organized with joy

LEAVING SPACE FOR PROCESSING EMOTIONS

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Okay friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to talk about something that has been on my mind. There were several things that caused me to think about if  I am really leaving space in my life to process unresolved feelings, or am I still filling my life with other things as a distraction from processing and dealing with those feelings?

The first thing that spurred me on to think about if I am really dealing with my feelings is doing the Surrender Dip. If you missed it, last week I shared in my post (and in a DITL YouTube video) that I found this group on Instagram of people who get together once a week to jump in Barton Springs pool (which is a cold, spring fed pool in Austin) as a way to start the day off with positive energy! I decided to go again this week! The act of jumping in a cold pool has been a tangible way to let go of negative energy. But in addition to that it also just wakes you up. I don’t really know how to describe it. It shocks your nervous system in a good way. Also, this group provides a community of people who all are working to better themselves, which has led to some really deep and meaningful conversations. Some of these conversations have gotten me to really think about those areas of my life where I have some unresolved feelings.

The other thing that really got me to thinking about this idea of if I am really processing my feelings was a random YouTube video that I saw on my home page. As many of you know I am fascinated by minimalism, and trying to pursue a minimalist life in my own way. So this video where a YouTuber was sharing her extreme minimalist apartment tour with no furniture caught my eye. While I don’t think I could ever live as an extreme minimalist, I do find that lifestyle interesting and perhaps even a little bit enviable. As she walked us through every nook and cranny of her home – literally showing us everything she owned – I thought to myself how nice it would be to have so little to manage. Some of those feelings come from someone who has been a homemaker for many, many years and who is quite frankly tired of managing stuff!

Here is the YouTube video I watched if you’re interesting in check it out!

BUT, as I thought more about this idea of living with so little and having to manage so little I started thinking about what in the world I would do with all that extra time I would have. This made me realize that I do, to a certain extent, use my stuff or more specifically managing my stuff or working to keep me distracted. While I definitely have more margin in my life now than when my kids were younger, I find that I still am able to fill my time with work. I’m not exactly sure what to do with this information at this point. Do I look at my stuff with a more critical eye and declutter more? Do I lower my expectations of how often I clean and organize my stuff? Or are there other things in my life that I could cut back on in order to create that space that I need to process unresolved feelings?

It’s actually scary to think about opening that can of worms – allowing myself to really evaluate my feelings in certain areas that I have repressed over the years. But the first step is always awareness. I am aware that there are feelings that I have been masking or ignoring because it feels too hard. I was just talking to a friend this morning, and I realized that I have so much more self work to do! While I have grown a lot over the last five years of my life, I still have a lot more growth that needs to happen!

I don’t know what you are dealing with today. I don’t know what difficult thing you might be going through, but I hope this encouraged you today. Make space in your life to feel and process unresolved emotions! It is well worth it!

Here is the YouTube video I made in conjunction with this blog post.

VULNERABILITY & CREATING COMMUNITY

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Hey friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to debrief with you about a recent experience I had. I joined a group here in Austin and participated in something called a Surrender Dip. I also enlisted my friend Becca to come with me so I would feel less weird since I would at least know one person. I’ll start by summing it up with IT WAS AMAZING! I’m so glad I did this. Even if I just did it one time, it was so worth it. But I do plan to go back! So I found this group on Instagram. I guess the algorithm knew that I needed to find this group! The account on Instagram is Surrender Dip Austin and I recognized they were jumping into Barton Springs pool. So I reached out to the guy who heads up the group and asked him if this was open to anyone and if they did it regularly and he said yes! Anyone is welcome to come, and they do it every Tuesday morning! I honestly didn’t get much more information than that. I watched the Reels on Instagram and it looked like jumping into a cold pool was pretty much the extent to it. I assumed it also had some sort of community building aspect to it as well. (Scroll to the bottom to click on the YouTube video I made in conjunction with this post if you would like to see the jump!)

