I have been having the most wonderful 3-day weekend. 

I used to actually struggle with having an extra day off, believe it or not. When I lived in Chicago, my job was my everything, so my long weekends were usually lonely. Most of my friends were work friends, and they either went out of town on holiday weekends, had weddings to go to or spent time with their significant others. It felt like i was just spending too much time alone, so I started traveling to spend time with my friends from college, meaning I was literally not spending any time alone at all. 

Basically when I lived in Chicago, the key thing I struggled with was achieving balance, which is something I now make a conscious effort towards achieving. 

Now that I have achieved balance in my life, I love and appreciate the holiday and the extra down time it brings. I love being able to write this article knowing I get to sleep in again tomorrow  but at the same time knowing I get to go back to work on Tuesday. I love that I...

The issue with planning in advance is that you never know how you are going to feel in the actual moment. What if you get hit with a panic attack? What if you become overwhelmingly tired and really want to stay home and sleep? What if you were overzealous in committing to the plans in the first place and after you take a step back and remove yourself from the situation, you realize you don't actually even want to go.....?

Breathe. Relax. Cancel. 

If there is one thing 2020 taught us, it is that you can't plan everything. Here are some rules I have for cancelling without coming across in the worst way. 

Give as much notice as you can

Be honest with yourself and your friend (or whoever you made plans with) and let them know as soon as you know you want to cancel. You need to trust your gut. Make sure to honor reservations or concrete plans, or at least expect to pay any of the fees associated with cancelling. Commitments are important, but your wellbeing is more important. Only doing...

I have recently experimented with the idea of mentally starting my week on Sunday instead of Monday. I am all about for eliminating stress and anxiety whenever possible, and one of the things I used to struggle with in the past was the harsh divide between the week and weekend. As the lines continue to become more blurred between being at home and working, the line between Sunday night and Monday morning has become even more stark, at least in my opinion. 

My weekend became a sacred place of not doing things remotely related to work, but then I found myself dreading Monday even more. I knew my alarm clock sounding at 5am on a Monday marked the start of nonstop activity until Friday night, which is a daunting approach to beginning anything. I know stress this is a signal from my body to reframe my approach to a situation, and thus came the idea/overlooked opportunity to use Sunday as a soft start to my week. 

What do I mean by Soft Start?

Ease your transition by using Sunday to prepa...

Sundays are for planning. I know I will not have the luxury of free time this week once 5am Monday morning rolls around, so it is my job to make the most of it right now. With that being said, there are errands I need to run today that will ensure a more successful week ahead. 

• Grocery Store
• Laundry
• Prepare presentation for Monday 8/17

The list as written is highly ineffective. 

Relate Action Items to your larger "why"

If grocery shopping is on your list, think about why you are actually going to the store. What is the motivator behind the initiative?

Grocery Shop - So I don't max out my budget for takeout this week from lack of groceries

This helps remind yourself the action is driving you towards your larger goal of being financially responsible, thus solidifying it in your mind as a priority. It also allows you to be in more charge of when you opt to order take out. It becomes a decision of desire instead of obligation.

This method helps you align your actions with wha...

Sunday morning rain is (literally) falling as I type this, which makes for my favorite kind of lazy Sunday. I can sleep in, relax and start to think about my week in a way that feels more empowering and less scary. 

As things pick up in my work life and with Allison Ziggy, I am starting to better structure my time, which in turn, helps me give better advice on organizing. It's a win win win! 

This is going to start as a blog series, with new posts every Sunday (in line with my communicated goal of 1x post per week) based on using Sunday to plan for a successful week ahead. 

In the near future we will be launching a virtual Lazy Sunday segment! So stay tuned for that :) 

For week one, I figure we start with the basics- todo lists! Post to follow!

xoxo,

Allison