7 TIPS TO STAY SANE WHILE YOUR SCHEDULE GOES CRAZY

I’m almost always a very positive, happy, stress free person but, give me a couple weeks of nothing but work and dead lines on my mind and I become this quietly stressed, drained, empty shell of a human being… too far?

A few months ago I developed a whole new schedule over night. I was starting an internship and a new job on the same day and the demands from me were a little insane. I had to be up at 5:00 am, be at my fitness internship by 6:00 am, learn, work, practice, train, and take tests until 2:00 pm. Then I had to go home and try to memorize everything on three different menus for my new job while trying to get homework done for my internship, then get off anywhere from midnight to 2:00 am then wake up and do it again.

I. Was. Dying. I had to be extremely strategic with how I spent my time and energy while keeping my sanity because with everything that I had to learn and remember, I needed all the energy and focus that I could get.

Not to mention I needed to find ways to stay happy and positive because I knew that if I didn’t, then I would begin to doubt myself and most likely not be able to focus on what I needed to do.

So during this time of being COMPLETELY overwhelmed, I developed some habits that helped keep me sane, energized, happy and positive.

1. Woke up and drank tea.

When I know that I have a long day ahead of me and I need sustained energy I always go for a huge mug of black tea with honey in the morning. It gave me the ability to focus and kept me alert for hours unlike coffee which would make me feel tired a few hours later.

2. Ate really clean, light meals throughout the day.

I didn’t have time to feel full, work off a bad meal or eat something that would bring down my energy. I needed to eat foods that my body could digest easily and give me energy so I actually managed to get in excellent shape during this time. Here’s an example of what my meals were throughout the day.

Breakfast: Plain greek yogurt with fresh berries, nuts and chia seeds.

Snack: Apple and almond butter

Lunch: Flax seed chips with tuna and sriracha

Dinner: Steamed veggies, fish and a salad.

3. Carried a jug of water.

In order to stay hydrated, keep my appetite under control and keep my mind clear I made sure to carry water with me and drink it throughout the day. If you need to drink more water but you’re not really a fan of the taste (or lack there of) try adding 1 squeezed lemon, cayenne pepper and a pack of stevia!)

4. Rewarded Myself.

Since I was so busy I never had any time to spend any of the money I was making so on Sundays I made sure to have an entire Sunday funday planned out! This was what really saved me. I would go get my nails done, get a massage and go get a mimosa brunch with my boyfriend…AND order pancakes. Since I knew I did well all week I had NO guilt trip at all when it came to spending money on myself, eating whatever and having some drinks on Sundays. It was a huge re set button for me that worked really well.

5. Wrote in my journal.

I would do this in the afternoons in between my internship and job just to pray and stay connected with myself. I would set goals and remind myself why I’m putting myself through such a chaotic schedule. This kept me positive and organized with everything I had going on.

6. 20 minute naps.

These also saved my life! Obviously by the time it hit 2:00 pm and I realized I had 4 hours of work to do before I even WENT to work, all I wanted to do was lay down and sleep the afternoon away. I didn’t have time for that but I was able to put aside 20 minutes for a quick nap and it was an instant recharge. That amount of sleep compared to hour-long naps actually gives us more energy! Sometimes if we nap too long we actually wake up more tired than we were when we went to sleep.

Whatever you have going on or whatever your schedule is looking like, just remember to NOT STRESS! Stress is horrible for our bodies and can be deadly. Find out what makes you happy and make sure you find time to do that at least once a week.

Eat clean so that you don’t compromise your health and make sure that you reward yourself!

No matter what you’re doing, keep it up, be proud of yourself and remember, if it were easy, everyone would do it.

Find more of my health, fitness and life blogs at chelseyroseblog.tumblr.com :)

TIME MANAGEMENT...UGH

Do you SUCK at using your time wisely?  Like you know you have 839 things to do but you get a new camera app and take pictures of flowers on your porch for an hour instead?

Or when you’re supposed to go to the gym but you want to get some motivation then next thing you know you went on Pinterest starting at workout fitsperation and ended up at small, quote, ankle, tattoo ideas…….?

 These damn computers and phones and boho chic examples of rooms, clothes, Coachella wear, and succulentslike to steal my attention on days that I don’t have my time organized.

Time is super valuable and it can fall right through your fingers if you let it. Next thing you know, its Thankgiving 2015 and you didn’t do anything you wanted to for the year.

 Try these little tips and tricks in order to manage your time, and its okay to let yourself sit on the couch with I phone on deck BUT it can’t be all day.  I know those DIY projects are impressive but you can do it, I promise.

1.     Wake up and make a to do list. Figure out everything you have to get done that day and figure out when you’ll have time for it.

2.    Organize your to do list. Group together all the errands you have to take care of while you’re out of the house. Group all your computer work and phone calls together. The worst thing is going out running a few errands then going home and realizing that you need to go back out again. Just another opportunity for a parking ticket.

3.    Know what time gym classes are. If you know that you’re going to barre class at 1:00 pm on Sunday then you know how much time you have to complete the things you want to do before the gym. Then maybe you can handle all your out of the house errands on the way home!

4.    Complete work in advance. If you know you have a busy week ahead then prep some food for the week so you can just grab it and go. If you have work due later in the week but you have time to work on it the weekend before then do that and have it ready to send in a draft on your email so you can press send no matter where you are.

 Just some things to keep in mind!

YOU CAN BE A MORNING PERSON

We all know we can tell our body feels a certain way as soon as we gain enough consciousness in the am.

If I ate pizza at 2:00am compared to having a lean dinner at 8:00 pm, I can feel the difference in my stomach as soon as I roll over. If I wash my face before I go to bed I can wake up and enjoy the 30 second eye rub compared to not washing my face and waking up to a heavy oily setting while I lay there and wonder how much mascara I got all over my pillows. Not Fun. Then your eyes are all swollen and shitty looking and you can bet that you’ve got about T-minus 2 days until that acne kicks in. Literally like a meteor, and there’s no way to avoid it now.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “When you drink tonight, you are borrowing happiness from tomorrow?” Little corny but true. I think some of us are at a point that we’re borrowing happiness from next month. But your mood for tomorrow is generally set by how you feel in the morning and it’s determined not only by if you drank the night before or not but if you overall took care of yourself.

Did you eat well? Did you brush your teeth and wash your face? Did you take a second to think about what you have going on the following day so you are prepared? Did you get at least 6 hours of sleep? Did you drink enough water the day before or are you waking up with your fingers swollen on to your rings?

Do you have a morning routine or do you wake up and watch 73 videos on your phone then go back to bed because you can’t think of anything to do?

Personally, I get up, make my bed, clean up my house, throw some clothes on and go to a café to wake up and see what I have going on that day.

So if you want to get moving a little bit and actually not want to kill yourself by 9:00 am, then try a few (or all) of these tips and notice the difference in your energy and mood every day !

- Drink water through out the day ( at least 4 16 oz bottles)

- Wash your face/ brush your teeth – it catches up to you not only tomorrow but in the long run if you don’t.

- Make sure your room is as dark as it can be when you go to sleep so you don’t interrupt any of that glorious shut eye.

- Don’t eat after 8:00 pm

- Make your last meal of the day some veggies and protein because there is hardly any sodium. (No late night Chinese meals. That salt is gunna stick to you like white on rice)

- Work out for at least 30 minutes at some point during the day. You’ll sleep better.

- Have a general idea of some things that you want to get done the following day so you have motivation and a sense of urgency to get up.

- Whatever your alcohol intake is right now, cut it in half. 

Do it for yourself!! You’re the only one that can :)