The benefits of making lists & 15 lists that will help organize your life

This blog post is going to share with you the benefits of list making and 15 lists that will help you get your life together.

As a mom, my life can sometimes feel like an open internet browser with 3941 open tabs running at all times. Having an organized calendar, consistent routines and structures can really help. However, there is one thing that has completely changed my life in terms of mental organization.

Making lists.

Back when I started learning about bullet journaling, I started getting in the habit of making lists. I would whip out my notebook and just start making running lists of things going on in my mind. This did two things for me; one, it helped my mind calm down and leave me to feel more grounded in the day to day. two, it gave me more time.

Over the years I have cultivated a list of the lists that make life feel more balanced and organized and I am going to share 15 of them with you. Before I do that, I want to tell you some of the health and wellbeing benefits that making lists can do for you.

The benefits of making lists:

• Mindfulness and Present Moment Awareness. When making lists, you engage in a form of mindfulness. You become present in the moment as you assess your tasks and intentions. This mindfulness helps prevent the mind from wandering into future worries or past regrets, promoting a sense of calm and contentment.

• Stress Reduction through Organization. Organizing your thoughts into lists creates a sense of order in your life. This organization minimizes the stress that can come from feeling overwhelmed by an ever-growing to-do list. Having a clear plan helps you prioritize tasks, making them feel more manageable and achievable.

• Reduced Mental Clutter and Anxiety. The act of making lists allows you to transfer your thoughts from your mind onto paper or a digital device. This simple action helps declutter your mind, providing a sense of relief from mental chaos. By externalizing your thoughts, you free up mental space, reducing anxiety and promoting a clearer, calmer state of mind.

• Enhanced Focus and Productivity. Lists serve as roadmaps for your day, breaking down tasks into actionable steps. This structured approach enhances your focus and productivity. As you check off items on your list, you experience a sense of accomplishment that boosts your mood and motivation to tackle the next task.

• Avenue for Creative Expression. Lists are not limited to tasks; they can also include ideas, goals, dreams, and more. This flexibility provides an avenue for creative expression and self-discovery. By listing your aspirations and interests, you engage in a positive, self-affirming activity that fosters a sense of purpose.

Okay, now that you know the benefits of making lists, I want to help set you up with the proper tools for list making.

I suggest using a spiral notebook, something small that you don’t mind carrying around with you. I personally am obsessed with the Bando spiral notebooks, they feel so good to write in and I love that they can lay flat and sit with just one page open. As I got more into making lists, I switched over to a disc bound spiral notebook.

Here’s how to set up your lists:

Grab your notebook and make a title page for each list. You can even make a directory at the front of your notebook with a numbered list and then use post it tabs to label each page with the number associated.

15 lists that will help organize your life:

1. Monthly intentions. I like to set intentions for the month ahead that help give my month clarity and focused direction. ( ex. gym 3 times per week, more meal planning, etc. ) I also list out the affirmations I’m currently working with to reprogram my subconscious mind.

2. Things to buy. I keep a running list of things I need to get.

3. Master to-do list. Anything I need to get done, goes on this list.

4. Spending list. I like to keep a list of what I spend on during the month so I can pay attention to my spending.

5. Recipe list. I like to include things I want to try or make.

6. Things to clean out / declutter. Each area of the home you need to tackle goes down on the list so you can check it off when you’re done.

7. Inventory list. Toilet paper, paper towels, supplies, etc.

8. Appointments to make list. Any and all appointments need to go on this list. Dump your brain with all the things you need to schedule in.

9. Fitness plan. Make your monthly goals around your health and wellness.

10. Emails/Cards/Notes to send. This always helps me to remember birthdays for the month or just to make sure I stay in touch with long distance friends.

11. Errands to run.

12. Bills to pay.

13. Books to read/shows to watch.

14. Restaurants to try/ places to check out. This will always help when you need to find a place to go to dinner, especially if you want to try new places.

15. Things to manifest. This might be my favorite list. Keep a running list of anything and everything that you want to manifest into your life. It really helps to write it down and act as if you just put an order into the universe.

