Hey all!
As I mentioned in my last post, I’m trying to stay more focused on my blogging, as I love the connections I have made with all of you.
I think we can all agree the past year has not reflected where we had envisioned we’d be. Whether you had planned for going back to school, traveling somewhere new, or even planning a milestone birthday party with your friends and family, our goals, and dreams may have been put to the side. Its important for you to know, while this feels never ending, this is temporary.
While, I sit here wondering when life will get back to normal, I realize, it won’t be the normal we are all used to. With that outlook, I have taken the initiative to make a change within my own life. At the beginning of the pandemic, I was like everyone else, I cleaned the entire home, remodeled, and baked. I baked, A LOT. I truly enjoyed those months off from work and all of lifes stresses. It allowed me to breath differently, more at ease. Soon enough, I became bored with being sedentary. My usual Monday — Sunday lifestyle of being over active was starting to be missed and I needed to stay focused on my future. This is was the turning point for me in designing my dream life.
DREAM LIFE ROUTINE
I took a course on Drugs and behaviour. You’re probably wondering why, as that is such an odd course to jump into. I have always been fascinated with the mind and why we conduct ourselves in the manor that we do, which is why I got my Psychology degree. A few years ago, I was watching the news and I saw the rise in overdoses in Vancouver, and other cities and it peaked my interest on how an individual becomes addicted to a substance.
Once that course was over, I didn’t want to stop learning, and eventually took a short course that allowed me to gain a certificate. The reason for this is, I am able to expand what I currently have to open the door for further opportunities. The last course I took, has provided me with connections and tools that I did not realize I had been lacking. When you’re away from school for an extended period of time, you forget certain aspects of life and learning. I truly feel, taking a course every once in a while can help you maintain and grow in your current state.
This takes a bit of planning and work to ensure that I stay focused. I am what I call, a intermittent planner. I buy planners I write in them, and then I forget about them. With my determination in designing my dream life, I have had to push aside my forgetfulness, laziness or anything else is causing me to neglect my planner. I just bought a generic planner, I didn’t have the excitement to spend on anything expesnive in case I, yet again, fail to write in it.
I have been using this planner daily to structure my days. I utilize the notes pages, to design exactly what my dream life looks life. I have also limited my technology use.
What does my dream day look like:
- How do I wake up in the morning? Full of energy to start the day?
- What do I do within that day? Is it a workout? Tackling a new book? Implementing a new and healthy recipe?
- What enriches my day to make them incredible.
Once I have figured out what the day looks like, I move onto the week. What do my Mondays look like? The Tuesdays and so on. I enjoy adding in long term goals, such as where I want to be in a year, even 5 years. That helps me move forward in my short term goals. I also enjoy getting others involved that share the same mindset. Planning a girls night through zoom, or when friends can come over, to create vision boards.
My dream life is to keep my life fulfilled and enriched. Continue tobe happy while working toward my aspirations and goals. Its easy to set out on a long term goal, and to envision what you want without ever really getting there because there hasn’t been the proper steps in place. It’s also easy to become so obsessed with your goals that you forget to enjoy your life. Goals are not worth striving for if there is no fun involved. Life is short, enjoy what you seek out to accomplish.
Noting these key elements down in my planner allows me to refer to my notes as to what my dream day consists of. Factors are interchangeable, for example, my workouts. I am excited to see gyms and facilities opening so I can start spin classes again which will change from my weight training at home. Having everything written down for me and planned as much as possible, provides me the ability to factor in how much time I have to do everything that makes me happy, and enriches my life. This is also the most asked question about my busy life, and thats my secret. Plan, write things down, and stay focused while having fun.
What my Dream Life Daily Routine Looks Like:
- 6am (sometimes 6:30 depending on the day) — I wake up, and enjoy what the day will provide me and plan for the future days.
- 6:10 — Get out of bed and shower. Sometimes I even dance in the shower. Don’t worry though, nothing too crazy.
