https://schisandra.substack.com
At SchiSandra, Wisdom Warriors, Sandra writes about proven enrichment for your professional and personal life, health, and well-being. She shares knowledge and wisdom about EQ (Emotional Intelligence), well-being, resilience, confidence, health, philosophy, and real-life learnings to enable a well-lived life.
SCHISANDRA SUBSTACK POSTS – WISDOM WARRIORS
For the majority, the first response is that it’s a feeling of confidence. Others may think of confidence as a personality trait, a belief in their abilities, or self-esteem. However, none of these are truly what confidence is.
Confidence is not a feeling. Feelings such as nervousness, anxiety, apprehension, and fear are normal with or without confidence. Confident people still have these feelings.
Confidence is not a personality trait. Many people interpret extroverts or those who live in the spotlight as being confident. Many people judge introverts as not being confident. The reality is many seemingly outgoing people have very low levels of confidence and many reserved people with extremely high levels of confidence.
Confidence is not an ability. Being good at something is competence, not confidence. You can say that you are confident of being good at something or bad at something. This is our self-talk and belief system, not confidence. For example, saying you are confident that you are a terrible speaker tends to become a self-fulfilling prophecy, causing you to create the outcome that you expect, and then validating that belief system.
Confidence is not self-esteem. If you believe your confidence is improved by success, and diminished by failure, then you’re talking about self-esteem, not confidence. In general, building your self-esteem is healthy – it encourages you to think positively about yourself. But, while it may make you feel good about yourself at the moment, it doesn’t lead to true confidence. Some people may act confidently by being arrogant, or constantly competing. In this case, your ego is big, but your self-esteem is vulnerable. For example, if you build your self-esteem around your looks and your looks change, your self-esteem plummets. If you build it around being smart, and then find yourself around smarter people, you can feel inferior.
Confidence is not just knowing things or getting high grades or scores in academics. Knowing is data, it’s not confidence. Straight A’s or a PhD is the result of knowing data and applying it to a topic, project, product, or service.
So, what is confidence?
Confidence is a skill. It is a skill that can be developed and strengthened. Confidence is the willingness to try, combined with your self-trust that you will figure it out. A willingness to try means having a willingness to act, even in the face of fear and uncertainty. This is linked to our Intelligence of the Will. Confidence is developed and strengthened by taking action regardless of the outcome.
When you define confidence based on action regardless of the outcome, it allows you to develop competency. To do this, you need to identify what areas you want to develop confidence in. Then, create a goal for this area and take action in that direction.
When you take action, you learn, you grow, you develop, and you build confidence. Then you apply what you’ve learned to improve your abilities, which builds competency. This results in higher self-esteem and as a result, your competency improves. Yet even if your competency doesn’t improve in a skill or ability, confidence can be improved by the consistency of willingness to take action.
Ultimately, this action leads to true confidence because you know that no matter where you are now, your willingness to try and take action is what unlocks your future and full potential – with confidence.
Our world is complex. Our lives within this world don’t have to be, yet often are quite a complex experience. Our pursuit of happiness can be intricate and never-ending. When we distill it to its essence, happiness can be much simpler than imagined.
Fundamentally, we need three principles to have a very happy and fulfilling life:
1. Good Health
2. Meaningful Work
3. Love
These are the principles of which contentment and fulfillment reside. I realize it sometimes takes a lifetime to discover, realize, or embrace these principles. The sooner we do, the happier and more gratified we are in this moment. Once we experience moments of happiness and fulfillment, we seek to rebuild our entire lives to have infinite moments like this.
Ancient philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle summed up happiness as a “life worth living” and is tied to meaningful lasting ideals like Truth, Reality, and Goodness. These ideals encompass life’s morality, relationships, and purpose to discover the nature or cause of mankind.
Today, an ideal example of what a long and happy life looks like in the Blue Zone regions of the world – Okinawa (Japan), Sardinia (Italy), Nicoya (Costa Rica), Icaria (Greece), and Loma Linda (California, USA). These regions have the most centenarians per capita due to their approach to living which is good health, meaningful work, and love.
