I decided 2017 would be the year I started living my #BestLife! It kicked off in January when I left my job of 9 years to open my own salon, which was immediately successful; not only was I financially satisfied, being my own boss meant I was in complete control of my schedule and didn't have to feel guilty about taking time off to be with my loved ones, or restoring my mental health. Stress totally evaporated from my life, and since stress was the main trigger for my endometriosis flare ups, the symptoms from my endo eased up. For the first time in a long time I felt healthy and happy. Then in June my husband and I decided to sell our condo and buy our dream home, a mid century modern ranch style home 5 minutes away from our favorite part of town (and my salon!). This October I launched my very own brand of candles which married my passion for living your best life with my entrepreneurial spirit, and they continue to sell at a pace I never could have anticipated! In a few months we will begin putting my dream kitchen into my dream home, and I'm back into blogging which I have missed sooooo much!

As hard as it is to believe though, I still don't feel like I utilize my time to it's full potential. I, like pretty much everyone, spend large amounts of time binge watching TV shows, scrolling through social media, and getting excessive amounts of sleep (OMG do I fucking love sleeping!). There are just hours of my life that are unaccounted for.

With that being said, I've decided to make November the month of using all of my time wisely! My work life revolves around following a schedule down to the minute, so why not apply the same idea to my whole life?! As my favorite spiritual self help books state, The Universe LOVES for you to be as specific as possible with your intentions, so I'm filling my calendar with goals and providing reasons why each intention will help me to reach my highest potential! The following are my November priorities:

SLEEP: I will sleep for 8 hours every night.

As I mentioned before I LOVE SLEEP! So, this goal isn't a matter of getting enough sleep, it's about cutting back... Confession: I sleep until the very last minute it would be possible to get up, get ready, and arrive at work on time with a Crimson Cup mocha. I would love to wake up with enough time to get stuff done in the morning, so that I have my whole evening to myself for self-care or friend time! 

YOGA: I will do yoga at least 3 times per week.

If you followed my previous blog, The Stay At Work Housewife, you'll remember I used to be obsessed with yoga. I took a 75 minute weekly class, religiously, up until a few months ago (I stopped when was using all of my energy to move into our house....). Not only have I found myself really missing it physically, I now realize how beneficial it was mentally. One day, last week,  while driving home I was thinking about how much I missed it when I stopped at a light I NEVER get stopped at. I started looking around and saw a yoga studio I had never noticed, 3 minutes away from my house! I took it as a sign from The Universe and signed up for their month-long beginners class which starts this Sunday!

Meditation: Meditate at least 3 times per week.

I'll admit that I find it nearly impossible to calm my mind for any extended periods of time. Every spiritual self help book I've ever read emphasizes the importance of taking a break from the craziness of daily life, and giving The Universe a chance to communicate with you. BUT IT IS SOOOOO HARD! My brain is like a laptop with too many tabs open at once, and a GIF that just keeps playing the same thing over and over again! So, we'll see how this goal goes...

STOP THE LOOP: Complete my random 'to-do' list.

"The Loop" is what I call the random tasks that run through my brain that I need to complete. I really need to schedule all of my annual doctors appointments. Also, I bought paint for the bathroom 3 months ago... I really need to organize this year's tax stuff. There's like 8 unpacked boxes still in the basement, I bet that's where the can opener is....I should look into shipping options for Good Vibes Hive Intention Candles... See what I mean?

LESS SCREEN TIME: Spend waaay less time on my phone.

Anytime that I'm tempted to circle through my 3 social media apps for an hour, I'll ask myself "Is there a better way to spend this time?". Also, no iPhone starting an hour before bed. 

MISCELLANEOUS:

• Create a vision board

• Complete the "Unleash Your Inner Money Babe" workbook

• Do something charitable

• Hang out with friends you haven't seen in awhile

I will let you beautiful people know how Operation #BestLife is going in 15 days, and then again in 30 days! Wish me luck!