5 Life lessons learned as a full-time traveling entrepreneur in 2022
This year was an adventure.
I started 2022 dancing in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. We spent the winter venturing through Italy–Trieste, Venice, Florence, and Rome. We went on to meet great friends in Porto, Portugal in February.
Took a trip to the US to visit family (and a short detour in Mexico) over the spring. Hopped back across the pond to spend the summer in Madeira, Portugal with said friends from Porto.
For the fall season, we checked out of the Schengen Zone and to Croatia where we visited Dubrovnik, Hvar, and Zagreb.
Now I’m writing this from Greece where we’ll be celebrating Christmas, and ringing in the first two months of 2023 in Cyprus.
This year I will have traveled to 11 countries, and I would say lived in (trips longer than a week) 5 countries.
All while running a successful online coaching business.
After taking a moment to pause and reflect on 2022, here are my life lessons learned this year. (In no particular order).
As well as how I’ll take each lesson ahead into the new year with me to continue growing and thriving.
Life lessons learned in 2022
This is the third time I’m doing a yearly recap, which means I’m approaching 3 years as a holistic time management coach this upcoming January! Woohoo!
As someone whose main passion in life is to just be more of herself, it’s really cool to be able to go back and read past life lessons. It’s amazing to see my healing and progress and say, “Yep! I’m still living and now teaching these lessons I learned two years ago.”
<<Read my life lessons learned in 2021 and 2020>>
Here’s to all of us becoming more of ourselves! 🥂✨
Life Lesson One: Get comfy with uncertainty.
As a digital nomad, I have no idea where I’ll live two months from now. As a business owner, I have no guarantee of a paycheck. When I first started traveling full-time back in July 2020, the uncertainty was absolutely terrifying. To the point of losing hair, tears, and many sleepless nights.
I wanted to be in as much control of my life as I feel like I could be. I wanted to feel at home within myself, no matter where in the world I was. Most importantly, I wanted to get out of my box and see the world. And all of those desires continued to outweigh my anxiety and worry, so I kept on.
It took about 2 years of traveling full-time to get to the place where I landed this summer: Comfortable with uncertainty. At one point, I had no idea where I was going to live the next week. I’ve learned how to be okay with not knowing where I’ll live or where my next client comes from.
I trust that no matter what, I can and will figure it out.
This is a huge, massive, ginormous life lesson that’s taken a lot to learn. However, the amount of peace that I live with is totally worth the effort. So with this, I plan to continue to travel in 2023, let the places I want to live call to me, run my business, and see what happens.
Though, if you’re like, “Yo, you went to an extreme for this life lesson…” you’re right. This leads me to lesson number two.
Life Lesson Two. Find the gray zone.
Black-or-white thinking sucks.
For example, hustle culture and anti-hustle culture. Hustle culture tells us we are worthy if we work all the time, feel exhausted, disregard needing breaks, and neglect our health. Anti-hustle culture says if we’re working hard, we’re doing it wrong. Success in business is somewhere in the messy middle.
Another example, oppressive society and culture tell us we have no agency over our time. Spiritual gurus gaslight us and tell us we have complete agency over our time. The agency we have is somewhere in the messy middle.
Want another? Rigidity versus openness. We’ve been taught time management, structure, and schedules need to be super rigid. Due to anti-hustle culture, many of us have tossed out all structure in the seek for freedom. Structure that truly benefits us is somewhere in the messy middle.
Everything we do and are as humans are in the messy middle ground. The balance between masculine and feminine or yin and yang. As I approach the new year, I want to use this life lesson learned to be even more creative with solutions to any frustration, new ideas, places to travel, and just life in general.
Life Lesson Three. I create my own time paradigm.
As I travel across time zones and cultures, I realize more than ever how deep the societal construct of time runs within us. From what time we should wake up, eat meals, work, and go to bed… it’s all made up. And vaguely changes depending on what country you’re in.
You could make your new year tomorrow if you wanted. Literally.
Of course, with a “normal” job and external constraints, the more you’ll live in society’s construct of time. However, over the last 2.5 years, I have been reclaiming more and more agency over my time (see lesson 2) by choosing how much I want to subscribe to society’s time construct.
The more I define and live within my own time construct, the more manageable my life feels.
So as of now, I’m taking this lesson learned by fully stepping into cyclical planning with my astrological chart. No more going back and forth between the moons and the gregorian calendar.
What this looks like is: I’ll be essentially letting go of months in the traditional sense and planning completely aligned with each new moon. My “new year” will be celebrated on July 23rd, the Leo (my ascendant) new moon.
I’m allowing things on a day-to-day level, and a macro level to take as much time as they want to take. I’m learning more about mother earth and indigenous wisdom.
Life Lesson Four. This shit really works.
As I enter my fourth year of developing holistic time management and coaching people, I am still astounded every time one of my clients creates literal magic.
