⚡ Setting up a sustainable life...

The Sustainable Life.

When we think of a sustainable life, you might conjure ideas of recycling or going plastic free. But I have another sustainability practice that has been a game-changer for me. 

I was in a bootcamp (exercise bootcamp, not military) and the instructor was giving us instructions to do squats with one added specification…. 
“Choose a pace you can sustain and repeat for 3 cycles'' 

What? This was contrary to the message I sometimes give myself which is closer to: 
“Exercise until you feel like you’re going to die”  💀
(Which is probably why I dislike exercising...but, I digress.)

So many folks are totally spent, burnt out, and exhausted every Friday. We flop until Sunday night. We feel the Sunday Scaries and fling ourselves into another week. What if you established a pace that is sustainable?

Imagine a sustainable life that allows you to keep pace over the long haul with fewer highs and lows. 

In fact, one of my favorite strategies is to manage my energy, not my time. Life has unexpected challenges and we have a lot of demands put on us, but we want to meet those moments with the energy and clarity of mind that they require. We want to learn to manage our energy.

This Harvard Business Review article with Tony Schwartz takes a deep dive into some of the specifics of what I’m talking about and offers straightforward interventions, significantly increase your capacity.

So how do we create a sustainable life?
It varies but here are four things that work for me every time:

♻️ Notice what I’m tolerating - What drains you? What are you tolerating? Those tolerations eat away at energy. Can you delegate it, hire it out, or just simply decline it?

♻️ Track your energy - when are you most energized during the day? What is your low energy during the day?

♻️ Have a centering practice - reconnecting with the body through breathing or some physical reminder can be a micro-habit to keep your focus. My fav is just taking three breaths while I touch my thumb and forefinger together. 

♻️ Build in restoration - we can maintain focus for 90 - 120 minutes, at which point, a quick break does a world of good. Can you look at your calendar and throw in restoration breaks every 2 hrs?

For one client, this meant having one weekend day with nothing planned - but rest. She automated a few work tasks that drained her by creating an easy template and system for herself. She left Friday night as a time to connect with her friends and unwind. 

For another client, it means prioritizing exercise everyday and not skipping lunch. This meant setting alarms on her phone to remind her of her commitment to take a break. And eat  lunch. Because we’re humans.

Dive Deeper

🧘‍♀️ Strozzi Institute does amazing work around getting resilient. I enjoyed this recent video.

⚡ I’ve been a long-time Martha Beck super-fan. I even had the opportunity to work with her in a coach training. Recently, I’ve enjoyed Martha Beck’s The Gathering Room videos - and look forward to her new book. 

🍄 Another treat: This isn’t an ad or sponsored or anything but I had heard about this stuff for awhile and saw they sold single packages at my store - I tried it and I love it as an afternoon break with graham crackers and half an apple. (Sounds like I'm in preschool, but hey, it works!)