Along with her sister Elizabeth, Gretchen also hosts a podcast called Happier that I’ve mentioned on the blog a time or two. It’s awesome and the episodes are short, easy to listen to and often leave me with a little tip or trick I want to apply to my life to try to increase my personal happiness. Gretchen approaches achieving happiness in an easy yet methodical way and gives insight into seemingly small things we can do or implement in our lives that may result in a surprising amount of joy.
Earlier this week, I listened to the Happier podcast (episode 90 if you want to check it out) and Gretchen and Elizabeth discussed what Gretchen deems “The Essential Seven,” or seven habits that most impact our happiness.
Gretchen is HUGE into creating good habits and firmly believes that creating positive, lasting habits is essential when it comes to living a happier life. She says, “We can use decision-making to choose the habits we want to form, use willpower to get the habit started, then—and this is the best part—we can allow the extraordinary power of habit to take over. At that point, we’re free from the need to decide and the need to use willpower.”
We all know the habits we WANT to have in our lives. Healthy habits, responsible habits, habits that make us feel more connected, valued and successful. Gretchen breaks down habits into seven categories and in Episode 90 of the Happier podcast, she and her sister speak about something they want to change or begin doing related to each of The Essential Seven habits to increase joy in their lives. I found myself thinking about what I wanted to change or focus on in my life after they discussed each of The Essential Seven habits and ended up creating a mental list in my mind that I thought might make an interesting blog post.
The Essential Seven
Here are The Essential Seven, taken directly from the Happier podcast notes:
- Eat and drink more healthfully (give up sugar, eat more vegetables, drink less alcohol)
- Exercise regularly
- Save and spend wisely (save regularly, pay down debt, donate to worthy causes, make purchases that contribute to happiness or habits, pay taxes, stay current with expense reports)
- Rest, relax, and enjoy (pursue a hobby instead of cruising the internet, enjoy the moment, stop checking email, get enough sleep, spend less time in the car, take time for myself)
- Stop procrastinating, make consistent progress (practice an instrument, set aside two hours daily for uninterrupted work, learn a language, maintain a blog, keep a gratitude journal)
- Simplify, clear, and organize (make the bed every day, file regularly, put keys away in the same place, recycle, give away unused clothing)
- Engage more deeply—with other people, with God, with yourself, with the world (call family members, read the Bible every day, volunteer, spend time with friends, observe the Sabbath, spend time alone in nature)
Now let’s discuss! Below I’m breaking down The Essential Seven and sharing a little bit about one tangible thing I’m planning to do in my life to address the habit and hopefully increase happiness.
Using The Essential Seven to Create Habits that Lead to Happiness
- Eat and Drink More Healthfully
My goal: Reduce consumption of refined sugar by limiting dessert to once or twice a week
When Gretchen and Elizabeth discussed this habit, Elizabeth identified nighttime snacking as her biggest health-hindering issue. For me, it’s sugar. I know this without a doubt. I’ve mentioned it briefly on the blog before, but sugar is something I struggle with because I tend to not only crave it every day, but I also use it as a way to celebrate, connect (Ryan and I LOVE picking out new ice cream flavors to try together), distract (I’m totally guilty of baking as a form of procrastination), make myself feel better (my sugar consumption definitely goes up when I’m feeling more emotional) and the list goes on and on. I have zero desire to completely give up sugar because I like it and things like ice cream, cake and cookies make me happy. The pitfall is when I find myself eating too much sugar so it negatively impacts my happiness.
I’m sure some of you know the feeling of the sugar crash that comes when you’re left feeling tired, blah, bloated and just plain crappy. This tends to happen to me more when I eat larger amounts of sugar many days in a row. I don’t usually feel bad if I eat a bowl of ice cream one night but when I eat ice cream one night followed by more ice cream the next night and a cookie at lunch, etc., I begin to feel the negative effects. My current goal of reducing sugar consumption by limiting dessert to once or twice a week seems attainable to me and doesn’t make me feel sad the way I would if I think about eliminating the treats I love so much from my diet completely. I actually really like the idea of trying to get a handle on my sugar cravings by trying Whole30 at some point (SO many of you highly recommended it when I last talked about sugar cravings) but right now I think this is a good smaller step for me.
