Do Less Quotes

“Trying to control everyone and everything around us is not only impossible, it's exhausting and will cause you unnecessary pain.”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: The Unexpected Strategy for Women to Get More of What They Want in Work and Life

“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“and do less. This morning, Penelope wanted to hold my hand as I was making coffee and making oatmeal. In the mornings, I find myself wanting to rush through the routine and get her fed and dressed and myself fed and dressed and everyone”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“are worthy of being met, you’ll have trouble attracting help and certainly trouble receiving it when it shows up. So how do you break the cycle and start feeling worthy of support so you can call it in and embrace it when it shows up? I’d start with having a dialogue with yourself in a journal or meditation, or simply on a walk, about what makes you feel like you’re not worthy of support. How did your mother express her needs? Was it directly, passive-aggressively, or not at all? How did you witness her getting her needs met? Through direct, kind communication, through having breakdowns, through manipulation, or some other way? What happened in your family growing up when you asked for a need to be met or you asked for help? What kind of response did you get? Answering these kinds of questions will start to shed some light on your blueprint around receiving”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“Give it a go and you’ll be amazed by the spaciousness and support you attract by bringing these questions to the forefront every day! How to Receive: You Are Worthy Once you start opening your eyes to it, you’ll start to see that there’s help available for you all over the darn place. Women who feel unworthy of getting their needs met (or even having needs in the first place) or who are cranky from years of not getting their needs met tend to be blind to the help that’s all around them. They don’t expect help, so they don’t see help. We tend to get what we expect and we tend to get what we think we’re worthy of.”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“Yeah,” my brilliant sister said, “and when you look at a day as a circle it’s so relaxing because as the day goes on you’re always moving back toward the beginning of a new day instead of running out of time in the day you’re currently in.”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: The Unexpected Strategy for Women to Get More of What They Want in Work and Life