The first take away I had is how amazing it is to do things outside of my comfort zone! I really didn’t know what to expect and I’m so glad my friend Becca was willing to come with me because that made me feel a lot more at ease. I also had never met these people and I was hoping I would at least recognize the main guy! It’s always a little scary to just walk up to a stranger and introduce yourself, even though I told him that I would be coming. But this group of people was so kind and welcoming to me and my friend! After we jumped, we all just hung out in the pool and Becca and I were getting to know some of the people who participated. After we got out my friend and I got into a conversation with two of the guys. We seemed to quickly connect about some shared experiences we had, and when they shared some of their stories it made me feel safe to share some of my story. It reminded me of how valuable vulnerability is when developing friendships or community. I was also reminded that people cross our paths for a purpose. Some people may just be for a short time, and some people for a lifetime, but I don’t think it was just a coincidence that we encountered each other! All from an instagram post! 

The conversations we had were so meaningful and when it was winding down, the guy who formed this Surrender Dip group suggested we do a quick mediation – just to process the morning. So, the four of us lined up on the grass and sat in silence with our eyes closed. It was such a sweet moment. I mostly prayed for each of the people sitting there with me, but I also just became overwhelmed with gratitude for each of them. For old and new friends. For Becca for being there for me this morning, and for my new friends for listening to my story, and for being vulnerable enough to share parts of their stories. There are people in this world who I believe are just a light. Who love people so well – and I felt that from each of them that morning.

I’m so glad I didn’t  let my fear win when I thought I should go to this Surrender Dip group because immediately I thought about all of the reasons I didn’t want to go. Getting up early to drive downtown? Meeting strangers? Jumping in a cold pool? All of this sounded scary and hard. But just because things are scary and/or hard doesn’t mean they aren’t good! I wish I had the words to articulate how amazing this experience was. I will be on the lookout for the next time I can do something out of my comfort zone!

Here is the YouTube video I made in conjunction with this blog post.

THOUGHTS AFTER A TRIP TO PORTLAND

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I mentioned in a previous post that our son Luke just graduated from The University of Texas and will be moving to Portland, Oregon at the end of the summer for his first job out of college. We went to visit to help him find where he wanted to live before moving out there. We actually used to live in Portland prior to moving to Austin, so it was fun to go back and show him around! After that trip I was definitely pondering some things about life and I wanted to share those things with you for this Thoughtful Thursday post.

The most important things in life are not things at all. We work hard, we hustle, we keep up pace on that treadmill of life and for what? Physical stuff comes and goes in our lives. But in the end we lose it all. There is a Bible passage that addresses this idea: Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Of course we need stuff to live, but our focus should not be on stuff as it isn’t lasting. The memories we make with people and the experiences we have are what’s important.

Like I mentioned, our son Luke will be moving to Portland at the end of the summer. We have two other adult children, but they are currently living with us so this is the first child we are really launching fully into the “real world.” Of course there is part of me that is a little sad, but I am so excited for him. And this is what we do as parents – we prepare them to live on their own, to be productive members of society. But one thing you face as your children begin growing up and moving out is regret. Sometimes I think of all of the time I spent taking care of and managing stuff, leaving less time to spend with my kids. But I also look back and realize how much time and energy I was afforded to pour into and spend with them as a SAHM and I’m forever grateful for those opportunities! It can be easy to be hard on yourself and feel like maybe you didn’t do enough for them, but likely if you care enough to think about that – you were an amazing parent!

But, reflecting back reminds me that moving forward in life I would like to be intentional with how I spend my time, energy, and money. I know I have shared these ideas before in different capacities, but today I wanted to remind you that focusing on experiences and relationships has brought so much more fulfillment, joy, and excitement than any physical items! I’m so thankful I came across the idea of minimalism several years ago. I feel like this way of life has really changed my priorities and outlook. Decluttering and then being intentional with what comes into my home has afforded me the time and money to pursue other things that are far more meaningful!