From starting podcasts, writing books, making tons of money, starting businesses, traveling the world, managing teams more effectively, healing deep wounds, and creating trust and safety within. I’ve witnessed so many amazing humans accomplish deeply meaningful goals and finally be the person they want to be all because they teamed up with time.
Absolutely magical. ✨
Not to brag or anything, but on a personal note, I feel like everyone right about now (late Nov/early Dec) is t.i.r.e.d. where I’m feeling really energized and good. I’ve taken lots of breaks, short and long, throughout the year. I’ve imperfectly stayed balanced while focused on and aligned with my priorities.
I knew this before, but this year I feel like I finally understand it on a deeper, more holistic level with each day and with each person I get to work with.
With this life lesson, I plan to continue healing my own time misunderstandings and doing this deeply meaningful and important work of holistic time coaching.
Life Lesson Five. My home is inside of me.
In November this year, as I traveled on a Bus from Croatia to Bosnia, it finally hit me. There are buses, trees, roads, dogs, construction, and clouds everywhere on this planet.
The only thing that stays constant throughout is me. My heart. My mind. My body.
This life lesson may seem obvious, but it wasn't to me as someone who sought her worthiness and fulfillment through productivity and achievements. My happiness and peace were dependent on my external success and the approval of others.
If this year has taught me anything, what keeps me healthy and makes me successful is listening to myself, my joy, and my gut. Period.
I can leave places and situations that suck. I can speak up for myself. I can do what I need to do to feel safe.
It’s my job to build a strong home for myself, and protect it at all costs.
This is what holistic time management is all about, and I’m excited to see what the next 6 months bring as I now celebrate the new year in July!
What lessons did you learn in 2022?
I’d love to hear in the comments below or send me a DM on Instagram.
Is 2023 the year you get more intentional around your time?
Click here to learn how time coaching can help you thrive in the coming year.
A timeline of my life: Why I became a holistic time management coach
My ancestry and how I grew up deeply impacted me & my time.
The legacy my immigrant entrepreneur family left me wasn’t just a strong work ethic. In my family, there was also workaholism, alcoholism, and perfectionism.
My worth was so tied up in my achievements, in 2013, I finished a college term paper from my hospital bed, sick with a deadly intestinal infection (the same one that kills 30,000 Americans every year and would kill my Holocaust-surviving grandfather two years later) because under no condition could I settle for anything less than an A.
My illness and four miserable months of recovery didn’t cure me of my addiction to hustle and achievement.
After college, in 2017, I got a prestigious engineering job working for the US government, just like my grandparents.
But that time did open a crack in the matrix where a tiny, unexpected seed of another way could silently germinate beneath the ongoing chaos.
First I got into yoga, meditation, reiki, and other healing modalities, and then I started my own business teaching yoga.
I continued to go above and beyond for my work and my beloved to-do list and I said yes to everything that promised to maximize my efficiency.
I passed on hanging out with my friends.
I got annoyed with my husband when he tried to hug me because I needed to get shit done.
I injured myself doing yoga trying to relax.
If only I could be more efficient, I thought, I could catch up with everything I had to do, and THEN I could breathe and enjoy some time off. Right…?
Except I was unhealthy and unhappy and I knew what I was doing wasn’t working.
That seed of awareness had germinated, taken root, and was beginning to sprout.
Me hustling for time off was like that bombing for peace saying. It just wasn’t possible.
There was never going to be space for that new life, for the how of making real, lasting change until I let go of what was draining the life out of me.
One day at a time, over the course of years, I healed what fed the hustle and feelings of unworthiness.
I simplified my life and business and gave that sprout what it needed to grow. And grow. And grow…
It took time but my priorities slowly shifted away from proving my worth by some toxic, external definition of success to an internal one of a simple, authentic human experience.
From a tiny seed in a tiny crack, real change began and ultimately led to my work as a Holistic Time Coach and Educator in 2020.
Time is the most precious resource we have. Capitalism and other oppressive systems exploit all of our time and lives in unequal ways.
Traditional time hacks and management systems are built to work with these systems. They are not the cure for our real time-related problems because they’re not designed to help us lead a more fulfilling, more human life.
They’re designed to make us a more productive commodity in the labor force.
Healing individual and collective time wounds is cultural and intergenerational healing.
I'm still on my journey, peeling back the layers of overdoing in order to reclaim the agency I do have over my time and life within the systems we live in.
My thoughts to those of you who’ve cracked open the matrix but don’t yet know the how?
Breathe.
Continue to breathe space into that crack, even when you feel like you should be doing something “more.”
Know that you are worthy not only of your goals, but also of your dreams and the boundaries, priorities, and self-care that will help you realize them.
Then exhale.
Release the hustle, chaos, and control.
Let go of toxic productivity and achievement-based worth that’s been force-fed to us our entire lives.
Working with me is not just about managing time better (though we definitely declutter your calendar and get realistic about your capacity).
It’s about real change.
And real change requires more than a crack in the matrix, more than quick-fix hacks and bandaid tools on deeper wounds.
This is about believing you, just as you are, are worthy of a life well lived, whatever that looks like to you.