“The Universe has a divine plan”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“Parenting The Awakened Family: How to Raise Empowered, Resilient, and Conscious Children by Dr. Shefali Tsabary Mothering From Your Center: Tapping Your Body’s Natural Energy for Pregnancy, Birth, and Parenting by Tami Lynn Kent”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“God, Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference. It’s called the Serenity Prayer, and it’s walked a lot of bighearted people out of their dark nights of the soul and right into the light. I’m one of them, and you can be too.”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“Finally, but possibly most important, don’t forget to get the Universe on your side when it comes to your weekly to-do list. This weekly practice is inspired by the book Ask and It Is Given by Abraham-Hicks, which is an amazing book on surrendering and attracting things rather than working your tush off for them.”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“When I sit down to make my list, I use my Origin Planner, which includes a page I call the Weekly Renewable Planner. This has a mandala that includes four areas to guide your week and your to-do list: Body: How’s your energy this week? What phase of your cycle are you in? Mind: What are your top three priorities for the week? Heart: How do you feel? How do you want to feel? Cosmos: What’s going on with the moon, stars, and planets that might impact you this week? Before I get into the due dates and tasks and projects that I have on my plate, I ground myself in my body, mind, heart, and the cosmos,”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“usually actually happens. It’s a freaking miracle. I can honestly say that about 80 percent of the time these days I actually cross off every item on my weekly to-do list. What this tells me is not that I’m somehow cramming a ton into my day and winning at productivity. What this tells me is that I’ve finally gotten good at knowing what I can do in a week and, most important, knowing what to leave off the list. If you want to feel instantly saner, make a weekly to-do list instead of a daily one. You’re welcome.”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“Sometimes I slow it down, but really all it takes is noticing it to come back to where I am. Use the five senses: One of the easiest ways for me to come back to what’s happening right in front of me is through my five senses. If I take a moment to notice what I’m seeing, smelling, touching, hearing, and tasting, I’m instantly right where I am and there’s plenty going on to keep me engaged. Come back to the body: The breath and the sense are really part of this, but overall if I remind myself to come back into my body I find myself in the present moment. I feel my butt on the chair. I notice the temperature of the room. I feel how good it feels to have my toddler’s warm little body in my lap or to have Mike’s hand in mine. And suddenly here I am: right here, where I am. And I don’t want to be any other place.”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“I’m no expert on being present, but I’ve been to enough yoga classes, personal growth seminars, and meditation events to have gathered a few things that help me inhabit the present moment and, therefore, expand time. Here they are: Breathe: When I find myself rushing or wanting to hop out of the moment I’m in for whatever reason, I come back to noticing my breath.”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“and do less. This morning, Penelope wanted to hold my hand as I was making coffee and making oatmeal. In the mornings, I find myself wanting to rush through the routine and get her fed and dressed and myself fed and dressed and everyone off to their respective places so we can get the day started. But this morning, I remembered: This moment right here is my day. My day is already happening. I’m not waiting for it to start. It’s started, and this little peanut wanting to hold my hand is part of it. So I held hands with her and slowed down the whole process. Making coffee with one hand is harder, but it’s way sweeter with my girl by my side. Then she wanted to eat her oatmeal while sitting on my lap. And it turned out that she wanted me to feed it to her. And in the middle of it, she decided we should also read some books between bites. None of this was in my morning plan. But when I sank into it and decided to fully inhabit the moment sitting with her on the floor with the oatmeal and the books, it was so sweet! I have no idea how long we were sitting on the”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“When you want to become a time bender, the first thing is to realize that there are, in fact, two different kinds of time and that you can experience time differently when you shift your perception and energy in the moment. I know Einstein time and Newtonian time are just theoretical right now, but I want you to make them real for yourself, so do me a favor. Think about the last time you were totally in the moment doing something and you lost track of time because you were so absorbed in what you were doing.”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“I say that sleep is my spiritual practice because when I’m well rested I can instantly remember who I am and what matters. I’m more resilient. I’m healthier. I’m more present. I’m happier. And I feel more connected to God/Goddess.”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“Your career Your romantic relationship(s) Your nuclear family Your extended family Your friendships Your health Your spirituality Your finances Once you’ve identified which of those is draining the most of your energy, then it’s time to dig in a little deeper about what in particular is so draining about that particular area. For example:”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“Usually, there are one or two key culprits for energy drainage in our life, and when we figure out how to plug those up, all of the other areas of our life improve dramatically as well. The different areas of your life are not silos. They’re all interconnected, and as much as the patriarchal working world would have us compartmentalize everything and pretend that all the parts of our life don’t affect one another, they do. We’re integrated. We just are.”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“we want to see less of it—we tend to see more of that behavior. The same dynamic works in romantic relations and with co-workers too: praise what you love and you tend to get more of it. In fact, many proponents of the study of positive psychology talk about how our subconscious mind cannot understand the word don’t. So when interacting with others, it’s much more impactful to say what you want from someone rather than you don’t want. For example, while on a crowded street with a child, you could say, “Walk by my side so I can keep you safe,” rather than, “Don’t run ahead of me.” Putting our attention on what we want rather than what we don’t want is not only incredibly powerful from a manifesting and law of attraction standpoint, it’s also incredibly powerful when making requests of others in our lives.”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“honey than vinegar. This totally applies when asking for help.”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“Finally, I do my best to ask for help kindly. We all know that we’ll attract more bees with”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“kind of support offered, the latte your friend bought you at the coffee shop, the compliment from the woman on the elevator who liked your boots, the sweet gesture of the gentleman at the post office who held the door open for you, a really great hug from your kiddo, an important insight or lesson that occurred to you or was shared with you, and really anything else that feels relevant that you received. The sheer act of noticing the good coming your way makes space for more good to come your way. Finally, having a receiving mantra is a wonderful”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“One simple practice is to make a list of the things you received at the end of each day. It will take you about three minutes and is not a big deal but could have dramatic results. You could list out the help you received that day, any”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“lead or no one else will step up. Just see what happens if you practice leaning back just a little bit more than you usually might—literally leaning back with your body—to experiment with how that shifts the dynamic. You might be surprised by how your simple energetic shift invites other people to step up and do more than they might usually do. Finally, noticing the things you’re receiving on a daily basis is a wonderful way to increase your capacity to receive. Just like digesting our food in our stomach and intestines is a great way to create more space for nourishment to come in, acknowledging the things we’ve already received is a great way to create space to receive more.”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“graciously, it also doesn’t feel great to the compliment giver. Have you ever tried to give someone a gift who refused it? It’s really frustrating and feels like your love has no place to go. When you don’t have receptor sites for praise, you’ll also have trouble growing receptor sites for help or getting your needs met because receiving both of these things requires feeling like you deserve them.”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“And one of the best ways to increase your feelings of worthiness is to actually receive the good that’s coming your way. Through doing this, you prove to yourself that you actually deserve it (as opposed to when you deflect it, which sends your subconscious the affirmation that you are, in fact, not worthy). When I first started practicing being a better receiver, I tried literally changing my body language and leaning back instead of leaning forward all the time.”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“receive is to fully accept compliments. Deflecting compliments is a really insidious way of devaluing yourself, and it’s unfortunately common. The next time someone tells you how beautiful you look or what a great job you did during the presentation, simply smile and say, “Thank you!” Then remain silent. It will feel uncomfortable. Do it anyway. You’ll want to tell them how much weight you’ve gained or how cheap the dress was or how nervous you were during the presentation or how you forgot an entire section. But what those things communicate is: “Actually, you’re wrong. I don’t look beautiful and I didn’t do that well on the presentation and I don’t feel worthy of your attention right now.”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“Every day, your mantra is “I am allowing this day to be easy” and then you ask yourself the following questions: What can I do to make this day easier? What can I allow in this moment to make this day easier? What can I let go of?”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms

“Abraham-Hicks says that appreciation has an even more attractive vibration than gratitude because it’s purely about noticing what we like about what’s in front of us instead of gratitude, which is often about liking what’s in front of us as compared to what could be in front of us or what used to be in front of us. So, for today or the next few days, simply focus on appreciation. What can you find in your immediate environment right now that you can appreciate? For me, it’s the way the sun is reflecting off the sequins on a sweet throw pillow my girlfriend gave me that says hello on it. It looks magical in the afternoon light as I type this.”
― Kate Northrup, Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms