As the summer draws to a close the cooling temperatures and waining sunlight can leave us feeling down. But it’s not over yet, there’s a chance for you to extend your summer experience and keep the good feelings going through into the fall.
Eat Summer Foods – While most summer foods are actually available all year round, they are undoubtably at their peak right now. So indulge in some tomatoes or strawberries while their still in season. Read more
___
BONUS FREEBIE: Want even more ways to stay organized, productive and less stressed? CLICK HERE to get access to my List-Making Starter Kit. It will boost your efficiency and get you back to doing more of the things you love.
___
Remember when September was so exciting because it meant going back to school? I was a back-to-school nerd.
Getting new notebooks, new pens, and all those new outfits, made September the most exciting month of the year. September is less exciting as an adult who’s not going back to school. But if you adopt a back-to-school mentality, you can have a happier and more productive fall season.
I chatted about some of my tips for back-to-school productivity on PIX11 News in New York City. You can check out the full segment here!
Here are some of the tips I shared:
Do you remember when you were an intern? When you would go wide-eyed into that office and think, “Wow, this is the coolest job ever.”
I remember going into a studio for the very first time as a TV producer and seeing all the lights. After a while, it’s not so exciting anymore. You’re just like, “Oh, here we go again, just another day.”
But the days I took interns into that studio and showed them what it looked like behind the scenes and saw their reactions was just amazing. If you’re having trouble picturing that intern attitude, I have an example for you.
Back in 2018, Cassie Semyon, an intern from NBC News, went viral for her intern performance. She was covering the Paul Manafort trial and the verdict had just come out. And she sprinted out of the courthouse to deliver the news. (Check out the episode of Inside Scoop to see the video.)
When was the last time you sprinted like that for your job? I love that video because it’s such a good reminder to think about what we love about our jobs and what we do.
Keep Cassie’s face in your mind the next time you’re like, “Oh, do I really have to do this?” to reinvigorate that back-to-school mentality. Update: Cassie is now a full-time reporter covering Washington – all that running paid off! Check out her Instagram feed here.
__
__
If you follow me, you know that I love Oprah Winfrey. I was just watching something the other day, where she was doing an interview with happiness expert, Albert Brooks. He’s the author of a book called Strength to Strength, all about finding success, happiness and deep purpose in the second half of life.
One of the things that he talked about was the bucket list. He says what happens when you make a bucket list is that your satisfaction actually goes down. According to Brooks, when you put all of the places and the things you want in one place, you actually become disappointed.
I never thought of it that way. Instead, he suggests creating a reverse bucket list to envision happiness.
Step one is to make a list of all of the material things you want – aka a traditional bucket list.
Then make another list of how you want to feel in five years. (I love this! Lists on top of lists!) What friendships do you have? What virtues do you embody? What does that feel like? What is your day like? What’s your best day?
Step three is to compare the lists. This is where it gets good. Ask yourself, will the things on the first list help you get to the things on the second list? Will having that material thing actually cause the reaction that you want in the second list. If it does, you pursue it.
It’s a little easier said than done. Every opportunity I’ve ever gotten in my career and my life is because someone helped me.
Think it through. Who are the people in your life who could open your eyes to something bigger? Maybe you are interested in being an entrepreneur. Who is already doing that? Make a list of those people. Start to follow them. Examine what they do.
Having a mentor doesn’t have to mean someone you talk to all the time. It can be, but it can also be someone that you watch.
One of my big online business mentors is Amy Porterfield. She shares a lot about how to create online courses and webinars. She’s a great mentor. And before that, when I was first thinking about starting my own business, I went to LinkedIn Learning. I looked at courses about entrepreneurship and starting your own business and learned how to do those things for myself.
If you pick something right now that you’re really interested in doing, and find a mentor to work with or follow, it can help you actualize what it is that you’re looking to do.
So treat this September like you’re going back to school and set yourself up for a happier, healthier, and more productive year. For more tips, you can check out my segment on PIX11 News in New York City.
___
BONUS FREEBIE: Want even more ways to stay organized, productive and less stressed? CLICK HERE to get access to my List-Making Starter Kit. It will boost your efficiency and get you back to doing more of the things you love.
___
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
We are all writers in some form or another. Some of you will have your own blog or journal, or maybe you’re a student writing essay after essay. Even office workers write emails or send out a few tweets here and there. I’ve been fortunate enough to never really suffer with writer’s block. Not that often, at least. It can be difficult to break out of though.
Here’s a checklist of tricks to try when writer’s block pops up:
1. Bake a cake – I’m not kidding, baking a cake (or any other sweet treat) is a great way to get your creative juices flowing. Thinking about your ingredients and what your going to make helps to distract you from the problem at hand and gives you something else to focus on. Once you’ve put the cake in the oven, go back and look and your work with fresh eyes. You’ll probably find what was missing before. Plus you’ll have something tasty to eat once you’ve finished your work! (My intern Nicole has found this method to work time and time again!) Read more
Everyone loves to be pampered every now and then. But I get it, it’s expensive to hit the salon. So how about if you did it yourself? My friend, Erika Katz, is a beauty expert and author at BondingOverBeauty.com and she’s come up with a bunch of easy DIY beauty recipes for us to try! That’s my kind of list!But first, have you heard about oil pulling? Oil pulling is the latest DIY health and beauty trend that everyone is talking about. Oil pulling is essentially an ancient,
Now, let us discover some exciting DIY recipes!
This past week I went on vacation to Miami for my birthday. I had a fantastic time relaxing by the beach and eating lots of delicious food. Even though this wasn’t an especially exotic vacation, it got me thinking about my bucket list and all the amazing places I’d love to visit and things I want to do before I “kick the bucket.” The thing about having a bucket list is that it is personal to you, so you’ll never feel like your list isn’t as good as someone else or the other way around.Thinking about the goals you would like to achieve is a great way to get started planning your future…especially after having another birthday! If you’ve always wanted to trek along the Inca Trail – why not research what time of year is best to go and what you’ll need to bring?
Here are a few things I’ve got on my own bucket list: