Connie R. Clay's Blog, page 12

7 Steps to a Harmonious Holiday Season

 

Last year’s Christmas cards remain unboxed and unmailed.  Only a few decorations made it from the plastic bins to the doors, windows and tables.  Christmas is my favorite holiday, and I enjoy the sounds, scents and mood.  But for a variety of reasons, I didn’t get things done last Christmas.  This year, I will approach the season with a plan to handle the important tasks and enjoy myself.

Many of us dread this season because there is so much to do.  However, there are simple strategies that we can implement to get through this season with our sanity intact:

Determine your non-negotiables.  What are the three or four things that make your season special?  For me it’s getting the tree up, going out and looking at Christmas lights and mailing Christmas cards before Christmas;
Sleep at least 7 hours every night. When you get adequate rest, you have more energy for the extra tasks, and your problem solving skills are sharper.  If you are only sleeping 4,5, or 6 hours a night, your body will crave carbohydrates and caffeine to fill the energy void;
Take a brisk 30 minute walk at least four days a week. Walking is the easiest exercise to add to your day.  All you need is a pair of sturdy walking, running or cross training sneakers.  Walking increases blood flow to the limbs and brain, which gives you more stamina and helps you to manage challenging situations;
Small hands, lazy hands and uninterested hands are still hands that can handle some of the tasks on your to do list.  I don’t like the way my youngest daughter cleans the kitchen.  She overloads the dishwasher, leaves food in the sink and doesn’t wipe down the counters.  However, if there’s a choice between having her muddle through the assignment or my staying up past my bedtime to clean the kitchen to my satisfaction, I have her do the kitchen so that I can get my rest;
Accept that good enough is good enough for some projects. The world will not end if you don’t scrub the baseboards every six months.  Consider ordering a prepared dinner for Thanksgiving or Christmas Day.  Your financial outlay may be about the same as preparing the feast, and you’ll have more time and energy to enjoy your family and your guests;
Establish and maintain a day of rest. Your day does not have to be Sunday. It is not unusual for me to pull weeds and do other yard work during my day of rest because I enjoy those things.  Set aside one day a week when you don’t work.  If you enjoy sewing, organizing, canning or baking, then do those tasks on your day off.  One day a week should be free of a frenzied pace and unwelcome tasks;
Conquer your to-do list. Create a master holiday to do list.  On your list, mark your priorities and the non-negotiables that you established.  Each day, prepare a daily to-do list on a piece of paper or a sticky note that is no larger than 2×2 inches.  You’ll only be able to place about four items on this tiny daily to-do list.  On the daily, to-do list, handle the most unpleasant task first.  Using this small daily to-do list forces you to focus on the highest priorities and to keep the list manageable.

Begin employing these strategies now so that your days and nights will be smooth, low stress and fun.

Don’t Diet in November

Soon we’ll be seeing ads telling us that we can lose 20, 30 or 50 pounds before Christmas.  The problem with fad diets is that the results don’t last.  Once you return to your normal routine, you gain the weight right back.  How about a sensible solution to getting healthy and staying healthy?

For over 30 years, I tried crash diets, injections, pills and dangerous schemes to lose weight.  I ended up gaining and losing the same 50 pounds over and over again.    Finally, I discovered a reasonable way to take charge of my health.  Some of the things I learned were:

Get Sleep.  If you get 7-8 hours of sleep a night, you have more energy to get through your day.  When you cheat your body of adequate rest, you crave carbohydrates and caffeine to jump start your metabolism.  If you only sleep 4 or 5 hours a night, you’re too tired to exercise.
Speak.  Let your words about you be positive.  Don’t talk down to yourself.  If you make a mistake, big or small, acknowledge it, apologize to yourself and others, and move on.  Say good things to yourself and about yourself all day long, out loud and to yourself.  Here’s an example, “I am smart, wonderful and beautiful.”
Eat.  Eat five servings of fruits and veggies a day.  Some of the best are broccoli, cabbage, kale, tomatoes, red peppers, sweet potatoes, apples, blueberries, and strawberries.
Drink.  Gradually start drinking 7-8 glasses of water a day, more if you live at high altitude.  Gradually stop drinking sodas.  The regular ones contain too much sugar for good health, and the diet ones are loaded with chemicals, which make you crave sweets.

These are some of the steps that I’ve taken to lose 45 pounds and reverse pre-diabetes.   As an added benefit, I look and feel fabulous!

To help other women go from confusion to clarity with wellness, I wrote Quit Skinny! 7 Simple, Sane Steps to Wellness.  This long awaited book will show you:

Why you should not be hyper-focused on the scale;
How to use your mouth as a tool to help you get healthy;
How to sleep your way to radically improved wellness;
How to eat yourself well;
How to find time to exercise.

Here’s what others had to say about Quit Skinny!

