Females in Fine Fettle: from wiped out to well-thy

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Dominic Bates
5 years ago
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1 Listen to this episode at: PODCAST TRANSCRIPT: Episode Routines to Help You Work Smarter not Harder DR. MICHELLE: Hello, and welcome back Today we re gonna chat about habits, routines and rituals, and how honoring these daily patterns can actually boost creativity, enhance our focus, spark energy and basically help us kick ass each and every day. "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."- Aristotle Now a habit is something that we do on auto-pilot - we don t need to hem and haw about who, what, when, where or why we just do it. And a routine is a collection of habits. Now a ritual is similar, but slightly different - rituals are like routines, but there tends to be more depth to it. For example, you might have a routine of going for a walk after you eat lunch, because you know it will get that blood flowing and boost your energy and creativity for the remainder of the day. But if it s a RITUAL, then your motivation or perspective is shifted just a bit. Maybe you go for the walk to break up the day and enjoy the smell of the air or the sound of the birds or the way the sun casts shadows on your path. It s a subtle difference, but it s there DENISE: Yes I love that you brought this up. I think intention is a big part of ritual. Intention brings a sense of awareness and purpose to any action you take. I think when something is done with intention, it is done with presence -- and with presence we can have a more rich experience All the things you just mentioned about noticing the birds, and smells, and the way the wind feels on your face -- tapping into all those sensations is such a gift... DR. MICHELLE: When we re sleeping til the last second, rushing out the door with our liquid breakfast, listening to podcasts on double speed, and working through our breaks having a routine doesn t really seem like an option. 1 of 8

2 But the thing is, once you start integrating a routine, you ll never go back. There s something magical that happens - it kind of turns into a sacred selfcare practice that your body, mind and spirit NEEDS to feel like you can have the best day ever. Starting out, it can seem pretty daunting, especially when we have so much on our plate already, so today, Denise and I are going to break it down into some easy and actionable steps for you. But first, Denise is going to share a bit about WHY routines and rituals are so deeply ingrained in our physiology DENISE: Yes Soooooo, it turns out that our big, beautiful, brains still have some old-school wiring from the days when we were a lot more animal. This hardwiring can be challenging at times...as our brains our still wired to notice and take in the bad stuff -- more than the good. This is called negativity bias and is pretty fascinating. Essentially it means that our early mammal brains kept us alive by noticing and remembering things that were scary, dangerous, and threatening. The more the brain was trained to notice those things, the faster the body could respond and get into a safe situation. Escaping danger and staying alive was rewarding - so this cycle continued. This is all pretty cool for early man -- but can be a bummer now a days as the negativity our brains picks up on is less life threatening, and more likely to bum us out, and keep us down. BUT the upside to the animal part of our brain is that we are still quite susceptible to training it This means if we PRACTICE doing something positive, and rewarding that positive choice, we can train the brain to keep it up -- until it becomes an automatic response. So if you have pets, and have tried to train them, you may be familiar with the key components of training that animal brain: First, identify a trigger - with an animal this could be a whistle, or a sound. For you it could be something you already do.i am a BIG fan of building new habits on to things that you already do habitually, waking up in the morning, 2 of 8

3 brushing teeth, having morning coffee, or lacing up your running shoes. It could even be a little alarm of some kind. Something that happens consistently (or could be consistent) and that is distinct is the most important thing. Then come up with a Preferred Action, or the habit you want to make. This could be anything you want What s important is that it is clear for you what you need to do, so you don t have to think about it too hard, AND that the preferred action follows the trigger.. Next Reward yourself for doing the preferred action --- this is what is going to get it to sticks in your brain as being worthwhile and important...think of it like that early man getting to stay alive Having a positive outcome is going to train your brain to keep it up DR. MICHELLE: SO true That reward is super important. The thing is, our subconscious mind does not work in terms of the future, so your motivation is totally going to flop, if you have these future goals that you re working towards. Instead, you want to try and focus on an immediate reward - maybe it s that you re mood lifts, or your mental focus is sharper, or maybe you do a workout and reward yourself with a protein shake afterwards. Whatever it is, it needs to be directly after the action, so you continue to maintain motivation. It s a silly mind trick, but it works DENISE: And finally finding a way to be consistent with this system is key. This is what is going to eventually make it a habit. Once it is a good strong wired in the brain habit -you won t have to think about it -- you will just do it At first all of this can feel like WORK, but it s so worth it once it becomes ingrained. DR. MICHELLE: Yes When you re trying to build a habit, daily is BEST. I used to think it took 21 days to create a habit, but the reality is that it actually takes an average of days to create a habit. That s a pretty big window, but if we miss one day, we lose 5% of our habit forming ability, and if we miss 2 days we lose 95% 3 of 8

