How To Update LinkedIn From "Corporate You" to "Your Personal Brand"

LinkedIn used to be a space where you copy/pasted your resume.

It is now a space to be more than your job…if you give yourself the permission to do so.

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This past week, I had a long conversation about LinkedIn with a woman. We’ll call her Anna.

Anna works a corporate job, but is trying to grow her health coaching business on the side. She showed me all these amazing resources she created, and said she wanted to get them in front of more people on LinkedIn. Not in a salesy way, but to act on her mission of helping people take control of their health.

I pulled up her profile and while she had made a few posts about health coaching, her profile didn’t really tell me that she wanted to connect with people on health coaching.

Like a lot of us, Anna’s LinkedIn reflected her “corporate self.”

But what happens when we decide to be more than our corporate job?

What happens when we want to connect with people on other topics?

When we want to be the corporate employee AND the person outside of work with deep passions and interests?

It can be scary to have non-work conversations on LinkedIn though, right?!

If you’re only connected with people you’ve met in the corporate world and therefore your feed is filled with only new job announcements and promotions, it can be hard to give ourselves the permission to start conversations about other topics.

But when we start conversations about what we are interested in, it gives us the opportunity to connect and find “our people.”

Anna and I talked about 3 small tweaks she could make to LinkedIn to embrace being a corporate employee AND connecting with people on her passion of health coaching.

1) Change your bio to include your hobby, side business, interest, or another hat you wear

Changing your bio (below your name) communicates to people who you’re and what you’re up to.

A coach, writer, volunteer, boy mom, dog mom, business owner. You can include your corporate job and these other hats.

This doesn’t have to be a grand declaration.

Think of it as a conversation starter and connection point.

Pro tip: if your goal right now is to grow in your corporate job, list that 1st in the bio. If your goal right now is to connect with people on other topics, list those 1st.

Reason being - when you comment on someone’s post, you can only see the 1st part of your bio, so be intentional about what is shown.

2) Use Canva to make a banner photo that reflects you

Have fun with this one!

The LinkedIn banner is the 1st impression on your profile and fun way to communicate who you’re and what you’re up to!

Bright colors? Moody colors? Include your corporate title? Or maybe the other hats you wear?

Canva has so many LinkedIn banner templates for you to play with, and gives you the opportunity to communicate what types of things you want to connect on.

Pro tip: allow this to evolve as you evolve! This is your space to show your personality and not take LinkedIn too seriously :)

3) Start posting 1x per week

This gets you talking about your interests and helps you figure out what topics drive the most conversation.

Posting 1x per week eases people into your posts without worrying about “being annoying” with posting a lot.

Also, LinkedIn doesn’t show every post to every person so not everyone will see it.

Pro tip: post a picture with it! LinkedIn is 40% more likely to show it if you have a picture, meaning you’re 40% more likely to connect with “your people.” Posting different types of pictures in each post helps keep things fresh.

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If you’re nervous about putting yourself out there on LinkedIn, ask:

“what do I want to have more conversations about?”

Because the online conversations turn into in-real-life conversations, which turns into you finding your people :)

A Different Way to Make Your To-Do List

I recently changed how I use to-do lists (because the list got a little too long)

Instead of having 1 list, I have:

• 1 list of activities that require mental energy (anything detailed)

• 1 list of activities that don’t require mental energy (anything I can do on autopilot)

Then I think about:

• When I have my most mental or creative energy

• When I have my least mental or creative energy

Then I align the two.

For example:

• In the morning - I have my most mental energy. Therefore, I reserve that time to do the activities on my “high mental energy to-do list.”

  • Ex: writing, practicing speaking, doing anything detailed

• In the evening after work - I have my least amount of mental energy. Therefore I reserve that time to do the activities on my “low mental energy to-do list.”

  • Ex: dishes, laundry, emails, anything on autopilot, etc.

As someone who has big goals and is balancing a lot of things, this has been a way to prioritize my goals, without leaving them the energy scraps.

On the days where the to-do list gets so long it stresses me out - I can:

• Take a step back

• Recognize if my energy is high or low right now

• Start with just 1 thing that matches my energy in that moment

• Recognize that I don’t have to do everything right now

Time management is just scheduling - energy management is scheduling smarter not harder.

I hope you don't leave yourself or your big goals the energy scraps of the day.

What is Growing vs. What is Coasting This Week?

“How can I do it all?” might be the wrong question.

