[00:00:00] Welcome to the average nineties GAL podcast. Join me as I share my own journeys through life, how I got and continue to get through them, as well as real stories from real people in this crazy world. Let's get through it together.
Hello and welcome to the average nineties GAL podcast. I know that it has been quite some time since my last episode, even though I promised I wouldn't do that, but here we are. It is what it is, and that is due to the fact that. Honestly, there has been a lot going on in my life, in my world, and that has taken precedent over [00:01:00] recording episodes and focusing on the things that are going on.
So I am dealing with life just as we are all dealing with life and everything. That is happening in the world in, in addition to our own personal lives and our family's lives, and wow, it can be a lot. So I hope this is also a way of reminding you that it is okay to take breaks from certain parts of your life.
That you need to just take a break from so that you can focus on other things. When everything piles up, when the layers of stressors become layer upon layer upon layer and we don't deal with it, and we don't put up [00:02:00] boundaries and make choices that are in our best interest. Then it can become too much, and that is when mental health struggles set in, and anxiety and the pressures and the lack of sleep, and just all the things.
So I hope you do the same, that if there are certain things in your life right now that are too much that you look at. Your day to day and see what you could possibly stop doing or say no to. No is a sentence, and no is a powerful, powerful word. Not that it has to be mean in a powerful, that powerful way, but I just want you to remember that and the importance of [00:03:00] choosing.
What's important at the time and saying no to everything else. Okay. I didn't plan on saying that, but I did. Uh, anyway, I wanted to hop on here as well. And to that vein, actually, let me go back. I'm not going to edit this I, 'cause I'm just going to do this really quickly and move along, but. I just realized one of the things that has really helped me is that I deleted, and I think I've mentioned this before, I'm not sure, I can't remember now, but, uh, I deleted social media from my phone again.
Before it was for a while, and then I put it back on because I, I saw emails or people were messaging me or things like that, and so then I put it back [00:04:00] on my phone, but this time I deleted it from my phone and it feels really, really good. Now I had to go on Facebook and Instagram for work reasons, and I did it on my laptop.
And let me tell you, I, I went in just to look at a few things and I saw a couple messages. I got this real ick feeling just looking at posts and I didn't even scroll. And I looked at one story, I think, and I instantly logged out. I realized that I do not miss it. I may have to go on again at some point for my own, you know, personal branding and sharing and for business [00:05:00] ideas that I have and things like that.
But for right now, I feel so great not looking at social media. I am saving so much time and so much brain space, and I'm getting so much done because I am also doing the same with tv. I don't have cable or anything, but I, and I'm gonna get into what made me start this episode in the first place, and this is leading into it, but.
I was finding myself just plopping down on the couch, turning on the TV, and going to the different streaming apps and seeing what was on and not actually caring at all what I was watching, and also not really watching. Do you do that or you just turn something on, but [00:06:00] then you are just distracted by other things and you don't care that you're missing it.
I don't know about you, but I was doing that way too often and I now catch myself. When I just plop on the couch and I go for the remote, I stop myself and say to myself, is this a good idea? Is this actually helping me move forward in my life? How? Is just plopping on the couch and doing nothing, helping me move forward.
Now, all that to say that, of course we need our downtime. Of course we need, if you have been working all day and you come in and, or you know you've been at school or. Driving kids [00:07:00] around or anything, and you're just exhausted and you just wanna sit on the couch, o obviously do that. I'm not putting that down at all.
I'm not saying go, go, go, go, go all the time. I am very much an advocate for the opposite, for, uh, enjoying the quiet, being still being calm. Taking in the world around us and nature, I am all about that. If you know me at all, and if you've been listening, you understand that. But I just wanna make that clear is that I'm not putting down mindlessly watching a show and binge watching something if it's really necessary, and you really need just that time to do that.
What I'm talking about is when I would just go straight to it. Without even thinking. And I work from home, which makes life kind of difficult sometimes. And I really need [00:08:00] to create a world around me where this is when I do this, this, and this, and this is when I can do this, this, and this. And if I just automatically go to the couch that I'm not getting the other things done.
So just wanted to clarify that and. What made me think of hopping on to record this episode is to share something that I've been doing lately besides the stopping the social media and so much TV time and couch time. Is that I wanna share something that's really been working for me and that is creating systems in my life.
That help me move the needle towards where I want to be, either in my health, in my mental health, in my [00:09:00] day-to-day habits and rituals and routines. I have decided to call all of this more of setting up systems that lead to success, and that's success in. The person I know I already am and what to become the person that has been away from me for a long time and I need to get back to, and she is coming back.
I see her now. I feel her. Now. I know that she's right on the other side of everything that I want to accomplish. My life and for myself and for my son and my family, and everything that my future will become, but my future will not become anything if I don't [00:10:00] change how I go about my day and taking myself seriously.
And if I really, truly want that for me, if I want that future, Meredith. To be a certain person. I can't achieve that. I will never see her if I'm just plopping on the couch. Right? So I started to create systems for myself, and when I say system, I like systems instead of routines instead of habits, because it's kind of like coding.
I put myself in situations in my home and where I have the most control to do. So it, I have a kind of like, well, if I'm doing this, then I do this. [00:11:00] So that's what I said about coding. The if then kind of situation. I hope I said that right. Uh, for example. I set up this a system for myself in the mornings to get dressed for movement.