Admittedly, it’s not always easy to prioritize experiences and relationships. It can feel so comfy sitting on the sofa, watching Netflix or scrolling on the phone, but it is so worth it to get out there and live life and enjoy experiences! One of the reasons my son was interested in the job in Portland was the quality of life there. He is an active person and loves outdoor activities and living in this city will definitely allow him to pursue those things! I know sometimes I may sound redundant on these Thoughtful Thursday posts, but if you’re anything like me you need the reminders! I hope this was encouraging to you!

Here is the video I created in conjunction with this post if you would like to see more of our trip to Portland, Oregon!

EMBRACING TRANSITIONS

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Okay friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to talk about embracing transitions in life. I’m sure many of you are experiencing transitions in life as we head into a new season and end another school year. For me I am experiencing a big change as one of our children just graduated from college and we are launching him into the world!

I don’t know how you are, but I really struggle with change. I thrive on routine and consistency. Although admittedly I’m a weird one because I also really like to try new things and spontaneity. But, there is this part of me that has a hard time transitioning into a new season. I have learned over the years that I must lean into the transition instead of fighting it. I’m learning to embrace these seasons of change and go with the flow of the change. This has helped me to have a different perspective and to actually enjoy the process of transitions.

So often I miss the journey by focusing on the destination. Have you ever done that? Once you see a change coming on the horizon – like a child graduating, it can be easy to wish away the transition time to get to the next stage. But I find there are some beautiful things in the transition time, or the journey, not just the destination.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned from experiencing a lot of transitions in life is that it is okay and healthy to grieve the loss of the life you once had. It can be difficult to let go of a season of life, particularly if we have fond memories of that season. But change is a part of life, so we might as well embrace it! Grieve the loss of the life you once had, but live in your present and enjoy the moments you have now. I like to try to focus on all the positives of each life stage because it can be all too easy to look backwards and miss what you had or to look forwards and long for whatever you think that future looks like.

I have some big changes up ahead, so I feel like I really have to practice these principles! My son Luke just graduated from the University of Texas Chemical Engineering School. He has always been a really hard worker, and it paid off. He got multiple job offers for after graduation and he was able to accept his first choice! But that happens to be across the country in the Pacific Northwest. So this summer my husband and I will be moving him to Portland, OR. Of course I am so excited for him and this next chapter of life, but it will be an adjustment for me that he lives so far away as he was only 20 minutes from our house while living on UT’s campus!

It’s okay and healthy to grieve what once was, but I wanted to encourage you today if you are in a season of transition to embrace it! Find the beauty in the change. Look for what this season of life is teaching you, and then accept the new season with open arms!

Here is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.

MINDSET SHIFT ON REGRET

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Okay friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to talk about regret. We all to a certain degree have regrets in life. I am someone who truly tries to not live with regret. If I have those thoughts of regret pop up, I remind myself of a principle I believe in: that things happen for a reason. As you age, it gets easier to see the big picture of life. You may question why you made the decisions you made that you regret, or worse yet why things have happened to you because of chance or other people’s choices. But I truly think there is a big picture story happening in our lives that is hard to understand.

Another thing I do when I have feelings of regret is shift my mindset around it because regret can be a great learning experience for us. If we evaluate the regretful decisions we made, they can inform decisions we make moving into our future. Unfortunately time machines have not been invented, so we are not able to go back and make different choices. All we can do is make better choices moving forward. When we embrace this mindset shift, we can learn to forgive ourselves for past mistakes, and to give ourselves grace for not being perfect. It can be hard to forgive ourselves, but it’s necessary so we can move forward in life and view these regrets as lessons instead of dwelling on them.

Oftentimes with regret, it FEELS regretful because it is pricking some value we have and that decision didn’t align with that life value. I believe we will live more fulfilling lives when we make decisions that are truly in line with what we say we value. Sometimes we just give lip service to certain values, but our behavior and choices don’t reflect that value. So, if you have a regret, really evaluate why you feel regretful and what value it’s pricking. What can you do today in the present, and moving forward to better align with those values?