Instead, let’s start asking -

What is growing this week and what is coasting this week?

I’m in a season where I’m trying to balance writing a book, speaking business, work travel, friends’ bachelorette parties, a relationship, and a very demanding puppy.

There is pressure to perfectly give 100% to everything all the time.

But trying to make everything perfectly equal can lead to a perfect disaster of burnout.

—

When we look at our Life Pie - family, friends, work, Yellow, health, etc. - the pieces don’t have to be equal every week.

They can shift and change.

Maybe this week -

• The focus needs to be on growing work because there is an important presentation that requires some extra hours

• While maybe health coasts with 2 workouts instead 4

Maybe next week -

• The focus is your Yellow because you’re hosting a community event

• While work coasts and still solid, but you aren’t doing the extra things you usually do to go above and beyond

Coasting doesn’t mean you’re failing or you’re saying something is no longer on your Life Pie priorities.

Coasting is making 1 piece smaller temporarily so you can grow another.

Because growing one thing well beats burning out trying to grow it all.

As you go into this week:

• What is growing?

• What is coasting?

And own the answer.

Why It's Important To Find The Adult Version of Your High School Sport

1 day, it all just stops.

Remember the sport or activity you did in high school. Remember when you would get out of school and go over to practice every day.

Maybe you were the soccer player, cheerleader, 1st chair in the band, or lead role in the school play.

How happy you were when you scored the goal, nailed the cheer, or took your final bow at the band performance or musical. Your parents, friends, and school cheering you on in the crowd.

Then you graduate, and for a lot of us, it all just stops.

—

According to the NCAA’s 2022-2023 report, less than 7% of high school athletes had a probability of competing at the college level. Less than 1% of those that did play at the college level go to the professional level.

That leaves 99% of people not continuing with their sport and likely wandering to find something to replace that void.

The stats make it not surprising that people graduate from college, get a job, and then say, “now what?”

—

What if we could have an adult version of our high school sport or activity?

• Something that contributes to our purpose, happiness, and identity.

• Allows you to be someone outside of work and put your energy towards something other than work.

• Something that makes work more tolerable, and you possibly better at it.

I refer to having our adult sport or activity as having a Yellow —

Yellow: a hobby or project that brings you joy outside of work.

Your Yellow could be:

• Writing

• Yoga

• Dance

• Podcasting

• Soccer league

I hope you can find Yellow that gives you that similar feeling to when you were playing your sport.

That sense of purpose, happiness, identity, joy, growth, and/or connection.

Because we all deserve to be fulfilled at every stage in our life.

How to Draw Your Unbalanced Life Pie

Last week, I heard someone say if they read something that references “work/life balance” - they immediately stop reading.

They stop because they don’t think there is such thing as “work/life balance.”

I get it - it’s overused and everyone has their own definition of it.

My personal definition - work/life balance doesn’t mean a perfect balance of work and life.

Work/life balance means making sure:

1. You make time for the most important things in your life (so they don’t get forgotten)

2. Being where your feet are when you’re doing these important things

—

The Life Pie Exercise can be a visual way to think about this:

If your life was a pie, what are the 3-6 pieces of your life?

• Work

• Family

• Friends

• Health

• Yellows (hobbies & projects)

I found over the past 7 years of watching people draw their Life Pie — they often worry about if the pieces are equal, proportional, or “balanced.”

Let’s throw those words out the window and draw an “unbalanced Life Pie” knowing:

1. The pieces are never going to be perfectly equal in terms of your time or energy

2. The proportions are going to fluctuate week to week (more hours working this week, more time with family next week)

If you draw an unbalanced Life Pie but you’re proud of the pieces you have on it, you’re perfectly in balance with yourself.

When is it Time to Stop Being Consistent (and Evolve Instead)

At the end of 2025, two top podcasters, Jenna Kutcher and Katie Gatti Taussin, ended their shows after publishing consistently for years.

Their reasons were similar —

Both mentioning something along the lines of making space for other things…although they both didn’t have plans for what the “other things” were.

This made me think about the relationship between consistency and evolution.

In our culture, we are rewarded for consistency:

• We get better at what we do

• Likely becomes easier the more we do it

• People around us know what to expect (whether that’s our family, co-workers, or an audience)

But these two women reminded us to not forget about evolving too.

When something is no longer serving us or we need to let it go to make space for other things, that is ok.