Whether it’s ancient philosophers or today’s Blue Zone regions we can agree that happiness, fulfillment, and longevity come with good health, meaningful work, and love.
Good Health: Physical, Mental and Emotional
Good health is paramount to well-being and happiness. It encompasses physical, mental, and emotional well-being. With good health, we are better equipped to appreciate life’s beauties and face life’s adversities.
Strong physical health allows you the energy, capability, and capacity to pursue interests, activities, and lifestyle.
Strong mental health supports your mindset, ability to interact socially, and psychological aptitude.
Strong emotional health reinforces resilience, disposition, and your capability to acquire and grow meaningful relationships.
All these uphold your state of body and your state of being.
Achieving good health requires a conscious effort toward a balanced lifestyle. Partake in physical activity regularly, consume nutritious foods, carve out time for relationships and relaxation, and utilize stress management techniques. For any of these, be willing to seek assistance, support, or preventative care at the onset of need.
Meaningful Work: Purpose-Driven Value
Meaningful work aligns with your values, interests, and desire to contribute positively to yourself, to others, and to the world at large. This may be through our careers, volunteering, or personal projects to contribute and engage with society at our optimal level. Here’s the key – having a true purpose is selfless. Yes, working for money is necessary, but it’s not a life purpose. You can continue with work that provides, while also contributing to work that has purpose.
Meaningful work will vary significantly for each of us. We do not need to become a leader to have meaning in our lives. We do not need to be a public figure to have meaning in our lives. We do not need to invent something to have meaning in our lives. We do need to take action on what provokes our soul, whether that’s volunteering, teaching, creating, listening, writing, learning, helping…etc. Finding meaning often involves an attitude of mindfulness and gratitude, and an ability to recognize the value and impact of our efforts.
There is no age limit to purpose! Everyone at all ages and stages will find that meaning and purpose foster a sense of belonging, contribution, mental astuteness, and emotional satisfaction.
Love: Connecting, Cultivating and Cherishing
Love, in its many forms, is the emotional bond between us, our loved ones, the world, and each other. It encompasses romantic love, family, friendships, and a broader love for humanity and nature. Love enriches life, and provides comfort, joy, and support. Love ultimately creates a sense of belonging and community (big or small).
Loving relationships require our effort and empathy. We show and receive love through kindness and generosity, which fosters connection and unity with those around us. Love also includes more subtle acts like appreciation, support, helping with adversity, and active listening.
Blue Zones regions prioritize family connection, social networks, and active community participation. This in turn provides emotional support, buffers against mental and physical stress, and contributes to a sense of belonging. Deep and meaningful relationships enhance both happiness and longevity.
Here are some actionable tips to truly embark upon a happy, fulfilling life:
· Prioritize nutritious foods. Eat a rainbow of plant-based foods as much as possible. (insert rainbow). Be conscientious about your food intake and add more colorful fruits and veggies to your diet. This alone will help your good health path.
· Move more daily! Find ways to naturally walk, move, or skip throughout the day.
· Discover your purpose. Get a journal and write the answer to this question: if you didn’t have your limitations (real or perceived), what would you be doing to better your life, the lives of those around you, and the world? Do these things align with your passion and values? Keep writing about various ideas for a month or two, and see what ideas or themes are prominent.
· Invest time with family, friendships, and community groups. Once a week, add an activity, group, walk, or coffee with a friend(s).
· Practice mindfulness and gratitude. The best way to be grateful (and happier) is to acknowledge the simple parts of life and your appreciation for them. For example, I’m grateful for my daily warm cup of coffee or tea. I’m grateful for the sunshine today or the rain that is helping our garden. The simpler your gratitude, the more happiness there is to embrace.
The pursuit of happiness and fulfillment is ultimately good health, meaningful work, and love. These three principles are deeply interconnected and enhance our well-being, which can lead to a longer and more enjoyable life.
I’ve read over 100 books about health, philosophy, wisdom, wellness, self-discovery, and self-development. There are numerous pearls of wisdom and knowledge in these books which I have taken with me in life. One of my favorite books is Phil Stutz’s “Lessons for Living”, from which this article is inspired.
