The sun is skimming over the surface of the mountains, just about to rise. The cat has been fed, and is sidled next to my husband in bed. After waking me up at a god awful hour, he has decided to go back to sleep. Lucky cat. I should be grateful, though. Because of him, I won’t miss this sunrise.
I have made a resolution to wake up earlier and write. It’s a homage to how important writing is for me. Unfortunately, I am five days into the New Year and this is the first time I’ve braved the cold. I have poured myself a coffee in my favorite mug and threw a blanket over my shoulders. I am making a mental note: Lay out socks and a sweater by the bed to help me get by. The rug under my feet helps, though.
The first few days of the year were spent honoring our five years of marriage. Time, it flies by so fast! I mean, didn’t I say we were already five days into the new year? It was a good reminder to not let anything go to waste. The celebration was also a practice in staying still. This time, we didn’t go anywhere, which is highly unusual. I guess these past few years have been unusual anyway.
Instead, we stayed put, at home. We idled the hours away, trading in productivity for good ole quality time. I already had the chance to practice saying no, so that I could say bigger yeses these last few days. No to work and money, yes to us and the things that matter.
We walked around the ranch and picked oranges from the trees. Then we squeezed them to make orange juice, which we sipped on for days. In the mornings, we tested our nose and palate with Le Nez du Cafe kit. In the afternoons, we sunbathed in the living room and finished reading a Drift magazine we bought last summer. We closed out our days with dips in the jaccuzzi and boardgame nights. Somewhere in there, my husband made pizza and I, bread.
I have spent the last two years waiting to get back to ‘normal’. I was expecting to start the New Year with plans to live extremely frugally with the return of student loan repayment. Only to have it extended another few months. I guess it isn’t time yet to go back to ‘normal’. But if I’m being frank…
I abhorred the normal. The normal was abnormally bad for me and my health. Before the abnormal, I didn’t make my own decisions. Instead of gratitude journaling, I prayed for change. I was lost and looking for myself under all the social expectations and pressures. Young me never had the courage to say no. Exhaustion was a daily thing, and I was so up in the clouds chasing dreams, I never had my feet on the ground. Any gust of wind could blow me away.
Today, I put myself first. My mornings are dedicated to me. Before anything and anyone else (except that darn cat!), I follow rituals that will support me. This includes making a mindful cup of coffee, having a writing session, reading books, and learning new things such as piano or how to make the perfect croissant.
On top of that, I exercise all the time, and I actually LOVE it. I look out for my body and its health. In gratitude for what my body is able to do for me throughout the day, I return the favor by eating healthy foods. These past few years have taught me how to listen to my body. When it is tired, I protect it by saying no to others. Not to be selfish, but with the understanding that little no’s can lead to very big yeses.
Golden yellow sunlight is seeping through our plantation shutters now. In a few moments, I’ll get up to throw back the curtains so that natural light can warm the home. I hear my husband’s feet shuffling in the bedroom. He’s about to get ready for his day. But before I do:
Things For January:
Create a dog sitting website and business cards
Go on a road trip up the California coast with Texino
I am sitting here, amidst a row of half-packed boxes, taking a mini break I may not have the time for. I’ve pulled an espresso shot to energize me through another bout of frenzied packing. We have just returned from a short weekend getaway with a group of friends who we call our closest. As my body transitions from the slow weekend to the last home stretch, pun intended, I take a few moments to jot down my thoughts.
This morning, I lifted my head from taping cardboard to see steam floating across our kitchen window. The dryer was running on this gloomy, overcast morning. I thought to myself, “If I wasn’t packing boxes right now, I would be reclining on the sofa reading a book with a mug of coffee in hand.” I would be readying myself for my weekly chat with my sister – a chat that I have postponed until the following week in order to buy me more time. I might even be baking a handful of scones for my dental assistants to bring to work tomorrow. And with this stream of thought came memories that floated across my mind, like the steam outside the window.
I never really realized the slow-living that I had imagined for myself here. Instead, I experienced constant growth as I lived a period of my life filled with many changes. No matter how much I tried to slow my mind, pause, and be still, I couldn’t resist the fast-paced world. Perhaps that just comes with the territory of downtown living. Perhaps being in the midst of it all, surrounded by city noise, by action outside the bedroom window, I was constantly pulled forward against my own volition. Yet I am grateful for all this house gave me.