When we are deeply ingrained in the consistency of something, it’s ok to listen to that little voice in our head that says:

“I think there is more than this” — even if we don’t know what the next thing is.

By removing something, we could be making room for something even better than we could imagine.

So thank you Jenna and Katie for reminding us that even after a long run of consistency, it’s ok to evolve too. I can’t wait to see what you do next!

How To Answer "So What Are You Up To?"

It’s a holiday week and you KNOW you’re going to get THE question:

“So what are you up to?”

(which is honestly progress to “how’s work?” or “how’s the weather?” so let’s be thankful)

You know you haven’t been up to “nothing” and you’re up to something.

Maybe you’ve been working on a special project and it’s scary to share because you don’t have all the pieces figured out yet.

But you know you’re more than just the person that eat, sleep, works…

—

Earlier this week, I was at a networking event for creatives, and a girl mentioned she was scared to start writing about her special project online.

Someone else chimed in with an interesting suggestion:

What if you wrote a post that said,

“Right now, I’m working on this.” Then the next post is “Right now, I’m working on this.”

I liked the suggestion because it doesn’t require you to have it all figured out before talking about it.

As we go into the holiday - I’m going to practice this “right now” response (because even after 6 years of writing online, I still get scared)!

Allows me to:

• Tell people what I’m working on (without it being a grand declaration)

• Practice saying it out loud

• I may just find some of my biggest cheerleaders, supporters, collaborators and connectors to other people

But I never will if I don’t share it.

This holiday - instead of the “so what are you up to?” question being scary, it’s the perfect opportunity to share the special projects that that make it easier to get out of bed in the morning.

How To Find Your Hobby For 2026

If you want 2026 to be the year of growth, start thinking bigger than just your health or career goals.

I hope you set a goal for your Yellow.

Yellow: a project, idea, hobby, or experience that brings you joy outside of work.

And it’s ok to not know what your Yellow is!

Here are 3 questions to help:

1) What is something you did as a kid that you could do the adult version of now?

For me - doing gymnastics turned into doing yoga as an adult, and making magazines turned into writing blogs as an adult.

Your Yellows have always been inside of you, maybe they just got quiet amongst the other responsibilities you had.

If you have trouble coming up with something, what you’re consuming could give you some signs to what you’re interested in.

2) What is something that intrigues you on social media, tv, etc.?

This is where the scrolling or tv binging can become productive. What is something you thought was interesting or cool that you could maybe try?

Dancing, coding, podcasting, etc.

The reason why you’re consuming the content is probably because you like it, so don’t just watch it, start doing a version of it!

But what if it doesn’t feel like the right time in your life?

3) What is something that would be fitting to do in this stage of life?

Maybe you’re in a stage where you don’t have a lot of responsibility yet. Consider doing the Yellow that takes more time or energy (and do it now while you can)!

Traveling, taking a course, etc.

Maybe you’re in a stage where you have small kids. Consider the hobbies or experiences that could be fitting for this stage of life.

Taking photographs of them, designing their bedroom, etc.

—

I hope 2026 is the year you don’t just DREAM about your Yellow, you DO something about it.

Why It Takes So Long To Find Your People

For 6 years - I thought if I just…

• Read more

• Write more

• DO more

…I’ll be successful in my hobbies, business, and whatever projects I want to pursue.

But I was missing a piece I’m almost embarrassed to admit now…

People. Being around the right people.

—

This year, I’ve leaned into finding “my people”

• Speaking community

• Writing community

• Parter/family/friends/co-workers who are working on their own projects

And wow my business, purpose, happiness, and excitement for my projects has accelerated like crazy!

For the 1st time - I feel like I have really strong supporters, collaborators, and people who get it!

For the 1st time - I feel like I’m not going at it alone.

—

But why did this take so long to find?

For me - it’s been 3 things:

1. Didn’t always have clarity on what I wanted to do - so I didn’t know who to look for

2. I was sometimes scared to bring up my idea - so I didn’t always give people the opportunity to connect or support me

3. I didn’t always identify as an entrepreneur, speaker, writer - so I felt like an imposter showing up in those spaces.

—

But maybe we don’t have to know what we want to do. We just have an itch or a half baked idea.

Maybe it’s ok to be scared.

Maybe we don’t have to BE anything.

Because we’re all just trying to figure it out, right?!

3 Steps To A Phone Free Morning Routine

You may think work starts when you open your laptop - but sometimes it starts before you even get out of bed.