All of the clarity, skills, and steps required to create the fulfilling life you desire emerge from here.
If you’re ready to get real about your calendar and your healing, let’s revolutionize your relationship with time and yourself so the life you want–and deserve!–can flourish.
Learn more about working with me.
Time management coaches are more important now than ever before: Here’s why
Life is beautiful and fragile.
Being human is amazing and challenging.
Staying true to ourselves is essential for living each of our one lifetimes with the most fulfillment, happiness, and health.
It's easier than ever before in our world to become consumed by all of our to-do lists, distracted by what other people are doing, and lose touch with ourselves.
A holistic time management coach is someone you can hire to make your life so much easier by supporting you with making time for, staying focused on, and being present with the things that matter most to you.
If you’ve been wondering what you can do to make more of your time and life, continue reading to find out why a time management coach is more important than ever before.
Time management coaches: An antidote to the state of the world
We’ve been living in an increasingly demanding and uncertain world that moves and evolves faster every single day.
American psychiatrist Edward Hallowell goes so far as to say, ‘Never in human history have our brains had to work with so much information as they do today… We have a generation of people who are so busy processing the information received from all directions that they are losing the ability to think and feel.’
Our societies are fighting against a global pandemic, the attention economy, burnout, overworking, addiction, individual and collective trauma, and so much more.
54% Gen Xers are burned out, whereas 68% of working moms are burned out (source).
As a result of the pandemic, it appears to me that we are collectively rethinking many things… one of which is the way we work and live.
I believe that’s why 47.4 million people have voluntarily left their jobs for better work (CNBC).
We are after more flexible working conditions, better wages, and a better quality of life overall.
More than ever, we have tuned into the fact that we have this one human life to make the most of.
And I don’t know about you, but I want an extraordinary one full of connection, purpose, impact, and meaning.
A time management coach is here to partner up with you to make the most out of your life.
Not your average time management coach
When the majority of people think about time management, being a productive superhuman at work and sometimes, at home, comes to mind.
I get tired just thinking about the way I used to think about time management.
However, here at The Holistic Time Coach, we’re about shifting our perception around time management.
Time is the fabric of life, and our humanness.
Time is the medium for meeting our needs.
Consciously choosing to spend our time is the most important thing we can ever do.
Time management, the kind that’s not just about being more productive at work, is about being a good steward of our life force.
Collaborating with time allows us to do all the things that are deeply meaningful to us and be the person we want to be.
The extraordinary life we crave goes from a distant wish to a real possibility.
Saying goodbye to getting consumed by all the to-do’s, distracted by what other people are doing, and losing touch with ourselves becomes possible too.
A holistic time management coach is someone you can hire to make your life so much easier by supporting you with making time for, staying focused on, and being present with the things that matter most to you.
How does a time management coach actually do that?
As a holistic time management coach, my role has 3 main elements. In order for someone to create and experience an extraordinary life on their terms, I assist someone in:
Playing in the possibilities to identify how and where they truly want to spend their time.
Discovering the unique skills and tools they need in order to spend their time how they want.
Integrating those skills until they become second nature with gentle support and accountability.
Want more details on what I actually do as a holistic time management coach? Click here.
Have you thought about what’s possible for you if you were able to stay focused on what matters most? If you were able to spend the majority of your time doing the things you want to do?
Let me know in the comments below!
Curious about what was possible for the folks I’ve worked with?
Click here to read from the amazing humans, entrepreneurs, and professionals I’ve worked with have said about working with me.
Themed Days: A surprisingly powerful way to make time to create
If you’re here, you’ve most likely got big dreams, a big heart, and somehow… never enough time to create the things you want to create.
Whether it’s writing, art, bringing new offerings into the world, or anything else that brings you joy.
Now if you’re a creative soul, traditional time management advice isn’t usually your cup of tea. For good reason, most of it feels shame-y and icky.
However, when used in a curious and compassionate way, I’ve seen the most anti-structure folks find a way forward that works for them and helps them do the things they’ve been trying to do for years.
If you’ve been struggling with never having enough time to create, themed days are here to help you make the most of your day.
Keep reading to learn more.
Why is finding creative time such a challenge?
Bills! Survival Mode! Valuing working/doing over creating! Self-sabotage! Limited capacity! Feeling undeserving of creative time! Etc! Etc! Etc!
There are so many reasons why finding time to create such a challenge, and so many things fighting for our precious time and energy. Know you’re not alone in this.
If you wear tons of different hats, finding a way to collaborate with time is extremely important. And themed days are a surprisingly powerful way to heal what might be keeping you from creating and finally, create.
Who might benefit the most from using themed days?
If you…
Never have enough time to create/make things for any reason. Often because you seem to always do other things.
Struggle with the “time is up” phenomenon (you feel inspired one day and would like to spend more time on something. Yet the schedule you’d made tells you that time is up and you need to move to your next time slot. UGH, the worst!)
