How To Get Sh*t Done With Depression – Procrastination and Waves of Self-Doubt

Honestly, I’ve been sitting at the computer for half an hour wondering what the title for this piece should be. I finally figured I’d just write it out, you could read it, and hopefully the title that I finally chose would be appropriate.

What I REALLY want to talk about is a mixture of things…but mostly how to still get shit done when you’re dealing with depression – procrastination  and self-doubt.

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A vortex of compromising traits that make it highly probable that the next 24 hours will be wasted. The past 30 days have been proof, if to no-one else but myself, of the fact that you can still accomplish a hell of a lot and feel good most of the time.

So, let’s say you lay in bed until 11am… most entrepreneur “gurus” online would say that is HORRIBLE  and you’re  never going to accomplish your goals by laying in bed on a Saturday morning. Maybe that’s true, but maybe you also get these strange waves of self-doubt and it takes you a while to kick your own ass into gear. Maybe though, you can make up for it in the remaining hours of the day by connecting with people or working on your projects or simply taking a day to yourself because we all need to recharge.

And maybe your body just honestly needed the rest, and your mind will thank you for it.

How then can you be successful with depression – procrastination – and waves of self-doubt?

Personally, I’m on this journey myself. It takes some trial and error and lots of forgiveness but it is possible to succeed. It takes huge amounts of self-care and self-awareness. You need to be able to recognize when you’re actually tired or if it is your unwelcome friend depression coming to say hello.

Procrastination is the real kicker, especially when you run a business that other people depend on. I used to tell myself and sometimes still find myself saying “I work best under pressure”. This may feel true…but I’m not fully convinced. What truly saved me was Mel Robbins 5 second rule.  You basically trick your brain into action and stop the thinking process. You count down 5-4-3-2-1 and then without thinking immediately just get up and do what you are supposed to be doing. It works, it really does, even if I have to take 15 seconds and count down 3 times before I get up… it works.

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Now for self-doubt. This guy likes to come around whenever I don’t get a sale the first time around or share a post on social media that doesn’t get as much feedback as I had hoped for. The trick of the whole thing is not to care about what other people think and to just produce content and move from one sale to the next, but when you are alone your mind can sometimes play tricks on you… and try to tell you that you’re worse at your job than you really are. Self-doubt has never been effectively managed for me by anything else other than three things: yoga – good people – and inspiration.

^^ It can look more like: self -care, relationships – mindfulness.

You will find as you go along your journey, your life will fill up with different – wonderful things and when times like this arise, when things get a little bit hard and these three try to creep back in… you will have created a safety net within yourself. You will have learned that you are better, worthy, beautiful, intelligent and able to conquer the gnawing thought of wasting the day.

It takes practice, as does anything in life.

And my dear, I’m here to tell you, I’ve been practicing for quite some time. You’re not alone.

 

Love always,

Carlee

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A GUIDE TO MORNINGS FOR THE NON-MORNING PERSON

Coffee, coffee and more coffee. (Just kidding…not really)

Mornings for some are this glorious time when everyone else is still sleeping, its quiet, the birds are chirping outside the window, and the smell of fresh coffee brewing fills the kitchen…wonderful!

For others, like myself, mornings would be more appreciated if they were actually afternoons.

Sadly, that’s not productive, nor how most of the world works.

So how can non-morning people cash in on all the extra hours, quiet time and coffee?!

The truth is now… I set about 10 different staggered alarms that bug the shit out of me until I get up.

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I also have this thing you might have heard of called “The Self-Care Enthusiast” which I’m extrememly passionate about and that more than anything has helped me to get my ass out of bed in order to cash in on the extra hours. More than I’d do for any job I worked for where I was just recieving a paycheck.

Here are some serious tips that have helped me in my journey to becoming a semi-morning person. (I appreciate them…I don’t have to like them.

1. Have an automated coffee maker.

Coffee is literally my very first thought in the morning. It isn’t until after I’ve had coffee that I can actually begin to function normally, and by normally I mean slow and steady. The heavenly smell of fresh coffee in the morning makes me want to get up and run into my kitchen. So…yeah, automated coffee makers are the best. #caffeineaddict

2.  Set your morning up right. 

By this I mean spend at least five minutes each night getting organized in the morning. You will thank me later, trust me. Not having to think early in the morning takes all the icky stuff away from waking up. If I had to suddenly remember the 6 phone calls, 2 meetings and 1 delivery I had to make throughout the day, and get organized imediately upon waking, I’d want to sleep in forever. Likewise, if you have to walk into a messy kitchen…it’s kind of depressing. You don’t want that when you’re waking up at 5am. *eye roll* Get organized, stick to the evening routine and mornings will actually become kind of refreshing.

