Guest Post // Being your Best

Today I'd like to introduce you to Sarah. She is working on a really inspiring way of life & is here to tell you all about it! Her blog is filled with weekly mantras & plain old awesome stuff. Below you'll find her current goals & how she's working towards them. Her advice for unwinding after work is amazing. Even after she breaks down her day, I don't know how she gets it done!

Hey there – this is a guest post by Sarah from Happy Go Lucky! I blog about DIY projects, Etsy lustings, Mantras and any other things that pop into my head.

Feel free to head over and say hello!

I am very honoured to be providing a guest post for the lovely Moe – I really enjoy guest posts and I find they really make me think – much more so than posting for my own blog in some ways. Every single word is poured over that little bit more, and the perfectionist in me LOVES that!

I have recently been taking part in a project called The 30 Day Reinvention Programme, run by Paige Lysight. It has been an interesting experience and I feel I have learned a lot of things about myself in a lot of different ways. A lot of what I have realised is that in fact I am on track to achieve my goals so far – and the work from the programme served to reinforce that. Some of the things I have learned have been surprisingly small but astonishingly effective and useful. (You can read more about my adventures with the programme here.)

I am keen to explore new ways to help me be my best and achieve the things I want to achieve. I started off my blogging journey and indeed my self improvement journey reading The Secret and trying to apply that mindset to my life. I’d say that this thirst to do more and achieve more has been a by-product of getting involved with these theories and of engaging with lots of projects over the past 4 years. Before that I was very much stuck in a rut and felt that nothing could be changed. Nothing would change. It feels much better to now know that I can change whatever I want. All I have to do is to want it, visualise it, work towards it and it will be mine. (Cue evil genius laugh here).

So – what are my main goals at the moment? Here they are in a nutshell:

• Keep training and get to my goal weight.
• Continue to work on and make a success of my blog and Etsy store.
• Make a success of my Debt-Free ASAP plan.
• Complete my novel “Snapshots of  Sophie” and submit it to agents.
• Crochet blankets for my house.
• Learn to produce digital art work on my new tablet.

I feel as though I am on track to achieve these goals. The top four are my core goals I think. The others are more projects/hobbies to keep my creative juices flowing!

So, what does a typical day in my life look like? How do I fit in all of this working towards goals around a full time job? I’m so glad you asked that – here’s a day in the life:

5:45am – Woken by gradually increasing light and sea sounds from my sunrise alarm clock (much less stressful than a traditional one - I’d recommend one if you haven’t tried them before!)

5:55am – Tony Horton’s Ten Minute Trainer. (Now this man is an evil genius).

6:15am – Shower and dress.

6:35am – Breakfast with MHI (My Handsome Irishman).

7:10am – Leave for work (with a nice big cup of coffee in the car). My journey to work takes roughly an hour, so I have done everything I can to make that time less stressful. I have a tape adaptor plus my MP3 player full to the brim with music, I have sunglasses to preserve my eyes, cereal bars in the glovebox in case I get hungry. I also drive to work via some lovely country roads with really quite special scenery. Every little thing helps when you’re driving such a distance.

8am-3:15pm – I work in a school, which is a pretty hectic way to make a living! If I get chance at lunch times or break I might check up on blogs or even squeeze in some extra writing but to be honest it’s pretty much full on throughout the day.

4:15pm – I arrive home. Cups of tea are drunk. Then I’ll make a start on either my blog post for that day, some writing on my novel (I really do squeeze that in wherever I can – I don’t have long stretches of time to do it in. I just fit in little bursts here and there), crocheting or crafting. At this point MHI is doing his P90X so I have the living room to myself. I also get something ready for our dinner. Usually lots of veggies and meat or a pasta bake. Something with some flavour and goodness.

6:30pm – Dinner has been eaten at this point and then I will go onto doing some of my favourite things. Reading blogs, checking out Pinterest, crocheting – whatever takes my fancy. I spent a lot of time last week in the evenings adding items to my Etsy Store. It really just depends on what is high on the agenda/to do list for that evening.

10pm – This is usually bedtime. I might read for a little (although sometimes my eyes are a little sore and I’m just not up to it).

And then we start again the next day!! So, that’s my day. Fairly full on but worth it I feel. I certainly would never have been able to get up extra early for a workout or carry on working on stuff when I got home four years ago. My self belief just wasn’t there and my energy levels were very low.

You might be forgiven for thinking that I would be totally stressed after all of this and wouldn’t be able to switch off at all. That when it comes to bedtime my brain is all whirry and I can’t possibly sleep. Here are my top tips for making the transition from work to relaxation (and of how to make your out of work activities into your relaxation):

1. Buy two different perfumes. I got mine from Next – lovely but not too expensive. Use one for work, and one for at home. When you first get them only spray your home perfume on when you are just about to get into bed. Do this for a bout a week. Then, when you have associated that smell in your brain with relaxation, spray some of your home perfume on as soon as you get in from work. You’ll be amazed at the feeling of relaxation this creates. After this point, everything I do seems relaxing. My brain is in relaxed mode.

2. Pick activities you love. I really wouldn’t do all of this if I didn’t enjoy it – if it was a chore. Look forward to doing them. See them as your reward. I also find having a nice cup of Earl Grey Tea on the go whilst I work on my blog/writing/crafting works wonders for my relaxation.

3. If you are having trouble sleeping at all – try these tips:

• Drinking Sleep Easy Tea (from Asda)
• Having a bath
• Spraying the bedroom with Avon Sleeptherapy room spray
• If all of those fail I will use a herbal sleeping tablet before bed.

Well, that’s all from me for today’s post. I think I have successfully talked your ear off. Many thanks to Moe for letting me take over her blog for a day – I have really enjoyed it. Don’t forget to check out Happy go Lucky if you would like to read more.

Also, I’d love to hear about your goals and how you achieve them. How do you make the transition from work to home? How do you make sure you are fully rested each day?

Take care people and have a great day wherever in the world you may be.

xo

Sarah
















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