LIVEffortlessly

There is so much to do in a day, and only so much time to do it. Sometimes waking up to an overwhelming list of things that need to get done can make us want to stay in bed or put off those things in some way. There is an easy way to tackle your day – and it’s by having a set morning routine. I heard once that “a body in motion stays in motion”, so if you can wake up and tell yourself to do this routine, it will energize and motivate you to conquer your day!

1. You need to wake up earlier than you think. Don’t just give yourself time to get dressed and brush your teeth before you depart for the day. You need to wake up early enough to do a few more things that will start your day off right.

2. As soon as you wake up in the morning, you need to do a morning stretch routine. I do a combination of yoga and exercises suggested by my physical therapist. These stretches with stimulate blood flow to your brain and energize you for the day.

3. Get dressed. Even if you are staying home and cleaning all day or chasing your kiddos around the house, you need to get dressed because it makes you more motivated and confident when you are dressed. Even if you only change from your pajamas to leggings and a t-shirt, it will make a difference.

4. Eat something. Preferably, you’d eat something healthy with some protein but not a lot of sugar or carbs, this will energize you without giving you a crash later. But even if all you have to eat is a cold piece of leftover pizza, this will be a better start to your day than not eating anything. Eating something in the morning helps to start your metabolism up and give you energy.

5. Brush your teeth and start your day. You are off to a great start!

Sometimes it is so hard to love ourselves. It is easier to negatively self-talk about how we aren’t getting everything done, we aren’t losing the weight we said we would, we cheated on our diet, or whatever it is. Sometimes we are our worst critics. But what if I told you that, that isn’t how it’s supposed to be? We are actually supposed to love and care for ourselves. It’s not easy, but let me show you what I’ve learned about why we are supposed to love ourselves and some easy ways to start doing that.

Why are we supposed to love and care for ourselves? Because God created us to be exactly the way we are, and He loves us exactly the way we are. God not only loves us but He cares for us and wants us to care for our bodies as they are temples for the Holy Spirit.

• Psalm 139: 13-15
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.”

• Ephesians 2:10
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

What are some Simple ways to love yourself?

1. Treat yourself the way you would treat others.
This sounds backwards because we usually say the opposite. We usually say to treat others the way you would want to be treated, but when I am talking to people like me who are automatically their worst critics and automatically negatively self-talking. We tend to overreact to our “failures”, really beating ourselves up if we don’t finish our to-do list or cheat on our diet or whatever else we come up with. But if someone we knew did that, we would be much more lenient on them, we would tell them it’s not a big deal, you can do that task tomorrow, you can start over your diet tomorrow, you shouldn’t beat yourself up over it. So why do we let ourselves beat ourselves up? Because it’s easy to. So, treat yourself the way you would treat others, the way you would treat a friend.

2. Turn your negative self-talk to positive self-talk!
As we work on treating ourselves better, we need to take that negative self-talk and make it positive. So, maybe you are saying to yourself “I didn’t finish everything on my to-do list, I must be lazy” Instead, say “I got so much done on my to-do list today” Or maybe you are upset with yourself because you cheated on your diet instead celebrate how well you’ve been doing and focus on restarting, don’t binge just because you cheated a little. The important thing is to give ourselves grace. I’m on a 30-day Sugar Fast, and the other day I was given really bad news and it triggered me to really want some chocolate. I was so upset with myself for wanting chocolate in that moment, for still being so emotionally attached to it after so many days and doing so well not wanting it. Then, I realized, I should be proud of myself for wanting it and still restraining from it. Sometimes, if you are having trouble with negative self-talk, it helps to get perspective, maybe talk to someone about what you are saying to yourself and get their perspective.

3. Do something for yourself each day.
Whether it’s soaking in the tub, getting your nails done, going shopping, taking a nap, reading, drinking a cup of hot cocoa, it doesn’t matter. Make time in your busy schedule each day to do something that will make you smile.

Is your life overwhelming? You can't seem to keep up with the laundry and dishes, or maybe you can't seem to find time to exercise? I've struggled with those things too! I've learned some Simple Hacks along the way that have made my Life more Simple, Uncomplicated, and Effortless. From maintaining the home to maintaining your marriage. Please join my page LIVEffortlessly, where I will be posting something new each week about how to make your life more effortless.