Living in this loft, we found a best-friend in our three-year-long roommate. This space housed my dream of a bakery. I taught my roommate how to bake bread, and gave my husband the basics to surpass me in pasta-making. It was here that I lived out my dog-sitting life. And lastly, this was where we brought home our toothless cat. I can still remember those October Santa Ana winds, and how I stayed up all night thinking about that stray orange tabby, shivering in the cold.
I am going to miss this place. But we are trading downtown living for a different sort of life. We are moving to a smaller townhome and have decided to be without a roommate, moving forward. We have gained the cooking skills needed to give up the fancy restaurants across the street. We can make mean-enough espressos to say goodbye to the third-wave coffee shops. We have outgrown the love for late-night street walks and weekend music events in the parking lot outside our door.
Mike considers where we are moving to “out in the boonies”. Really, though, it’s down the street from my parents’ home, my current work place, and where I grew up. It is a ranch community based on stewardship for the land and native species. Coyotes walk freely on the many walking trails, hawks and larger birds soar during the daytime and bats fly around at night. The area has three farms on which I plan to volunteer at. There is plenty of nature and open space, and the townhome is set in the backdrop of mountains. Nearby, friends I went to high-school with have settled down with their loved ones. I can’t wait to set in some new roots and build a different kind of community here.
In lieu of November goals, I just wanted to share my thoughts and write a reminder:
Perhaps here is where you are meant to be; sitting back on your heels, staring out the window. Sometimes, life doesn’t unfold in the ways you’d expect. Nor shall you control it. The memories will shape you, whether you know it or not. As we move into the holidays, may you ever be present in the moment.
My November goals are to enjoy the journey, take it one step at a time, and let go with gratitude.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure to learn more.
October has arrived in California, marked by gloomy mornings, cool evenings, and the darkened petals of my favorite tree outside our bedroom window. It’s unmistakable, the turn of the season. Within my own body, I feel an inward shift of my mental state, as I start to yearn for the smell of comfort foods, the soft glow of reading lamps, and the softness of cozy rugs and blanket forts.
There is still a bit of left-over unrest from the summer days – pent-up energy that is manifesting as anxiety. Anxiety worth sharing, in case you feel it too – over the upcoming resumption of student loans, over the holiday season around the bend, over the general lack of progress or feeling of stagnation now that we’ve finished our international travels for the year… I chalk the blend of emotions up to the changing of seasons.
I have noticed that my goals this month are extremely ambitious, with a number of productive goals intertwined with tasks to keep me creative, learning, and relaxing too. Sometimes, it can all seem a bit much, but I do tend to shoot for the stars, so that even if I fall short, I’ll still be somewhere up there. I know that it’s dangerous to pen so many expectations, but if I don’t, I wouldn’t necessarily feel like myself. I recognize that I fall to the cadence of cycles, with periods of lull and burnout, but I’ve come to accept my ways rather than resist of be ashamed of the roller coaster ride I call life.
Here is what I’ve got to look forward to in October.
Ways to Improve the Blog
Apply to 20 affiliates.
Publish 20 blog posts.
Make 50 Pinterest posts.
Add excerpts for past posts.
Internally link related posts.
Reach out to 10 collaborations and secure a few partnerships.
May was the longest month of the year yet it still managed to escape me. I don’t know where the time goes but if I could somehow pocket just a little extra bit of it, then let my pockets rip at the seams with carrying the stuff. Luckily, I do practice bit of daily journaling with my Unbound planner so that I may look back at the forgotten memories buried within my fickle mind and recall what it was that I did with my precious time. It’s good practice, too, as it forces me to set aside a few hours at the end and beginning of each month to review not only progress, but the good and important stuff that we sometimes miss – that which is the essence of life.
It turns out, there were many accomplishments in May that, when taken separately, seem random, but when read in the context of our big picture plans, actually move us closer to our dream life.
We drafted a living trust on our own after we were quoted $2.5K to have one written up by a lawyer. We wanted to put all our assets in a trust but did not want to pay the lawyer fees so with the help of Legal Zoom (the same company that I built an SCORP with, and no I do not get a commission for this, I just really want to talk about them), we were able to draft our own living trust for less than $400.
Mike’s job officially offered him the option of fully remote work in the future which sets us up nicely for our dream to travel the world and live in different places. I am actually most excited about this fact in congruence with the refinance since it allows us to try our nomad life sooner than we thought! Our housemate is leaving at the end of summer, and our plan is to rent our home out for a year and nix the permanent address. Also falling in line with all of this is our HOA’s recent approval to allow year-long rentals in our community (starting tomorrow!). And the world is slowly opening up to leisure travel. The timing couldn’t be any better!