Have you been in this scenario?

• Alarm goes off, maybe hit snooze, 1st thing you do is grab your phone

• You see there is a work email on your Lock Screen

• You click on it, read it, and then check the rest of your emails

Work has now started before you’ve even gotten out of bed…all because a work email popped up on your Lock Screen.

Maybe you’re glad it popped up because the project you’re on at work is time sensitive… and requires all your energy and all your time and nothing else in your life is important right now.

BUT - there is a chance that is not the case.

—

If you want to take control of your time and attention, and YOU be the one to decide how your day starts -

Here are 3 steps to a phone-free morning routine:

(these steps are for iPhone, but they’re very similar for Android)

1) Go to Settings → Focus → Do not disturb

This will turn off all of your notifications for a certain period of time. Your Lock Screen will look like this.

2) Under allowed notifications

Select who is the EXCEPTION and can contact you when on Do Not Disturb. Be really intentional about who this is.

For a lot of people, this is a spouse, elderly parent, or child.

• People → Add your personal contacts (family, friends).

• Apps → Add messaging apps you want (iMessage, WhatsApp, etc.).

3) Schedule → Set start/end time

This is the time the Do Not Disturb is enabled.

Ex: 9:00 PM → 7:00 AM

This could be your bedtime → end of your morning routine so you don’t go to bed or wakeup with notifications popping up.

Below is a video of the 3 steps:

Enabling Do Not Disturb can be the difference between you deciding how your day starts and someone else deciding for you.

So what will you choose?

How To Journal In The Morning Before Your 9-5

If you want to start journaling in the morning before your 9-5, here are 4 things I would do (and not do)

1) Get a journal that feels motivating to you

Target, TJMaxx, local bookstore if you want to make this trip a treat for yourself.

Order on Amazon if you know you’ll keep putting off getting one.

You could also journal on your laptop — Google Docs or something offline so you don’t feel tempted to open other tabs on your computer.

Don’t overthink the method - go with your gut!

2) Habit stack journaling with something you already do.

Do it right after brushing your teeth or pouring your coffee.

This makes the task you’re already doing a trigger, and makes journaling feel not as daunting of a new task.

The “sweet spot time” is usually after you’ve done a few tasks, but before you’ve engaged with the rest of the world (you’re more awake, but still have control of your thoughts).

3) Pick a spot that feels calming yet empowering.

The side chair in the living room, living room table, or set a blanket on the floor like a yoga mat.

I recommend not doing your bed or work desk since you’re not trying to sleep or work.

You’re trying to get your creative and reflective juices flowing, while not being a perfectionist.

4) Use journal prompts.

If you don’t know what to write and scared of the blank page, use journal prompts so you don’t have to think about it.

I have a few in my Resource Library, you can search online, or there are journal prompt card decks you can get a many bookstores that can be fun.

If you want your journal time to be quick - use my go-to template:

• 3 affirmations

• 3 things I’m thankful for

• 3 priorities for the day

Career Planning is Out, Life Planning is In

I think we may be asking GenZ the wrong questions.

I was talking with an intern this week about career planning.

She has 2 years left of school — and is trying to figure out the 1st job she wants, let alone what she wants her career to look like.

You could tell she had been asked a million times what she wants to do and there wasn’t a lot of enthusiasm to have the conversation again.

So I said, “let’s put this topic to the side and talk life planning.”

That’s when we started getting somewhere.

Her face lit up as we talked about:

• Where she wanted to live

• What she wanted to be able to do outside of work

• How her relationship may impact her decisions for post-grad

• What she thought the traditional career path was vs. what she actually wants to do

As we started putting her life pieces together, you could tell it brought her ease, excitement, and clarity as to what what her career options could be.

So instead of asking “what job do you want?”

Maybe we start asking “what do you want your life to look like?”

Doesn’t mean we forget about career planning.

We are just figuring out how our career fits into our life, and not how our life fits into our career.

If we want the next generation of leaders to be happy, healthy, and fulfilled, we need to start asking better questions.

(and maybe ask ourselves this question if we haven’t already)

How I Broke The Eat/Sleep/Work Cycle

Maybe the path we're taught to take isn't the one we're supposed to follow.

The first time I thought about this I was 22, fresh out of college, and about 3 months into my first corporate job.