Regrets can be a great teacher to us, but also those decisions you made, while they may have been wrong they are leading you towards something better. Sometimes I can sit and think about the butterfly effect and it can really boggle my mind! I’m sure many of you know what this concept is, but basically it is the idea that the world is deeply interconnected and one small occurrence can affect a much larger complex system. This term was originally coined by meteorologist and mathematician, Edward Lorenz in the 1960s. In his scientific findings, he learned that weather predictions are often not accurate because of this idea. He suggested that the flapping of a butterfly’s wings represented the tiny change in the atmospheric condition that could change the trajectory of the weather. In the same way, some small change or different decision in our lives could cause a totally different outcome.

Hopefully I’m not getting too far off track here, basically I bring up this idea of the butterfly effect to demonstrate that perhaps we all have a path that was supposed to happen, so we should not live with those regrets. This idea reminds me of that Jim Carrey movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Have you ever seen that movie? It’s an older movie, but it is so good! There are a lot of psychological ideas around relationships explored in this movie, but one is this idea of what is meant to happen will happen in the end. The basic premise of this sci-fi type movie is a couple faces struggles and they decide to go through this procedure of erasing their minds in order to deal with the pain of the relationship so they will forget about one another. But somehow they keep returning to each other and falling in love all over again.

I hope this chat today encouraged you to look at regret differently. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments! What are your thoughts on regret?

Here is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this post!

51% SURE

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Okay friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to talk about something that has been on my mind lately. I have shared recently how I have been struggling a bit lately. Some of that has been trying to figure out what exactly I’m doing with my life. I have really enjoyed sharing creative content on my YouTube channel the last four years, but I’ll be honest, I have been feeling a bit burnt out with it lately and struggling to know what to share as I have been feeling like I have exhausted a lot of the ideas I had when I started my channel. I had a lot of spaces in my home that I was working on getting decluttered and organized and I shared that process throughout the years on my channel, but now I have gotten to maintenance mode, which affords me more time and margin in my life. I’m trying to figure out what exactly I want to do with that time. 

As someone who overthinks things, and struggles to make decisions, I am struggling to know what to do moving forward. I still really enjoy creating content and I would like to continue to share in some capacity on my YouTube channel, and other media platforms, but I am pondering other ideas I would like to pursue in life. And I wanted to share with you an inspiring principle I learned about on a podcast I recently listened to where Mel Robbins was interviewing Steven Bartlett, who is a British entrepreneur and podcaster. He talked about this idea of taking risks when making decisions. He explained that so many people want 100% (or near 100%) certainty that the decision they are making is the right decision. He suggested that we really only need to be 51% sure about something to go for it. He said oftentimes when we make these decisions we need to recognize that most of the time they are reversible so we might as well try! This perspective really inspired me! Because I overthink things, I am definitely the type of person who wants more certainty than just 51%, but if we don’t take risks we likely won’t be successful! Taking more risks leads to more likelihood of success, which makes sense just from a statistics standpoint!

One thing that can be challenging when we want to pursue something new or change direction in life is motivation. It is much easier, and more comfortable to continue doing what we are doing. We can end up on autopilot, which is beneficial in some ways. It requires less decisions and is predictable. On the other hand, autopilot causes us to kind of float through life and may prevent us from being intentional. Living on autopilot doesn’t allow room for growth. We grow outside of our comfort zone. But, back to this idea of needing motivation to grow and change and get outside of our comfort zone… Maybe instead of doing some big thing to make a change, we start with something small. We can’t make a change until we take a step towards change, and that step can be a small one.

Today I was listening to another podcast by Mel Robbins, obviously I’m a big fan of hers so I highly recommend checking out her YouTube channel. I linked that interview with Steven Bartlett above. In the podcast today she was talking about this very idea of the importance of just getting started. She was sharing this analogy of how when you put tulips in a vase, they will begin to bend to the direction of the sunlight. She suggested we need to “bend towards the light” – bend towards whatever change we are trying to make in life. If we just stay where we are, we will not grow or thrive!

I hope this post encouraged or inspired you in some way today! Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts!

Here is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.