- Exercise Regularly
My goal: Take 10 minutes to stretch every day
I feel fortunate to really enjoy exercising and it’s already a part of my routine but I know I could always benefit from more stretching. Whether it be taking myself through some of my favorite hip stretches at the end of the day, foam rolling, doing a 20-minute yoga flow at home or simply carving out 10 minutes after my workout to stretch, I know my body (and mind!) would benefit from a little extra stretching. I’m setting 10 minutes as a goal for myself because it feels realistic.
- Save and Spend Wisely
My goal: Get back into meal planning and grocery shop with a list and a plan
My finance-savvy husband tracks our monthly spending in various categories which is something I personally find incredibly tedious but SO interesting. I’m glad he does it because it makes it easy to see when certain categories jump on a month-to-month basis. Food is one of our biggest areas of spending and the difference in our monthly food expenditures when I take the time to meal plan versus when I don’t is more dramatic than I would’ve anticipated.
Multiple trips to the grocery store add up, especially when you factor in impulse buys or take-out on nights when you feel like you don’t have anything good at home to eat. When I shop with a plan, I spend less, feel more organized through the week and our food waste goes down. It’s a win-win situation and a habit I’m actually looking forward to getting back into, as you may have seen in yesterday’s blog post! Quite a few of you requested more meal planning/dinner ideas in future blog posts which I was excited to see not only because they’re fun to write but I think they’ll also keep me accountable.
- Rest, Relax and Enjoy
My goal: Take Sadie on a solo walk once a week
Last week, I took Sadie on a walk by myself and it was amazing how much better I felt after our walk around the neighborhood. Don’t get me wrong – I absolutely LOVE family walks – but Chase is getting more and more restless in the stroller these days so walks with him and Sadie often feel a little hectic as I try to find a snack, a book or something to point at along the way to keep him happy/entertained. Walking alone with Sadie felt peaceful and allowed me to focus on the beautiful weather and how good it felt to simply move my body while I listened to my favorite podcast (Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me). I’ve said it many times before but watching Sadie have a blast on a walk and seeing her get the biggest kick out of simple things like sticks and squirrels also serves as the perfect reminder to me to enjoy the little things in life.
- Stop Procrastinating, Make Consistent Progress
My goal: Work first, email second
My email completely overwhelms me. My inbox is horrifying and I struggle to keep up with the number of emails (literally hundreds) I receive every day. I could easily spend my entire work time on emails every day but that’s not the best use of my time, nor is it fun or productive. When I sit down at my computer first thing in the morning or during Chase’s naptime, I will often open up Gmail and begin sorting through emails. While I’m responding, deleting and sorting through everything, I can practically feel my creative energy dying a slow death. I’m hoping that by making myself work before I check my emails, I’ll be more productive and excited about the tasks at hand rather than beginning my workday feeling behind and drained.
- Simplify, Clear and Organize
My goal (personal): Organize, sort and store Chase’s baby clothes
This one is haunting me every time I open Chase’s closet in his nursery. I need to carve out some time to sort his clothes and box everything up that’s too small so his baby clothes are no longer mocking me from a giant folded heap in the corner of his closet.
My goal (work): Create an “Upcoming Partnerships” bin and a “Completed Partnerships/Invoice Due” bin in a visible spot in my home office
Through the blog, I feel fortunate to work with a myriad of companies and brands but since I’m just a one-woman show, it can feel very overwhelming at times to keep all of my partnerships in line. I work with brands a variety of ways (sponsored posts, social media shares, freelance content, etc.) and while I have all of my deadlines in front of me on my desk every day, once I’ve completed the task at hand, I find myself looking toward the next deadline and occasionally forgetting to invoice a company in a timely manner. I need a good organizational system in place for keeping track of what I need to do for upcoming partnerships and who I still need to follow up with once a deadline is met and a partnership is complete.
