2019 Word Of The Year

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I was on a run the other day with coach John on Aaptiv when he started talking about purpose. As he asked me if I was running with purpose, I thought it would make an excellent 2019 Word of the Year.

2017 – Intentional

2018 – Vulnerable

2019 – Purpose

This year I will be splitting my time between the following, in this order of priority.

  • Caring for a baby
  • Playing with a kindergartener
  • Running a household (putting this in because laundry, food prep, packing lunches, and emptying the dishwasher are always time sucks!)
  • Working on all things Kath Eats Real Food
  • Self care (workouts, me time)

Of course there are more categories of life, but these are the big ones.

As I emerge from my self-proclaimed “maternity leave,” I know I need to get a good time management schedule underway. I am still not sure if this will involve child care or not. I want to do it all, but I know a little help goes a tremendously long way. I have started planning out my days in TeuxDeux including details like when I’m going to shower, the day’s planned workout, blog posts and appointments, and our dinner plans.

Needless to say, I am trying to be very purposeful with my life this year.

This is kind of a flashback to 2017’s word – intentional. In fact, I used the word purpose a few times in my descriptions in that post. Intentionality is a theme I will always come back to. It’s a way of decluttering the mind and focusing in on the things that matter most.

Family

I’ve talked on the blog before about block scheduling my days to simplify work-life balance and be “on” as mom when Mazen is home. I am thinking if I do hire a babysitter a few mornings a week this will allow me to get all of my work done in the first half of the day so I can devote the second half to parenting and housekeeping. (Self care TBD!) Having Thomas home on the weekends makes it tempting for me to hide away and do a little writing, but we have a pretty firm rule that weekends are for family time. I remember when Mazen was born I did a lot of blogging in the evenings, which was a bit draining at the end of the day, and I’d like to figure out the best way to contain work to normal workday hours and reserve evenings and weekends for Thomas, Mazen, and Birch. (And Gus!)

Work

Piggybacking on the above, if my work days are to be compressed a bit, I have to be focused during those hours. Rather than spinning wheels making to-do lists or dillydallying in YNAB (my favorite way to procrastinate), I need to hit the ground running when work time begins. I can do unlimited amounts of planning and list making in my head or notepad on my phone when I’m not near the computer and when work time begins, I need to DO. Whether that means having the right ingredients for a recipe already in my fridge or a blog post outline ready, work hours = create. As far as blog content goes, I’m channeling this post On Being Real. I’d love to combinate a mix of real life healthy living posts mixed in with some recipes and topics as needed. Maybe a 2:1 ratio. Matt Allen, an MBA business consultant, asked me what my business goals were for 2019 and I realized how important is really is to write them down and have a plan. So that’s something to be intentional about too!

Self Care

Eating well and working out are both super important to my self care routine. I need a little exercise nearly every day to feel my best. Stress leaves my body through beads of sweat. And we all know that eating well makes you feel great. What I have realized lately is that my mental health is equally happy with a 20 minute workout to a 60 minute one. So if all I have time for is 15 minutes of walking in the basement in my regular clothes, that is all I need. The treadmill and Aaptiv have been life changing for squeezing in mini workouts. I’m also planning evening exercise twice a week – one strength class and indoor soccer – and that way I can count on two really good workouts a week if the rest of my week has short, efficient ones.

Having a small baby makes mindful eating especially challenging since I tend to shovel down food not knowing how long I have to eat or am so busy caring for the baby that I forget to eat and am starving past mealtime. Like most things in life, having a plan can help with that, so scheduling foods for breakfast, lunches, and snacks in addition to dinners in advance can help keep the day balanced, blood sugar stable, and my body fueled with nourishing options.

Those are the big categories. The little ones – home, money, entertaining, friendships, etc. – all matter too, but like sand between stones, they fill in where needed.

What will you be focusing on in 2019?

The post 2019 Word Of The Year appeared first on Kath Eats Real Food.



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