INTENTIONAL LIVING, VALUING EXPERIENCES OVER THINGS

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Hey friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to talk about part of my life ethos with regard to intentional living. Part of choosing to live intentionally for me is valuing experiences over things. Some people may say that when you spend money on an experience, it is over after that experience is over, whereas with things you will have it for as long as you would like. But I would argue that experiences actually last you a lifetime. You will always have the memories you make. I think now more than ever it’s important to be intentional about spending time with family and friends, or even by yourself off of screens!

This year I am turning 50 years old. I was joking with some friends that some people celebrate their birthday week or even their birthday month, but Joy is going to celebrate her birthday year! I plan to do lots of traveling in 2024 as I am focusing on this principle of experiences over stuff!

We recently returned from a family ski vacation in the mountains. The mountains are for sure my happy place! I love skiing for lots of reasons, one being the peace I feel on top of a mountain and as I ski down. There is nothing like the sound of silence in the mountains. The mountains are a place that also moves me emotionally and spiritually. There were several times where I just started crying because of my awe of the beauty and majesty of the mountains. That feeling really can’t be replicated.

I also wanted to share a little story about some of the things that went wrong on our trip. This seems to be a theme for our ski trips! I shared a ski vlog a couple of years ago on my YouTube channel, which I can link below, and you can listen to the stories I told from the adventures of that ski trip! But I wanted to throw in here this idea that it’s okay when things go wrong or we endure hardships when we prioritize experiences. I’m learning that just goes along with the territory and it can teach us lessons as well!

So, it was snowing when we entered the resort. Our condo was at the top of a hill on a small road which had not been plowed. AND we don’t have four wheel drive… you can probably tell where this story is going. We tried getting up the hill from two different entrances AND we tried helping push the vehicle up the hill while my husband hit the gas, to no avail! So, we decided we would park in the parking lot of the resort and walk our stuff the 400 yards or so up the hill to the condo! I have never experienced altitude sickness, but I think between working hard carrying bags up a hill immediately upon entering the mountains, and also not really getting enough to eat or hydration for the day since we were driving all day, made me more susceptible to getting sick. That night, in the middle of the night I got a text from my son saying he felt really sick too. I was then wide awake, not feeling well myself but also worried about him. I tried to get up to go to the bathroom, but took two steps before I passed out. I called for my husband to help me and I was trying to stand up again and passed out again! I woke up to him standing over me asking if I was okay. I was like, no I can’t stay conscious haha! He helped me get back into bed, gave me electrolytes, and a trash can cuz I was feeling nauseous. Sorry for the TMI, I did end up throwing up, but felt better after that. I thought for sure I wouldn’t be  able to ski the next day but surprisingly I was able to rally! Unfortunately my son felt sick for most of the trip and was only able to ski one half day of the three we were skiing!

Also, the morning we were supposed to leave it was predicted to accumulate close to 11 inches of snow, so we tried to get out as quickly as possible! It was a little precarious, but we did in fact make it out of the resort and down the mountain and then home safely!

One other thing I wanted to share with regards to valuing experiences: look for opportunities to experience whimsy. I find that I basically turn into a five year old child who is enamored with whimsy when I’m in the snow! Maybe this is a result of living in a climate where I rarely get to see snow, but nevertheless, it reminds me of the importance of finding joy in the little things in life. Look for moments or opportunities to experience playfulness. Sometimes we need to just stop taking ourselves so seriously!

Here is the YouTube video I posted in conjunction with this blog post.

DO YOU WANT OPTIONS OR FREEDOM

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Okay friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday I wanted to talk about something that I have been thinking about with regards to minimalism. I have talked frequently about my quest to simplify my life. I’m sure many of you who have been around for a while know that I have spent several years decluttering our home. I’m finally getting to a point where I have reached maintenance mode.

One big lesson I have learned from this process is the idea that we have a choice between options or freedom. What I mean by this, is we can have a lot of options in any given personal possessions category, or we can have freedom from those items. Take clothing as an example. We can have a closet full of clothes, which offers us lots of options, but it comes at the expense of freedom – of time, choosing what to wear can be more difficult with more options, and it also takes more time to maintain a larger wardrobe.