- Engage More Deeply
My goal: Write down my prayers
All too often I’ll find myself praying at the end of the day and my brain feels like a jumbled mess. My mind will wander and I want to get better at being more intentional with my prayers. Since writing is something I love and something that immensely helps me work through my thoughts and feelings, I want to begin writing out my prayers to God. I am already enjoying spending some time in the morning with my devotional and think writing out prayers in the morning may be a good way to deepen my relationship with God and help me feel more focused in my prayers.
More Happiness Related Posts
- Little Indulgences = Big Happiness
- Abstainers vs. Moderators
- The Happiness Project Review + Takeaways
Question of the Day
Pick one or two of The Essential Seven habits and tell me about a goal you’d like to create for yourself to help yourself feel happier in that specific area of your life.
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These are awesome. I think the part I love most is how they are all things controlled by YOU. Other people will do what they do, but if you focus on these 7 (not-at-all overwhelming the way Rubin presents them) you can achieve a happier life overall.
When I studied holistic health in school I learned about the “pie” that makes up your life, much like the Essential Seven. What fascinates me is how one can play into another. Cooking is one way I relax and also helps me feel connected to my friends and family while saving money. I am focused on connecting right now. Life is on fast forward and I want to prioritize my connections.
Yes! I thought that was really neat, too.
What a great post!! Perfect timing! I think later this afternoon I’m going to set some specific goals in all of these areas. Lately I’ve been trying to get a grasp on time management – being more productive with the time that I have, not wasting as much time by allowing breaks to goof off, working in chunks, etc. I also have a goal of going back to school for nursing, so I’m working on some pre-reqs and study aids throughout the day. This has actually been a goal of mine for a decade now, so it’s about time I do something about it!!
Hope you have a wonderful day!! 🙂
-Sarah http://www.thefrugalmillionaireblog.com
Love these! I too feel fortunate that I eat pretty healthy and exercise regularly. But I would love to give more time to focus on getting work accomplished and getting organized. I truly do feel happier when I know the house is clean and organized.
I’m a big fan of Gretchen Rubin, also, and I’d say I would choose to simplify, clear and organize. I tend to save a lot of old clothing, paperwork, even school work from when I was in college years ago, so I’d like to declutter and save what means the most to me.
Hi Julie, I am also a huge fan of Gretchen Rubin and listen to her podcast Happier religiously every week. You should try Elizabeth’s podcast with her writing partner ‘Happier in Hollywood’ as well- it’s very cool. I really appreciate you writing this post because I usually listen to the Happier podcast on my commute to and from work and whilst I enjoy it very much, once I get to work or get home, I forget some of the tips. Reading this post has motivated me to also start implementing the essential seven in my life and define what my goals under each one would be. Good luck with all your goals, please do an update post on this sometime in the future! Have a great day! 🙂
Love these! I definitely am focusing right now on creating a clean and peaceful space. Having a cluttered environment definitely impacts my mood. I am working to clean out and reorganize all the closets in our house.
I feel you on the sugar! I make a lot of chocolate covered banana slices (using coconut oil and cocoa powder)…does that count as sugar? 😉
Rest, relax, and enjoy is a huge one for me. My husband was gone for months and I felt the world on my shoulders. Now he is home I am struggling to learn to sit and breath again.
This was really great to read. I’m going to make an organizer for this and fill it out with what I’m currently doing *high fives self* and a goal I’d like to work towards. I’m the exact same with sugar and need to find an alternative, this will be a good place to start! Thanks for sharing this insight, that podcast is one of my favorites.
Love this idea! I need to check out this book. I’m adding it to my list – thank you so much for sharing your goals with us!
There are so many areas where I need to reflect/improve/etc.
Enjoy your day!
Thanks for sharing. Love this post!
