Realistic personal growth with a little edge ~ Namaste, muthafucka!
Author: zenblitz
zen BLITZ = Self-help with edge. Real talk, bold vibes, and tools to help you live loud, plan well, and grow on your own terms. ✨🖤 zen-blitz.com
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They say that “hindsight is 20-20”, suggesting that you learn the most from reflection on your past experiences. In this week’s post, I’m encouraging you to review your calendar, social media posts, journal entries, whatever you can use to gain some insight into the past year so that you can go into the next with clarity & direction. I insist you take your time journaling your answers, when applicable. Here are 12 days worth of questions to connect with your true self :
Past year
Look back through your calendar, etc – What were the best & worst events of the past year?
What was the biggest challenge you faced, & how did you overcome that challenge?
“Let go of things that no longer serve you, & things you can’t control.” – What would you like to leave in the past? How can you do that?
Describe the past year in one sentence.
Life, & the grand scheme of things
What are you passionate about?
What are your most notable skills?
What did you enjoy most when you were a kid?
What are your values?
Next year
What relationships encouraged growth last year, & how can you nurture those relationships this year?
What would you like to end next year saying, “I’m so glad I did (this), I’m proud that I accomplished (that)”?
How can you simplify your desires from #10 so that they align with your values? Consider the Pareto Principle to prioritize the action steps on your quests, meaning that only 20% of your efforts will be truly fruitful.
Describe next year’s focus in one word.
Conclusion
Reflecting on the past is a great way to connect with who you truly are & where you want to go with your life. I hope these questions provide some insight for your direction in the coming year.
If you answer online, leave a comment with a link below!!
And if you’d like a printout of these questions to add to your journal, here you go!
For those living in the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice arrives on December 21 this year—a night longer than all others because we’re the furthest distance from the sun that we’ll be all year. Winter is a great season for rest, reflection, and renewal, so here are some ideas for celebrating the solstice with introspective practices, ways to connect with nature, and some nurturing self-care.
Introspective Practices
Meditation – There’s no better way to slow down and absorb the moment than spending some time in meditation. Meditation is an especially wonderful practice this time of year, whether a few minutes of mindfulness or an hour visualizing how you’d like the coming month to unfold.
Journaling – There are tons of year end journaling prompts on the internet (I’ll even be posting some in the coming weeks!), but you could always just freewrite anything that comes to mind. Explore the feelings of the moment, or the season. List your favorite seasonal changes or holiday traditions. You could even script a manifestation for the coming year, or reflect on your progress from the past year.
Gratitude – Write a long list of everything that fills your soul with peace (seriously, the longer the better). Your accomplishments, your loved ones, everything you like. It’s good for your whole wellbeing to be able to see the joy of your life in one long list.
Connecting with nature
Dawn or dusk walk – If you’re nothing like me & can stand to bundle up & trek around outside this time of year, that can be a great way to get in tune with nature. Absorb the smell of the cold air, the sights of tracks in the snow perhaps, & the refreshing feel of a cold breeze on your cheeks. Or, if you are like me, spend a few mindful minutes looking out your window to see what fauna you can spot.
Decorate with found items – Bringing some nature into your living space can be another great way to connect with this time of year. Make a special spot to decorate with pine cones, pine branches, or anything else you find outside.
Stargazing – This is another one for those of you who don’t mind the cold (Hello, I’m the Heat Miser! lol) Even I will find myself pausing for a moment after a late-night grocery run to appreciate the refreshing cold air & a sparkling starry sky.
Self care ideas
Warm bath – Bubbles & bombs or not, soaking in some hot water is soothing to the soul. You can add some essential oils as you fill the tub (bonus points for seasonal scents), light a candle with the intent of rejuvenation, or play some relaxing music. Even a quick soak after a shower is good for you.
Enjoy some herbal tea – Herbal tea doesn’t typically have much (if any) caffeine, so feel free to enjoy it any time of day or night. Keep it on a cup warmer & enjoy it for hours if you like! Doing so will encourage you to pause throughout the time it takes to drink it, & savor the warmth, smell, & taste it provides.