Aside from the accomplishments, May was also spent with friends and family. We stayed with friends in NorCal, visiting Healdsburg for a weekend and working remote in their dining room. My brother was home from Arizona for three out of the five weeks in May, celebrating Mother’s Day as well as Memorial Day with the fam. We stayed with friends in their newly purchased San Diego home for an entire weekend, then hosted friends in our space over Memorial Day weekend. I may not have worked as much, but my lack of productivity at work was offset by being with people I haven’t seen in months (or for some, over a year!), which is fine by me. In fact, I was so busy with life that my blog earned $0 this month.
Looking Forward to June
June is my birthday month, as well as the halfway point of the year. I tend to approach June with gusto and an intent to live life to the fullest, as it serves a reminder of both the passing of time and the gift of being placed on Planet Blue with a beating heart and a working mind. Also scribbled on our calendars are Father’s Day, plus a wedding we’ve been waiting over a year for – so celebrations abound!
Then we jetset off to Iceland in early July, where we will meet my sister and begin our traveling life. With the liberties Mike’s new way of work-life gifts us, I tell myself I will start approaching the rest of 2021 with the same exuberance I felt when I tackled the challenge of adding baking to my career repertoire – that is, with reckless abandon, shutting my eyes tight and taking leaps of faith that could land us somewhere far away from here, or alternatively, right on our arses. Cheers to mid-life crises or whatever you call it, that which I experience every other year or so it seems. 🙂
June Goals Include:
Notarize the living trust, because we must continue to do practical things.
Plan our nomad life, because I shan’t forget to dream.
Declutter garage, email, and phone, as a symbol of starting anew at thirty-two.
Organize digital photos, especially if travel will start to accelerate the collection.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure to learn more.
April was the most balanced month I have ever had. I spent a lot of time with friends and family, including helping my mother-in-law and sister-in-law move, dog-sitting and house-sitting for my parents while they were traveling, celebrating my sister-in-law’s birthday (twice!), celebrating my dad’s birthday, celebrating Easter with Mike’s family, continuing my weekly calls with my sister in Spain, hanging out with my co-workers after a long Friday work-day, and visiting our best friends in Los Angeles! I had a lot of new experiences, such as hitting a record month with blogging, as well as hosting my first virtual cooking class for a friend’s company Lunch and Learn. Financially, we are at a stand-still with our second refinance and I am putting together our living trust, both of which were the biggest challenges for the month. Meanwhile, I started taking piano lessons (I’ve always wanted to learn), spent the entire month boxing at my cousin-in-law’s gym and running a few times a week, hitting a lifetime record mile. I take care of myself by taking afternoon naps, working on a few coloring pages, and sitting on the sunny balcony with my pensive thoughts. Best of all, I started planning for a few trips in the summer months, determined to make the most out of 2021 as I promised to myself on New Year’s Eve.
April was the month that really reflected what I have been working towards since pursuing financial independence three years ago. I created a work schedule that I am not only proud of, but that also works for me. I get to enjoy the creativity of writing on my blog, a growing network in the hospitality industry while connecting bread and coffee together (two of my favorite things in life that I am passionate about), and still get to dabble in dentistry at a relaxed environment that feels more like home than a job. I go into the office two days a week which I stacked back to back so that I have five days straight of being at home if I so wish. I was pretty adamant about making blogging and wholesale directing both remote and on my own time. I know it seems like asking for much to some, but it’s actually more about asking for what will work best for your personality and lifestyle. In return for granting me jobs that are aligned with me, I think all of my co-workers and bosses can tell you that my output and return is of better quality and my outlook at work is a very positive one. I do believe that your satisfaction in work and life is visible through the energies you emit, so it is very important that work align with your dharma and being.
The most impactful thing for me is not being dependent on a job or other people. We aren’t financially free, meaning my student debt is still looming over us (although much smaller now), but we have a very strong grasp on our finances. I feel more in control of our situations and have the confidence that I needed to dissociate my dependence from others. (On a side note, being independent of others doesn’t mean you are isolated and alone. It simply means you are self-sufficient enough to be the truest version of self you can offer). You can read about how I gained enough financial independence to quit my job here. It is one of my most viewed posts in this space, which tells me that people are interested in doing the same. We were taught that doing more and earning more is the way to being rich. For us, the opposite has been true. Doing less allowed us to save money and led to me cutting my work days. Cutting my work days gave me freedom to pursue other interests, which gave me more meaning and satisfaction in life, but also, increased my connection with people and my experiences in this world. Even during the pandemic, financial independence played a positive role for us, which I wrote about here. All in all, I am getting closer to where I intended to be when I started living intentionally – which is to have separation from work, a bigger community, the ability to pursue my passions, and soon, to travel the world. With that, I hope May follows suit.
