Time To Get Our Grooves Back

Ah, September. I love waking up to a cool crisp breeze every morning. For me, this month also represents a return to routine. A time to get my groove back after a super laidback Summer vibe, and make sure I’m being as productive as possible each day.

Whether you have kids and you’re trying to get your family back into their school routine, or you simply want to be more constructive with your own time, here are the three tools I use to get my days grooving again.

Get Organized & Plan Out Your Routine: Setting up a routine that works for you is essential for maintaining your energy and productivity. The beauty of a schedule is that it requires you to make fewer decisions each day. I’ve read several research studies that say it’s “decision fatigue,” (yes, it’s a thing) that destroys your attention span, overall motivation, and even your willpower.

Basically, the more of your day you can spend on automatic pilot, the more energy you’ll have to devote to making important decisions. It also explains why we’re less likely to resist pulling our favorite ice cream out of the freezer at the end of a long hard day.

Set-up Small Wins: It’s important to start small, so you don’t overwhelm yourself with something too new or impossible to adhere to. I tend to tackle my meal and exercise routines first, before moving on to bigger things like tweaking my work schedule.

For example, I might start with planning out my breakfasts for the week. What groceries I need to shop for, any prep work I can do in advance so I can quickly throw ingredients into the blender, etc. Exercise-wise, I might put my morning walks on the calendar for the week, or sign-up online for my yoga classes so I can’t wiggle out of them at the last minute.

Depending on the day, I always like to infuse it with nurturing essential oils. For an invigorating morning, I often reach for grapefruit essential oil, like our Refreshing Grapefruit soap bar. And when I need to chill out, eucalyptus essential oil literally helps me to breathe easier. It can be found in our unique Eucalyptus and Peppermint Shower Steamer.

Recalibrate As Needed: After two or three weeks of rolling with a new routine, I like to take a step back and make sure it’s really working for me. Do I have more energy? Do I feel good about the things I’m accomplishing? If the answer is, nah, not so much in certain areas, then it’s time to reconfigure things a bit. And that’s ok too.

We are always a work in progress. The trick is to learn to be our own best friends, kind and encouraging, and not our own worst enemies.

As always, hoping you and your families are safe and well!

Sage xo