I set out my clothing the night before. I set my alarm to wake up early enough and before my son wakes up and before I have to walk the dog to then have downtime to journal. Then after journaling, I drink some coffee or matcha, and then I do movement before I even walk the dog. So that's a system right there.
One of the systems is how to make sure I set up my morning the night before and do what I say I'm going to do in the morning. [00:12:00] Mornings don't always work out perfectly. They never do. Something may come up. Someone may call you. There may be an emergency if you have kids. Oh, holy hell. I, I mean, the mornings can be, it doesn't even matter the age of your child or, or children.
Mornings can be rough, but if you tell yourself that you need to set your day in off in a certain way by being alone. Okay, well, can you wake up earlier? How are you setting yourself up the night before for your morning to work? If you wake up earlier and you're like, all right, I woke up earlier, like I said I was gonna do, but uh, it's dark.
I can't find. My sweatpants that I wanted to wear. Oh look, there's these pants, but I don't like how I feel in them because I'm feeling [00:13:00] fat and gross and ugh. And then the spiral happens, and then you end up not doing any of the things you promised at all. You can of course also set up your coffee pot and also next to your coffee pot or next to your tea kettle.
Whatever it is you wanna do. If you wanna start making protein shakes in the morning, we'll have your blender and all of the ingredients next to your blender every morning set up a system that works for you. Also, when I said about the whole coating, um, example is to tell yourself if. I find myself, for instance, me, okay, I'll use this as an example.
If I find myself sitting down to watch something, and for instance, especially now it's baseball season. [00:14:00] If a game is on, instead of plopping on the couch, I'm going to get on the treadmill and walk while I'm watching it. So I've now told my brain, when you turn on a baseball game, you're getting on the treadmill.
I have one of those like desk treadmills, but it's not actually under a desk. It's just next to my couch. And it's fantastic because I just get on that and walk while I'm watching. So I'm not actually just plopping on the couch and being mindless. I'm doing something. And I've started to create that system around everything I watch.
Unless it's a serious movie I really wanna get into, I have now started to tell my brain, okay, after a certain amount of time, get up. If you're gonna keep binge watching this show or not do anything else, [00:15:00] you have to get up and move and do something. Sometimes I'll even grab weights. Just do some strength training in front of the TV because I have now told myself this is an if then situation, and I have also set up systems around after I drop my son off at school.
On certain days if I can, I'm just going to make sure I'm dressed in gym clothes and I go to the gym after I drop him off because where I drop him off is right next to the gym. So I hope that helps. Think, helps you think about your own life and where you can set up systems in your life that lead. To fulfilling what it is you say you're going to do.
What are areas in your [00:16:00] life that are bothering you? Things that you do or don't do, and how can you change that, but not some drastic, massive change. I hope my examples helped show that. It doesn't have to be something huge that you all of a sudden have to do the next day, and you're never gonna do it because it's too hard.
How can you set up the next day, the night before, and maybe put it in your calendar on your phone to pop up as a reminder? Like so when do you usually go to bed? Okay. If you go to bed at nine 30. At nine o'clock have a reminder that says, set up for the morning, or something like that. Trust me, it really, really works.
And I know people have said this before, but I really do like the [00:17:00] idea of just not just saying routine and habit because it will naturally become a habit if you create the right systems for yourself. Because you're never going to always want to do certain things. It's our brains don't work that way. We don't always want to get up at 6:00 AM so why don't we create a system and an environment that isn't so hard to get up at 6:00 AM Let's make it easy for ourselves.
Let's put the shoes out right next to the bed if we have to. Let's you know, even as easy as something this is, I don't know why this just popped up. Anytime I'm going outside to walk my dog or do anything, [00:18:00] I always say to myself, is there garbage or recycling or compost to take out? So I've set up this system in my brain of anytime I go outside.
What can I bring with me that will then help keep my house clean? That I'm not wasting any kind of time on things, and I'm trying to make it as simple and as flowing as possible. Anyway. I hope all of that helps. Uh, I just thought that it would be helpful to share that, and once again, I'm sure you've heard all of this in many different ways, but it really has helped in my life right now.
It has, you know, [00:19:00] once. Once things can get wild and crazy, we need structure and systems to make sure that we are in control of our lives and our lives are not controlling us. And that's why I just wanted to hop in and talk about that because it really has helped in a, uh, huge, huge way while things are going on.
So, alright. Thank you so much for being here and for listening. I will try my best to create more episodes in the future. I do wanna mention though, that I have been thinking about changing the focus of this podcast. I. Don't have anything to tell you yet. Exactly, but based on what it is that I am working [00:20:00] on in terms of creating my own business and support for people, I may change the focus of this podcast to what it is that I am creating.
Stay tuned for that. But for anyone, I'm just gonna say it now, for anyone who has been listening. I appreciate you so much and if what I end up creating in the future and turning this podcast in into does not fit you and your life and who you are. I just wanna say right now how much I truly, truly appreciate the fact that you have been listening to this podcast and have been.
Uh, such a huge support system and I just can't thank you enough. So I just wanna say that to all of [00:21:00] you who are listening right now, no matter what happens in the future, just know how much I appreciate you and I'm thankful for you, and you have no idea how wonderful it is to know that there are people like you out there listening.
So thank you so much. I hope you are doing well, and that you have an amazing rest of your day.
