"I’m not living the life I want because I have no time." "My family demands too much of me." "I have no energy because of health problems." "This recession has made being abundant impossible."

It’s easy to show obstacles as excuses for not having the life we want. But, if we are honest, most of the problem is our daily choices. Our habits.

We want financial success, but then don’t focus at work, pay bills on time or organize the financial paperwork.

We want energy, but don’t plan meals or exercise and choose to watch TV instead of more active pursuits.

We long for a more serene home, yet decide we are too lazy or disorganized to make changes in that area.

Perhaps a goal is to start a new business or learn a different language. But, we always put off doing the activities that would produce those outcomes.

For whatever you want in life, the keys are creating new habits and making better daily choices.

If you want support with that, my habits and daily rhythms class starts Monday, (see below).

Habits and Rhythms 4-week class

Starts Monday August 5

I asked my readers what class they would like and they said one that combines what they’ve learned in the time, finance, declutter and self-care classes to help create habits and rhythms.

It’s time to put it all together.

Even if you haven’t taken the other classes, this will be a great class to create those habits you have wanted to create.

Format: Weekly chat sessions at 8pm ET Mondays (transcript is sent if you can’t attend)

Then we can check in as much as you would like for accountability in the private facebook group. This will be where you really make the changes. If you have been wanting to make habits stick, but they don’t seem to stick on your own, the support may be what you need.

As this is a pilot program  the class will only be $17. So if you have been wanting to try one of my classes this is a great one to start with.

Buy Now

It’s that time of year for some of you. Here is my back to school checklist.

Also, a mentor of mine, Jan Lundy, has a timely book out: Mindful Mommy’s Back-to-School Survival Guide http://www.janlundy.com/new-book-release.html

Photos by Brea Dargis

It’s easy now to stay connected to work on your vacation. More and more people work when they are on vacation. It’s the anxiety, that if they don’t check in they will be overwhelmed by the time they get home. Or they will miss something.

What would it take for you to take a vacation and leave work at work?

It’s great to have a list of current projects and where you are at with them. Any documents or any other person that knows about the documents can be out so you don’t have to be called.

Let key people know you are going to be on vacation ahead of time so you can do imperative things before you leave. And keep reminding them you will be gone.

Ask your boss what is most important for you to get done before you leave for vacation.

In your email vacation autoresponder share who else they can email while you are gone. Set that person up before you leave.

Make sure work knows to call you only in an emergency. Don’t give your cell phone to everyone.

Have a list of what you need to do when you get back that you make before your vacation.

If you can, leave the laptop at home. If you aren’t there yet with your electronic addiction, set 15 minutes in the evening to check your email. Don’t play with it on and off during the day. That makes it difficult to relax. Same with your phone. Return calls only at a certain time in the day.

Then relax and have fun in your vacation!

Welcome to this week’s issue of Weekly Simplicity Tips.

Just got back from a beautiful motorcyle ride – it finally cooled down here in Michigan. I walked the beach earlier on cool sand.

I’m doing a free call on Simple and Fun Self-Care Wed, July 24th. You can sign up here.

Also, Midway Simplicity has a new workbook for a 30 minute life purpose method. Since I was away on vacation, he gave me a special coupon that expires this Tuesday at midnight. Use the coupon code: 20OFFBETH at the P.A.S. Technique 2.0.

1. Are you clear on what you want and expect? Or do you need to spend time thinking about it?
2. What three challenges are you dealing with?
3. Write down at least one way to make each challenge simpler and/or easier.
4. Reflect on what you learned and experienced this past week.
5. When you are thinking about solutions to problems in your life, try using a different part of yourself. What does your intution, creative side, devil’s advocate, or logical side say about it?
6. 2 simple snacks: Avacado on toast with lime juice and apples with peanut butter plus trail mix stuck on the peanut butter.
7. Relax to some soothing harp music. (I heard Anne play in person and it was lovely.)

Habits and Rhythms 4-week class

Starts Monday August 5

I asked my readers what class they would like and they said one that combines what they’ve learned in the time, finance, declutter and self-care classes to help create habits and rhythms.

It’s time to put it all together.

Even if you haven’t taken the other classes, this will be a great class to create those habits you have wanted to create.

