Managing the Weight Of the World: 6 Things To Make Managing Work and Life Lighter
In the great debate between watching episodes weekly or binge-watch an entire season on Netflix, I choose to binge watching every time. There is something about relaxing for an entire day and having some great entertainment to go along with it.
In one of my binging moments I happened upon the Christina Tosi episode of Chef’s Table. Christina is the creator and head pastry chef at Milk Bar. This means she is the genius behind the naked cake and cereal milk, which is as tasty as it sounds.
In the episode, Christina gives great advice about the pastry business that can also apply to life. My favorite one is this, “within any given day in life, there should always be a moment where the weight of the world is just a little bit lighter on your shoulders.”
After hearing this, I thought, when is the last time I thought about making the weight of life a little lighter? Sure, I think about productivity and habits all the time, but lighter.
Lighter seems to be about adding some ease and peace into day-to-day life.
Lighter feels like sipping lemonade on the porch at my grandparents place down south or watching the clouds go by while resting in a hammock.
Oh, how I wanted more of those lighter moment too. So Christina here’s what I’m doing or using to make work and life a bit lighter.
- S’well Water Bottle – I know. I’m talking about a water bottle here, but hear me out. My first S’well bottle came by way of a birthday present, and I’m so glad it did. In my day-to-day life I never would have spent such money on a water bottle, but now that I’ve experienced it’s wonder, I’m hooked. S’well keeps your cold liquids cold and your hot liquids hot for like twelve hours. You could leave this water bottle in your car in the hot sun in the morning, and when you go to take a sip at lunch, the water is still ice cold. That my friends is the very definition of joy. These bottles are also beautifully designed. I can leave it on my desk, and it instantly classes up the joint.
- Brain.fm – I try to start my day with the guided meditation on brain.fm. Meditation calms me immediately, and the guided meditation on brain.fm is just cool. The sound waves create such a trance that even the busiest of monkey minds will stop to listen. Plus the announcer voice has just a hint of an accent from a place I’m sure I want to go but can’t quite identify. I breathe easier. I am more grateful throughout the day, and I worry less if I meditate.
- Bullet Journaling – If I don’t write things down, I forget them. There’s just no way around it. So when my good friend Laura at Own Your Sexy introduced me to bullet journaling I was hooked. You don’t need a special notebook for bullet journaling because any notebook can be a bullet journal. Its a note-taking system that anyone can learn through a few short videos. With bullet journaling you gather all those scraps of paper with phone number, dates and confirmation numbers in one organized place. It’s also the keeper of many of my dreams, poems and notes to self.
- Google Drive App – I’ve talked about the wonders of Google Apps for Business before, but the phone app is something altogether magical. Basically your phone becomes your laptop. So, if you are like me and you need to finish writing a blog post while cooking dinner and helping your niece with her piano practice, you can do it. The best part is whatever you write on phone appears like magic when you’re in front of your laptop again. You never loose a step or waste time. Every time I use it I’m in tech heaven.
- Cute Desk Accessories – I love calligraphy, hand lettering and all of the cute pens, pads and desk accessories to go with it. The aesthetic quality just makes me smile. So rather than getting the cheap pens every time, I opt of something a little more pleasant to the eye. If you like a cute desk too check out bando.com and poppin.com, if you’re in the US, Home Goods has some great options as well.
So what are you doing or using to make things a bit lighter in your life or business? Is it cupcakes? Please, say cupcakes! They make everything better. Whatever it is let’s chat about it in the comments below.