You might have heard people talking about how paralyzing making decisions can be these days because of our options. The internet offers us so many options – from different types of jeans to purchase, to job opportunities, to dating partners. Having endless options can be overwhelming and take up a lot of mental capacity to sift through all of the information presented to us to make a decision on any given thing.

I have been thinking about how as we pursue minimalism, we must decide which categories are important for us personally to have options and which it’s important to have freedom. This will be different for each person since we all have different interests and passions. Maybe you don’t cook or bake much, so you can have far less kitchen and pantry inventory on hand – giving you more freedom to spend time on other things. There are some people who find that freedom is more important than options in most categories of possessions. But we must each decide what works best for us and for our families.

For me, I used to have lots of extra decor on hand. I loved decorating for each season and rotating out different decor, but as I age I’m realizing I would rather own a smaller collection of items I truly really love and rotate them less frequently. I choose the freedom of not switching out decor often and having that time to pursue other things.

Everything we own will cost us. It will of course cost us the initial monetary price, but then it will cost us time and energy to clean, maintain, organize, and store these items. It will also cost us the mental energy of one day perhaps deciding to declutter that item. 

I was especially thinking about this as I put away my Christmas decor this year. I realized it really was quite simple to put everything away because of how much I have pared down my holiday decor. And I have several transitional pieces that can stay up through the winter.

Stuff can own us, or we can own the stuff. I have learned that it is a balance trying to decide what’s important enough to have options and where I want freedom instead. The longer I pursue minimalism and simple living, the more I become drawn to freedom over options! Each of us must decide what works best for us, our lifestyles, and our families!

The YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.

LISTENING TO YOUR BODY

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Okay friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to encourage you to listen to your body. This is a time of year where it can be really easy to run ourselves ragged trying to get everything done for the holiday season, but we must listen to our bodies and eat when we need to eat, and sleep when we are feeling run down.

It’s inevitable that we will have more to do during the holiday season probably than any other time during the year. There are presents to buy, wrap, and potentially send. There are Christmas cards to send (if you’re still doing those!) There are parties to attend, kids’ holiday concerts or events, extra food to prepare, and of course decorating our homes! It can all be a bit overwhelming.

If you are finding year after year you feel overwhelmed and run down, perhaps evaluate all of the commitments you make this time of year. It is okay to say no or to scale back. I know that is not always easy for sure! But we need to create margin in our lives this time of year to have down time and time to take care of ourselves – either special self care type time or just time to get proper nutrition and rest!

Earlier on in our marriage we would get gifts for all of our siblings and the nieces and nephews. As we added more and more nieces and nephews we decided to do a gift exchange with the adults and buy for all of the kids. Then as the kids got older, we decided to do an exchange with all of them as well. Over time I realized that it seemed like we were essentially exchanging money as everyone would send wish lists with specific items – especially as the nieces and nephews got to be teenagers and a little more challenging to purchase for. I decided that it was silly for us to continue doing these exchanges because we live far from both sides of the family and do not get together for the holidays, so I not only had to purchase and wrap gifts but also stand in line at the post office to send them. It was so freeing to step away from those gift exchanges.

Next I decided to quit sending physical Christmas cards. This has been a relatively recent decision. I believe the last one I sent was in 2019. It was a big ordeal and I understand that I could have simplified it instead of quit all together. But we would get our family photo professionally taken in the fall, I would order the photo cards, write a family letter updating everyone on the happenings during that year, print those out then stuff envelopes. I am really thankful for the years we did it and I have kept those for us and for each of our kids to have for memories, but as my kids got older I felt like there was less to share in those letters. You could choose to quit sending physical cards all together, or you could just simplify the process.