We need faith to take action — faith that no matter what the outcome of the action is (success, failure, or some of each), we will be ok. Considering that successes and failures are temporary states, this means our faith needs to overcome the notion of (temporary) failure. The need for faith to take action is what Phil Stutz refers to as ‘Intelligence of the Will’. He states that ‘your will is not just an energy that enables us to do things, it’s also a perceptive force’. Meaning, that your faith in taking action has intelligence behind it. Taking action gives us wisdom beyond the knowing or the outcome. It is wisdom to take more action, and it’s a higher force within us all.
In today’s world, we view intelligence as a thought process inside our brains. This kind of intelligence is not wisdom. This is knowing. True intelligence is wisdom in the world around us. Ancient philosophers believed the universe is one live organism intertwined with intelligence from higher forces. To have wisdom is to have faith in our higher self. Our higher self naturally accepts successes or failures as a part of an intelligence path. Today, scientists illustrate the universe as a random collection of objects given life through a cosmic force. This is not wisdom. This is a form of knowing, whether accurate or not. The only way to find wisdom is by taking action.
Even when our instincts tell us to take action, people usually do not take action because it means facing our fear of failure. Our vitality depends on taking action for the sake of wisdom regardless of the outcome.
There are 3 key success principles to take more action in our lives:
1. SPEED
Take action now, ASAP, today. Procrastinating diminishes the value of the action, thus the less time you allow to act the better. Doing the action, regardless of the outcome, improves your confidence to take more action. Even a failed action will improve your confidence more than a successful one with procrastination.
2. DENSITY
Volume of actions. The more actions you take, the more your action-taking becomes a habit. Start with one or two actions each day and aim to make the action a habit. These can be small actions such as calling a friend you’ve been thinking about or planting your garden. Actions can be part of your tasks list; the point is to make the action happen. Commit to doing one or two small actions a day and work up to three small ones per day or maybe one larger action per day or week. This builds your confidence in the fact that taking action is more important than the result.
3. REVIEW
Reserve 5-10 minutes every night to review the actions taken during the day and plan the actions for tomorrow. Writing puts a greater commitment in your mind to make things happen going forward. Start your next day prepared to take action with speed.
Start with small actions using these three principles. You will learn from both failures and successes, which is good for building character and knowledge. Yet, the importance is in the action of taking life force towards wisdom, regardless of the outcome.
Taking action ultimately leads to the wisdom of your higher self. This wisdom makes you immune to failure. The next time you feel inspired to create or explore, the next time your instincts kick in, or if you have an existing idea, take action toward wisdom.
Self-awareness is the recognition of one’s emotional state and tendencies. It is a rare quality and a skill that can positively impact your life and those around you. Research has proven that we are confident when we know ourselves clearly and can make firmer decisions. Being self-aware can help prevent us from making regrettable choices. It can also make us more effective and organized.
There are some myths of self-awareness. Let’s review and reveal the truth.
Myth #1: Taking time to get to know yourself is selfish.
It’s a good idea to take a break from yourself and connect with the people around you and the environment. Take this break at an appropriate time of the day or week so to ensure it’s beneficial. If you have too much as a priority during the week, take this break on the weekend.
It is not selfish to get to know yourself or to learn to understand yourself better. Developing this kind of awareness can make you a more selfless person.
Myth #2: Focusing on oneself is the best and only way to become more self-aware.
In creating awareness of yourself and what you need and want, you must also realize others’ values and needs. This will help you realize priorities in your life along with how you can add value to your life and others.
Myth #3: Self-awareness can’t be improved.
Some people believe that self-awareness is a natural trait that some people have and others do not. However, everyone can improve in self-awareness even if it doesn’t come naturally. Everyone who is self-aware has had to develop this skill over time.
Conduct a feedback analysis test for yourself. For instance, note why you made some critical decisions in your life. After several weeks or months, go back to it and analyze the result of your choices.