My mornings looked like setting my alarm for 6:00 a.m. for work, hitting snooze exactly 9 times, and rolling over to scroll social media until the very last minute that I needed to get up.

I would then proceed to rush around to get ready, grab my coffee, and hop in the car to start my dark 30 minute commute to work.

30 minutes was usually enough time for the caffeine to kick in, get to my desk, and let out that deep exhale of relief after the last hour and a half of rushing I just did.

I would then work my 9 hours, drive home, eat, sleep, and do it all over again the next day.

And the next day and the next day and the next day.

I don't know about you, but —

In college I was taught “get the job, get the job, get the job” and not much else was the focus. I don’t blame them as the goal IS to get a job when you graduate.

Not to mention, older generations had passed down the idea that work was everything.

Well mama I made it! Work was everything and only thing I was doing.

I couldn't help but think,

“I think there is more than this.”

I think there is more than this eat/sleep/work cycle.

It wasn't in an “is the grass greener somewhere else” type of way or not being thankful for the job I had. I loved my job and was so thankful for it!

But I wondered IF I could break the eat/sleep/work cycle.

IF I could do something outside of work.

IF my happiness, my identity, my purpose could come from something else.

So from then on, my dark 30 minute commutes to work became the time to think about what this something else could be.

I wanted to be an interesting, healthy, well-rounded person with good habits and cool hobbies.

I had so many ideas that when I was getting to my desk, I started writing all of these sticky notes of things I wanted to do and things I wanted to become. Stacks upon stacks of sticky notes everywhere because of course, I was a perfectionist and goody 2 shoes who couldn't be seen on my phone during work, no way!

Even though I had all of these ideas and sticky notes, I thought

“how the heck am I going to have time for this?!”

I was always so tired at the end of the work day. How am I going to have time for this?!

I wondered if I could wake up just a little bit earlier to do these things as part of my morning routine before going to work.

Over the next 6 years, those sticky notes and early mornings became:

• Starting new habits like daily journaling and daily walks

• Pursuing my interests like getting my yoga teacher certification and becoming an entrepreneur and writer

• A space to make intentional decisions for my life like reevaluating my relationship with alcohol and prioritizing monthly dinner with my 84 year old Grammy

Mornings became a space to build the life I wanted.

But I wasn't the only one.

I know:

• Financial analysts who have become bloggers as part of their morning routine

• IT professionals who have become morning meal preppers to stay healthy

• HR managers who became morning workout people when they never thought they'd become morning workout people

All because of making space in the morning. Breaking the eat/sleep/work cycle and finding their version of work life balance.

I know you can find that for yourself too!

I know the morning isn't for everyone.

As you explore the many resources for morning routines, I want you to take what you need and leave the rest for someone else.

Maybe you're in a spot where evenings are a better time to make time for yourself.

Maybe you're in a spot where work needs to be 110% the focus right now. Maybe you can consider how a 2 minute morning routine could make it work better because ultimately morning routines do make our work better…

Morning routines help us develop

• Creativity and curiosity

• Self-awareness

• Time management

• Focus

• Mental clarity

• Adaptability

• Confidence

• Consistency

• Become a more thoughtful, trusted leader in the workplace

If you’re trying to break the eat/sleep/work cycle, consider:

1. Who do I want to become? What does that person do?

2. How can I make time to make it happen?

Because you’re more than your work; you just have to believe it.

If breaking the eat/sleep/work cycle is something you’ve been thinking about, direct message me so I can cheer you on because you don’t have to do this alone :)

How to Not Take Morning Routines Too Seriously (But Seriously Enough)

The biggest mistake I see people making with their morning routine right now --  taking it TOO seriously.

We get fixated on putting EVERYTHING into our morning and doing it PERFECTLY that it can be hurting us more than helping us. 

Here are 4 ways to not take morning routines too seriously, but seriously enough that your morning is still consistent, effective, and oh yea fun!

1) Do the obvious work.

Justin Welsh wrote in a newsletter "Do the Obvious Work." I wrote it down and kept it on my desk every since.

It's about not doing "busy feeling productivity exercises," but doing the things that actually move the needle forward.

If you feel like you have a long list of things to do in the morning, annoyed with yourself when you don't get to all of them and often declare your morning routine a failure, consider:

What are the obvious actions that are going to move the needle on my goals?