Hi Julie-
I wonder sometimes, if any of the handful of bloggers that I read really realize how much you can make a difference to your reader. Knowing what you have been through lately, and your response and reaction up until now, has made me admire you so much, This post….you taking such clear steps to improve your happiness….working for it……you absolutely inspire me. Thank you for this post and for sharing the way that you do. I am way out here in California rooting for you 🙂
Julie!
I loved this post and found it to be so relatable and inspiring. Thank you for sharing this with us! I hope to tackle a few of these areas in my own life.
On a podcast note… one I’ve been loving lately is Awesome Etiquette. It’s hosted by the great grandchildren of Emily Post and it’s a lighthearted but really useful podcast about issues that come up in everyday life. Great listening for those solo Sadie walks!
Wishing you a good week.
Morgan
I love this! Thanks for giving me some great inspiration about how I can improve my life. I am going to check out those podcasts too.
This post is EVERYTHING! Exactly what I’ve been needing to get myself in check. Engaging more deeply is something I would personally like to do with God as well. I feel like my relationship with him could be a lot better and I need to focus on a time where I can sit down and really dive into my devotional. I’ve been horrible about procrastinating it and then I always end up not doing it by the end of the day. I think I need to write it down in my planner to do it and hopefully that will help. Thanks for sharing this today! Definitely eye opening!
I really benefit from writing down my prayers. Plus, it’s also cool to be able to go back and see that some prayers were answered without me realizing it. 🙂
So true, in the mornings, I can feel my email suck the life out of me! It can really put such a dark cloud on your morning!
As someone who is going through some huge life changes, this could not have come at a bette time – thank you so much for sharing. Can’t wait to not only start the podcast but get started on these 7 (seemingly simple!) things to kickstart my every day happiness!
Adding this podcast to my list right away! I’ve love listening to podcasts while going for walks — it makes the time fly by!
I like this post! I have a son the same age as Chase and every morning on our way to daycare we pray and talk about all of the things we are thankful for. This is a small thing that has had such a great, positive impact on our lives and it sets the stage for a good day. As my son has gotten older and can talk a lot more, it’s fun to ask him what he’s thankful for (the other day I got: 1) Cats (we don’t even have a cat); 2) Buses; 3) Baby (his sister)).
Love this post!! And oh my gosh, can I just tell you how relieved it makes me that I’m not the only one with “jumbled” prayer at the end of the day? First, I always thank God for my son, husband, family, safety, etc but then when it comes to praying for specific things, I feel like I could spend hours and I always end up leaving something out and I feel like I’m constantly like “oh wait.. this, too!” HA! Glad I’m not the only one 🙂
I love this Julie! Makes me stop and rethink a few things that’s for sure! I would say I need to stop procrastinating and start making consistent progress, ie organizing my room/office space and exercise regularly again. I used to workout all the time, but moving away from family and friends and living in a town I do not like once so ever, has gotten to me finally. I need to get out of this funk and get back in the gym! I know it’ll help me feel so much better.
I am absolutely obsessed with the Happier Podcast (and Happier in Hollywood now too!) Both are so good! I love the way they talk about things that really make me think.
Eat and Drink More Healthfully: I too need to cut back on my sugar. I’ve definitely been eating more than I would care to admit, and often in what are “healthier” forms but that still don’t make me feel fabulous and it’s time to fix that.
Save and Spend Wisely: I have been paying down some major debt this past year and I’m about in a good place, but I know I’m letting money slip through the cracks so I signed up with mint.com to see if I can better manage my money than the spreadsheets I’ve been using (or maybe do both) until I find a system that really works for me.
Simplify, Clear and Organize: I’ve felt this need to purge a LOT of stuff. After my grandma passed away in January, I have been blessed with a lot of things, both nostalgic/memory filled and practical, but I’m starting to get that cluttered mind and I think it’s because I feel like my home is cluttered (though if you ask most people, they would disagree). Regardless, I want to start looking at the things in my home that I don’t like/use/need and see if I can sell, throw away, or donate it.
Love this post! One of my goals is to unplug from the internet/phone after work and focus on a hobby (time for fall crafts!), connecting with my husband, and making our new house a home. Sometimes it’s hard to stay positive when life is so crazy but setting small goals like this definitely helps.