Did you make thoughtful well-researched decisions, or were your decisions made quickly without much thought?
Has the result gone according to plan? What did you learn about the way that you make decisions?
Strength and weaknesses personality test.
Write down all the things you perceive to be your strengths and weaknesses. Check with someone you can trust and see if their feedback falls in place with your view about yourself.
Practice self-awareness tests online. Many online tests can help you determine how self-aware you are at present. This can be a good basis for growing your ability to understand yourself. If you’d like suggestions for these tests, please leave a comment.
Self-awareness is the ability to focus on yourself progressively. It helps to manage oneself and align behaviors to values. It is about learning why you feel the way you do, and understanding how you can improve as a person. You can start now to develop a habit of improving your self-awareness.
Don’t be Perfect. Be Progress.
Self-management, self-regulation, and self-control are all ways to describe controlling our reactions, emotions, and thoughts with a longer-term goal in mind. It is the ‘selective action’ for a greater purpose. Mastering self-management allows us to accomplish tasks, maintain healthy relationships, and thrive in our lives. We all strive for more of these!
Self-management is important because it helps with these key growth skills:
1. It fosters independence. Self-management empowers individuals to make wise decisions without needing external guidance. It promotes productivity to prioritize tasks, manage their time effectively, and stay focused on their objectives.
2. Self-management enables resilience. The ability to manage ourselves helps us to navigate obstacles and rebound from setbacks. It allows individuals to manage their emotions, empathize with others, and uphold positive social interactions, all of which are crucial for a successful and fulfilling life.
3. Self-management enables individuals to act intelligently towards their emotional interpretations and responses. When we understand our emotional triggers, we are better able to effectively manage social relationships.
Key Aspects of Self-Management:
1. Self-control: Managing your impulses, resisting distractions, staying focused, and not succumbing to instant gratification.
2. Time Management: Planning and executing tasks within timeframes require prioritizing based on its urgency and importance. This improves productivity and reduces stress.
3. Stress Management: Effectively managing stress is an integral part of self-management. Knowing you can be or will be stressed in your day means finding a way to alleviate this stress with relaxation techniques, exercise, or other healthy coping mechanisms.
4. Emotional Management: Regulating your emotions and helping others to do the same uses this emotional intelligence skill. This leads to better interpersonal relationships and improved decision-making.
5. Goal Setting: Self-managed individuals are self-motivated to set, manage, and reach realistic, achievable goals and can create a game plan for their accomplishments.
Tips to sharpen your self-management skills:
1. Setting clear, achievable goals. Even simple goals such as being on time for events or appointments set you on a positive emotional intelligence path.
2. Develop a daily schedule to keep you steady and focused.
3. Practice mindfulness. Use a mantra such as ‘I am worthy of this time and effort’ to help you stay focused and positive.
4. Practicing patience and flexibility. There are often situations in which we anticipate angst. Use these situations to practice patience and flexibility towards a greater purpose.
5. Maintaining a positive attitude. When someone is complaining or some situations feel negative, use your #1 superpower to decide how you feel.
6. Staying committed to personal growth. Keep reading and journaling. The more you learn the more positive and powerful you feel and become.
7. Being open to feedback. Trusted friends and advisors can help us with their feedback. Only utilize concrete feedback from trusted sources – those who want to see you happy and successful.
Improving self-management skills is a continuous process. It involves self-awareness, reflection, patience, and continuous learning. There are huge benefits to self-management including integrating improved relationships, better stress management, and increased overall happiness. In professional settings, it can lead to success in leadership roles, enhanced teamwork, and productivity. Maintaining a positive attitude, staying committed to personal growth, and being open to feedback can also significantly contribute to improving your self-management skills. Take a step each day toward your progress and personal growth!
Don’t be perfect. Be progress!
You know the saying, “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.” This means embracing your imperfections and understanding that excellence doesn’t mean being flawless. The key to growth and self-improvement is progress. Progress = 1% improvement. Think about that: 1% is all you need to ‘be’ progress.
Let’s get real about perfection versus progress. For starters, let’s understand that perfection has limitations.