I have finally found the planner for me this year and will stick with Unbound Planner. I think it provides the best balance of mindful living and productivity. I was able to be productive and be calm, which is always tough for a go-getter like me. I also realize that as much as I try time-blocking and as productive as it is, it doesn’t give me that sense of peace. I find myself glancing at the clock to ensure that I stay within my time limits. It subconsciously adds an extra layer of stress, so I switched back to my checklist method. I prefer to keep a running checklist and to pick off one item at a time to do. I like to spend time with each task without rushing, which ultimately leads to better results.
The planner also helps relieve me of thinking about day-to-day chores. I use the meal planning section to simplify making meals at home and grocery shopping for them, too! The weekly overviews are built around plans I made for the months and years, and I can easily look back on my game plan and timeline to plan for the week. The daily indications for exercise, taking my supplements and drinking my 8 glasses of water are also helpful. Lastly, each day starts off write, with the section for gratitude journaling as well as a Top 3 Priority checklist.
Without further ado, here are a few goals for May.
Personal:
Practice T.I.M.E. ritual each morning: T- Thankfulness Practice by Gratitude Journaling, I- Insight by listening to podcasts, writing, or reading, M- Meditate using the TIDE app, and E – Exercise whether that’s running or hiking.
Put phone away when I am with people or when doing something to avoid distractions.
Have a digital sabbath one day per week.
Learn how to use my new Microsoft surface pen.
Let myself take an afternoon nap every weekday that I am off.
Learn the 195 countries’ locations and be able to fill in a blank map with their names.
Learn 2 modern songs on the piano.
Go to the beach twice with Mikey.
Spend one hour this month doing NOTHING.
Finish reading 2 books.
Bake 2 new recipes.
Health:
Be able to run 5 miles under 50 minutes.
Workout with weights 3x/week.
Go on a hike once a week.
Use Magnesium Spray to boost energy, lift mood, calm the mind, and relax the muscles.
Create genuine, meaningful relationships with patients by spending an extra five minutes each appointment learning one new thing about their social life.
Publish 20 blog posts.
Top last month’s 8.8K Pinterest views.
Top last month’s blogging income.
Learn how to self-publish a book by taking courses online.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure to learn more.
Sometimes, I get in these moods wherein I question my productiveness. I worry about having done enough, and I focus on the change I have still yet to make. The first three months of the year was spent on tending to my mental health and creating space for all the living I have still yet to do. I spent many hours reconnecting with friends and family, meditating, and spending time outdoors. Now that we’ve come to the end of the first quarter of 2021, I suddenly started to semi-panic about what I have (or haven’t) accomplished in the year thus far.
I look ahead at the upcoming month and think to myself, “Where did March go?”, as well as, “Where will I find the time?”. I start to dwell on my lack of progress and avidly plan for the future. I franticly scribble down notes of things to do, places to be, people to call…. I know that this is a result of my up-bringing and the ingrained notion that in order to succeed, you need to always be in motion. My immediate reaction to sitting still for too long is to itch for change. I know it is reactionary, and also, subconscious, and I have to put in work to bring these thoughts into my conscious mind.
In most cases, my bouts of uncertainty are caused by asking the wrong questions.
The better questions would be:
What relationships have I fostered recently?
How is my health and mental state?
Where is my community?
How close am I to my purpose?
Am I receiving satisfaction?
Are these tasks necessary to my goals?
What can I delegate to others?
What can be omitted?
I’ve taken the liberty to postpone the posting of my April goals for a few days, because I was undergoing one of those mild, anxiety attacks about how much I’ve done, worrying about “enoughness” rather than reflecting on the being rather than the doing. Since then, I’ve set the compass straight. I feel relaxed again after answering the better questions, which I trust sets me up for productivity in the future. Often times, all it takes is a step back, a calm breath, and a thoughtful guide.
This month, I have had the absolute pleasure and joy to try out a new planner by Unbound. It is, by far, the most well-rounded planner I have ever tried. It combines productivity with mindfulness. They sell an undated version and a 2021 planner. Personally, I prefer the 2021 planner and even though it’s now April, I would still recommend the dated planner over the undated version. There are only a few differences between the two, but I think they make all the difference. Plus the 2021 dated planner is currently on sale for a better price. I love the Unbound planner so much. I would go so far as to say that it is the best planner I have ever tried. And I’m a planner addict, so I don’t say this lightly.
The Unbound planners start with self-reflection pages. These are crucial to anyone who wants to succeed with their goals. You need to know who you are first before making plans for the future. Knowing what motivates you, what challenges you, what your core values are, and what your talents and strengths are will help align your goals with where you truly want to go. It will also focus you towards the tasks that you would be good at, and perhaps the tasks that you can delegate to someone with a better suited personality. I like to integrate what I love to do into my work life, limit the things that deplete me, use my talents and strengths to move forward, and delegate the things that I struggle with to other people. The self-reflection pages also has the user rate where they currently are in certain aspects of life. This will give the person an idea on where they should focus their energy. All of this self-discovery should set you up nicely for making a 2021 vision board.
The next section is for writing down your goals for the year ahead – both big and small. You want to first identify your themes, such as family, health, or finance. Based on your themes, create goals and break them down into specific, actionable tasks. For example, “be healthy” is not a good goal. It is not specific enough and doesn’t give any information as to what you actually want to accomplish. Better goals would be “going to the gym 4 times a week” or “running up to a half-marathon by June 1, 2020”. Think SPECIFIC.
Once you have all your goals listed, you want to organize them into a timeline. The Goal Timeline breaks down goals into monthly, weekly, and daily goals. Now if the goal is very specific, such as “Organize digital photos by June 1, 2020”, then you can place it on the yearly goal chart and cross out the month you hope to accomplish that goal by. This section is important when you do your weekly and daily planning. Continually look back and reference this section to verify that you are hitting your goals. It’s also a great way to visualize which goals need to be written down on the weekly and daily pages.
There is also a 2021 overview wherein you can write down reminders for big events that are to happen in the months ahead. Ideas to write down would be doctor appointment reminders, birthdays, parties, weddings, and holidays to name a few. The year at a glance is great for habit tracking or mood tracking, since you have a designated space for each day of the year. I haven’t decided what to use the space for yet myself, but I was thinking of using it as a way to schedule time off for myself, since that seems to be what I need most in life.
Once goals are all set, you can start listing things to do. A pages contain checkable bullet points separated into the four seasons. There is also an entire page to keep a running list of tasks to do. I think this is great when a task pops into your mind without a goal category. Just jot it down in the season you wish to accomplish the task, or on the running to-do list. I would check these pages occasionally, and enter them into the appropriate days or weeks.
Onto my favorite pages: Project Planning and Goal Breakdown. I use project planning to break down my work and any creative endeavors I have. I have a diverse set of jobs. I am trying to grow a blog, trying to grow a bakery, and creating a dental home, all while learning new hobbies and skills. For example, my husband and I are working on building a robotic pour-over machine for fun. I am trying to learn piano while also trying to run farther and faster. These are all projects that I have and the pages in the planner help me to visualize as well as break down each project into steps that I can take to get to the end result. This type of planning is really how I get so much done. I will repeatedly re-assess if the tasks I’ve written are worth doing. Each task is prioritized based on its efficacy and importance.
So how does April look? Busy. With opportunity to practice creating space for rest.
This planner is really good about promoting balance in one’s life. At the beginning of the month, the planner prompts you to write your top 3 priorities. It have a space for monthly goals and tasks, as well as space for gifts and occasions of loved ones. There is space to list ideas that will help you be creative and learn, to be healthy, to take care of yourself, to give and help others, to be connected, and to have fun and relax. These boxes are gentle reminders for me to take care of myself. There is also opportunity to overcome challenges as well as to work on positive change.
On the weekly pages, there are reminders at the top of the page to review the goals and place them into the plan. I keep a running to do list as well as track my habits on the weekly pages. More importantly, I jot down acts of kindness and ways to self-care. I use the blank space to reflect on my previous week. I write down what drained my energy, where I can improve as a person, and what the highlights were.
On the daily pages, there is space to monitor water intake, exercise, and supplements. There’s a box for all the things I cannot afford to forget, as well as a meal prep section. It makes my week way easier when I already have my meals planned ahead of time. Prepping them ahead of time is another story.