Listen to this episode of the Blissfully Ambitious podcast where I break down each list more specifically for you. Hope you enjoy.

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HOW EMBRACING MY FEMININITY HELPED ME FLOURISH & THRIVE IN MY ONLINE BUSINESS

This blog post is all about why I made the switch to a more feminine approach to doing online business.

Being in business for yourself is NOT for the faint of heart.

You’ve got to have an incredible amount of strength and resilience to start, run, build and grow any sort of personal endeavor. Just ask anyone who is an entrepreneur and they will tell you that it isn’t as glamorous as it looks. This is also why I think moms make the most incredible entrepreneurs…they know what it takes to be strong and resilient.

I’ve been in business for myself for over 15 years. It was always my dream to have the time and financial freedom that being an entrepreneur provides for you. I’m so grateful that I’ve created my own path in business that has me feeling beyond blessed, I love being my own boss.

You might enjoy listening to this episode of my podcast, Blissfully Ambitious.

HOW BOSS BABE CULTURE IS BLOCKING YOUR BLESSINGS:

However, I think there is a big misconception about being a woman in business. There is this whole ‘boss babe’ phenomenon that has an entire generation of women in a choke hold of being in a constant state of hustle.

Women buying into the luxury aesthetic, to keep them ‘chasing’ as a constant state of being ( keeping up with the latest handbags, clothes, style, labels, certifications ) instead of being in a state of ‘pursing’ the true luxuries ( peace of mind, wellness, time freedom, financial freedom ).

It’s almost like a subconscious belief system rooted in unworthiness that keeps women in the constant state of stress, struggle, chasing success by any means necessary…masculine ways of being that women simply aren’t built for.

Fun Fact: Women run on a 28 day hormonal cycle where as men have a 24 hour hormonal cycle, men are built for this way of being. So, when women are out of their natural state ( hustling, burning out, etc), they are blocking their innate blessings and gifts.

By being in this constant state of chasing success, women disconnect themselves from the natural ease of being in alignment with the divine. This connection with the divine is the state that allows inspired ideas, inner brilliance, divine downloads, higher wisdom and aligned action to flow through. It is THIS where the magic to running your business really is.

MY SECRET WEAPON IN MY BUSINESS IS MY LIVING IN THE DIVINE FEMININE

For so many years, I prioritized what other people said worked for them and I am still seeing my clients do it all the time. “Well, this millionaire said to do this” “That successful coach is doing that, I want to try it too”.

I’ll give you a personal example. Even though, I knew I was ready to shift out of interior designing for clients, I still felt like it didn’t make sense for me to do what it was that I really wanted to do (shifting into full time coaching, content creating, course creation, growing my online business, etc) and because I allowed other people to influence me, I pursued working in the real estate industry. I can also thank the show ‘selling sunset’ for painting a very glamorous picture of the business, again outside media influence. It made perfect sense to me and everyone around me to shift into real estate from interior design. “It’s a smart move” and “very logical next step” , two phrases I heard often from almost everyone in my life.

However, I stuffed down every desire, intuitive knowing, divine message, etc. All of them. I ignored them and pursued the ‘logical path’ that made ‘logical sense’. So, as I should have known, I found myself stressed out, unfulfilled and disconnected from myself. While on the outside, I was successful and making great money, I even manifested aka landed a coveted athlete client … I was experiencing a complete disconnection on the inside, in my heart and soul.

Several months later, my loved ones began to tell me “I think you’ve lost your shine”…and I just knew I had to take the leap and get back to doing what my heart and soul really longs to do in this world. And within weeks, I was out earning what I was making in real estate. That was the moment I knew that the spiritual law of divine compensation is A REAL THING and I would never, ever, ever, ever suppress my feminine intuitive wisdom again.