Perfection is a trap. It’s an illusion that moves further away each time we try to reach it. Perfectionism is debilitating. We second-guess ourselves and worry about making mistakes. It leads to missed opportunities and strained relationships.
Perfection is the faux appearance of perfect, happy people on social media. This leads to an unrealistic comparison with others, feeling unhappy, and of low self-worth.
“I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for – perfection is God’s business.” – Michael J. Fox
Now that we are on the same page of perfection being the bad guy, let’s move on to embracing progress over perfection.
When you aim for progress, you allow yourself to learn, experiment, and improve over time. This approach is a growth-oriented mindset, which is much healthier and more conducive to personal and professional development. One of my most important learnings in focusing on progress over perfection is that progress always feels accomplished. It always feels happy, too!
When you accept that something is progress, you give yourself permission to move forward. You stop the taxing cycle of tweaking and polishing so you can move forward. This doesn’t mean settling for mediocrity; this means understanding that there’s value in what you’ve achieved thus far. It’s ok to share your work even if it’s not perfect. This article is an example. It’s not perfect. It’s progress!!
One simple way to see progress is to start small. Instead of waiting for everything to be perfect before you start, just get started. Take the first step, no matter how small it may be. This builds confidence while you gain momentum.
Another way to embrace progress over perfection is getting feedback on your progress from trusted loved ones. No need to wait until something is finished to ask for feedback. Inquire when it’s 50% or 80% as if it’s a checkpoint to share your progress. You might just discover your 80% is a complete success as is!
Involving others in your progress also shows them that they don’t have to be perfect either and can be progress unto itself. Relationships improve dramatically without the constant perfectionism expectation. Calling all control freaks!! Let’s talk about progress in relationships!
When you set impossible ‘control’ expectations for those around you, it causes strain and resentment. Learning to be satisfied with ‘progress’ leads to healthier, more satisfying relationships. Take a baby step in this today by doing one thing – tell your loved one they did a great job, or they are a big help in something. This message communicates that however, they did that something, it’s meaningful to you.
I’m very big on this next important aspect of progress for so many reasons in life – resilience!
Facing challenges and obstacles, whether the outcome was as you intended, in itself is progress. Recovery or restoration from any kind of disappointment is resilience. You will learn, grow, and become stronger. That’s progress! Learning this one skill of resilience will help your entire life with progress and happiness. This topic deserves its own article, so stay tuned :).
Look at imperfection as relatable. Life is a messy, unpredictable, beautiful journey, and our imperfections make us human and relatable. Embracing your imperfections allows you to live authentically and be human, like the rest of us.
One of my favorite children’s books is called “Beautiful Oops” by Barney Saltzberg. It is the epitome of appreciating and valuing a mistake or imperfection for the sake of its as-is beauty. Such a good message for all ages. I think we lose the beauty of imperfection while growing up and compare ourselves and our work to others. Children are the greatest teachers of beautiful oops’ because they naturally recreate an outcome to their benefit! Love <3 children teachers!
And finally, let’s consider how you define success. How can you redefine it? Redefining success is progress! Can we agree that success right here, right now is progress? Define success in terms of progress and growth, and the outcome or achievement is already a win.
In the grand scheme of things, progress is what truly matters. Progress with our health. Progress with our relationships. Progress with our family. Progress with our work. Progress with our purpose. Progress with our well-being. Progress with today and tomorrow. Progress is 1% better.
Don’t Be Perfect. Be Progress.
Right now, you have all you need to feel calmness, contentment, and progress in your life!
This #1 Superpower is all you need to allow peace and contentment to flow in your life. Everyone has this Superpower, right now. What is it?
YOU DECIDE HOW YOU FEEL.
Right Now. At this moment. In the future too.
No matter what is happening around you, YOU DECIDE how you feel and react to it. That is a Superpower that everyone has right now.
Once you realize it, you can feel empowered to decide how you will feel and react.