Digital detox, or information detox – Take a break from absorbing the wealth of information & entertainment our screens provide. Indulge in some “analog” hobbies such as arts, crafts, reading a book, playing a board game with loved ones, or any other offline activity that feels good to you. Your peace of mind will thank you!
Conclusion
The winter solstice is a wonderful reminder of the cycles of life & how we each fit into that process. Taking some time for introspection, self care, & getting in tune with the natural world around you are great ways to find some inner balance, especially amidst the busy holiday season.
How do you celebrate the winter solstice? Share your thoughts & practices in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you!
“Where I’m at” posts are just random updates about what’s going on in my life at any random time, based on the areas / roles in my life. Any particular goals I’m working on will be highlighted, so you can easily see what I’m actively working on improving (and see that I do try to practice what I preach). Leave a comment & give me ideas for things you’d like to see me write individual posts about!
planner : Trying to refresh my whole system ahead of the new year because I feel a bit stagnant. I’m testing out a simplified morning routine, a more insight driven journaling routine, and a more simplified goal planning system.
self (body & mind, emotion & education) : Ugh. So my whole family had COVID for a week or so, right? I had worse symptoms than everyone else (I’ll spare you the details lol), and then I developed a sinus infection, which I’m still dealing with. So, everything’s a bit blah for me right now, but I’m trying to take it a bit easy while also trying to get back on track with everything.
marriage (relationship & libido) : We’re doing alright. I’ve been too sick to focus much on us, but we’re getting through it.
mom (BooBoo & Bubby) : The kids are still a bit sneezy & tired, but tis the season lol.
teacher (K & PK) : The girls are doing great with school! BooBoo hates phonics, but she enjoys surprising herself when she can read certain longer words! Bubby can pretty much count to 20, & is working beyond that already! And her fine motor skills haven’t gotten pretty impressive!!!
zB : I’m pretty proud of the progress I’ve made with my passion project 🥰 I have my business plan all situated, and goals set for next year. I’m excited to see where this journey will take me, & I hope you’re excited to join me!!
homemaker (finance, cleaning, gardening, prepping, travel) : Yeahh. Lol. Finances are doing good! I’ve been testing Betterment’s high interest savings & investment accounts, and I’m pretty pleased! (I’m interested in other options too though, if anyone wants to share!) Everything else is kind of…unimportant right now. Except for Xmas decor hehehe!
witch : Nothing going on here. I’ve just been trying to meditate my way through my sicknesses.
reseller : Effortlessly made a couple sales on eBay, but I’m not really doing anything here either.
On an additional note, Frontier DSL has been the bane of my existence for the past couple of weeks. Well, Frontier in general, really.
Currently
eating : soup! 🍜
drinking : tea ☕
watching : YouTube, cuz I can’t stream anything else with how terrible my internet’s been! Lots of Moe Sargi, and some bigfoot videos lol
reading : Nothing. I keep trying to read the 4 Hour Workweek, but I just get so burned out on it!
playing : Bingo Showdown & Candy Crush
buying : Xmas gifts! And bday gifts for hubby & bubby!
listening to : YouTube
celebrating : Xmas, Yule, & bdays!
pinning : yoga, Green Day, homeschool
planning on taking it a bit easy so I can heal
feeling : Sicky 😫
Where are you at right now? Let me know in the comments below!!
If you’re overwhelmed by endless to-do lists, I’m sharing my top methods to help you prioritize and simplify your day.
Image credit : Unsplash
Tools
The only tools you truly need for managing your tasks & schedules are a calendar & a task management system. Personally, I’ve been using Notion for both – A calendar database for scheduled appointments as well as daily task lists, and a separate task database influenced by the GTD & the Eisenhower Matrix systems.
Daily Task Prioritization
Each day, my task list is divided up by “morning”, “afternoon”, & “evening”. This is a version of the “Time Boxing” method that I started using with the Happy Planner, and it’s been immensely helpful. To schedule my days, I simply add tasks to the “box” when I can work on those tasks during the day.