I loved this post! Unintentionally I started doing a couple of the things you mentioned and you’re right, it does make you happier! This past summer I started reading the bible daily; it’s my morning routine and I love it so much. It’s enriching and just makes you approach or react to things differently. We recently got an older family piano tuned and my husband and I and our kids are starting to learn how to play using an app. I find myself on there more and less on my pad or computer, when I have free time, which is great. Have a great day, Julie!
I used to listen to Happier and enjoyed the short but informative episodes.
Eat and Drink More Healthfully: I, too, noticed I was eating way too much sugar last week. It’s only Wednesday, but just three days of nixing mindless snacking and reducing my sugar and refined carb intake has drastically improved how I’m feeling and even looking. I started to get a little bloaty and was breaking out, and my body is already thanking me.
Save and Spend Wisely: In keeping with the Happier theme, I am an under-spender. I don’t like spending money and it’s hard for me to do on things other than bils, groceries, etc., but I have noticed that spending money on others is easier for me because I know the gift will make them happy. I should view an occasional treat for myself as the same.
Meal planning is also huge for me. I find satisfaction in seeing a fully-stocked fridge and pantry and knowing that my boyfriend and I are eating wholesome meals every day for the week!
Love love LOVE Gretchen Rubin’s books! Thanks for sharing these 7 habits…I might actually use them as a template for my October goals (which I’m already thinking about because #nerd haha).
Really love your idea of writing down prayers, too. I started keeping a joint gratitude/prayer journal where I write down things I’m grateful for and things I’m praying for. I’ve fallen in love with it, and it’s amazing to me how much happier I am when I “track my gratitude” and how neat it is to see prayers I’ve written down get answered and recorded in the “gratitude” part of the journal. I bet you’ll love that habit! <3
I love this — there’s something so helpful about putting your thoughts into words <3
Love, love, love this post! Thanks for sharing your ideas and referring us to that podcast! Excited to listen to it because we all need it.
I totally hear you on the email. Some days it feels endless.
I’ll have to add that podcast to ipod. Since I can listen to my ipod at work I’m always looking for new and interesting things to listen to.
First of all, I LOVE this. I’ve spent a lot of energy over the last two years focusing on mindfulness and meaningful action, and it’s made a huge difference in so many areas of my life.
On another note, have you considered hiring an unpaid intern? Maybe a student in social media marketing or business could learn a lot from you while also helping you with some of your business goals. That may not be something you’re ready to bring into your life or your home, but it could be a useful short-term solution that would help jump-start your goals while also being of service to someone else.
As always, love your blog, please keep it up 🙂
LOVED reading this post!!
I was just listening to a podcast this week about the difference between pleasure and happiness, so this totally hits home with me. Connection and contribution are two big parts of happiness — which are NOT parts of pleasure. I can say that being organized, moving around and spending time with loved ones makes me happy for sure. And dog snuggles … those help too. I love how you broke this down, and wish you luck in attacking each thing. You can do it! 🙂 And if you’re going to slip up anywhere, let it be the sugar … for sure! hahahah!
Oh and the podcast I was listening to was a recent episode from The Model Health Show, which I think I’ve mentioned to you before! So informative!
What a great post! I could take a few of those to heart right now! I didnt really use to be a big meal planner, but we now live about 45 minutes from the nearest grocery store. That pretty much makes it essential to have at least some sort of idea when I hit the grocery (we only go once a week). Because of scheduling, this week has been weird and while I normally go to the grocery on Tuesday, I figured I would push it to Thursday so I only had to go to town once this week (coordinating with another activity). Well, my husband somehow invited two of his friends over and I am currently scrambling to find enough things that are attractively edible for a meal! Never a dull moment!
I too have a terrible sweet tooth!!! Ahh!! I do find the more sugar I allow into my diet the more I crave it. I’ve been doing what you mentioned you’ve started doing- dessert once or twice a week and not all the other “littles tastes” or “treats” in between. I find that I actually enjoy and savor my “big” treats (once or twice a week) and feel SO much better! Physically, emotionally, and mentally! It’s weird how it’s all connected.