Want to be more space + flowy + intuitive with your scheduling. Click here to read about why intuition is so important when it comes to your schedule.
Want to make easier or faster progress on a project you care about.
Find yourself multi-tasking or getting distracted more than you’d like to.
Struggling with being consistent and/or self-disciplined.
Resonate with any of these? Then themed days might be a good next thing to experiment with!
What are themed days?
As defined by Leonard Alexandru, themed days are about “Having each day of the week (or the work-week) dedicated to a certain topic or project.”
Blaz Kos shares, “Themed days are strategically planned days in your calendar which are completely dedicated to one single thing.”
I wanted to share both of those definitions as they might be helpful for your understanding. However, I’m a rebellious, creative, spiritual soul language is really important to me. How things are said makes a huge difference in being able to buy into and effectively use tools and strategies.
That being said, I would define themed days as, “Regular scared containers of time dedicated to deeply important things.”
Is language important to you too? Do you have a different definition? I’d love to hear it in the comments below.
How to create themed days that feel good to you
Identify the things that are deeply important to you (see definition of themed days above).
Open your calendar or the thing you use to visualize your time. See what time you have or can make available.*
If you don’t have something, pick someplace you’re going to use to visualize your time (I use my google calendar for everything!)
Pick a set amount of time (half-day, day, etc.) that you can turn into a sacred container.
Pair the important things with the sacred container, and that’s your theme!
After you’ve set up a themed day, you can get more granular and turn that time into smaller blocks of time connected to specific things you’d like to do.
Ask yourself what you need to have in place or do to commit to your sacred container.
This can range from communicating boundaries with others, changing your availability in your scheduling system, or sitting with it until the theme feels right to you.
These steps might feel simple, but they are profound when integrated. When themed days are properly set up, following them feels natural and 10x easier to do.
*A solid foundation for themed days is knowing your capacity, availability, and responsibilities and having a home for them. Again, I use a weekly schedule template in my google calendar to holistically capture all of this.
How I’ve historically used themed days in my life
When I was starting out with my business, I was also an engineer working 5 days a week. I themed out 3 hours each day of the week for all of the things I needed to do to grow my business.
Monday’s were CEO days (planning, reviewing, mindset, strategy).
Tuesdays were building days (develop offerings).
Wednesdays were writing content days.
Thursdays were grow days (networking, talking to people, etc.)
Fridays were bonus days to do anything I didn’t get to.
Now, my themed days have simplified a bit and have gotten more intuitive:
Monday’s are to create whatever I want to create.
Tuesday - Thursday are call-focused days (clients, networking, podcasting, etc.)
The rest of my time is off/unscheduled.
Watch out for these common themed day pitfalls
1. Automatically assuming themed days won’t work for you.
Of course, never try to force things on you if they don’t feel right. However, when we immediately think about why something won’t work for us, we won’t see what parts might work for us. Ultimately this keeps up stuck.
2. Not experimenting with your themes until you find what feels good.
Themes (aka what’s most important to us) are always evolving and changing. Try not to expect them to perfectly work at first, or forever.
3. Not being flexible in real-time.
Things come up in life and they change things. This is expected, and it doesn’t mean you or your themed days suck. You are completely in control of your themes, sacred containers, and time.
4. Overdoing it.
It can be really easy to overdo planning in an attempt to feel safe and keep uncertainty at bay. If you create many different themed days before integrating even one, it will most likely feel overwhelming and you’ll want to scrap it all.
Give yourself permission to get creative with time strategies!
Themed days are one of those things that can be used rigidly, ineffectively, and shame-y. They can also be used in a powerful, creative, and spiritual way.
When themed days are used with curiosity and compassion, I’ve seen even the most anti-structure folks find a way forward that works for them and helps them do the things they’ve been trying to do for years. You can too!
Want to set up themed days that’ll WORK (no messin’ around)? Read more about my Sustainable Schedule VIP Day.
Calendly Free Plan: How to set availability that respects your boundaries
When you are starting or growing a service-based business people need to book a session with you.
If you don't have a scheduling system set up, you need one ASAP. (See below to be convinced!)
More importantly than just having an appointment scheduler, knowing how much and when to work is huge!
Your availability is key to sustainably and successfully running and growing your business without burning out.
Imagine how much easier your life would be if you knew exactly how many hours you could take calls and could simply send people a link to book a call that works for them.
That’s why free appointment schedulers, like Calendly, were created.
In this blog, I'm going to step you through how to set your availability that respects your boundaries allowing you to run your business with more ease AND energy.
Why using a free appointment scheduler (Like Calendly) is so amazing?
When you use the Calendly free plan, you no longer have to go back and forth with folks on finding a time that works for both of you. It automatically converts time zones for both of you. Events will automatically be put into your calendar and send reminders to the person who’s signed up.
If you want to take all the decisions and guesswork out of this super-important piece of your business, saving your time and energy for the call itself, set up a free appointment scheduler ASAP.