I then effortlessly prioritize the order in which I actually do those tasks using Franklin Covey’s ABC method :
A = Must do
B = Should do
C = Would like to do
From there, I sometimes number them to prioritize what order I will actually do these tasks. The major benefit of this system on Notion is that I can easily drag & drop the items in the order that I want to do them. If I didn’t have time during the morning, I can easily move them to another block of time later in the day.
Managing General Tasks
For tasks that don’t have a deadline, I manage them in a separate Notion database that I call my “GYST” (Get Your Shit Together) list. Notion database properties come in handy for this system, as it is heavily influenced by the GTD method & the Eisenhower Matrix method.
The base of the database is a “Master List”, which I never look at because everything is organized into different views from there.
Anything & everything goes into my “Inbox” tag : next steps for my blog, purchases made throughout the day, anything that I need to remember. I review & organize this information every morning before I set up my daily task list.
There are several other tags I use too (”Someday Maybe”, “Waiting On”, etc), but for the purposes of this post, we’ll be focusing on my “Next Actions” list – this is for things that need to be done sooner than later.
I have a formula set up that will tell me where to put certain items based on the “Eisenhower Matrix”. For example, if I click that a task is “urgent” & “important”, it will tell me to put it in the “Next Actions” list as “Urgent” priority. Another example is if it’s “not important” & “not urgent”, it will suggest the “Someday Maybe” list.
Other GTD inspired properties I use include the energy I assume the task will take, the time I assume it will take, the context (such as home, errands, computer), & any associated links (such as project pages). These are for me to be able to easily pick something to accomplish if I find myself with some free time.
Conclusion
It may sound a bit complicated, but it’s really not. I’ll try to set up a customized Notion page with all of my essential databases soon so that I can share it with everyone, & you’ll see how useful Notion can be! Of course, these systems can be adapted into most apps or analog notebooks, and personalized however you need, but I feel like Notion is the simplest & most useful tool for managing my productivity right now.
With a simple calendar & a task management system, you can be the most useful person in your life! 😜
What do you use to manage your days? Let me know in the comments below!
I figured this post would be most useful now, before the holidays get too crazy. In other words – IMPLEMENT IT NOW BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!!! LOL
Every day I do dishes, laundry, & cook food. Except Sundays. On Sundays, I do nothing. And I don’t give a fuck. It’s nothing religious; it’s simply self care.
Why Do Nothing? Because I’ll burn out if I’m constantly doing things, & so will most people. Even nature takes a break once in a while. So I try to avoid the sickness & sadness by scheduling time to do “nothing”.
What is a Do Nothing Day?
A Do Nothing Day is a self care boundary I’ve set with myself & my family. It’s a day full of journaling, yoga, reading, meditation, and whatever other self care activities can refill my cup of energy for the week. If I miss a Do Nothing Day, everyone knows it because I’m dragging myself along all week as a cranky mess. The dishes & laundry can wait, & there’s plenty of easy to prepare food in the house between the freezer, pantry, & leftovers in the fridge that I shouldn’t have to cook a damn thing.
When To Do a Do Nothing Day
When to do nothing depends on a person’s schedule, of course. I’ve found that I can generally get out of doing anything on Sundays because it seems like most people don’t like to do things on Sundays.
Solo Retreats & Such
A “staycation”, a “solo retreat”, a “do nothing day”… There are lots of names for making time to keep your head from exploding. A “staycation” can mean forcing yourself out of your usual routine for a day or more, as if you were going on vacation, but not even leaving your town. Or house, if you so please. A “solo retreat” can mean the same thing, but structuring your time to focus on self care. I like the idea of a “Do Nothing Day” because it’s a weekly date set with my peace of mind.
How to Do Nothing
What refuels your energy? This is different for everyone of course, but consider things you don’t often have time to do otherwise. Some examples could be playing video games, reading a book, or writing in your journal. You could structure your day (or days, depending on how burned out you feel) by setting aside certain times for certain activities, or by including nourishing foods at set times throughout. Or you could just go with the flow, just make sure you don’t get sucked into an activity that drains your energy at a certain point (like video games or watching tv does to me…& most people who are being honest with themselves lol).