That's likely:

• A workout - especially if you know you won't get it in the rest of the day

• Sending a lead an email for your side business - because you aren't going to get sales without connecting with people

It's likely not:

• Doing a cold plunge - because the expert on a podcast told you to do so

• Perfecting your website - when you aren't taking the actions to get people to go there

Even if you didn't do the long list for your morning, give yourself credit for the needle movers you did do (while also considering if only the needle movers should be part of your morning routine).

2) Find the little things to make it fun. 

Once you get into the groove of a morning routine (congrats if you have made it there!), it can possibly feel monotonous, unmotivating, and not as fun.

A couple of ways to keep it fun without losing consistency:

Make a big breakfast - can be a weekend special to do after your morning routine and likely something you don't have time to do during the week

Invite your friend or partner to join you - join in on breakfast or morning walk 1 day before work or on the weekend

3) Journaling as play

For the past 7 years, I've gone back and forth if journaling is "productive."

On the mornings I have a lot to say, it feels productive, but the words aren’t always flowing out how I want. 

I always come back to how important "play" is in life -- space to express yourself and not be a perfectionist.

Julia Cameron expresses in The Artist's Way how important the "play" of morning pages is to connect to ourselves.

I remind myself often that even if it feels like a "not productive" journal day, just showing up to play is important.

4) Sequencing your morning to avoid burnout

When you do have a morning routine, it can feel like you have to give 100% energy from the moment you wake up through the next 2 hours, leaving you exhausted before you've even started the workday.

2 methods for avoiding burnout in your morning routine:

Pomodoro Method

45 mins of strenuous work, 15 min break

Example from my morning:

• Write for 45 minutes, 15 minute dog walk

• Write for 45 minutes, 15 minutes to make food

Instead of powering through writing for 2 hours, the recharge I get from taking breaks significantly improves my writing.

The Morning Ramp Up

Start the morning with slower, less perfectionist activities, and then move on to more stimulating, detailed tasks

Example from my morning: 

• Starting with journaling before moving onto newsletter writing

• Starting with a walk before doing a workout

This is not to be mistaken with starting the day with mind-numbing tasks like social media, but instead things that PREPARE you for the more strenuous tasks you have ahead.

—

Let’s show up this week, do the obvious work, and have some fun along the way.

Who Are You Waking Up For?

If you want to start waking up earlier, stop focusing on "what time do I need to get up?"

Start asking - "who am I waking up for?"

While the first question is important, the second is what will actually get you out of bed.

--

As a lot of us do -

I used to set my alarm for the time I needed to get up for work.

The rest of the morning would look like snoozing, scrolling social media, and dragging myself out of bed to rush to work.

Who was I waking up for? Who was I setting my alarm for?

I had to admit to myself that it was social media & work.

Some people may be ok with that, but that didn't sit well with me and I KNEW I wanted to be more than that.

I wanted to be waking up for me and starting the day in a way I was proud of.

So I started setting my alarm to do something important to me before the workday started -- have a moment to journal, sit quietly with coffee, and work on my (eventual) side business.

Yes the alarm had to be set for earlier than I was used to in order to do these things before my day job. 

But mindset shift of waking up for ME led to:

• Greater purpose to get out of bed

• Easier, less dreadful 5:30am wakeups

• A more fulfilled, energetic person at work and in life

 —

For the next 5 years…

I woke up for me -- and I (naively) thought it would always be that way.

Then a certain someone popped into my life…

I was no longer waking up for me! 

When I got Maisy at 10 weeks old, we were CLEARLY going to be on Maisy time.

She would wake me up early in the morning by putting her little, wet nose on my arm, or if she couldn't reach me due to being puppy size at that time, do a very respectable bark to let me know it was time to start the day.

Trust me - that little wet nose was a lot cuter in the daylight vs. a dark 4am…

After getting through some tough weeks, we found our groove…

Instead of forcing the mornings to be a certain way, I let go and realized that it was best to wake up and take care of her, and then take care of me.

But I surprisingly didn't mind that. 

Once I got passed the hard, sleepless, and stressful first weeks, I found myself happy to wake up for her and thankful to have this puppy I dreamt of for such a long time.

I was leaping out of bed each morning -- whether that was at 4am Maisy time, or 6am on my time…the time was really a logistical piece.

The important question was: who am I waking up for?

For you - that could be…

• Work

• Kids

• Spouse

• Dogs

• Side hustle

Whatever it may be, I hope you can find something worth leaping out of bed for -- something to be thankful and proud of.