At the bottom of the page there is a space for Gratitude Journaling. I write three things I am grateful for each morning. At the top of the page are my top 3 daily priorities. The calendar section is just used to time block my day. I don’t write my tasks in the middle section, but rather, reference my weekly pages and my weekly to-do list.
Now you’ve probably been reading this and thinking to yourself, “Goodness, how overwhelming.” But it actually is not. In fact, this planner takes a lot of stress out of my life. It organizes so well that I reduce the amount of decisions I need to make per day, which then saves my mental strength and avoids decision fatigue. It refocuses my mind on the important things in life, and isn’t only about the daily grind. At the same time, it keeps me productive.
I have tried many planners in my life, but this is the best one yet. I love it so much that I may stick with Unbound for the rest of the year and beyond!
Without further ado, my April Goals.
Personal:
Wake up early every morning and utilize the wee hours for my T.I.M.E. ritual: T- Thankfulness Practice by Gratitude Journaling, I- Insight by listening to podcasts, writing, or reading, M- Meditate using the TIDE app, and E – Exercise whether that’s running or hiking.
Put phone away one hour before bed and limit Instagram use to 30 minutes per day.
Create continuation between days by preparing the night before for the next morning’s most important tasks.
Have a digital sabbath one day per week.
Learn how to use my new Microsoft surface pen.
Let myself take an afternoon nap every weekday that I am off.
Start piano lessons and teach Mike what I learn.
Set aside time in the schedule to do something relaxing each day.
Volunteer once a week.
Spend one hour this month doing NOTHING.
Health:
Exercise 5 days a week. Go to boxing class 3 times a week, life weights 3 times a week, run 3 times a week, hike a trail once a week.
Get 30 minutes of outdoor time 5 days a week.
Use Magnesium Spray to boost energy, lift mood, calm the mind, and relax the muscles.
Create genuine, meaningful relationships with patients by spending an extra five minutes each appointment learning one new thing about their social life.
Publish 20 blog posts.
Top last month’s 7.4K Pinterest views.
Top last month’s blogging income.
Learn how to self-publish a book by taking courses online.
Save $7k next month to ramp up for whenever student loan repayment resumes – invest 20% of it and place 80% in our Marcus High Yield Saving’s Account.
Close on a second refinance of our home, hopefully sealing the interest rate at 2.875%.
Complete 5 CE courses.
This post was sponsored by Unbound Planner, the most productive planner I have tried to date (and I am not just saying that!). I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes productivity with mindfulness reminders sprinkled throughout their day! As always, thank you for supporting the companies that support this space.
The nailpolish is from the ever amazing jewelry company J. Hannah and is called Patina.
February always feels like a month gone by. I ended up working more days in February, covering for doctors who went on vacation, so I did not reach as many blogging goals as I had anticipated. Despite that, the blog saw an increase in income, as well as an increase in traffic. I was able to keep up with my personal goals, focusing on building meaningful relationships with my patients, family and friends.
A lot of things has happened in our life career-wise as well! Mike received three offers for a full-time job and he accepted one! It has been one year since he worked full-time, but we are very happy with the offers he received. This means we will no longer need to pay for our own health insurance, he will get a 401K match, and we have all the other fun benefits that come with steady work.
I also took on a new role as the wholesale director for Rye Goods Co., the same bakery that I used to work midnight shifts at two years ago. We now have a storefront on Lido Island in Newport Beach, so do come say hi when you have the chance! Now, I am a part-time dentist, part-time blogger, and part-time bakery wholesale director. I decide my hours and schedule, and am contracted for all three positions. I am very excited for my new way of working and grateful for all the people I get to interact with. Additionally, with the exception of the two days I work as a dentist, I get to work from home with my husband and enjoy afternoon sunshine in the living room with my cat. My entire life has changed for the better after I saved up enough money to financially independent and quit a job I disliked. I told myself that I will never take this for granted and not waste this opportunity. With that, here are my goals for March.
Personal:
Wake up early every morning and utilize the wee hours for my T.I.M.E. ritual: T- Thankfulness Practice by Gratitude Journaling, I- Insight by listening to podcasts, writing, or reading, M- Meditate using the TIDE app, and E – Exercise whether that’s running or hiking.
Put phone away one hour before bed and limit Instagram use to 30 minutes per day.
Use the Monk Manual every day to guide my intentional living.