A Calendly free plan is here to help you simplify and stay true to your boundaries. If you’re still on the fence about Calendly, Calendar.com has this really amazing and comprehensive guide and tutorial.
Once you’ve set up your free plan account (if you didn’t have it already), it’s time to dig into the real topic here. Your availability!
Why knowing your availability is so important
Your availability is a resource to protect and be a good steward of. Knowing when you work and being able to easily communicate your availability is so important. It allows you to…
Show up confident and on top of things with clients, partners, networking calls, and anyone else you might meet up with.
Allows you to join in other events and continuing education programs, knowing you can actually do it without stress and overwhelm.
Know and utilize other days in the week to rest and work on your business.
Show up for the calls you do have more energized and present… usually leading to better transformation, connection, and success for both parties.
Avoid scheduling conflicts.
Determine your pricing for your offers more effectively and realistically.
In summary, it allows you to sustainably and successfully run and grow your business without burning out.
Speaking of, burnout. Check out this major burnout red flag!
Don’t let this be you! (If this is you, no shame. I’ve been there, and I think everyone has at some point. I got you. Keep reading)
What goes into determining your availability?
So many things. Your availability is essentially the same as determining your capacity. If success, sustainability, and enjoying your life are important to you… it’s a non-negotiable to take into account these things below:
How many hours you WANT to work
Your hourly rate (directly calculated from hours you want to work)
Physical health: How much physical energy you typically have and how much energy calls take.
Mental health: How much mental energy you have and how much calls take.
External circumstances like kids, a partner, and other responsibilities.
Time zones for both you and your clientele.
Holidays/special days off/etc.
Once you have all this information laid out for you, you can determine your availability.
I’m a super visual person so before adding anything to Calendly, I like to set it up in my google calendar. I use a holistic and custom-made weekly template to show my availability.
Now set your availability in Calendly!
Log in (Sign up if you haven’t used it before)
Toggle over to availability. Make sure you have one availability called “working hours” and all your events are linked to it.
Add in your availability (I like to see it in list view.)
Double-check that your events use your working hours.
BONUS: In your events, you can add buffers to events so you won’t have back-to-back calls to recoup your energy and take a short break.
Don’t forget to keep your availability up to date when circumstances change in your life.
And that’s all you need to do to set up your availability in Calendly!
Did you know I can support you in holistically determining your availability for sustainable success?
Click here to read more about and book a Sustainable Schedule VIP Day.
3 Reasons why I no longer create quarter plans like I used to
How many times have you had so much you wanted to do, felt like you had to do it all immediately, and so just added it all to your plan?
Or have you ever made a plan, only to have life turn it upside down, leaving you lost and confused?
Yep, me too!
That’s one of the reasons I fell in love with quarterly planning.
I was tired of spinning my wheels trying to make progress towards my goals that seemed just out of reach.
If only I could find a way to focus, follow through, and control all of life’s curveballs.
That way was quarterly planning for me, circa 2018.
Now 4 years later, it’s time to share why I’m not planning in the same way anymore. Keep reading to find out!
What is quarterly planning?
If you aren’t familiar with quarterly planning, that’s ok! Quarterly planning simply asks you to think about and plan three months at a time, rather than a whole year or more.
When you break your year down into four pieces, it’s a lot easier to prioritize projects allowing you to stay flexible, focused, and more easily make progress.
What role did a quarterly plan play in my success?
When I first read 12 Week Year by Brian Moran in 2017, I was blown away.
At that time in my life, I was working an engineering job full time, teaching yoga part-time, planning my own wedding, and starting my own online yoga business. Just writing that out exhausts me.
I quite frankly had too much I wanted to do, and I felt like I had to do it all yesterday.
Quarterly planning allowed me to list out everything I wanted to do, and then attempt to prioritize.
Don’t be fooled, I continued to start every quarter with more than the recommended amount of priorities.
While I continued to do more than I realistically could, I was making progress faster because I was saying no to some things.
Looking back, quarterly planning helped me start to learn how to focus my time on the things that would actually move the needle.
Instead of buying course after course, I filled my time with what would actually grow my business: consult calls, coaching sessions, and networking.
Quarter planning was a major tool that created the momentum I needed to quit my 9-5, become a digital nomad, devote time to my relationships and my personal growth, and just live my life!
Then, once I started The Holistic time Coach, I was also able to put my own spin on quarterly planning and teach it to others.
Long story short: Quarterly planning, more specifically the often impossible skill of prioritizing played a major role in my success.
However, now 4 years after implementing quarterly planning in my life and business, I don’t need it in the same ways.
Whether you’re currently where I used to be and really need to prioritize better or you got that down and you’re trying to figure out what’s next, here are some of my thoughts:
Why I don’t create quarter plans like I used to
I deeply know my capacity, limits, and boundaries now
As I mentioned above, quarterly planning helped me put less on my plate than I naturally would have.
I now know tangibly how much I can put on my plate before I disturb my physical, mental, emotional, and/or spiritual health (my definition of capacity).
I don’t limit myself to 3 priorities, and I don’t need 3 priorities every quarter. I tune into myself and create a quarter plan that honors me instead of following someone else’s guidelines.
I also now generally put wayyy less on my plate. I look at projects and goals with a more realistic lens. I know what to say no to and have the skills to do that. And that’s helped me be more effective and live more authentically.
I trust myself more to (actually) follow my plans
I used to make a quarter plan that was a super detailed broken down action plan every month and every week. I also had a tracker to score and grade myself. (BLEGH!)
What ended up happening? I would never actually follow to detailed plans I would spend days creating, and never actually tracked my actions. It was too much for someone with already too much on their plate.
Looking back, I realize I didn’t really trust myself. I thought I had to do #allthethings in order to achieve my goals, so I could finally be happy. And more so, deeper down I really didn’t believe I could follow through, and so I proved myself right every quarter.
Until something clicked (more self-trust was the answer), I continued to make strict, rigid, detailed plans set up to fail me.
I can now trust that when I say I’ll do something, I’ll actually do it. I keep my word to myself, and follow through with the things that are deeply meaningful to me.
This has made my quarter plans more relaxed, open, flow-ey, and spacious helping me feel that through the day-to-day.
I simplified my life
I no longer have a job to balance while building my business. I’m able to focus on just me and my business… because I focused, made the most of my time, and took action.
I simplified my life in so many ways. I no longer have all these habits and external goals I’m constantly striving towards. Deep down in my heart, I feel more complete and content than I ever have.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still constantly growing and healing. But there is a difference between that and setting a ton of goals and believing I’ll be happier once I achieve all of them.
I know it sounds cheesy, but I genuinely go with the flow and am open to whatever opportunities the universe presents to me. And lucky for me, I have the space and time to listen! My quarterly planning reflect these beliefs.
Where to go from here?
If you’re reading this, you might be thinking to yourself, “now what?” The beautiful thing about that is you get to decide!
If you have a ton on your plate, and you don’t want to feel stressed and overwhelmed all the time anymore, quarterly planning can really help you.
I invite you to check out my holistic quarterly planning worksheet.
If figuring out what a life of knowing yourself better, trusting yourself more, and enjoying a slow, peaceful yet ambitious life is important to you, learn more about working with me one-on-one.
I’d love to hear more about what you’re going through and if I can support you in discovering a new way of moving through the world.
Don't know how to slow down and enjoy life more? Here's how she did it.
At a point in your life where you’re trying to slow down and enjoy life more yet don’t exactly know where to go from here?
You know a lot of the systems you’ve been using and the old ways of thinking about time and productivity aren’t serving you anymore and you’re not sure what else things could look like?
You’re not alone.
The pandemic has made quite a lot of people
Rethink what they’re doing with their lives
How they spend their time, and
Finally, realize they have needs and desires…like slowing down… they need to listen to.
Learn about how Kasia slowed down and the massive impact it had on her business, relationships, and health.
Tell us who you are and what you do.
Hi! I’m Kasia, a specialist in the field of menstrual cycle disorders, and a graduate of pharmacy and clinical nutritionist at Wiecej Niz Hormony.
Why did you want to work with me?
I was at a point in my life where I was slowing down, and I knew a lot of things I used to do didn’t work for me.
My systems didn’t work because I was trying to fit myself into them, instead of the opposite.
I didn’t know how to create my own flexible structure.
What doubts did you have before working together?
I was trying to figure out if I really needed this or if it was just a whim.
I was worried that I would place all of my future hopes in it, and I didn’t want to do that to myself again.
Of course, financially I wasn’t sure if it was the best time or if it wasn’t worth it…. BUT it was one of the best decisions of my life.
What has been your favorite part so far?
Every part!
I am in the center, and I am able to make decisions for myself. There are no shoulds and pressure.
The space you created for me is so calming and loving.
You ask me so many questions… permission to tell you something, what our next steps are.
I feel taken care of!
What would you say was the biggest thing that changed for you?
I let go of all the shoulds and musts and prioritize myself. Even though it sounds so simple and everyone talks about that, I didn’t do it because I thought there are still things I should do, rules to follow in order to be successful in my life and business. I now put myself first when it comes to my schedule and to-do lists.
My business grew and I earn more money.
I finally know so much more about myself and my needs.
I decluttered my life from so many things that don’t serve me.
I’m so much more in tune with myself, respect myself more, my time more.
My google calendar doesn’t scare me anymore, finally!
…and so much more. I could talk about this forever.
Who would you recommend me to work with?
People who are struggling with finding the perfect time management system.
People who want to live more in tune with themselves, want to discover their values, and want to live a peaceful joyful life.
Any last thoughts?
It was one of the best investments of my life working with you.
It completely transformed my life in a way I couldn’t even believe was possible.
Want earning more money while feeling in tune with yourself to be way less stressful and painful? Apply to work with me here.
How to manage your time better using your astrological chart
Have trouble identifying your purpose in life?
