You totally have your shit together don’t you? I mean, you get up early every day to workout, eat the requisite number of servings of veggies every day, you never lose your mind standing in line at the grocery store, and you never, ever talk badly to yourself.
Right?
No? How about this one: you try really hard to do all the things, be everything for everyone, and even do some personal improvement in a weekly yoga class. You are running late more often than not, you can’t remember where you left your phone (while you’re talking on it), you have no energy left at the end of the day to deal with dinner, so either hubby has to cook it (hahahahaha!) or it’s takeout again.
You’re just tired.
I hear you. You need a realistic routine. Not one of those fancy planner versions that has you planning out your self-care words, and positive affirmations before your 45 minute meditation session. You need a plan designed for Super Woman. Because even though you don’t always feel like it, you are saving the world lady! Your world, and that’s the one that matters.
Between running dad to the doctor and scheduling senior pics for the teenager, you also have work, laundry, and groceries to get into the house. Who has time for a 75 minute yoga class?
You have hot flashes starting to disrupt your sleep, this mean anxiety voice that whispers in your ear about how “everyone else has their shit together why can’t you?” One minute you are a VP of Really Important Stuff, and the next you can’t figure out how to assemble the crock pot. How do women do this?
By being organized, having a routine, and learning to fake it until you make it. Which is total crap. Life is messy and complicated, and the reality is no one has their shit together.
You may feel like you have an overwhelm problem, a stress problem, or a lack of support problem. In reality your just need a routine. Even the word alludes to calm and controlled. All you need is a way to fool proof your day so that you come first. Not in a sit around watching General Hospital in your jammies kind of way, more of a method for sneaking in what nourishes you so that you can continue to be super woman.
I get it, you’re hesitant because if you don’t do it, how will things get done? I promise, you can still do #allthethings if you like, but what if I offered you a way to do all of the things and still sprinkle in a bit of taking care of your own shit too?! I mean, it’d be great if you could delegate some of that other stuff, but I’ll eave that for another blog post.
The Routine
What matters to you? I mean really matters- taking care of your family, your career, there is no wrong answer here. What if you had the clarity and focus of your current self, mixed with the energy and charisma of your 20-something-self? What could you accomplish then- and what the fork does that have to do with nutrition and wellness?
Everything, because you are a product of your lifestyle, even if your current body sometimes feels like the result of a week-long bender.
I propose tiny habits.
Tiny habits that serve your goals to replace the time sucks that are not serving your 40-something, or 50-something self.
Here are my top 5:
Simple meals: forget about the perfect meal plan- you need hormone balancing, your husband wants steak and potatoes, the kids want fast food, and mom doesn’t understand why you can’t just make grandma’s pot pie on Tuesday. Swap out the “perfect” for a simple meals tiny habit: have a few convenience items on hand to up level your meals. Bagged salad, rotisserie chicken, and grocery pickup are my Monday- Thursday go-to simple habits.
Move efficiently: you don’t need a 60-minute workout. When you can fit it in, you go girl- but for your busy days, something is better than nothing. A 15 minute HIIT video before you hit the shower in the morning is a great way to boost metabolism.
Productive sleep: trade your habit of staring at the ceiling for a sleep- inducing pre-bed routine. Turn off electronics, swap out your bedroom light bulbs for blue light blocking amber bulbs, and take 5 minutes to journal, do light yoga, or meditate. The 10 minutes spent here will result in better sleep so it pays off.
Sneaky self-care: swap out tasks that you don’t need to be doing with 10-15 minutes of self-care. If you want to be an overachiever this one is the one to do it on. Do you need to check your email at home? Can you DVR your TV show and save 20 minutes of commercials, how about tossing laundry in before work and swapping it after work, fold it while you watch said DVR’d show. Fill in that new-found time with a mani-pedi at home, 15 minutes reading just for pleasure, or sitting in the garden pretending to weed just listening to the birds.
Letting it go: This one doesn’t actually cost you any time, but it sure will save you some. Let shit go. What habit do you have that you can let go of? Do you vacuum every day? Could you do it every other day- would anyone notice? There are a hundred little time sucks that we do every day that we don’t need to. Share carpool duties, order grocery pickup, hire a housekeeper 1 day a month- it’s surprisingly affordable.
I have 2 more of these tiny habits- and I am going to share them with you in my 7 day FREE challenge to help you Fall Back into Routine this September! (See what I did there?)
If you are not already part of the Perimenopause & Menopause Nutrition Made Easy Facebook group then join now, that’s where this all happens starting September 14th!
7 days, 7 tiny habits to up-level your health, and as a bonus for sticking with me the whole 7 days I’m giving the group exclusive access to my best offer of the year!
I love to help uplift women, comment below or reach out with what you are struggling with during this time of your life- we can chat!