October’s Intention of the Month: Discipline

*Sigh* To be honest, it feels a little embarrassing admitting that this is an area in my life that needs a little extra focus this month. It implies that I don’t have my shit together, that things are a chaotic, that I’m not doing a good job of tackling my priorities. Which, surprise! Is essentially all true! I like to keep things 100% real with you guys, so for the sake of transparency, let me break down exactly why discipline needs to be the intention of my month:

I’ve been balancing a ton the last few months. I moved home to my family’s house in the suburbs and am adjusting to what that new life and routine looks like. In my full time job in tech consulting, I am ending my current project and will be responsible for finding my next role in the coming weeks (at my firm, you need to start networking/researching/applying/interviewing for opportunities in the weeks leading up to your availability). I am taking a GRE prep class in preparation for the GRE, which is a general entrance exam into many graduate school programs. Which I am also supposed to be avidly studying for, as well as doing weekly homework and regular 4 hour practice exams. I also have taken on more responsibilities with The Blonde in Pink unlike ever before, trying to grow my business as much as possible, knowing this will be my predominant source of income in the coming year. Oh, and I need to track down some letters of recommendation and actually write my school applicants and put out all the good vibes into the universe that I get into my dream program so I can, ya know, live my dreams and what not. And this is all before I have time to work out, feed myself, hang out with friends. Sleep. No big deal.

As much as I truly am trying my best to manage everything on my plate, I have been feeling myself getting extremely overwhelmed in the last few weeks. It’s like there just aren’t enough hours in the week, and even when I’m able to give focus to one of these areas, I feel like I’m falling behind in the others. And as a result, my ability to be disciplined isn’t as evenly distributed. I just am losing the energy and persistence to just put my head down and get it done.

Another huge part of my life that I feel a fleeting lack of control over is my physical health. I’ve been eating relatively healthy, but this has been the longest extended period of time in maybe 3 years where I’m totally off a normal workout schedule. Like I can barely bring myself to do annnnnything. And I’m sure the lack of physical activity is playing a huge role in how I’m sleeping, my energy levels, my motivation to study, or work on applications, or search for my new project.

It’s incredibly daunting laying this all out, but I’m hoping that it will help hold me accountable. I’m running out of time to tackle my to-do list for school, I miss working out and having an active routine, and I need to figure out my next project at work. This is the month I need to get my ducks in a row and get back into a healthy and productive routine. This is the month I need discipline more than every. So, here’s my game plan:

• Time management: Start using my planner again (oops) so I can block out what time during the week will be used for each activity I need to do
• Better sleep: Get to bed earlier so I can wake up earlier and use the time I have before my 9 am call to be productive
• Write out my to-do list every day so I can cross out small victories and help keep my anxiety in check
• Self-care: Carve out time for self-care, working out, spending time with friends, and doing the things I love (after the stressful boring stuff is done for the day haha)

Anyone have any tips or trips for being disciplined?! Studying is by far the hardest part for me; it’s been a while since my school days, but it’s clearly a skill I’m going to need to relearn sooner rather than later 😉