OK, if you are thinking “Yeah, right, so why then if I get scared, well, I’m just scared and not happy about it”. This is true. This is real life. We all have moments of fear, anguish, or sadness. Then after that feeling, guess what? You decide how you will feel in the next moment. Get it???
Imagine someone cuts you off in traffic…. Yes, I know, the anger and frustration flare up in the first moment, and then I also know that I can decide if I allow that anger or frustration to continue. When this happens, I try (I’m not perfect) to select another feeling such as empathy. For example, my post-frustration self-talk goes like this — ‘Wow, I guess that person is having a terrible day. I do not need to add to that misery, nor join in it.
Easier said than done? Yep, I knew you may think that because we’ve all been there. Annndd, we’ve all, at some point in our lives, didn’t react with anger or frustration. Remember that time when you felt a shift in self-control? Let’s say it’s your Superpower shift.
Let’s try this next — read this sentence out loud “I do not control all around me, and I do not know how I’ll first react to all things, but I can decide how I feel after something happens”.
This is the #1 SuperPower you have today. Right now. Use it.
Don’t be perfect with it either, just do your best to practice your Superpower.
Don’t be Perfect. Be Progress.
We all have those moments when we react out of frustration, like when that car cuts you off in traffic. Instead of calling the driver a “jerk”, could you consider if they are having a really bad day (we’ve all been there!). Having a purpose can help you live a more calm and meaningful life with others, and be your best self, more often.
Consider these 8 Tips to Live Meaningfully and Purposefully:
1. Get to the heart of it! At the end of the day, why are you here? How are you going to use your gifts and talents to make the world a better place? What do you want to contribute to the world? This usually ties into the next tip of a noble goal.
2. Create a life mantra. Some examples are, “To inspire compassionate wisdom,” or “To support myself and others to live in truth.” Think about how you’d like to be remembered in life and keep saying this to yourself — daily!
3. Step back perspective. When we look back at ourselves 10 or even years ago things that stressed us out then are not in our view or mindshare today. So today, when stressed or making difficult decisions, focus on a longer timeline. What will matter in a year? Five years from now? 10 years from now?
4. Why and Who. “Why is this important?” and “Why are we prioritizing this?”. “Who is this for?” and Who is important to me in this matter?”. Why and Who are the key questions for 95% of situations to help move them forward.
5. More questions, less presumptions. The ability to imaginatively put yourself in someone else’s shoes is key to connecting with them. Empathy is something we can all get better at by asking questions instead of making presumptions. If someone cuts you off in traffic, instead of assuming they are a “jerk”, ask yourself “I wonder what is going on with them today”. This also helps to keep your rising frustrations intact.
6. Be a great listener. Deep listening is about paying attention to nonverbal cues: a person’s posture, body language, tone, and inflection. We transmit emotional messages through all of these methods. If you want to truly hear, understand, and feel what the other person is communicating, you need to look for verbal and nonverbal cues.
7. Deeper connections. Sometimes small talk is great, but often I want to get to know someone. Here is how to make a deeper connection — share a little more of yourself and ask questions that are a little more personal. Listen without judging and see what you discover.
8. Practice loving-kindness meditation. Meditation has been shown to increase empathy and kindness. I highly recommend it.
For more tips and personal wellness mentorship, go to https://schisandra.life/contact/ or reach out to me @ schisandra.life@gmail.com to help clarify your purpose so that you can create a meaningful life.
What isn’t digital in our lives, besides what you eat or drink? Thankfully, only robots eat zeros and ones. Everywhere we turn there is an option for digitalizing our lives, work, health, workout and the list goes on. At this point in our digital society, we could use ways to curate and control our digital world so to ensure we still can learn, live and love (and eat) without it. Productivity is supposed to be increased with all these digital apps, yet we are less productive, less focused on what matters and less happy than ever due to our fixation on every shiny digital dopamine hit of something new.
Being aware and deliberate in how we utilize digital technology helps to ensure it adds value to our life’s vs distract and suppress our lives.