Format: Weekly chat sessions at 8pm ET Mondays (transcript is sent if you can’t attend)

Then we can check in as much as you would like for accountability in the private facebook group. This will be where you really make the changes. If you have been wanting to make habits stick, but they don’t seem to stick on your own, the support may be what you need.

As this is a pilot program (I don’t even have a graphic yet for it 🙂 the class will only be $17. So if you have been wanting to try one of my classes this is a great one to start with.

Buy Now

Every Sunday evening I hop on my computer with music going and a drink of water to do my weekly planning.

For me, weekly planning isn’t about planning to get all your to do’s done. Instead weekly planning is to make conscious decisions about your time and life. Rather than just do the to dos that life throws you, you are deciding what is important for you.

I like to get quiet before my weekly planning. I pray, but you can center yourself however you choose. The pausing gets you out of flight or fight mode where many live most of the time.

Once I am calm,  I think of my top 3 things that are most important to do or think about this week – usually gleaned from monthly planning and what my accountability partner Marcia and I talked about at our Thursday Skype chat. These I schedule into my Google calendar so I make time for them.

While I am in the calendar I look over the week to see if there is anything I need to prepare. Then I peek at the next few weeks as well.

Health is important to me so I write out my exercise schedule. Last week it was:

Sunday – swim at the beach
Monday – weights and yoga
Tuesday – walk with a friend
Wednesday – Zumba DVD
Thursday – off
Friday – weights and yoga
Saturday – Groove dance class

Then I plan my menu if I didn’t do a monthly plan. I include snacks which tends to be my downfall in healthy eating.

People are important to me as well so I plan time with my family and a friend or two. (An extrovert might need more social time.) Or I plan if I am invited to an event. Do I need a present? What will I wear? How do I get there?

And finally to keep myself wanting to get out of bed in the morning I make sure I have at least one thing to look forward to every day (some are from earlier planning).

Sunday – church, take pictures of the sunset at the beach
Monday – out to eat with my husband
Tuesday – morning walk with a friend, evening reading time
Wednesday – play the piano
Thursday – see the Street Performers or concert in the park with a friend
Friday – play with my visual journal
Saturday – farmer’s market with my daughter

If I am not having any fun or not taking care of myself or neglecting my relationships, it’s because I am not planning. What will your week be like?

Simplifying without knowing your purpose and passions, means you may be simplifying the wrong things. You don’t want to streamline all your meals if one of your loves is cooking. A short gym workout may not be as enjoyable as a long hike if you are a nature lover.

Most of the purpose finding processes are long, so when Mohamed of Midway Simplicity sent me his 30 minute P.A.S. 2.0 method I was excited. (And a little leery. 30 minutes, really?)

But he does a great job, as usual, of distilling the best of ‘how to find your purpose’ into a simple, simple process.

I am interested in many different things and his process made it easy to find the few most important to me. And he helped me find my advantage – how I can be of most use.

If you are looking for your next step or what you want to be when you grow up, Mohamed’s P.A.S. method is a fast way to get on your right path.

(Click to read more about the workbook)

How you see the world affects how much you are able to simplify. We also see things with certain filters on, thinking we are seeing truth.

If you see the world has you will never have enough and full of scarcity, you may claw, overwork or manipulate people to get your fair share.

If you see yourself as never enough, you will always need to do more to make you feel worthy.

If you see your family as unsupportive and never willing to help you, your brain will give you plenty of reasons why that point of view is valid. But, if you decide that you are supported, you can see the different ways you are supported.

Our mind automatically goes to what is wrong. A very important survival tool. To decide to look at things from a different way take conscious choosing. You have to deliberately focus on a different, more positive point of view.

In order to change your life, you are going to have to change how you see your life and the people in it.

***

Picture by Ebelien

I went on a retreat last weekend and it was so renewing. I meditated, wrote, prayed, read & wandered in nature. I hadn’t even realized how much in productive mode I have been until I stopped.

A retreat is renewing self care, whether at home or away. Too often we get in the cycle of working too hard then flopping into some passive entertainment like our phones, TV or internet.  Then instead of renewed we feel like we lost time and are still jangly.

Real renewal helps you feel calmly energized. And this can be different for everyone.

What renews you? Can you do that this weekend?

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If you want to retreat, but don’t know how, I have a retreat kit with ideas from many years of retreating.