11 | Motivation Monday! Are you running your day or is it running you?

 Happy Monday Badasses!

Today I want to talk about setting your day up for success. Another way to look at this is being proactive vs. reactive. Failing to plan is planning to fail. I’m sure there are many other ways to say this but I think you get the point. Every morning when I wake up, I have a plan for my day. I “run the day” so the day doesn’t run me. I want to give you 3 tips on how you can start running your day!

 Number one. Plan your day the night before! I hear so many people say “ I can’t wake up earlier because I’m not a morning person" or blah blah blah. I get it ok. Not everyone is a morning person. But you can still plan your day the night before so you have everything ready. I sort of double up because I set my day up the night before and then go over my plan in the morning to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I don’t have a great memory so I have to remind myself often of what I must do during the day or I will be a shit show. What do I mean by shit show? Ohhh you’re going to love this, haha.  

Ok, here goes. Old Sausha - Stays up all night binge watching Netflix, eating chips and dip, and diet mountain dew. Goes to bed at 12:00 AM ish and has to be up NO LATER than 6:30am to be to work by 8am. Let’s be honest, I never made it to work on time. I would hit snooze repeatedly until I forced myself out of bed. Then I took my sweet ass time in the shower before I had to finish getting ready. Then I would panic because I still had to do chores and pack a lunch and there was NO TIME. I would run frantically around my house, screaming and yelling at the dogs to get out of way because they were being clingy when really they just wanted some extra love. I threw handfuls of granola bars and frozen burritos in a lunchbox. Then I would rush out the door and drive 75 in a 55 all the way to work, slamming on the breaks at the top of every hill in case there was a cop lurking nearby. Let’s not talk about the severe road rage I had towards everyone who actually tried to be to work on time. Sons of bitches!

 

Ok, so now I am at work, out of breath and super pissed off. I haven’t had any coffee yet because slacker Sausha forgot to make some. Now I have to drink shitty office coffee with powder creamer and that stuff is nasty. Let’s use 6 Splendas to cover up the taste because nobody in a corporate office believes in real sugar. Everyone is on a diet but they keep buying donuts everyday…. Hmmm. So now I have to pretend that I was on time and I was just taking my time getting coffee, using the restroom (aka finishing my makeup and putting on deodorant) then I would get to work. I would have 18 million emails because apparently everyone gets up at 3AM to send off emails and expects me to answer. WTF???? OK, now I’m even more pissed. Put on a happy face and say "Goooz Fraba" from Angerman because right now that's the only mantra I know to calm me the fuck down.. Alright, I’ve been here 30 minutes already. Time for another smoke. Go outside and smokes 1-2 cigarettes as slowly as I possibly can because I don’t want to go back to work. (Side note - I quit 2 years ago! Yay me!) .

Are you starting to get the picture here? And its not even 9am in this scenario!!! It’s gets better! Or worse depending on how you look at it. Long story long…. My whole day was reactive and running around like a chicken with my head cut off, putting out fires, drinking absurdly large amounts of caffeine and smoking a half a pack of cigarettes. I was super healthy mentally and physically to say the least… totally kidding! Please for the sake of your sanity, plan your day the night before or morning of. Take some time for yourself to journal, plan, meditate, deep breathing, workout, whatever you need to do to get your mind right for the day. Every morning, I wake up at 5am and stick to my routine. It helps me stay focused throughout the day and I actually get a ton of stuff done before anyone else wakes up.

Number two. Play offense instead of defense. Come up with game plans for scenarios before they happen. I like to roll with the punches now. If a situation doesn’t turn out as planned or go as I think it should, I take a deep breath and chill out. Then I come at it from a different angle. I used to get so angry when things wouldn’t go my way. I would refuse to work with people, refuse to ride in a car with someone if I couldn't sit in the front seat, I wouldn't go to an event in that specific shirt wasn’t cleaned. I was very particular and throw toddler tantrums when things didn’t go my way. Now I am way more relaxed. I deep breathe my way through just about every situation. It’s like I have this mini Sausha on my shoulder reminding me not to lose my shit all day. I also wear crystal bracelets as reminders of the things I want in life, peace, calm, abundance, love, connection. They are said to put off a certain energy to help you feel that way so I like to think they help. And they make for amazing reminders for all that I have when things turn to shit.

Last but not least, everyday I journal about what I’m grateful for and make sure to drink plenty of water. If I do nothing else but these 2 things, I consider my day a win. We often forget about all that we have when we are focusing on all that we don’t have. We forget how great life can be when things are falling apart around us. We can fall into this rabbit hole if we aren’t being present in the moment. Before I started gratitude journaling, practicing mindfulness and drinking the recommended amount of water, I was spacey, dehydrated and on autopilot for just about everything I did. I never really put much thought into anything. I would do the laundry and wonder how it got folded. I would drive home from work and not remember the entire drive! Talk about scary. I was so dehydrated that my body could use an entire bottle of lotion and I was so disconnected from my body that I thought I needed MORE lotion instead of water!

My advice to you is…. Plan your day, either the night before or the morning of. Stay up a few minutes later or get up a few minutes earlier. Whatever fits your schedule best. Don’t stress out when things don’t go your way. We only have control over what WE do and nobody else .Find a way to chill out, breathe and make detours along the way. The goal can stay the same but how we get there may change and that’s ok. Last but not least, be grateful for all that you do have. Be present throughout your day. Drink plenty of water. You can use reminders however works for you. Write notes in your phone, wear bracelets, use post it notes. Anything works!

Now go out there an run this day like a badass!! And every other day! Don’t let life happen to you, make it happen FOR you. If you get down, take a minute to yourself and ask for help if you need it.

Thank you SO MUCH for tuning in to today’s episode of the BADASS Podcast. I appreciate each and every one of you and if you could do me one favor, it would be to share this episode with a friend or family member who could use a dose of motivation to get through their week. It would mean the world to me to help get the word out and help as many women as possible! I appreciate YOU!

 

Until next time, go be a badass!

Peace!

-Sausha