So, pick a day & adapt it as needed. Don’t give up on it – you won’t regret it & you know that! Let me know in the comments below what kinds of things you do, or would like to do, on a Do Nothing Day, and let me know if you’re having any trouble with the idea (I’d love to try to help!)
I’ve altered my goal planning system quite a bit over the past few months, and one major change I’ve adapted is using the idea of “6 week sprints”, where I work on certain goals for 6 weeks, and then take 2 weeks to wrap things up & prepare for the next sprint. I like sharing my progress with you all, so here’s a recap of “Sprint #5”…
(I definitely took on too much this past sprint – Live & learn!)
Body
I was feeling pretty rough about my physical state. I had been taking medication that caused me to gain 25+ pounds in the course of only about 6 months (despite my physician’s assistant insisting it wouldn’t), and I was ready to start working it off. I managed to maintain a doable exercise routine : 2 days with 15 minutes of cardio, 1 day with 15 minutes of bellydancing hehe, 3 days of arm workouts (it’s a pain point for me), and 1 day of yoga or tai chi; plus a quick workout with my kids for their homeschool days, and a few minutes of yoga to end each night. And 5 squats every time I go to the bathroom (which, surprisingly, really slimmed my thighs!) As far as diet, which I consider more important than exercise, I was initially trying to just be mindful & include more water, produce, & protein in my daily meals. I did fairly well at first, but discovered a lot of problems toward the end. So, this is something I’ll be working on during the next sprint, while I continue my enjoyable exercise routine!
Wife
My husband—boy, do I love him, but he drives me fucking crazy sometimes! He’s retired, so we spend an awful lot of time together. Which is a good thing, but I do appreciate my space. And with two young kids, it’s a lot of finagling.
So, I spent the sprint contemplating marriage advice that I occasionally forget about (patience, compassion, all that good stuff), and journaling my way through difficult emotions as they arose (instead of getting upset). I managed to improve our communication & improve his attitude as a result. I also made a point to be more affectionate & open, using things I learned from the Tantra course I took earlier this year. Everything turned out great! Now I need to maintain it without being a main focus, as far as goals go.
One thing I do still need to work on is my libido. I’ve always had low energy in this realm. So, next sprint I’m going to try to work on that (& I’m sure Hubby will be grateful lol!)
Reseller
Ugh.
I realized I don’t really care about resale anymore. At least, not the way I’ve been doing it. I can’t find the time, energy, or motivation to prep inventory, let alone list daily. So, this goal really didn’t go anywhere. However, I did realize I need to restructure my business plan so that I can do something with this path. I don’t have a massive amount of inventory to taking up real estate in my home, but I do have more than I’d feel comfortable donating. The original idea of starting the resale business was to have fun working with Hubby, but he’s more of an “in person” kind of seller. So I need to restructure to offload the inventory I have (which I’m dreading) so that I can get him focused on working with other items in the warmer months. Yeah. I don’t know. lol. I gotta figure something out though.
Ikigai
On a lighter business note (LOL!)… I started journaling about what I wanted more of in my life, and how I can try to make some money from it. I came to the realization that I love writing & I love helping people. So I need to figure out how to make money doing these things – My passion project. I resituated my blog here (though there are definitely more improvements to be made!), and did a ton of research on the directions I want to go with this “Ikigai” project, including useful products & eventually coaching. I’m kind of just enjoying the process & seeing where it takes me right now. I hope you’re enjoying it with me!!
Next Sprint
So, the main things I’ll be focusing on for my next sprint are my diet & my libido. Hubby’s been nagging me about taking a trip (since I had to scrap plans I’d been working on for months because he wasn’t ready for it, but I digress); so, I’ll have to plan a simple cabin camping trip for the family sometime soon. I should also work on my business plans, both for resale & my Ikigai. I’ll update on these when I can ♥️
How have your goals been going this year? What are you contemplating for next year? Let’s chat in the comments below, or feel free to shoot me an email at zenblitz@yahoo.com if you’d like to say hi in private!!