Food preparation and decorating are other big commitments this time of year. Again, we can choose to scale back. Perhaps instead of making eight different types of Christmas cookies you could choose your favorite four. Perhaps you could go through your Christmas decor and declutter items that you don’t love, only keeping your favorite items that you love and are meaningful to you. Having a smaller collection of Christmas decor will simplify the decorating process making it less overwhelming.

Something else that I am still learning to do is to enlist help. If there are tasks you can delegate to your spouse or children, find ways they can help. It’s great to get the whole family involved in prepping for the holiday season! I admit that this is really not easy for me. I struggle in general to ask for help, but I recognize that sometimes it’s difficult or even more time consuming to delegate tasks – explaining what needs to get done.

I share all this with you to give you ideas or help you think of ways you can simplify or streamline responsibilities during the holiday season. This time of year can become so overwhelming and busy, but there are ways we can simplify so we have time to enjoy the season!

Here is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post!

CONSTANT STIMULATION + DIGITAL DETOX

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Okay friends, for this week’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to talk about something I have been thinking about recently. I have been thinking about how easy it is for us these days to be overstimulated. We are exposed to constant stimulation and therefore are prone to frequently multi-tasking. I know for me, when I have a day where I am doing multiple things at once all day my brain gets more easily tired. In addition to that, sometimes I feel like I’m not as efficient or producing quality work when I multitask.

For me, my anxiety causes me to easily get overstimulated. As a mom of three, I got used to constantly multitasking to make sure everyone’s needs were met in a timely way. Over time this took a toll on my mind. I can still multitask, but I feel like I have residual effects from that time period in my life when my kids were younger and I was trying to do so many things at once.

I recognize that we sometimes need to multitask, especially as moms. But I have been thinking about some intentional things I wanted to start implementing into my life in order to live at a slower pace and train my brain to focus on one thing at a time, and really enjoy what I’m working on and being present in the moment. If you have been around for a while, you may have heard me say don’t wait until the new year to make a resolution towards change. As we approach the new year, it could be easy for me to just wait until January to implement these new habits, but I am choosing to start today. I encourage others not to wait, but to start once you realize a new habit needs to be incorporated into your routines. So, that is what I am doing today.

I have talked before about how I use Sunday as a true Sabbath – a day off of work. I don’t do housework, or YouTube work. I mostly stay off social media on this day (with the exception of talking to people in Instagram chat). I really think this social media detox, or digital detox one day a week has been beneficial for me. I want to continue this practice of getting on social media apps very minimally on Sundays. I would like to incorporate more prolonged periods of staying off social media, which I do plan to do in the new year. I’m still in the process of figuring out how that could look as someone who shares creative content.

Something I implemented today is to sometimes eliminate background noise. I have this habit of constantly putting in my ear buds – watching Marco Polo videos, watching YouTube videos, listening to podcasts, or listening to music. I do these things as a passive activity while I’m doing some other somewhat passive activity – like cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, checking email, or even some parts of editing a YouTube video. This week I have started to take out my ear buds more and experience the thing I’m doing. Even if it is a “boring” thing, I want to learn to enjoy these boring mundane tasks that need to get done. Also, when I’m constantly ingesting input, it’s hard to process everything fully. I’m doing everything in a passive way, not fully experiencing it. I have found that when my mind is not overstimulated it has time for creativity, meditation, presence, and processing.

Something else I plan to implement is a night time routine that doesn’t include my phone. I have always had a night time routine, but I want to focus more on slowing down and unwinding. Putting my phone down, taking a hot shower or bath, drinking some herbal tea, reading or journaling, and applying all of my nighttime facial products! I think it helps to get better sleep if we slow down at night, don’t expose ourselves to blue light, and do activities that are calming and don’t overstimulate us.

Moving into the new year I definitely want to be intentional with my time and energy. I don’t want to just go through my days on autopilot, but I want to enjoy the everyday things that need to get done. Let me know if any of this resonates with you and what are your ideas to prevent constant overstimulation? There are certainly more things I could do to prevent constant stimulation, but I want to focus on just a couple things right now to make the habits lasting!

Here is the video I posted in conjunction with this blog post!