Health Redesigned Blog

Welcome to this blog series on simplicity. Last week we talked about decision fatigue and all of the decisions that you have going on and the overwhelm that comes with it. This week we’re going to focus on mega-batching.

It’s a term that I learned about from Amy Porterfield about six months or a year ago. It’s the idea of taking activities and chunking them into bigger time blocks so that you can be more productive.

When I first heard about this concept, I was sceptical. I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to apply the concept. I started to dive deeper and did my own research. I like to find out things for myself, rather than to depend on someone else’s opinion.

The idea of multitasking is a misnomer. We are falsely misled that we can do multiple things at the same time and be more productive. In some ways there are things that we can do at the same time. For example, we can go for a walk and listen to a podcast. Technically this is multitasking.

...

This blog is the start of a new series that’s all about simplicity. That’s cutting things down and making life easier. This post specifically is going to focus on decision fatigue. Next week we’re going to move into mega-batching and how to consolidate activities. The following week is about the highest leverage tasks that you can do- you’ll want to do these first thing. Then, we’ll wrap up the series with how to Marie Kondo your business in four easy steps.

Let’s dive into decision fatigue. If you haven’t heard of this concept before it’s the idea that you have so many things going on in a day that you get burned out. You get completely overwhelmed by all of the small decisions that you need to make in a day. I don’t know about you, but I know there’s always a ton of things going on in my day. Between my business and my personal life, I have a lot on the go. The buzz-word is to be “busy.” When you ask how...

This past month we’ve been exploring the theme of fulfillment. The first post explored how fulfillment can be rooted in the passion of running your business. The second post talked about ways to find a sense of purpose outside of your business. Part three identified key areas of your life that may bring you more fulfillment. And finally, part four (today) will talk about how to feel fulfilled by creating more space or openness in your day.

As technology advances, it seems that our lives are getting busier. We feel pressure to be constantly connected and available at all times. We have thousands of online “friends” yet few meaningful connections. That mindset makes it hard to truly shut off at the end of the workday, let alone feel fulfilled. The go-go-go mentality is a recipe for burnout and leaves you with a feeling of emptiness. In an attempt to combat this rising concern, the UK appointed a Minister of Loneliness at the start of 2018. 

While we don’t...

In the previous post, we explored ways to find a sense of purpose outside of your business. This week will look deeper into the different areas of your life that can round out your sense of fulfillment. We’ll look at family time, community contribution and having a sense of spirituality.

I love a phrase that I learned in nursing school that says, “family is who you say it is.” We all come from different family backgrounds. Some of us come from loving families who we love to spend time with. Some of us come from dysfunctional situations that we’ve completely separated ourselves from. And everything in between. Regardless of what your biological family looks like, you still have a family.

That’s the people who love and support you unconditionally. They may not be blood. They are your family. Some of your personal fulfillment may come from contributing value to your family. Helping to raise children. Taking care of aging parents. Or being a mentor to a...

Last weeks post introduced the concept of fulfillment and how it can be deeply rooted for any business owner. This week, I’ll discuss some of the other ways you can bring fulfillment into your life.

One area that’s often overlooked, is the ability to set a reasonable perspective. After all, your business is your baby, right? You’ve raised it up from nothing. You’ve poured your heart and soul into it and you want it to flourish.

When you’ve invested that amount of emotional capital it’s hard to let it go. A business failure feels like an attack on your personal character. It’s important to understand that your lifeblood is not your business. Easier said than done, right?

Despite having the right skills or ability for the job, there could be many other factors at play. The business could have been launched during a bad economy. Or a competitor could have launched at a similar time. You may have a great business but it’s too early or too...

The theme for this month is fulfillment. I’ll cover this topic over a series of four blog posts. We will explore the impact of fulfillment on our lives and how it relates to business. The first post will talk about how fulfillment can be rooted in the passion of running your business. But what happens if or when that’s all taken away from you? The second post will discuss some of the other ways you can bring fulfillment into your life. In part three, I’ll identify other areas that may bring you more fulfillment. And finally, part four will talk about how to feel fulfilled by creating more space or openness in your day.

Fulfillment ties into one of the topics in my book, Healthy By Choice. In the chapter on mental health, I talk about the 5p’s that are critical to good mental health. They are people, pleasure, purpose, pauses and positive self-talk. Those five factors apply to every single person. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman. If...

We’ve lost another great one. This week was Anthony Bourdain. Proceeded by Kate Spade, Robin Williams, Kurt Cobain, Marilyn Monroe, and many others. Why does it take a traumatic event to spark action? It’s then that we speak out about mental health. That’s when we take action on the bigger issues that have been there all along.

Why don’t we have that passion or desire to change or to develop a plan before disaster strikes? Think of some of the bigger events that have happened in history. 9/11 or New Orleans flooding after hurricane Katrina. When those disasters struck – they were the biggest events that had ever happened in those areas. That was not the first time those first responders had to deal with crisis situations. It was not the first time that doctors in the hospital had to treat acute injuries. It was not the first time that 9-1-1 operators were overwhelmed with calls coming in. Those individual jobs had been performed previously. They had the...

Your body has a stress response system to help you deal with what life throws at you. It’s the fight or flight system that releases hormones to help you rest and digest food or run away from the lion that’s planning on making you his dinner. Your body can’t tell the difference between eustress- the good stress that you love or distress- the bad stress that has you strung out.

If you aren’t giving your body a break from stress, which is often the case, you may start to hit burnout. Symptoms include: anxiety, memory loss, behavioral changes, insomnia, headache, irritability, cravings, weight gain/loss, and fatigue. Sound familiar??? So how do you fix this picture? Read on!

Schedule social activities into your calendar

This helps give you a break from all that hard work you are doing and to maintain social connections! Schedule at least one event a week and make sure you do it.

Ration your willpower

You only have a finite amount of willpower in the day. Do your...