You are listening to the Overthinkers Guide to Joy, episode 32. This week is the
one where I'm going to talk all about how to set yourself up for having a great
day. Let's dive in. This is a podcast for overthinkers,
overdoers, and overachievers who are tired of feeling over anxious and just want to
feel better. I'm your host, certified life coach, Jackie de Crinis.
Hey there and welcome back. So this is going to be a super short episode today.
Something simple and hopefully helpful for anyone who woke up feeling like I did
today. Which was just exhausted and kind of lacking motivation to start my day or
my week. It was one of those days where I woke up and it took me a minute to
remember what day it was. I think I had hoped it was Sunday, but it was Monday.
And I couldn't remember when my first meeting was and what things was I supposed to
do yesterday that I didn't do. And what do I absolutely need to accomplish today?
And the thought occurred to me, what if I just stayed in bed and went back to
sleep? And I knew I was just minutes away from my dog barking to let me know he
was ready to go outside and have his breakfast. And then I remembered that I needed
to record a podcast today and I didn't get to it yesterday. And I was thinking
about all the calls I had to make and the bills I had to pay and the paperwork
that needs to be filed and the errands I have to run and the clients I had
already scheduled and all of it was just making me more tired. So as I pulled the
covers over my head, I played the fantasy of going back to sleep for maybe another
10 minutes. I didn't quite get 10. The truth is I had a really fun weekend. I
kind of overdid it on the tennis court a little. I'm super excited to be back
playing tennis. So I tend to not limit my hours on the court. And so I didn't
realize exactly how tired my body was going to be this morning. And then of course,
my brain is just lagging behind my body. So as I crawled out of bed and started
my morning routine, all I could think about was my endless to -do list. And I was
allowing the physical fatigue of the weekend and the mental fog, which is fatigue
also of the anticipation of my week, just stop me in my tracks. And I thought,
well, how can I be this overwhelmed before I've even started my day? And it
reminded me of a specific client who was talking to me last week, who's always
complaining that they have too many meetings and too much material to get through
every week. And when we broke it down, it turns out it's not really the volume of
material because the volume has always been there, but it's usually like one thing
that's nagging at us, one thing that we don't want to do or afraid to do, or it's
hard or it's tedious or boring, and it just needs to get done. And that's the
thing that tends to make us feel tired when we think about our monster to -do list.
That's the brain drain that's making everything else feel hard. And when we allow
this to dictate our energy and our emotions and our confidence, well, it kind of
colors the whole day or the week that's ahead of us. So how do we change that
energy? How do we set ourselves up for success when we either feel overwhelmed or
maybe we just don't even have any structure? So how do we set ourselves up for
success each day when we either feel overwhelmed by our to -do lists or maybe we
don't even have a to -do list and we feel lost in our lack of structure or
deadlines. Well, here is one of my favorite tricks. Set an intention for your day.
Get out a journal or piece of paper or write a memo on your phone or record a
memo on your phone. Write down what day of the week it is, the time, and set an
intention. What is one thing you want to accomplish today? Now,
this doesn't have to be the only thing you'll accomplish today, but it's the one
thing that's weighing heavy on you. And until you do it, start it, complete it,
or work on it, it will continue to drain your energy. And sometimes I'll put a few
things on my intention list. An intention list is different than a to -do list,
although there might be some crossover, but intentions have emotions behind them. Your
to -do list might be something like grocery shopping, buy a birthday gift, call your
mother, go to the post office, do the dishes, pay bills. But your intention list
might sound something like this. "Today I will be more present with my partner.
Today I will fuel my body with healthy foods. Today I will exercise for at least
15 minutes. Today I will write down my thoughts and feelings instead of letting them
spin in my brain. Today I will sit down and work on that challenging project for
30 minutes uninterrupted. Today I will help someone less fortunate in some way.
Today I will accept a compliment by simply saying thank you. Your to -do list,
Like I said, might overlap with your intention list. They are not mutually exclusive,
but setting an intention is like planting a seed. It's about creating a vibrational
outcome, one that makes you feel differently about yourself and differently about
someone else. It's the difference between doing, which can be very good and
satisfying, but it's about doing something mindfully Mindfully to change the energy
about yourself concept or the way you interact in the world Setting an intention can
be something you do every day You may have one intention or a list of intentions
your intentions may be modified daily or it might be something you specifically do
and Say that you're trying to cultivate. I Think of intentions almost of having a
virtue component. Identifying the emotional component behind the action is so much
more powerful in shaping your day. And as we all know, there's highs and lows in
every day. And there are days and weeks or even months where it feels like we can
just be going through the motions. When we add purpose or intention to our goals,
no matter how big or small they are, they take on a different energy. And it's not
always about changing the circumstance in our lives. Sometimes it's just about
changing the way we feel about the circumstances in our lives. This is the purpose
of setting an intention. So for example, on my to -do list today, right at the top
was record a new podcast episode. But when I set my intentions today,
it wasn't to just record a new episode and check it off my list. My intention
became, today I will record an episode in which I will help someone else who was
struggling with motivation or overwhelm. Now, as I always say, all of these tools,
I recommend as a practice. And the best way to practice something new is to keep
it simple. So identify an intention you want to set for today and start planning
your seeds for success for today and in the days ahead. As always, I thank you for
listening, have a great week and bye for now. Thank you for listening to this
episode of the Overthinker's Guide to Joy. If you're enjoying these episodes, please
subscribe or follow this podcast so you can always be in the know when the next
episode drops. If you would like to learn more about working with me as a coach,
you can connect with me through my website at jackiedecrinis.com. That's J -A -C -K -I
-E -D -E -C -R -I -N -I -S .com.