And there is no wrong answer because it's YOUR LIFE.

Stop feeling the pressure to wake up at 4am or 5am because that's what the world sees as a "good" morning routine, and start asking…

Who am I waking up for?

Maybe that does lead you to a 5am wake up, but make sure there is purpose behind it.

Identifying who you're waking up for is what is going to get you out of bed on the hardest days and make that once dreadful, early wake up a whole lot easier.

BONUS TAKEAWAYS:

A few other things if waking up earlier is 1 of your goals:

1. Set your alarm across the room, eliminates a lot of the snoozing habits

2. Wake up 10 minutes earlier than you do right now, prove to yourself that you can do it, then add 10 more. Each new time won't feel as drastic because you've worked your way up

3. Plan your morning routine and then plan your evening. Having the morning planned gives you a REASON to go to bed earlier, ensures enough sleep, and makes it easier to wakeup.

If morning definitely isn't a time for you - my friends who are parents of little ones often share these 2 tips:

1. Use evenings after kids go to bed as me time - taking 20 minutes immediately after they go down to get on the Peloton or read the book club book

2. Use "fringe hours" to make time for you - journal or read while waiting for the kids to get out of soccer or gymnastics practice, those 15 minute windows add up

Break The Work, Eat, Sleep Cycle: The 2-Step Guide To Start Healthy Habits and Hobbies

At the ripe age of 23, I had my first identity crisis.

I sat at my corporate job knowing I wanted to BE more and DO more than work, eat, sleep.

I eventually went on to:

• Start a podcast

• Complete 200-hr yoga teacher training

• Launch a business

BUT it was a 4-year winding road with a lot of breaks and doubting

Here's how I went from sitting at my corporate job with big ideas to taking consistent action on my health & hobbies

(so you can do it in less time than I did)

1) Start a morning journal practice

Start with answering 1 journal prompt or question each morning to explore who you want to become.

My favorite: The Life Pie Exercise

If your life was a pie, what are the 4-6 pieces?

(health, family, friends, hobbies, etc.)

This represents who you want to be & how you want to spend your time.

BUT DON'T GET STUCK HERE

Start taking action right after that!

2) Habit stack action

Once you get a consistent journal practice down, take action on something that contributes to your Life Pie.

Most common action is doing something for your health or hobbies since these get lost in our day easily.

Example:

• During my journal practice - I got clarity I wanted to start a hobby of podcasting

• After my journal practice - I would work on the podcast

Before I knew it, I wasn't just a corporate employee.

I was also a daily journaler, podcaster, and proud of the person I was becoming. 

THE KEY:

Doing this in the morning!

Pairing a morning journal practice + action helps you…

1. Prioritize what's important to you (so it doesn't get lost in your day)

2. Use your freshest energy on what's important to you (instead of someone else)

3. Gives you purpose to get out of bed (and eliminate the dreadful mornings)

So what are you waiting for? Start tomorrow!

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Need the push to get started? The Morning Routine Workbook as a 3-step guide to getting started + 12-month habit tracker to hold you accountable!

You’re This Close To Becoming More -- Get Started With A Morning Routine

When I was 23, I sat at my first job saying "I think there is more than this."

I loved my job, but I knew I wanted to be…

• Healthy

• Seek out new interests

• Live an exciting, well-rounded life

I didn’t really have anyone around me showing me this or to tell my crazy ideas to. 

But I knew I had to do something….

1) I started with healthy habits like journaling and morning routines.

2) I explored interests like strength workouts, yoga teacher training, podcasting, blogging, etc.

3) I started to feel excited to get out bed & felt in control of my life!

I started to believe…

“I am more than this.”

So if you're in the "I think there is more than this" stage, I want you to know

• You're more than your work

• It takes 1 journal entry, 1 morning to get started

• The ideas in your head are not crazy

Don't wake up next year in the same place you're right now.

Start taking action towards the person you want to become.

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Schedule a free 15 min call this week and we can chat about using your morning to make time for your ideas!

2 Ways To Stop The "So What Do You Do?" Question

Why is "SO WHAT DO YOU DO?" the go-to question when meeting someone new?

Probably because…

70% of us see WORK as our purpose!