Let’s start by identifying your digital triggers. In 2024, the typical individual dedicates 10+ hours per day to screen time on devices like the one you are probably on right now. Most people start their day by checking their smartphone and then immediately start scrolling somewhere longer than expected. Doing this can initiate immediate satisfaction of knowing “what’s going on” and then very quickly prompts aimless browsing which drains your time, energy, and focus throughout the day.
How are you supposed to focus on your day after that? Do you remember how to focus on something without a stimulant, external stress, or some high-pressure deadline? Mindful digital usage is important for focus and energy throughout the day, let alone well-being in life.
I practice 4 functional ways to improve my relationship with digital everything so that I can enable focus and positive energy in my day. I’m not always perfect at practicing every one of these, every day, yet I do use multiple or all of these, most of the time.
4 Proven Tips for Digital Mindfulness:
✅Daily Mantra or Meditation: Just say this each morning when you wake up and while getting ready — “My mind is more important. My focus brings more productivity. My happiness is driven by my actions, starting today.” Feel free to revise this to best suit your needs and your day.
✅Mindful Mornings: This is a biggie — this one habit can give hours of concentrated focus each morning, and remember focus brings you productivity then results. Most people know this yet still need to hear it again — do not check your smartphone apps first thing in the morning! Try this step-by-step instead.
Step 1. Turn off your alarm (likely your smartphone is your alarm and that’s ok, but use it only to turn off your alarm).
Step 2. Get up. Seriously, get up right away and go to step 3.
Step 3. Walk to the bathroom/closet/kitchen etc. Simply walking away from your digital device with help with your day’s focus.
Step 4. Begin your ‘getting ready’ routine.
Step 5. Recite your daily mantra or meditation.
Step 6. Repeat step 5 until you are ready for the day. This routine includes getting kids/family/pets ready for the day.
Step 7. Collect your smartphone and digital devices needed for the day and put them in your backpack, handbag, brief, etc. Let’s face it, if someone REALLY needs you, if something is REALLY urgent, you will get a phone call so you do not need to constantly check if something is urgent while getting ready for your day. Texting, apps, and social media are NOT for urgent matters.
Your life is calling you back to focus and productivity. This is the best way to begin your day.
✅Screentime Blocks: Once you are ready for the day, give yourself 5 mins to check for anything pressing (remember, it’s not urgent or they would call) from a text or message. 5 minutes is enough to signal anything pressing. You will have more time within another block to focus on all messages, e-matters, and posts to take note of, or dig into the details of your digital world. Your day may include an early morning workout, yoga, or meditation, the idea is to create a schedule block in your day. As an example, a daily screentime/digital block looks like this:
7:30–8am Finish getting ready, and prep for the day, including 5 mins of quick review of any pressing texts or emails.
8–9am Drive time/listen to news, music, audiobooks.
9–10am Yes, what you have been waiting for — 60 minutes dedicated to a digital download of information.
10–12pm Work time focus on important matters/what must get done today.
12–1pm Lunch/mid-day break with a max of 15 minutes spent on your phone.
1–3pm Meetings/work time focus/catch up or planning for important aspects of your life and/or work.
3–5pm Here it is again — 2 long dedicated hours of digital download or uploads, send/receive data, emails, IGs postings, etc.
5–7pm Dinner/family time/post-work activities/workout/errands/etc.
7–8pm Personal time/family focus.
8–9pm Optional digital personal time or catch up on anything the day needs to feel more fulfilled. This may be an optional time in your day to scroll.😉
9pm+ Prepare for the next day/prepare for a good night’s sleep.
Concentrate your digital time efforts in blocks of time to be more useful and functional, and less unfulfilling scroll time disrupts, leaving you more stressed, unproductive, and unhappy with yourself.
✅Journaling: This is such a powerful tool in life for goals, feelings, ideas, actions, notes, and more. By writing down your distractions, you can overcome them. Over the day identify your external notifications and internal emotional triggers that may either make you feel less empowered, or sad, or even cause you to procrastinate something that should have more focus in your day.
I’m confident that utilizing any or all of these tips will positively impact your day and your digital wellness! Let me know how they worked for you. For more wellness tips, sign up for my wellness newsletter here.