HOW I USED MY FEMININE ENERGY TO FLOURISH IN MY BUSINESS (and you can do it too)

1. Get to know your feminine energy cycle. As a woman, you have 4 weeks of hormonal pattern changes, Menstrual phase, Follicular phase, Ovulation phase, Luteal phase. In each phase, you have different hormones working at different levels. Knowing what week you are in can really help you navigate how to best use your energy in your business. Not every day are you meant to be going full force, there are times you are meant to rest and reflect without feeling guilty. (p.s. You can google this, learn more on Pinterest and I also break all of this down for you in detail inside my course, The Goddess Glow Up.)

2. Make peace with your past. Next, I had to forgive myself for falling into the trap of prioritizing what others say to do, over my heart & higher wisdom. I also had to make peace with the fear of what others might think about me and what I am doing with my life. Peace became a priority for me because I understood that in order to live in my innate energy and hear my inner wisdom, I had to be in a state of peace. When your mind is too busy warring with all the mental chatter, your intuition and divine wisdom gets very, very faint and hard to hear. Feminine energy is very soft, calm and sometimes silent so that the heart and soul has space to be heard and followed.

3. Build trust within yourself & your body. You’ve got to start trusting yourself completely over anyone or anything outside of yourself. You can begin to do this by making promises and commitments to yourself and following through with them. You also can practice trusting your intuition by journaling and reflection. Grab a notebook and ask yourself “What does my heart really want to experience in this life?” Write it out and reflect on your answers. See how they feel to your soul.

   Hot tip: Practice locating your thoughts/desires in your body. When you create from fear, it comes from your root chakra (the very bottom of your spine). When you create from your intuition, it comes from your sacral & heart chakra (just under your belly button, all the way up to your heart). So, you can usually have a body experience to tell you where your thoughts/emotions are coming from.

Here are a few more questions to ask yourself in regards to the work you are doing…..

“What do I truly, deeply want to do with my time on this planet?”

“How does my heart long to show up in the world?”

“What wisdom makes me feel good to share with others?”

“Is what I am currently doing with my life showcasing the best of me, my gifts and talents?”

See what comes up for you when asking yourself these questions, sometimes we are able to receive the wisdom more clearly from our higher self when we journal it out on paper.

4. Take action immediately. I really had to learn how to STOP second guessing myself. Once you have determined that your intuition has spoken to you through a desire, inspired action step or a creative idea…you must take action ASAP! Because the mind/ego will always do everything it can to keep in stuck in what feels safe and comfortable. Following your divine knowing isn’t always easy, it takes quick action & definite decisions. You’ve got to be willing to push through fear and hesitation will just give room for fear to step in and take over. For me, that meant I needed to be able to make quick decisions on my own without going to anyone else but God/the divine for feedback and advice.

So, practice taking quick action without second guessing yourself or asking anyone else’s opinion.

Hot tip: If I ever took an action that had me over thinking “what if i did the wrong thing?”, I reminded myself of my divine connection, I always recommend to shift into your spiritual side when taking these actions. You will want to shift into a few of these inner beliefs….

✨ EVERYTHING IS ALWAYS WORKING OUT IN MY FAVOR ✨

✨ THE UNIVERSE IS WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES, EVEN IF I CAN’T SEE IT ✨

✨ I NEVER MAKE A WRONG DECISION WHEN I TRUST MY GUT ✨

I believe that your soul came to this on purpose, with a purpose. And as a woman, we have so many intuitive gifts we are meant to be serving the world with. Brilliant ideas, creativity, empathy, sensitivity, wisdom…there is so much that you naturally have to offer this world. You are meant to put it to use.

We can’t fully receive what is meant for us when we are hiding out in our jobs and playing small in the world. You are meant to and will be rewarded for radically and unapologetically taking up space by owning who you are and fully living up to your potential.

A reminder…you don’t have to be, act or live a certain way to be anointed by the divine/God and there is nothing you haven’t done yet that is required for you to be worthy of what you want in this life.

It’s all already yours and it is waiting for YOU, to step up a claim it.

If you are looking for more inspiration/guidance around leveling up and sharing your gifts online….join me inside my business community… ONLINE BOSS.