I’ve been at home for 3 weeks now. I worked part-time at a bakery to help supplement my income from ETM. But we’ve closed temporarily and I’ve had a lot more time to focus on the business. And myself. So with all this extra time on my hands, I’ve been trying to tackle more goals than before.
But in the midst of trying to tackle an array of new things and mastering new skills, there was a lot going on. I decided to try to ease up on myself, to allow myself to fully be present in what I’m doing. So what I did was choose 5 goals to crush during my time at home. And you might be surprised that not all of them are what you would think.
Feel free to make any of these goals your own, or just use them as inspiration to do your own! The bottom line is to crush your own goals, no matter what they are!
1) Self-Care
Self-care, self-love, whatever you call it, it’s very important to me. I like to take time to pamper my skin, my hair, my body, my mind, just me in general. I may be a bit more extreme than you are personally, but that’s perfectly fine with me! Like I said, the point is to crush your own goals! So what do I do? I follow a (rather strict) self-care routine.
As I’ve said before, I thrive on routine, so it also makes me feel better mentally at the same time! For my body, I exercise for 30 minutes a day. It’s just dance cardio or some other form of home workout on YouTube, but for me, it works. For my mind, I do 2 things. One is reading – I love reading. It’s a great way for me to escape while also strengthening the strongest muscle in my body! The other thing is my gratitude journal (spoiler – I’ve also talked about this before!) It really allows me to see more of those positive things when I focus on them in the first place.
As for my skin and hair, I stick to a schedule. I use a hair mask once a week, as well as a hair vitamin once a week (the kind you apply, not chew.) Every other day I make sure to use a detangling spray before brushing it out. Easy (for me.) When it comes to my face, I use a wide array of products! I’m thinking about doing a stories series on IG just because of how big the variety is (it would honestly take me forever on here.) But no matter what product I’m using, I make sure to treat my skin every night!
2) Keep Connections Alive
My loved ones without a doubt keep me going. I have no idea where I’d be without them, and I am not kidding when I say that! I have been through a lot of hard times in my life (as with everyone) but they have made them seem a little easier to handle. So what can I do without being able to see them personally? A few things.
I can take the time to call them and check in, or even a simple text. I can take it a step further and video chat with them so I can still see their beautiful faces. But I can do more than that! I can make sure to answer their calls and texts and videos as I would in person. What does that mean? It means no distractions. No having them on speaker while I’m scrolling through social media. No trying to speed up the conversation because I’d rather be doing something else. Nothing that I wouldn’t be doing if I was having an actual conversation with them face-to-face.
What else can I do? Show up. Be there for them (no matter how small the task is) because they’ve always been there for me. I can deliver or mail a card or care package letting them know I’m here and I care. I can let them vent to me about the problems they’re currently facing because I know they would do the same for me. Or I can even do something as simple as giving them a boost of confidence or a dose of laughter when I can see they need it most. We may not be able to be with each other, but we can still be there for each other.
3) Learn New Recipes
I’m going to be outright honest – I’ve never been much of an experimenter. Ironically, neither has my fiancé. So we’re pretty accustomed to making the same comfort foods we’re used to except for the occasional ‘let’s shake things up’ moment. But during this pandemic, stores can be out of certain items depending on where and when you go. So I’ve decided to put my creative side in charge from time to time.
One of my goals is to learn new recipes. This idea was inspired by the fact that I loved my grandma’s cookbooks with her own tweaks written in when I was a kid. And I thought to myself how cool it would be to have my own collection of recipes acquired throughout the years! And what better time to start than now? It’s also super helpful that a lot of people are taking to cooking right now as well so there’s plenty of recipes to go around. My best friend just gave me a recipe for Dutch Baby Pancakes. Let me tell you, I’ve never tried these before but I’m dying to get a cast-iron skillet so I can try!
Another friend of mine just gave me a recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup – mmm! Here’s the cool part – parts I love about the recipes I keep and tweak the parts I don’t like to make a personalized version of them! Another inspiration is the mixer I got for Christmas that has made one recipe from scratch. That’s it! For being a sweets girl, it’s about time to get that baby out and go to town! Yes we’re still going to do our Taco Tuesdays every week, but now it can be more special when we pull out our cookbook and make a unique and special recipe together!
4) Be Present
This one goes a little hand-in-hand with some of the things I mentioned in goal 2. Being present means not allowing the little distractions of life get in the way. But it also has more to do with using this time (aka quarantine) to do things that truly bring me peace and happiness. For some people this might mean trying a new vegan diet that they’ve been wanting to try for years. For others this might look like mastering a new skill or finding a way to start that business you’ve always dreamed about. But for me, it looks a little different.
For me, being present means that every once in a while I can sit in my PJ’s and have a movie marathon without the guilt that I should be more productive. For me, being present means that I can still get overwhelmed and moody and irritable and it’s okay because even though I have free time at home that I should be thankful for, (and am) tension builds up and the stress of the unknown surrounds all of us and after all, I’m only human. Being present means that I can own the day like a boss or take some down time like a boss and either way, I’m okay with it!
Being present for me is more than yoga, meditation, and grounding myself. (Although those certainly are great ways to learn to be present!) It’s about having thoughts that I might not be happy with and learning to address them and work with them. Or it can be having thoughts that I don’t want to have and focusing and training my brain to turn it around. For me, being present is allowing myself to think, speak, and act in ways that I may worry others don’t like, but knowing that I am being true to myself always, and being okay with it no matter what!
5) Focus On The Positive
Okay, before you totally disregard this one, let me explain. I’m not saying I tune out the negative in the world. I stay informed. I know for a fact there is a lot of negative going on the world right now, coronavirus or not. What I am saying is that I choose to focus my attention and energy on the positive out there. (And yes there is still positive stuff going on in the world!)
I know that the number of cases continues to rise every day. I know that there are children who depended on the meals they got at school to survive. I’m aware of the businesses that are on the brink of closing and the families who are having to deal with the loss of a loved one. I’m aware of the first responders and the essential workers who are literally on the ‘battlefields’ every day. But I also know about the companies who are donating their unused supplies and food to those in need. I know about the people who are choosing to stay home (because they are able to) and saving countless lives in return.
I’m aware of the immuno-compromised children who would be helpless without the deliveries being made to their homes by essential workers. I’m aware that while the world hasn’t been so full of people, some parts of Mother Nature have begun to heal. And that is where I focus my attention. I don’t tune everything out. I am only trying to find the things to be grateful for, because as I’ve said, it allows me to see more of them.
Crush It!
So where are you at with all this? Are you spending this time with loved ones trying to stay safe and healthy (as you should be)? Spending this time helping millions of others with the work you choose to do (as you should be)? Doing with this time what feels most important to you no matter what it is (as you should be)? Because that’s all any of us can really do right now – spending our time doing what feels right to us and only us.
Share your feelings in the comments below! We’re a community here at ETM and I want to be here for all of you as you have been here for me! You never know what this time in history will bring! And if you’re looking for ways to stay calm and hang on to your sanity through all this, check out ETM’s blog here.
Thank you so very much for being a part of ETM’s community! I encourage you to join discussions, interact with Mommas and others alike, and be unapologetically yourself! Until next time, I hope I’m able to help make your life as simple as could be. (:
With all my love, Brandolyn Ewing – Earth to Momma