All the best to you! Xoxo
Honestly, I could benefit from all of these! However, if I’m going to choose 2 to focus on I would choose the first two.
Eat and drink more healthily (I say as I am drinking a beer at my husbands softball game – something about beer and softball just work). I am at meal planning dinners. I’m not as good at sticking to them when my husband brings up something he’s been craving. I also don’t stick to healthy snacks as much as I’d like to say I do. Oh. And cutting down on the adult beverages.
Exercise regularly – when I’m good, I’m good. And when I’m not, I’m just not. I’m currently trying to get back into the routine of things. I feel like a cross between a baby giraffe and a 40 week and 5 day pregnant lady. My legs can hardly hold me up and I’m waddling around and squatting down so weird!
I am a huge Gretchen Rubin fan too! Have you taken the four tendencies quiz? I’m still trying to decide if I really agree with my tendency. My results have come back multiple times as a questioner, but some of the questioner traits don’t totally fit me. Anyway I found it really interesting and insightful to have this nugget of information about how I respond to expectations. I think that sense of understanding contributes to my happiness.
I LOVED this post! I have actually shared your moderators vs. abstainers post several times with other people, including months after it went live. I just really enjoy the way you summarize AND personalize the advice and insights from what you learned – especially and specifically because I also love the subject matter. (I think finding ways to stay uplifted is so important in this world.)
You might benefit from an assistant/va to help with those draining tasks (like inbox control and organizing your partnership starts/stops) – if you’re ever interested, feel free to reach out, because I know someone.
I love your cookbook stack, and here’s a tip from that pile: make Pioneer Woman’s “Comfort Meatballs”. They are laborious but everyone will DROOL. They’re not hard to make at all, they just require a few extra steps (although I made my own short cuts. Like I pre-bake (and partially bake) the meatballs under the broiler instead of rolling them in flour and searing them. Less hands-on time that way! Gotta temp test them to make sure they’re cooked at the end, though!)
Re: your end of post question – I really want to focus on exercising more. I have never had problems consistently exercising. However, I had some pretty intense injuries 2 years ago that changed the way I can exercise, and it’s been harder to be consistent because I’ve had to work around the injuries. I want to get back to a more consistent routine rather than the haphazard routine I’ve been following recently!
Thanks for this AWESOME post. Love it.
My biggest tip for organizing my son’s clothes – keep a tub in the closet (with the lid kept in the basement for safety reasons). This has allowed me to throw things in there on a daily/weekly basis. Basically, I wash everything and as I’m folding/putting away, I usually can remember “Oh, that did not fit him well the last time he wore that.” or “We couldn’t get this on him.” and I fold it and throw it in the bin. It has saved me TONS of time in decluttering his clothes. Especially when he was younger and would grow out of stuff so quickly. I actually added in my maternity clothes/nursing bras when I was done with that. At the end, it takes 5-10 minutes to ‘organize’ it and label it and store it away. Maybe not everything is in the total correct order (i.e. my nursing bras are with the 12 month stuff) but I have it labeled so that next time around, I can pull it all out as needed. (I love my trusty label maker!)
Not sure what kind of emails you need to sift through ie. delete… but if you are getting a lot or spam, newsletters and promos, Unroll Me is a great way to get rid of that. You still get all the newsletters and promos you want to keep but everything gets put in one email once day. So, for example I used to get about 30-50 random update or promo emails from Pinterest, Facebook and sites like hotels.com, booking.com etc — so annoying. After using Unroll Me, I get one email with a clear overview of all the emails these companies sent me in the last 24h and I can quickly browse if it is interesting to me.
What an awesome post!! I am a big fan of Gretchen Rubin too and have read her book The Happiness Project in the past! I think I could benefit from ALL of these, but definitely rest, relax, and enjoy, and also engage more deeply.