“An excellent book that turns the reader away from counting calories and watching the scale to a more realistic, practical approach to healthy living.”  C.G.
“I spent years, time and money on fad diets that promised instant results with little to no work only to have the weight come back.  Excellent read for anyone who has gone through the same.”  M.M.
“I appreciated that the steps were simple and could honestly be incorporated into my daily routine.”  L.G.
Read more reviews on Amazon.

 

To encourage you to act now, I am offering a 50% discount if you will invest in yourself by 9:00 p.m., EST, Wednesday, November 12, 2014.  This discount is only available in my Create Space Store, which is an Amazon company.

To order the book, click here:Quit Skinny!

Enter discount code:  EVS86S8W for 50% off the regular price.

 

 

Samples

 

 

In a few weeks, it will be time to pack boxes for Operation Christmas Child. This ministry of www.Samaritanspurse.org collects and ships thousands of shoeboxes of gifts to underprivileged children around the world. I usually prepare six boxes that include toys, toiletries, and hard candy. I always prepare at least three of my boxes for older girls because I want that 10 or 12 year old girl to know that she matters to a stranger an ocean away.

Throughout the year, I buy pencils, toothpaste, hair accessories and other items for my boxes. During a recent hotel stay, I thought that the sample sized lotions, shampoos, and soaps would make a nice addition to my gift boxes. The items were mine to use or keep right? As I thought about placing them in my cosmetics bag, I felt that nudge. The nudge that says “stop.” The nudge that says, “rethink that.” So, the samples were left in the room, and my conscience remained intact.

How to Get More Done

 

When I was in private practice, I routinely worked after 8:00 on Friday nights and often for several hours on Saturday. During one particularly busy time, I worked for 21 straight days without a day off. During this period, I gained weight and was diagnosed with pre-diabetes. It was a crazy-busy time. American women are usually employed outside the home, and once we return home, we are responsible for shopping, meal preparation, child care and elder care. Consequently, we wonder how to get it all done. Let me offer a few suggestions for how to get things done.

• Honor the Sabbath day. God commanded us to take a day off once a week. I don’t believe the Sabbath has to be on Sunday. I have a Facebook friend whose husband is a pastor. One Saturday this friend posted that she was enjoying her Sabbath. Maybe your weekend is Tuesday and Wednesday, then choose one of those days for your Sabbath. Trust me, if you can’t get it done in six days, you can’t get it done in seven days. When you make a concerted effort to do what God says, He will honor your efforts.

• Stop trying to multitask. You can’t! When you think you’re multitasking, you are spending a few seconds or minutes at a time on one activity and then switching to another activity for a few seconds or minutes. If you’re going to balance your checkbook, don’t try to talk to a friend or help your child with homework at the same time. Just work on one activity exclusively, and you will be more productive.

• Take a few minutes on Sunday night to think about the three most important tasks you need to complete the following week. Focus on getting those tasks done first and then add the next three “must do” items to your to-do list.

• Schedule only 65% of the available time. Things ALWAYS take more time than we think, and there will always be interruptions. Let’s say you have all day Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. That’s 10 hours, so you only want to schedule 6.5 hours. If you complete all your tasks, that’s great. If you don’t complete all your tasks, you won’t feel so overwhelmed because there are dozens of things undone.

• Accept that sometimes, good enough has to be good enough. Everything does not have to be done with excellence. For instance, if you need to manage your money, go to the grocery store and get laundry done on a Saturday, you might not have time to thoroughly clean the house. In that case, why not just clean the kitchen and bathrooms and let everything else go until the next weekend?

• Turn your cell phone face down. There are very few urgent text messages and emails. You don’t need to know every time you receive one. Put the phone face down, handle your business and then turn it face up and respond to text messages and emails. If someone really needs you, he or she will call you.

As I have begun to make these changes, I get more done, and I have more peace and margin in my life. To get more done, quit trying to do so much! Which of these tips will you try this week?

What about your friends?

Friends are with you and for you. They tell you when you’re in a bad relationship or making foolish mistakes. Beware of individuals who never challenge you or question you.

Welcome

Wise women learn from the mistakes of others.  Foolish women insist on making their own mistakes. 

In the first fifty years of my life, I experienced my fair share of missteps, calamities, and catastrophes. From wellness to time management to career development, I’ve tried and failed too many times to count.

As I enter my second fifty years of life, I can’t imagine keeping this wealth of experience and knowledge to myself! I am eager to show you how to avoid the mistakes that plagued me for too many years. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I have figured out what works, what works quickly, and what doesn’t work at all. I have created this website to share tips, strategies and systems that have produced good to outstanding results for me.

In my special report, 7 Days, 7 Ways, I’ve pressed down into two pages the important truths it took me over two decades to learn.  I invite you to download your free copy and try one or all of the suggestions. I promise you will be living a more satisfying and fulfilling life in just seven days.  Commit all seven suggestions to habit, and you’ll be amazed at how much better you will look and feel.  You’ll also start gaining momentum with wellness, goals and time management.

Let’s do this journey together!