High Vibe Garden Party Soundtrack for Relaxation, Self-Care & Your AM Routine
I have a new productivity resource I’d like to share with you!
This past weekend on Youtube, I published a lovely soundtrack of classical music with a nature ambience that is perfect for you to play if you need to relax, do some much needed self-care, perform your morning routine and do some quiet reading or journaling.
I call it the High Vibe Garden Party because that is the energy I get from the music and ambience I’ve layered together in this soundtrack. Click here to listen to the soundtrack now!
Music has such a powerful effect on our minds, our bodies and our productivity, because it can very quickly shift us into feeling a specific way. So, do yourself a favor and use this soundtrack this week as the background music to your life to start leaning into a more relaxed an intentional energy.
I’m going to be creating more of these soundtracks this month to help support the energy you need to embody at specific points in your day, so I sincerely hope you enjoy them!
> Your internal rhythm may be off after a weekend of relaxing that makes getting back into the weekday routine both a mental and physical challenge.
> Monday’s kick off the work week for many of us, and that means having to face our likely overwhelming to do list, plus having to do that job or interact with some people we may not be particularly fond of.
There are actually lots of reasons why Monday’s are hard for us, but I want to help shift that Manic Monday story in your mind into the anticipation and excitement of a potentially Magic Monday!
I’ve really come to love Monday’s over the past several years and truly get excited for the start of my week. So, I thought, it would be helpful for me to share a bit of inspiration and strategy for you to use to start shifting your mindset and organizing your week so that you too begin to look forward to Monday!
3 Questions to Ask Yourself to Set Realistic Expectations for Your Week
Let’s begin with your specific needs and expectations to determine what would make this week feel successful, productive and a little more organized.
Here are three questions to ask yourself to get clear on your own expectations for a productive week. Journal on these questions, write the answers out in your planner or simply ponder your responses as you prepare for your day- but do try to record your answers for reference and action.
Question 1: What needs to happen this week to make it feel productive and successful? Try to identify three things you can take action on that would make you feel like this week mattered.
Question 2:What drains on your time and energy do you need to watch out for and avoid this week? For each drain, think of a simple plan for preventing these obstacles or dealing with each if they arise.
Question 3:What can you do to support the best version of yourself this week? Think of a few simple habits or actions you need to take this week to make sure you are able to show up each day to the best of your ability. It may mean asking others for help, but you know what you need to show up at your full capacity, so don’t be afraid to ask.
The answers to these questions are going to give you some amazing insight into the few things you need to do to ensure your week feels successful and is supporting you in an effort to live your best and most balanced life.
I know it may seem counterintuitive at first, but the success and productivity of your week isn’t found in the accomplishment of many various things, but instead is found in the fulfillment of just a few strategic priorities.
So, again, record those responses and put any action items into your weekly plan or schedule so you can ensure you make your best week happen.
I hope this post has given you some insight, encouragement or inspiration to make this week amazing.
If you did enjoy it, let me know in the comments or feel free to forward this post to a friend or loved one you think could use the support this week!
How to Create an Inbox System for Busy Professionals
I talk a lot about how to create a solid plan for your workday so you have a clear focus and intention for how you’ll be spending your time, but the real challenge for most busy professionals is handling the additional new action items and tasks that accumulate throughout your workday.
It’s great to start the day with your top three tasks identified, your schedule for calls and meetings, and of course time blocks outlined to do deep work, but what should you do if you get even more new tasks and items that need to be integrated into your existing daily plan?
How do you capture, prioritize and integrate new tasks that come from the multiple different inputs in your workday like meetings, emails, messages, and calls from team members, superiors, clients, and other co-workers?
The solution is to have a well organized inbox system.
Your inbox system may actually be made up of multiple different task and information capture solutions, especially if you are someone who not only receives new tasks throughout the day, but also receives information that may pertain to specific projects, or perhaps needs to capture your own ideas or reminders for future meetings or work that isn’t currently your focus at the moment.
A Place for Everything and Everything in it’s Place
My first suggestion for creating your organized inbox system is to decide the specific places you are going to put specific types of information and the general process you intend to follow for each.
New tasks must be captured and processed in a different way than information you may need for future reference, so having a unique process for each different information type will be important.
It would be optimal to capture new tasks in one centralized location, like an inbox page of your planner, a brain dump spread, or a specific file in a notes application, so you can then determine the priority of the tasks.
I determine the priority of my new tasks using an Eisenhower Matrix that evaluates tasks for urgency and importance. Any new tasks that are urgent and important will be integrated into my plan for the day, while other tasks of less urgency or less importance may be scheduled for another day or kept on a pending list for future reference.
For example: Urgent and Important Tasks | Do Now Not Urgent and Important Tasks | Schedule Urgent and Not Important Tasks | Delegate Not Urgent and Not Important Tasks | Delete
For any information you receive during the course of your workday, I think it’s important to have a separate system for organizing notes and reminders so you can quickly locate and use the information when you need it.
I recommend using a digital notes tool to organize this type of information especially if you are receiving it in digital form most of the time through messages and emails. It’s quite easy to simply copy and paste information, where as rewriting it onto a paper notes system may take a bit more time. Of course, if you prefer to be fully analog and use a paper notes system for this part of your overall system, do what works for you.
I use Apple Notes to organize raw information and ideas, because the app syncs across my laptop, iPhone and even my iPad so that I always have access to it, and because it is digital I can use the search function to quickly find information as well.
I keep my notes app organized by folders for different categories of information, like Personal Notes, Business, Marketing, Content, etc, and then I keep individual note files inside the folders to organize specific topics for quick reference.
If using a notes app doesn’t work for you, you could also use a Google Sheets file or spreadsheet application on your computer to organize information by category and topic as well.
If you’d prefer to use a paper based system, you could divide a notebook into sections for your categories, or include pages in your planner dedicated to specific categories or projects you need to retain information on to act on later.
Turning the System into a Routine
With your Inbox System set up, the next part of the process would be to define and establish a regular routine for transferring and reviewing information.
It’s not enough to have the system set up with the defined place for each type of task or information to go, but you also need to decide how often you are going to review your various other inboxes to transfer information into their appropriate place in your system, and how often you need to review those individual places to make sure you are utilizing the information you captured.
I generally check my inboxes (email, message systems etc) about twice a day, once in the morning at the start of my work and once in the afternoon before I stop working for the day, and that is the point where I will funnel tasks and information to their appropriate spots in my organization system.
Tasks get listed and organized with the Eisenhower Matrix, and information, reminders or ideas get organized to their appropriate folder or note in my Apple Notes.
I keep active notes for each of the classes, products and pieces of content I create so I can quickly transfer or capture information that pertain to each of these individual projects quickly, as soon as it comes to my attention.
When you initially start this routine, it will be a good idea to set alerts to ensure you use the system regularly, and then after a while, it will become a natural process you do as part of your day.
I hope this information helps you create your own organized inbox system to stay on top of your tasks and do your best work, no matter what you do! Let me know how it works out and if you have any questions and I’d be glad to help!