All too often I feel like I am glued to my phone, or rushing around to be somewhere or trying to get something done…that I know I am missing out on just being present. I need to live in the moment and just as it says, rest, relax, and enjoy! My goal: Be more present in life, put my phone down and ENJOY this beautiful life!
I pray everyday, and I like to buy devotionals for my husband and I to read (like, 31 prayers for my husband/wife, or wife/husband after god) to bring us closer together as well as closer to God. I am now in need of another one to help bring me closer to God and my husband. So, my goal is: Find another series of devotional books that will allow me to reflect on my relationship with God as well as my husband, and bring us closer together.
I really love this post Julie, thank you for sharing with us. I am going to have to start listening to that Podcast, like asap!!! Xoxo
Baking as a form of procrastination—this is SO ME! These are great reminders–thank you!
All of these are good reminders. You mentioned your husband tracks your monthly finances in different categories. I am AWFUL at finances and know if I tracked better I would be in a better place. I just can’t seem to find a system that works for me. Do you think your husband would be willing to share some tips or how he tracks for us not financially savvy people? I read so many articles, but can’t seem to find a system that works for me or I give up because the system doesn’t make sense.
Taking my dog for solo walks after my son is in bed has been a weekly activity for me. She loves it and so do I!
I love how you are applying these 7 habits to fit your current “need to improve” goals! I might need to try this too! Especially the limited dessert- is there a support group for severe sweet tooth addicts?? 🙂
Jen from http://www.styleinshape.com
I love numbers, so I am totally interested in the difference it can make if we meal plan vs the “go to the store everyday”. I can see when we don’t go out very often that the money in the joint account doesn’t go down as fast. I have tried the cash purchase only strategy and I tell you, it’s way harder to let go of a $20 in your hand then it is to just push a button.
..
I love walking alone with a dog, they run for the joy of it, stop to smell interesting things and say hello to friendly strangers. They always seem to be smiling and laughing at the wonderful time they are having.
They say if you do a little bit everyday of something you want to learn, it is so beneficial to your progress…..
Consistency is the key to success in so many things.
Ok, I’m going to have to read this book! I love all of the tips! I need to sit down and think my way through each step, too, and really figure out how to apply them to my daily life.
I’m also a sugar addict. I’d like to cut down to once or twice a week, too, but my goodness – why is it so hard?!?!
I recently enrolled my 2 year old son in daycare 🙁 and I’ve been feeling a little frazzled/lacking focus. This post came at just the right time for me. Thanks! 🙂
I loved this post!! I feel like some areas I do a pretty good job of staying consistent with…but then I feel like so much of my time& energy is spent on those tasks, that I don’t feel like I can dedicate the time & attention to all else that I want to do..organize this, be more focused on that, etc. I chose organization as one of my tasks this summer, whether it’s organizing something in the house or organizing something digitally (my flash drives & photographs are a mess!) & I would dedicate 10 minutes to it each day. That felt reasonable to be because realistically, there’s NO way I would ever free up an entire day to do it all, like I always though I would. So I can plug away at it, but it’s not hanging over my head as a ‘to do’ list item. I can’t wait to check out those books & podcasts!
I love this post Julie! I want to listen to this podcast! Based on these, I definitely want to start stretching more as my body is craving it after all the hours of holding Katie. In regards to eating, Bo and I both struggle with sweets in the ways you identify. I can’t wait to listen to this podcast on my next walk or run!
I live the podcast, but I still haven’t read The Happiness Project. I need to get on that!
I really need to commit to #6 and #7 on her list.
Thank you for this! I started the happiness project and then got distracted. I need to pick that up again.
stop procrastinating – When I have a challenging task in front of me or something I know will take awhile, I tend to find so many other things to do instead of it, like the dishes or re-writing my to do list and stressing about everything I need to accomplish.
Engage more deeply – We recently moved and left a church I was fully engaged in. I still can’t quite get over missing our home church yet I want to stay involved. I recently made a vow to take the first 30 minutes of my day, reading and writing in my prayer journal. It is an amazing way to start the day.