“Where I’m at” posts are just random updates about what’s going on in my life at any random time, based on the areas / roles in my life. Any particular goals I’m working on will be highlighted, so you can easily see what I’m actively working on improving (and see that I do try to practice what I preach). Leave a comment & give me ideas for topics you’d like to see posts about!
planner : I keep toying with the idea of analog planners, but they’re so impractical for me right now! I miss my Happy Planner & my bullet journal, but everything’s still working so well for me on Notion that it doesn’t make sense to fix something that isn’t broken! I did create a horizontal weekly layout with a memo section for my mini Happy Planner, but I mostly use it to get a focused overview of my appointments, goals, & meals for the week. I guess it helps gain some perspective.
self (body & mind, emotion & education) : Not much going on here, except for with my diet. I’m trying to follow a “mindful eating schedule” I created with ChatGPT. I like it a lot so far, but I have some trouble with tired / stress eating around dinner time. For example, I may have eaten too many brownies this evening & kinda wanna crawl into a hole right now lol oops. Progress, not perfection – I will try not to do that again tomorrow!
marriage (relationship & libido) ; Going pretty good. I’ve been enjoying working on improving my libido, and working with sexual energy more in my life. Hubby’s enjoying the journey too lol! Next week I will try out the “Radical Intimacy” course on DailyOm, and I’ll let you know how it goes
mom (BooBoo & Bubby) : The little monsters are good. BooBoo is starting to read like a pro, and Bubby still loves her dolls. Both girls want Furbits for Xmas (😱)
teacher (K & PK) : School has been going pretty well. I love ChatGPT for helping me with ideas for lesson plans!
zB : I’ve been enjoying my writing journey quite a bit, and I’m learning a lot! I love it!!
homemaker (finance, cleaning, gardening, prepping, travel) : Still gotta plan a little family cabin trip. Hopefully I can get that situated this week. Working on a cool “Friendsgiving” party for this month (charcuterie board & board / card games), and a chill family Thanksgiving dinner.
witch : Nothing going on here. I celebrated Samhain with a day full of journaling though, which was very much needed.
reseller : BLAH! Still mad at resale, still haven’t done anything about it.
Currently
eating : Brownies lol
drinking : Rosé, lime water, coffee with pumpkin spice creamer & occasionally a shot of Trader Vic’s Macadamia Nut Liqueur 😋
watching : Outer Banks, Nobody Wants This, Agatha All Along (OMG I love it lol)
reading : Good Morning Good Life by Amy Landino
playing : Bingo Showdown & Candy Crush Saga
buying : Nothing, so help me god
listening to : Green Day, Reverend Horton Heat, Lofi, other stuff my family members hate LOL (though I did sing Barbie Girl in the car with BooBoo the one day, that was pretty cool hehehe ☺️)
celebrating : the rest & reflection time of year nearing
pinning : self care, Green Day, planners, Xmas, crochet
I know this is short notice for most people who celebrate Samhain on October 31, but as I started planning for my own celebration this year, I was inspired to share a few simple ideas.
To start, I don’t always celebrate the Sabbat on Halloween – Often I celebrate it on the halfway point between the Autumn Equinox & the Winter Solstice, which for 2024 would be on November 6. (I’m not justifying my late post lol!) Another personal thing I wanted to point out is that I “do my own thing”, so I refer to the Sabbat commonly known as Samhain as Ancestors’ Night because that’s really what it is.
What is Samhain?
For those who don’t know, many occultists believe that the veil between our waking reality & the spirit world is especially thin this time of year, & it is celebrated as such by honoring the spirit world. We’ll all be joining it someday, so it’s important to many people to acknowledge this (”Memento Mori!”) and take some time to remember our loved ones who are no longer on our side of the veil. As I say about Dia de los Muertos, it’s a time to “celebrate life, & honor the dead”.
Simple Ideas for Celebrating
An Ancestor Altar. If you’re going to start one, keep it simple & keep it up year round. Just as Xmas should be a reminder to be generous throughout the year, Ancestors’ Night should be a reminder to remember daily where you came from & where you’ll be going. A small spot with a few photos & trinkets to remind you of your beloved departed are a beautiful reminder of how they influence who you are at your core. If you already have an ancestor altar or shrine, now would be a great time to thoroughly clean & refresh the space, adding or removing things as you see fit!