Maybe you don't feel all that fulfilled at the end of the day.
Unsure of how to best use your time and energy?
Perhaps you simply want to use your time in a more confident, productive, and joyful way than you already do.
No matter where you are right now… integrating your astrological chart into your schedule, time, and life might be the tool that helps you welcome in the next phase of your life and business.
Read below to discover how to use your chart to be more effective as you work towards your goals AND human.
Co-contributor: Alison Brownell
Let’s learn a little about Astrology
Astrology is the study of how planets and stars influence us.
Everyone has an astrological chart based on the month, day, year, time, and location they were born.
When everyday normal people think about Astrology, they’re often thinking about their Sun sign. Meaning the zodiac sign the Sun was in when they were born.
Thanks to the popularization of astro columns in newspapers in the early 1900s, and the fact that the Sun is straightforward to track because it's in the same place at the same time every year.
However, there are more planets than just the Sun in the sky. Each planet has its own archetype. There are also 12 signs, each representing a key part of life, from health to money to relationships and everything in between.
Where each planet is in the sky on your birth date, is the zodiac sign it’s in.
Our charts tell us so much more than just you’re a Virgo or Capricorn (aka where the Sun was when they were born.)
(If you've ever looked at your zodiac sign and felt disconnected from it, that might be why.)
When you put your birth information into this free chart calculator, you’ll see a complicated-looking circled chart. It’s a list of all the planets and where they were at the time you were born.
Where to look in your chart in terms of managing your time better?
There are two main places in your chart…
Saturn
If you ask yourself: How do I create a life where I feel accomplished and fulfilled? Well, Saturn is the place to look! He's so important in our charts, and yet still gets a bad rap.
Saturn is like that really difficult teacher you had all year, but once you finally graduated, you felt accomplished for making it through.
He's the dude that wants to make sure you’re on the right path – that you're spending your time wisely and doing the things that will help you grow.
Saturn will ask you if you want to spend time on the things you are doing on a macro scale. For example, am I working the right job? Am I studying the right subjects? Am I pursuing the right goals for me?
He’ll also guide you on a micro-scale. For example, Did I take good enough care of myself today? Did I spend time on the things that bring me joy?
Some helpful examples:
If your Saturn is in Pisces, it’s preferable to live and/or work in solitude and in contemplation. Being a remote worker at home? Heck yeah!
People with Saturn in Gemini's strengths include preciseness, accuracy, and logical thinking. They make an excellent teacher or guides.
For Saturn in Cancer, they’d be well suited for businesses related to real estate, home, family, and nurture.
When it comes to managing your time, what you choose to fill it with it’s the most foundational piece and extremely important.
Saturn will tell you (probably, over and over again) what to focus your precious time, energy, and life on depending on what astrological sign he’s in when you were born.
If you want to learn what to best focus your time and energy on, look to Saturn. I recommend you use this free Astrology website to get a breakdown of your Saturn.
Mars
Aside from Saturn, the other most important place to look at, in your chart, is Mars. In Astrology, Mars is associated with confrontation, energy, strength, ambition, and impulsiveness.
Mars is the planet of energy and action, it dictates how you take action. Where to place your time and energy is your Saturn, how to use them is Mars.
It's important to understand your unique rhythms and patterns in order to make the most of your time.
More helpful examples:
If Mars is in Libra… that’s the energy of partnership. So to be able to collaborate with people to get things done is an important piece of your process. Also having a balanced way of looking at projects is key.
Mars in Capricorn, your ambition is strong. This might look like someone who needs to set up their schedule and time around feeling accomplished. They also might tend to work late or on weekends because they’re so driven. (Watch for burnout here!)
Mars in Sagittarius needs to have freedom and doesn't necessarily like to be told how things are done. When it comes to traditional time management, time blocking might feel super restrictive for these people.
How to apply your unique Saturn and Mars to your schedule?
Look up your Saturn. What sign was Saturn in when you were born?
Look up your Mars. What sign was Mars in when you were born?
Write down the things about each planet’s sign that resonate with you.
Take Saturn’s sign and think about it in terms of your goals and how you spend your time on a macro and micro level.
Take Mars’s sign and think about it in terms of your rhythms, energy, scheduling, and how you take action.
Want to build a schedule that’s sustainable, unique to you, and in alignment with your astrological chart?
Book a sustainable Schedule VIP day to get organized and be more efficient with your time (while still being human!) now.
About the co-contributor:
Alison Brownell has been studying astrology and reading charts for nearly fifteen years. Combining this information with coaching and communication skills honed as a former college counselor, Alison is able to help you connect to your highest self in a way that feels mystical yet practical, and always empowering.
3 Ways generational trauma impacts your ability to be your own boss
I’ve noticed as of late, we are having a more open dialogue about the impact of childhood traumas.
We may find it easy to notice how our trauma shows up in our relationships, but what about how it may show up in our work environments and career choices?
Specifically with wanting to be our own boss.