Create continuation between days by preparing the night before for the next morning’s most important tasks.
Meditate with the TIDE app every morning.
Stay offline one day per week.
Health:
Exercise 5 days a week.
Immerse in the outdoors 3 days a week.
Use Magnesium Spray to boost energy, lift mood, calm the mind, and relax the muscles.
Clean eating with whole foods and regenerative foods.
Try food journaling.
Work:
Create systems for my new role at Rye Goods Co. in order to improve the organization of all wholesale clients.
Familiarize myself with the billing and invoice platform for Rye Goods Co.
Begin to onboard new clients by the end of March.
Create genuine, meaningful relationships with patients by spending an extra five minutes each appointment learning one new thing about their social life.
Publish 20 blog posts.
Top last month’s 7.4K Pinterest views.
Top last month’s $600 blogging income.
Home:
Put away things daily.
Do a pantry clean out and organization.
Declutter paper and digital files and email.
Finance:
Save $7k next month to ramp up for whenever student loan repayment resumes – invest 20% of it and place 80% in our Marcus High Yield Saving’s Account.
Close on a second refinance of our home, hopefully sealing the interest rate at 2.875%.
Cancel our health insurance now that Mike got a full-time job!
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure to learn more.
This post is written in partnership with Monk Manual. I have had the privilege of trying their 90-day planner and can truly say that it functions well as a guide for balancing being and doing. Sometimes the latter outweighs the former and we lose sight of who we are and what our purpose is. In order to glean as much as I could from this experience, I spent January reading Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty. I have found that the Monk Manual really helps me live my dharma, find gratitude in my waking moments, listen to my thoughts and emotions without judgement, and learn from my experiences.Whereas other planners have been efficient in creating a productive work flow, the Monk Manual supersedes the others by leaving room for spiritual growth – our most beneficial but oft neglected kind of work.The modern world could use a planner such as this, not to find what’s been missing, but to uncover what’s been with us all along.
A Review of Productive January
January was an effective month for me. I kept up with most of my habits, including meditating five days a week, exercising almost daily, giving up alcohol, getting plenty of rest, docking the phone one hour before bed, and limiting my caffeine intake while increasing my exposure to sunshine and open air. I completed two books (Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty), saw my family every week, completed SEO courses and dental CE courses, and grew my blog multiple ways. Still, there are some improvements to be made. I can limit my social media use further, as well as give myself more time to create. Rather than focusing on what did not work in January and viewing them as failures, I have reframed my thinking to what improvements I have to look forward to in the future. It’s amazing how the words we use can change our energies from negative to positive. For February, I want to focus on having an intentional month, and will go into how the Monk Manual 90 day planner guides meaning into our daily lives.
An Intentional February – Aligning Doing with Being
Before we get into the nitty gritty of the doing, I wanted to share a few thoughts about being. I have spent the last few months since quitting my job delving deep into why I was dissatisfied with my work. I read the book Joy at Work by Marie Kondo and Kinfolk Entrepreneur by the Kinfolk team. I took personality tests such as this DISC assessment and studied my enneagram results for the umpteenth time. I had conversations with my friends, siblings, and husband about what my personality results tell me, and how I can maneuver around my shortcomings better while setting myself up for personal success. I journaled about my goals, motivations, inspirations and wildest dreams, analyzing what my driving force is. Most importantly, I expressed on paper everything that gave me sadness and despair about my old way of life.
I have come to the conclusion that among other factors such as an unideal work environment and an office culture that was unaligned with my personality, part of the reason why my old job was painful to me was because it didn’t align with my dharma. And that was entirely my fault. I had never spent time trying to figure out my true purpose in life, aside from making money and a living. I never honed in on what brought me joy, and what kept me going. The reason I wasn’t happy was because what I was doing wasn’t the same as my being. I was surprised by the results of my assessments and also at the opportunities that suddenly presented themselves during my hiatus. It turns out that life will naturally present what you attract, if you leave enough space for it.
How to Use the Monk Manual to Live An Intentional Life
In an effort to coincide what I do with who I am, February is focused on intentional planning, which is where Monk Manual comes in. Like my previous planner Mal Paper (read my review of Mal Paper Planner here), the Monk Manual 90 day planner focuses on prioritizing the tasks ahead to increase productivity. Writing down a to-do list is not intentional enough, if it is filled with activities that do not move us toward our goals. The Monk Manual has a weekly prioritization list but also a daily one. And just like the Mal Paper planner, Monk Manual leaves room for gratitude journaling at the beginning of the day as well as a space to write down what went well. Whereas both of those practices sets one up for a good work day, neither helps with spiritual growth.