Candles. For quite a few years, I had a running list of proverbial ancestors (people not necessarily related to me who had a profound impact on my life and are no longer living, and even pets), and I would light a tealight candle for each of them. It turned into a fire hazard unfortunately, but it was a nice gesture at the time.
Letters. You can write a letter to any especially important ancestors, & tell them whatever you want! You can even burn it (safely, of course) to symbolically pass the message into the spirit realm.
Journal. Ask yourself if you’re carrying any dead weight, psychologically speaking, & how you can move past that in the coming months.
Hibernation goals. I’m listening to a flock of geese heading south right now, as a matter of fact. Nature is preparing to hibernate, harvesting what’s left for the journey into the cold months. Not that humans are able to hibernate, but it’s a good time to consider what you can do to slow down a bit more & enjoy some relaxation. Perhaps you’d like to read a book you haven’t yet found time for, or catch up on some sleep? Now might be a good time to think up some slow living goals.
Pumpkins. I’m sure you’re already carved your pumpkins, if that’s a thing you do. But if you have an uncarved pumpkin, harvest it! Scoop the shit out & make a pumpkin based dessert, or a savory soup! Roasted pumpkin seeds are really good for you too, and you can season them with just about anything you like (I’m particularly fond of cinnamon & sugar.)
Food. Make or buy your ancestors’ favorite foods as a way to honor them. My mom was always fond of surf & turf (steak & shrimp specifically), and I’m happy to make that for dinner lol! A couple of my favorite memories of my grandma were her hand grinding deli ham to make ham salad for sandwiches, and soup. She also kept me on a steady supply of homemade chicken noodle soup throughout my childhood. So, I love making my “magic” soup, with ingredients that are heavily inspired by her!
How do you honor your ancestors?
Share some ideas in the comments below – I’d love to hear them!!
I hope you’ve enjoyed my “ghost stories” series this month! Here I have the final installment. It’s not a particularly exciting one, but it’s the most recent, and interesting regardless.
About this time of year 10 years ago or so, the DJs on one of the local radio stations started talking about local ghost stories & urban legends during their show all month. My fiance at the time & myself just so happened to be listening when they mentioned the area we were living in at the time, and how there were sightings of a headless horseman with a lantern in the woods by our house, and ghost deer all over the area. “Ghost deer?!?” I laughed. “Are they sure it wasn’t an albino?!?” (There are a lot of deer in that area.) But they said they weren’t just your typical white ghosts – mangled shadow spirits resembling deer were also spotted in the area.
A couple weeks later, as I was driving home from work late at night, a big tree about a half mile down started to look weird to me. Assuming I was just tired and stressed, I didn’t think much of it, but I kept watching purely for the entertainment. It was really weird. It was probably about 6 feet tall, walking weird, seemed to have white glowing eyes, & it eventually melded with the tree. As I said, I didn’t think much of it and simply headed home. Well about an hour later my fiance got home from work, and his face white as a ghost. Now, this man does not believe in anything paranormal, so for him to be freaked out like this was a sight few have ever seen. He drove from the opposite direction, more in the area where the headless horseman was typically seen, but he said he saw a large black mangled deer in the ditch with glowing red eyes, and it jumped off into the woods as he creeped up by it with the car. I laughed & told him my story. He said he was never leaving the house again lol! I don’t know what we saw, but there was definitely something strange in the air that night!
A couple weeks after that, I was again driving home late from work at night, and had another strange deer experience. I saw a doe in the road, and so I slowed way down, hoping I could just get around it without spooking it into running directly into my car. Plus, deer always travel in groups. It strolled casually into the other lane, but as I drove past, I realized she was lit up as though my headlights were still shining on her. Mind you, I was probably only going like 5mph, so I had plenty of time to look around & verify that there weren’t any other cars on the road, shining their lights on her. Looking in my side mirror, I could still see her, & she was still lit up. But when I stopped the car in the middle of the road & turned to look behind me, she was gone. I have no idea what that was all about, but it was…different.
So that concludes my life’s ghost stories. So far, lol. It’s been over a decade since this last experience though.
If you haven’t yet, check out the other ghost stories I’ve posted this month :
zen BLITZ 