4 When you re fixin on a new habit, you can do exactly the same thing every day, OR you can switch it up. Our subconscious likes the repetition, but our conscious mind is the one that prefers to mix it up - it doesn t really matter what you choose, just as long as you do it. As a practitioner. and entrepreneur, I never say this, but set your bar LOW Think of something that you could EVEN do on your worst days - those days when your inner two year old is stomping her foot and screaming NO - I DON T WANNA For example, if you want to start a daily meditation practice, just commit to 1 minute every single day - that s 1 minute - 60 seconds Do it right when you wake up and set a timer. Personally, I use Insight Timer, because it has these pretty bells and dings that you can choose from and you can also set the timer to whatever time you want. Full disclosure I m at 2 minutes a day, right now DENISE: Good work Dr. Michelle I am a huge fan of insight timer, I especially like listening to the guided meditations - they help to keep me focused and I love to ground into new perspectives. Listening to positive ways to consider things that happen in my life is hugely meditative, and the repetition works those ideas deep into my brain BTW Next week we will be interviewing Sarah Blondin, who creates the live awake podcast, and has a series of incredible meditations available on insight timer. I listen to her OFTEN and I can t wait for you all to learn more about her DR. MICHELLE: Or, maybe you re wanting to work on fitting in more movement into your life...,just start with 10 minutes every day of stretching everyday, and do it right when you wake up, because as the day wears on, you re going to get decision fatigue and before you know it, you re pushing it off til tomorrow. DENISE: That s a great suggestion I always like to think about good old inertia, or the concept that -- things in motion are more likely to stay in motion, and the converse of course is also true...sometimes this is enough to get me dancing around at least for a song or two in the morning Just enough to keep the day moving 4 of 8

5 DR. MICHELLE: Here are the 5 most impactful routines or rituals that you can start today: (1) Have a consistent sleep/wake cycle - yes, even on the weekends We are diurnal creatures, and our hormonal balance is largely reliant on the yin and yang dance of our melatonin and cortisol. As you know, melatonin is our main sleepy hormone, while cortisol is our main awake or stress hormone. This hormonal dance actually affects other hormones in our body, like our sex hormones and our thyroid function. From both a western and eastern perspective, the ideal bedtime is between 9-11p, which is when our cortisol is at its lowest and melatonin starts to peak. A lot of times, if we re up past 11p, we end up getting that second wind. Our cortisol starts to rise again, and we feel this creative burst of energy and want to get everything done on our to-do list. If we re asleep by this time, all that energy goes into restoring, regenerating, detoxing our brain and body. DENISE: (2) Consistent morning routine to limit decision-making and get your day off on the right foot. Creating a little morning routine that you can just flow into first thing can make a big imapct on the flow of the rest of your day. We often have established habits in the morning - I love to use the tooth brushing one because that tends to be pretty ingrained for most people. So it s a great one to hang a new habit off of. The other great thing about having a few things you habitually do each morning - you will feel a sense of accomplishment after your morning routine is through Starting the day off this way definitely will impact the way that the rest of your day unfolds. 5 of 8

6 I happen to be OBSESSED with learning what people s morning routines, are morning feels like such a sacred time - I just love to glimpse into how people spend it. Michelle - what s your morning routine like??? *** For me I do some belly breathing before I even pop out of bed. Then I do the whole teeth brushing, tongue scraping bit. I drink lemon water, and either matcha tea or coffee that is good and fatty, has some collagen, and some adaptogens in it. I sip that while doing some meditation - then I journal some. Then I usually dry bush, shower, and make a smoothie before I head out. DR. MICHELLE: (3) Map out big 3 the night before Something that helps me fall asleep is to map out the top 3 tasks that need to get done the next day, so I m not obsessing about them while I m trying to fall asleep. This also helps boost my productivity the next day, because I have a clear direction and know exactly where I need to start. It s important to get these things done FIRST, because as the day goes on, we can easily get distracted and end up with that decision fatigue, I mentioned earlier. Once these three things are out of the way, you can move on to another task. DENISE: (4) Evening routine or ritual I like to think about morning and evening rituals as the containers to the day. When you take charge of these potent times, you set the tone for the way you want your day to begin and to end. This simple act can call back so much of your personal power. When feeling overwhelmed, out of control, desperate for change, or stuck in a loop - use intention and attention to disrupt the pattern and reset it 6 of 8

7 You will know best how to wind your evening down in an intentional way. For me, I love to shut down by about 9pm. So no more screens, and no more phone time. I find that this helps to slow down and relax my mind. I almost always take some magnesium to support relaxation. Then do something that is grounding for you. Maybe stretching, a hot bath, a cup of tea. I like to put my legs up the wall and breathe. Sometimes I will do a bit of journaling, I like a method called rose, thorn, bud. Where you simply write the rose for the day - or something you were glad about. Thorn - something that was challenging and The bud - which is something you are looking forward to tomorrow. This can be a fun thing to share with your partner I have a very simple little freebie that can help you to map out your own am/ pm routines, and even give you a place to mark off when you do them. There are a few suggestions on it, but definitely make it your own. Look for that in the show notes DR. MICHELLE: (5) Mid-day ritual One of the quickest and easiest ways to boost productivity is to take a break. Seriously The white space helps to clear our the brain clutter and helps you look at things with fresh eyes. An easy way to start is to create a lunch time ritual. This doesn t have to be anything fancy, but just time you set aside to eat your lunch - the key is to do it without distractions. No phone, no computer, no plotting and scheming just mindful eating. You can get to that other stuff, once your break is over. If you have a half-hour lunch break, try to split it up - 15 minutes of mindful eating, and then 15 minutes of walking - bonus points if you can walk outside and soak up some rays. During the day, if you re sitting at a computer, get up and stretch, or just bounce in place every hour or so this will increase blood flow and circulation that will help your energy and your focus. 7 of 8

8 DENISE: Alright folks - hopefully there a tip in here that can make it s way into YOUR routine - helping to bring a bit of ease into your day We cannot wait to meet you back here next week In episode 40, we ll be chatting with Sarah Blondin of the Live Awake Project, and creator of the Live Awake Podcast. She writes and speaks beautifully about the importance of slowing down and turning inward - I think you re really going to enjoy what she has to share Have a great rest of your week. Bye for now. 8 of 8

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