Practical tips for productivity and wellbeing!

I often get asked, "How do you fit so much into the day?" and I guess (especially from the outside) I certainly seem to fit a lot in. Between this podcast, developing my courses, teaching 8 in-person adult ballet classes, 20+ in-person children's classes and everything that goes along with running a studio - yes my days are jam packed!

I'm pretty obsessed with making the most of my days, so today I wanted to share how I edit my life for productivity and overall happiness. 

I've also been dealing with both adults and children in the studio for such a long time now that I notice patterns and behaviours that lead to either a chaotic existence or a calm and content one.

Oftentimes a student will express frustration with their lack of progress, but in the same breath tell me how busy they are, how many activities they're doing (eg. tennis, yoga, swimming and choir all in the same week!) and they're usually the person who also showed up late to class, forgot they booked in or showed up without ballet shoes.

When you begin editing your life you quickly realise you can't do it all! I promise you're going to be so much happier if you stop being a jack of all trades and instead focus on mastering one (or two). 

We need to be intentional with our life and curate it to a point where our life is serving us - not exhausting us. I call this 'the life edit' and I cover it in more depth during my 12 Week Adult Ballet Course but today I'm going to share 6 actionable tips that are going to hopefully help get you started with editing YOUR life...

WAKE UP AT THE SAME TIME EVERY SINGLE DAY

You don't have to set the same time as me (my alarm goes off at 6.30am) but it's important to set yourself a wake up time and be consistent with it as much as possible.

Even sleeping in on weekends can ruin your momentum. Personally I find waking up at the same time even on a Sunday leaves more time for self-care rituals, fun activities and time to prepare for the upcoming week. If I sleep in I feel like half the day is lost and like I haven't had a weekend. 

Waking up at the same time also helps with decision fatigue. I don't go to bed thinking, "Oh gosh, I have to wake up at x time!" or "I should set my alarm for x time to get x done!" Instead I just go to bed, knowing my wake up time is a non negotiable. 

If you wake up at the same time every single day you will also develop healthier sleep patterns. This naturally leads to increased energy, increased productivity and one giant step closer to achieving your physical and mental health goals.

SCHEDULE YOUR MOVEMENT

Like I said, you can't do everything. But you need to do something! Move it or loose it as many of my students who are in their 50's, 60's and 70's say. Daily movement leads to a healthier existence with less pain, less injuries and mental clarity.

I recommend creating a schedule that stays the same from week to week so you all need to do is show up and let the magic happen. For example, I always start my week with Monday pilates. I have heavy teaching days on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so don't do any additional movement on those days. On Friday and Sunday I go for morning and evening walks because on Saturday I have a huge teaching day and I find the walks on days either side assist with recovery.

Obviously I naturally lead a more movement filled life and one could say it's easier for me to 'move my body' but even when I'm on holidays or term breaks, my body craves movement and I replace my teaching days with an additional pilates class or home practice. 

I'm so tapped into my schedule that I just wake up and know what's on the agenda which makes movement easier when I don't feel motivated to do so. My brain goes, "Hmm it's Monday and I'm feeling less than motivated, but Pilates is booked in at 10.30am and I know I'll feel better afterwards!" 

CREATE A SYSTEM & SCHEDULE FOR YOUR MEALS

If you're a busy lady like me, it's not realistic to prepare home cooked meals every night of the week. I'm not even home on weeknights! I have 15 minutes to eat my dinner in between classes. 

I'll be honest, I have a system and schedule for my meals down to a fine art. As many podcast listeners know, I suffered from various disordered eating as a young dancer and sadly these patterns continued well into my 20's - it's only been the last 3-4 years that I've really got it together and created rules that keep me from diving back into those unhealthy patterns. And the funny thing is, I've never been happier or more content with my body!

If I break my system and schedule down into a nutshell; I must eat three meals per day and usually include one snack in the afternoon. On Fridays I do my grocery shopping online (which saves me both money and time!) and my husband picks them up and stocks our pantry and fridge whilst I'm teaching on Saturday. We have pre-prepared meals delivered once a month and these cover week night dinners. Weekends are for a little variety, family bbq's, treats (I love a good almond croissant on a Sunday!) and if we feel like it a nice meal out. 

I'm also really strict with the times that I eat my meals. Breakfast is always after my morning walk and shower, lunch after my morning classes finish at 12pm, followed by a snack around 3pm and dinner at 5pm. 

It's important to create variety in your diet for a healthy gut microbiome, however you can do this through eating seasonally and ordering pre-prepared meals. 

WEAR THE SAME CLOTHES ON PARTICULAR DAYS

Okay, not everyone will be on board with this one! But if you want to fit more into your day and have the mental capacity for other things, wear the same thing every day. 

Okay, so I don't wear the exact same thing every day. But I do mostly wear the same thing on a Monday, Tuesday etc so I can wake up and not think, 'What am I going to wear?' 

I understand a lot of people get quite a lot of satisfaction from their fashion choices, so I completely understand that this one might not be for everyone. However I also know there are lots of people who struggle with choosing something to wear and it frustrates them!

CURATE YOUR DIGITAL LIFE

This includes your emails, devices and social media. You may have noticed I usually don't follow more than 100 accounts. I actually like to keep it under 100. Curating what you have exposure to is so important.

Marie Kondo this! Go through the list of accounts you follow on Instagram and ask yourself if they spark joy - if not, unfollow! I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful this exercise is more clearing mental energy.

I also highly recommend deleting apps you don't need on your devices, accounts you don't use, unsubscribe from emails that don't serve you and clean up your desktop for mental and digital clarity!

SET BOUNDARIES & PRIORITISE HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS

A life edit really highlights that simple fact that your life is your medicine! From the movement we participate in, meals we consume, clothes we wear, content we expose ourselves to... it all counts towards an unhappy or happy existence.

Never forget that you wake up every day and have a choice to sit around and feel sorry for yourself or make decisions that lead to an optimised version of yourself. 

I know which version I choose! And this is the reason why you need to analyse your relationship with food, movement, social media, schedules, habits and consumables for a tidy and efficient life.

Peace & Pliés,

Georgia x