I have found that Monk Manual works really well at fostering spiritual growth. On the daily pages, it leaves space to list the one thing we most look forward to, as well as the ways in which we can give. At the end of the day, Monk Manual promotes reflection by asking the user to list three highlights, and the three times they were at their best. The latter shows the moments in daily living that really align with their natural purpose in life. Then it asks for times when we feel unrest, which highlights the part of our lives that probably goes against what we want for ourselves. Lastly, it asks for one way we can all improve tomorrow, because our work is never done.
On the weekly pages, it prepares for personal growth, relationship growth and the good things ahead. This way of planning is new to me. I have always been focused on business growth, never realizing that personal growth is perhaps the more important metric.
Here are examples of personal growth goals that I look forward to in February.
February Goals for Personal Growth
Speak less, listen more.
Pause before every response.
Practice saying, “Let me get back to you.”
Every time I speak ill of someone, write down 10 positive affirmations for them to see the good they bring.
Be a humble worker so as to inspire respect, never demand it.
Grow my relationships by giving self-less service, sharing words of gratitude, and gifting more frequently.
At the end of the week, the reflection prompts ask for the biggest accomplishments, habit insights, and meaningful moments. The habit insights are useful to me because sometimes a habit that I wanted to adopt isn’t exactly the right habit for the goal I want to reach. The section for meaningful moments is also good because it highlights that our biggest accomplishments aren’t always our most meaningful milestones. We are more than what we do. Lastly, it has an area titled “God Is Teaching Me” although I would prefer for it to actually say “Life is Teaching Me”. Regardless, it provides an opportunity to look at our shortcomings and learn something from it so that we can move forward with our improvements.
Both the daily pages and the weekly pages make the monthly section easy to fill out. At the beginning of the month, you check in on your status around relationships, physicality, spirituality, work, personal growth, and playfulness. It also asks for one change you wish to make in the next month that will create the biggest impact, and one questions to answer this month. At the end of the month, the reflections section can use what you’ve written weekly and daily to remember the biggest accomplishments of the month. It also asks for the four relationships you are most grateful for, and the greatest insight you gained, creating space for gratitude and growth.
Embracing the Monk Mentality
The Monk Manual opens with a letter to its user in which it details a monk’s habits.
“Where the world says focus on more, the monk says focus on less.
Where the world seeks to master outcomes, the monk seeks to master self.
Where the world fills our lives with noise and distraction, the monk fills his or her life with quiet and focus.
Where the world pursues a life of independence, the monk pursues a life of trust, walking the path of life with God and others.
Where the world medicates, the monk meditates.”
For a more intentional February, I am embracing the monk mentality and implementing what I have learned in reading Think Like A Monk. I will use the Monk Manual all month to adopt a more reflective way of planning, thereby increasing my self-awareness. Also, instead of only worrying about my goals, I want to focus more on service.
The question I want to answer this month is “How can I give more?”
To myself, and to others. It’s a question you guys can help me answer. Meanwhile, I give you my February goals. I already listed my personal ones above.
WORK:
Invest my time into learning more about SEO, website development, marketing, and dentistry.
Grow my blog connections through collaborations and partnerships.
Foster my relationships with my patients by dedicating five extra minutes per patient trying to learn one thing about their personal life that I never knew before.
Act from a place of service, as a humble worker. Answer the question: “How can I use my talents to serve others and make a difference?”
HOME:
Location has energy, and we must always choose the right location for our dharma. Dedicate to maintaining a clean, minimalist home to facilitate my creative personality.
Dedicate each space in the home to a single, clear purpose.
Create the ideal workspace in order to facilitate my best work. Find a desk, imagine what I want it to look like and how I want it to function.
HEALTH:
Exercise five days a week by either running or doing yoga.
Meditate with TIDE app five days a week.
Sleep early, wake early. My goal is to wake up by 5:45 am every morning so that I can dedicate the time for meditation, gratitude, exercise, and insight.
FINANCES:
Limit spending on myself to practice letting go of materialism. Dedicate only $30 of fun money spending for myself.
If I am able to forgo shopping this month, place the fun money in a brokerage account and invest it instead.
Spend less on groceries ($250 for the household) and dining out ($100 for the household).
