Tips For Getting Back Into The Groove After Summer Break

Are you feeling the pressure to start adulting again? Now that Summer is over, jobs go back to a more normal schedule, vacation time is over, students go back to school, and it’s time to get serious!

Today I’d love to share a few go-to’s for helping “get back into the groove”.

First Step . . . Prioritizing

It’s easy to cram the schedules so full that at the end of the week you feel like you’ve been on a hamster wheel. You those weeks, right?

As a home-based business owner, I know the feeling all too well. An event comes up, a friend wants to meet up for lunch, a social group meetup on Monday and ANOTHER one on Thursday. Add in the random birthday party and a dentist appointment all in one week. That’s on top of normal work hours. By the end of the week it's easy to dream of being back on a sunny beach sipping coconut water.

So before you say yes to every meet-up group, workout class, church small group and business mastermind that you get invited to, my best suggestion is to PRIORITIZE.

Take a few minutes to sit down and quiet your mind from distractions. Then imagine stepping into your perfect fall schedule. What does the perfect week look like on the calendar and feel like emotionally?

Write down a few notes. Imagine feeling fulfilled, yet not drained. Successful but not overworked. Create a scenario where you are valued by those around you - for your time and wisdom and expertise. Picture a scenario where you are loving those around you well and you are receiving love well. All these things are basic needs that we have as human beings. You also need time for self care and reflection.

I like to take 15 minutes at the end of the day to pray, journal and process the day. Sometimes it takes longer or I devote more time. Why? Because we learn the most from our past experiences, successes and failures by assessing them and then choosing our future course of action. I also enjoy turning on my diffuser with Frankincense essential oil or a blend like Peace & Calming or Stress Away. These help me relax at the end of the day and get in the right mood to process from a place of thoughtfulness rather than responding emotionally to everything that the day might have thrown my way.

Some basic things to prioritize (aside from your work schedule) may include:

• Adequate sleep

• Healthy meals and meal prepping

• Hydration - lots and lots of water

• Daily exercise

• Dressing for the day and feeling good about your appearance

• Quality time with you significant other

• Social time with family, friends, co-workers

• Making new friends and expanding your inner circle

• Reading, writing, researching

• Playing music, singing, going to see a show

• A bubble bath - yes, I think weekly bubble baths should be mandatory

You can do the same thing with your work or business. Write a list of priorities that you need to do on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

Now that you have prioritized the work and non-work related things you desire to do, let’s move on to the next step.

Fill In The Calendar

First fill in all the things you HAVE to do. These include:

• Sleep Hours

• Work hours

• Meal time

• Children’s school hours

• Prayer and meditation

• Exercise

• Date night with a spouse or significant other

• Other must-do events

Second, fill in the events, meet-ups, dinners, birthday parties, weddings and more that you know you’re planning to attend.

Third, make a running list of things you need to get done in your spare time. Things like laundry, cleaning the house, giving the dog a bath, getting a haircut.

Fourth, make a running list of the things you’d like to fit in as time allows. Things like going to see a movie, catching up with a friend over coffee, cooking an exotic meal, taking a sunset horse back ride. This fourth list is where you get to dream a bit.

These are extra lists that you can pull from and add to the calendar as you see fit. be sure to not get such a running start that you exhaust yourself the first few weeks back in the groove. It’s okay to say NO! Family and friends and work associates need healthy boundaries. This is not an excuse to be lazy, but it is the ability to say “not now, not today, not this week, let’s find another day,” or simply, “that’s not on my priority list right now.”

When I get to this part I like to pull out my Inner Child essential oil blend, take a big whiff while closing my eye and imagining the fun things I look forward to doing. It’s just so uplifting! At the core of who we are as human beings, we are dreamers.

“Dream BIG and Live Your Dreams!” ~ Elizabeth Rose

At the end of the day, remember that you are a Human BE-ing, not a Human DO-ing.

You were created for relationship. The world has a way of isolating us in our cubicle, our bubble of comfort, and keeping us so busy that we don’t have time to take a deep breath and smell the roses.

I encourage you throughout the day to take time to quiet your mind and simply BE. Be in the moment, be present, soak in the sights and sounds and smells of your environment. You will bet thankful for the experience and learn from it every time.

I hope this blog is helpful. Feel free to get in touch if you’d like to do a lifestyle coaching session or chat more about the essential oils mentioned in this blog. Visit my Contact page HERE to schedule a phone call.

And remember, DREAM BIG!!!

Elizabeth Rose