It’s easy to want to go off on your own when you are sick and tired of other people telling you what to do.
What happens when you take the leap and become your own boss?
Unresolved trauma can prevent you from getting what you truly want–freedom, flexibility, and success.
Whether you’re in the beginning stages of entrepreneurship or have already taken the plunge, it’s so important to be mindful of past traumas.
In this blog, you’ll discover what generational trauma is and list 3 ways that old childhood trauma may show up in your ability to be your own boss.
Written by: Susan Abdel-Haq, LMFT
What is generational trauma?
Trauma is a term that we are starting to have more and more conversations about. Gone are the days when we contextualized “trauma” as being just “ an emotional response to a terrible event.
The reality is that trauma doesn’t just exist as isolated and single incidents.
According to GoodTherapy.org, “Intergenerational trauma (sometimes referred to as trans- or multigenerational trauma) is defined as trauma that gets passed down from those who directly experience an incident to subsequent generations.
Intergenerational trauma may begin with a traumatic event affecting an individual, traumatic events affecting multiple family members, or collective trauma affecting larger community, cultural, racial, ethnic, or other groups/populations (historical trauma).”
This can largely show up in how we were disciplined, raised, and even the messages that we get growing up that shape our core beliefs about ourselves and others.
These patterns are sometimes overt but oftentimes they are more unconscious and require more self-reflection.
How childhood trauma affects your success
Taking patterns from old work environments
Are you…
Valuing the product and services you provide (Aka charging what you are worth)?
Creating a traditional 8 am to 5 pm schedule that previously burned you out?
Holding on to this belief that in order to “make it”, you have to be working 24/7 and answering emails past the work time that you want?
Unfortunately, a lot of work environments may also be reinforcing old beliefs that are no longer helpful such as “You aren’t doing enough”, “You don’t get a say”, or even that your value is solely based on what you “produce”.
It can be easy to repeat old toxic work patterns, but you get to break away from all of that.
You get to create a schedule that you want!
YOU are your own boss now and get to create an income and lifestyle that works for you.
Check back in with the reasons why you left your old position to be your own boss. Are you repeating them?
If your current work setup feels all too familiar, then it could be a sign to make some changes.
Self-Limiting Beliefs
Limiting beliefs about yourself and what you are capable of achieving are often common for folks who have generational trauma.
Examples are:
“That probably won’t work for me”
“No one would pay me for that”
“I could never have what that person has”
When you come from a household where there is trauma such as neglect, emotional abuse, or dysfunctional modeled behavior, it can be extremely hard to release old narratives.
A way to break these patterns is to first start to notice when you are having these self-limiting beliefs then remind yourself why you want to become your own boss in the first place.
Is it to leave a greater impact? Triple your income? Work less? Meet more people?
Embrace the new narrative!
Boundaries (or lack thereof)
Most folks would agree that boundaries are important. However, boundaries are harder to set and enforce when they weren’t healthily modeled in your childhood.
When there has been trauma, people tend to steer in one direction (either being more rigid with no room for flexibility or being too loose and not feeling in control).
There is also often doubt when it comes to your overall judgment and follow-through of boundaries.
Take a moment to really think about what your limits are. Consider things like:
What drains me of my energy?
How many hours do I want to work?
What times do I want to be available?
When/how do I want to respond to inquiries/clients?
Don’t worry if you don’t have it all figured out.
Remember that boundaries evolve over time and give you many opportunities to trial and error certain things.
How to achieve what you really want: Be a good boss to yourself
When you treat yourself well, that’s when you achieve fulfillment, be more productive, and experience more energy.
Imagine how much easier it’ll be to achieve your goals.
However, if you’re struggling with making the most of your time, generational trauma might be impacting you.
As with anything, you can’t change what you can’t see.
That’s why having these 3 ways childhood trauma impacts your ability to be your own boss in your awareness is so beneficial.
The process to becoming your own boss isn’t easy and requires a lot of internal work. However, there is a strength that comes from surviving trauma and that same strength will ultimately lead you to success!
Always remind yourself that being your own boss takes so much courage and vulnerability.
And when in doubt, always go back to why you started your own business, make sure your needs come first, and reach out for support from trusted therapist or coach.
Want to feel confident, in control, and at peace with your time? Click here to get free + supportive resources!
About the contributor
Susan Abdel-Haq, LMFT is a trauma informed licensed psychotherapist practicing in California. Susan is trained in both EMDR and Brainspotting and enjoys integrating other modalities in her clinical work. She is passionate about holding space for people to work through the hard stuff and tap into their strengths. Susan specializes in working with folks who are struggling with relational trauma, Narcissistic abuse recovery, toxic family of origin work, people-pleasing, substance-use disorders, anxiety, and exploring aspects of their cultural identity to work towards healing.
Franco, D. F. (2021, January 7). Understanding intergenerational trauma: An introduction for clinicians. GoodTherapy.org Therapy Blog. Retrieved June 10, 2022, from https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/Understanding_Intergenerational_Trauma
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