- 6:30 — Drink some ice cold water, take my morning vitamins and eat my oatmeal.
- 7am — I stretch
- 8 am — start my work for the day
- 8–5 — I am doing what makes me happy, within that time, I could be working any of the three jobs. I wouldn’t change it for the world.
5pm — finish. Let work stay at work and allow home to be the sanctuary.
5:30–6pm — start dinner if its my turn to cook, otherwise I try and relax whether by watching a comedy ( I am a sucker for a laugh) or by reading
7pm — eat a delicious home made meal
8pm — once the food has settled, I will either run (weather dependent), I feel refreshed after a days work when I run. It clears my mind while allowing me to stay appreciative of all that is around me. If its raining, I opt for an at home workout. I don’t use an app I listen to my body and what it needs. Sometimes its stretching again, others, I go hard lifting weights.
9pm — yoga. I will try to do 30 minutes of yoga to stretch out and release any tension. If i’ve done an intense workout, yoga brings me back down to a calm state before bed.
10pm — bedtime routine and time for bed. sometimes I will push the time to 11 if i’m reading something interesting.
I must stress that this is my goal, but doesn’t always work out that way. I had a difficult time writing this, as sometimes it can be significantly different depending on the day. Life has its own direction and it can sometimes lead you off your planned course. Thats okay. Life shouldn’t be so rigid that you can’t deviate away from it. This is just my plan that leads me to where I intend on being. I am on the right path either way.
Dream Life Weekly Routine
When it comes to implementing your daily routine into your weekly routing, having everything written down in your notes for your daily routine so that you can refer back to it and visually see that playoff action is helpful and will in turn, enable you to mould your weekly calendar.
Rising Early
I have, for the most part, always been an early riser. There was a point where I would stay up late, focusing on tasks that didn’t need late night attention, whether studying, or watching late night shows which would mean rising as late as 12 pm. Some people thrive at night, and for that short time, I did as well. Thankfully, I matured from that as I found I missed out on what I enjoy most, my productive mornings. I find myself craving them when I wake up on the odd Saturday with an extra hour of sleep. My best advice, is to plan for the day ahead in your planner, it is important as it will allow your mind to clear out all information that you don’t wish to spend time focusing on while you’re trying to sleep at night. You’ll find it will help with those sleepless nights.
If you do find yourself in a sleepless night, you may also consider journalling at this point. It helps to write down your thoughts and worries. When you see it in front of you on paper, you can make a plan to help alleviate any concerns, or plan for to work around it.
So when do you like to journal your thoughts?
Health and Nutrition
I can feel my body change when I have restricted it from the essentials. My breathing becomes heavy, and quite embarrassingly, I am winded, even when I walk the shortest distances. The care that I take for myself is the first thing to waver and that has a huge impact on my mental and physical state. I have been aiming to make my health a priority, which is why my routine centres heavily around it. Let me preface this by saying, I was NOT a vitamin enthusiast before, and now I take them twice daily (I had to split up the times as I could not take more than two vitamins at at time). I want this to be an easy transition, so I started by created healthy meals with what I had in the fridge, and not by a glamorous recipe as those can sometimes be daunting. This in turn, developed into creating larger meals which I get to enjoy for the next few days. I get such a sense of happiness being in the kitchen. Its like my craft, while I am terrible at plating food, I will get better, have to remember baby steps. Aside from Poutine Week, I haven’t had take out in a long time.
Meditation
This is an area, just like planning where I find I often start and come back to a few weeks later. I find though, when you spend 15 minutes a day with guided meditation, I always find it beneficial. Its a great way to start your day by implementing calmness, or by ending your day by removing any unwanted stresses. Sometimes taking 6–10 big deep breaths, and breathing out loudly feels comforting.
Maybe you are looking to change your year, or just a single day. Perhaps you want to delve deeper and make drastic changes. Whatever it is you strive for, there is truly nothing better than a fresh start. I hope whatever your goals may be, bring you the largest amount of happiness.
What are some of your goals for 2021?
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