We've likely learned this idea from: 

• Older generations passing it down

• College focusing solely on you getting a job

The challenge with WORK being our sole purpose:

• Puts pressure on work to be perfect

• Happiness is coming from 1 thing

• Becomes our identity (that we can sometimes lose)

INSTEAD, what if we…

1) Started seeing ourselves as more than work:

Family, hobbies, entrepreneur, cook, reliable friend

2) Asked different questions to give others the opportunity to be more than their work:

"Do anything fun this weekend?"

"Have anything exciting coming up?"

You're so much more than your work.

So why not start living like you're?

29 Powerful Questions That Helped Me Grow Personally & Professionally

I turn 29 this week - and I thought I would have all the answers by now.

Surprise, surprise I don't - but I have learned to stop & ask myself powerful questions!

Here are 29 questions that helped me grow this year (organized by category):

 —

Personal Health & Values

1) What do I do just for fun?

2) What do I believe? Where did I learn that belief?

3) How many days a week do I need to workout to feel healthy?

4) What do I want my relationship with social media to look like?

5) What would make me happy?

 —

Relationships

6) Who are the most important people in my life and how can I make time for them?

7) Do I put my perfectionism onto other people? Is that fair?

8) What is my ideal day with my partner?

9) Do I give other people the same recognition & appreciation I expect to receive?

10) How could I meet more people?

11) How can I listen & learn more about people?

 —

Corporate Career

12) How do I want my professional connections to describe me?

13) How can I improve this process (not settle for the status quo)?

14) What actions do I need to take to make it easy for someone to give me a raise?

15) What is my ideal work situation & how can I make that happen?

16) How can I be a leader as an individual contributor?

 —

Entrepreneurship

17) Who do I need to connect with to grow my business?
18) What are my quantifiable goals and why that number?

19) How can I build my business around my life? (and not my life around my business)

20) Who do I want to help and what is my mission?

21) How can I dream a little bigger?

22) What progress have I made already that can motivate me to keep going?

23) Am I spending more time planning or taking action?

24) What data points did I gather (instead of declaring something a failure)?

— 

Finances

25) What is my net worth and how can I grow it?

26) How much money will make me happy?

27) What am I saving for?

28) What am I proud to spend money on?

29) What could multiple streams of income look like?

—

The Key -

Using morning journal session to reflect on these questions - absolute game changer for my growth!

Find 90 Mins A Day To Pursue Interests By Changing How You Use Your Phone

I get asked all the time how I have time for anything other than work.

Things like:

• A side business

• Dog training

• Pickleball with friends

• Workout classes

Disclaimer: it doesn’t have much to do with being single with no kids — and everything to do with what we all have!

A phone!

Here's how I found 90 extra minutes a day to pursue my interests by changing the way I use my phone:

—

1) Making my desk a "no phone zone."

This means when I'm at my desk working, I don't use my phone. It's face down or on do not disturb.

This allows me to:

• Be present at work

• Get work done faster

• Leaving me working less hours

• Having time for other things

Getting up from my desk to use my phone can make a great, intentional break too!

Saves: ~30 minutes

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2) Having little to no notifications on my home screen.

99% of notifications that pop up on our home screen don't need our attention THIS MINUTE!

This:

• Distracts us

• Slows us down

• Keeps us from doing other things we want to do

We can adjust our phone settings so the only things we need to be notified of NOW show up (like texts from loved ones). 

3 phone settings to not overlook:

—Remove email notifications from popping up on home screen

That way you get to choose when you look at emails instead of someone else choosing for you

—Mute group chats

These can blow up your phone! Mute it & choose when you want to check it instead of 10 other people choosing for you 

—Limit social media notifications

Sorry not sorry but you do not need to know when Eggnog the Bulldog posted a new video! Even consider if you need your DM notifications on.

My apple watch friends - think about how you can apply this to your watch too!

If you're worried about staying in the loop -

I like having an intentional time to check these notifications like lunch or evenings.

Saves: ~30 minutes

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3) Delaying phone usage in the morning

I like to challenge myself to do my morning routine before picking up my phone.

The time I would spend scrolling in bed first thing in the morning is replaced with:

• Hobbies

• Interests

• Self-care

The morning is the most underrated time to get these things in; don’t pass it up!

Bonus!

Delaying your phone usage allows YOU to choose what you want to think about first thing in the morning & set the tone for your day!

Saves: ~30 minutes

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That's 90 minutes a day you've found to pursue interests without even thinking! 

The key:

YOU can take control of your time & attention, instead of someone else taking it from you!

You will be amazed the time you get back & the things you can do!