundle & Bluetooth headphones. The Planner is from Tools4Wisdom.

TIME: Make sure to allocate your time appropriately. If you think that you can make dinner while on a conference call, you’re deceiving only yourself. You”ll end up burning something while not catching exactly what was just delegated to you – it’s a lose-lose situation. Know when you are your most productive/attentive and schedule your important tasks and calls during that time. What’s worked best for me is to get my husband and my daughter situated into their schedules then let them know that unless someone is about to lose a limb, I’m not available to feed, help, answer questions, or problem solve for them during these specific hours. This way I can fully focus on my WORK. I’m a firm believer of giving your commitments 100% of yourself during the allotted times. Being present (whether for my family or my work) is my number one!

GOALS: Make sure to set achievable DAILY/WEEKLY goals for yourself. If you skip this skep, I promise you, the “groundhog day” effect will consume your WFH experience. Be intentional about what you’re doing.

TASKS: These are your “must-do’s” for the day. List out what your deliverables are. Prioritize them according to brain-power-required tasks and deadlines. I often like to do the task that requires the most focus first then work my way down the list. I know that most people will want the satisfaction of checking things off of their to-do list so then they will zip through all of the easy tasks first. Most always, one will hit their mid-morning slump (regardless of what time that is) right before they are about to tackle the biggest ask of them. Then they realize that they don’t have the bandwidth to make it happen – & make it happen well – so then it gets pushed aside “until tomorrow.” So learn to prioritize early on.

TASKS In Lieu Of: Commuting takes what?… 10 minutes? 70 minutes? Whatever tasks that are on your to do list today, allot your commute time to a task that may be on your busy list that you just need to get done. Tasks that not so important to your work or something at home, but a task nonetheless. Good examples are cleaning out the junk drawer, organizing files (paper or electronically), updating due dates, going through old clothes, etc. These tasks can happen while I throw in a load of laundry or listen in on a webinar. Now, you obviously don’t have to do it during the actual time that you used to commute, but use that time for these BUSY WORK tasks. By the end of this “shelter-in-place” era of our lives, you’ll be surprised at how many “little projects” you’ve been able to tackle and how much more your life flows within each day, without becoming overwhelmed.

The ultimate to-do: organizing the Junk Drawer

So that’s it. These are some of the things that I’ve learned through trial and error, as well as, some burnt dinners – LOL! If you’d like to hear more about each of these areas on multitasking, come and check out my podcast: His Kind Of Lady, launching TUESDAY, July 14th, 2020 on Spotify & Apple Podcast.

I’m so excited to hear back from you to see what you were able to accomplish today!

Be Intentional ~