3. Get yourself a musical alarm (preferably your favourite song of the month) and use it. 

I LOVE music for a while in my teens I dreamed of being a song-writter and having hit songs sung by all the latest artists. Now, I admire the music and love to dance right along to it. Adding a musical alarm means the song gets into my brain, even when I’m half asleep and the last thing I want to do is put my feet on the ground. Once I hear that song it’s game over, and I feel happier in the mornings. I’m a little hillbillie so my song choice this month is “It’s A Great Day To Be Alive” by Travis Tritt.

4. Get Yourself A Pet. 

Okay, so I understand this one’s kind of a cop-out but hear me out. I now have a cat (Quincy Jones) and a puppy (Alice). Each morning Quincy will wake me up at the crack of dawn meowing for what is likely just attention…not annoying at all. Alice then joins in and I have to go take her out to use the bathroom, if I don’t I’ll be the one cleaning it up in house. So I’m literally forced to wake up early even if I don’t smell coffee, or I didn’t complete my evening routine or the musical alarm didn’t work it’s magic on me. Obviously don’t just get a pet to wake up early… LOL you never know these days, I have to add a disclaimer.

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The honest no bullshit answer is that mornings are still hard for me but having something you are passionate about and goals that drive you will make you want to make use of the extra hours in the morning. I’m slowly getting better with it.

These days I’ll stay up until midnight – 2am and wake up around 6am or 7am. I try to balance between work and self-care which for me looks like walking the dog, quiet meditation, yoga or reading a book. It’s not always easy but it is always worth it.

Here’s to the actual morning people, bless your souls, keep on keeping on.

Here’s to the night owl’s, may the moons energy fuel you baby!

Honestly, let me know how you handle mornings and how you’ve allowed yourself to wake up even just 10 minutes early.

BTW if you have started waking up early, you go girl, do tell!

Carlee. xoxo

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YOUR MONTHLY GODDESS HOROSCOPE SEPTEMBER 2018

Hey girl,

September is an awesome month that brings with it vibes of serious change. Summer turns to fall, the moons energy is magical as September 9th is the New Moon that comes with lots of new beginnings.

Aries March 21 – April 19: 

Collaboration is key this month. Don’t stress if you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s time to take a step back and simple…breath. Asking for help isn’t a weakness, it’s a strength, and it may be just what you need this September. Strong emotions may surface such as fear, anger or jealousy. Acknowledge that these emotions are stemming from the first, fear. Don’t let fear guide your decision making and stop you from doing something beautiful. Accept your fear but take a step forward anyway, you deserve it.

Taurus April 20 – May 20: 

Less is more this month for Taurus as you discover a deeper understanding of who you are. As the seasons change it is a month of shedding everything that no longer serves you. The beginning of the month will be rocky and you may have experienced a set back. Don’t worry as you steady yourself out and move forward “bull-headed” you will succeed. Practicing minimalism this month will serve you well, donate things that you no longer need and make room for the new gifts coming into your life. As you begin to shed a new you will form creating deeper longer lasting connections and relationships.

Gemini May 21 – June 21: 

This month you seem fearless! In reality you are ignoring your fears and finding a newly charged romance, lasting or fleeting, that’s for you to decide. As the twin star baby you are dynamic. This month means you’re not putting up with anyone’s shit. Why should you? Being fearless shows itself this month by you becoming extra open, honest and vulnerable (in a good way), allowing others to see a side of you they normally don’t. Show this side of yourself more and others will be drawn to your silly charm.

Cancer June 22 – July 22:

Great things are coming together for you! Ideas that have been on your mind for the last few months are starting to materialize, you’re setting goals and building something for yourself. Slow and steady wins the race this month as it is the best time for building a solid foundation of success. Don’t run before you can walk, a detailed list of goals this month will be your best-friend. If you take your time in building a solid foundation, nothing will be able to take you down in the months to come. In all areas of your life put one foot in front of the other, grow from the bottom up, in love and in business and success will be yours.

Leo July 23 – Aug 22: 

A strong warning this month for Leo, do not let jealousy take over this month and guide your decision making. What something is, is often not what it appears to be. What people seem to have, may not be fancy, it may in reality be a lot of debt. List the things that you can be grateful in your own life. In moments of resentment take time to be still, quiet your mind, connect with your heart and come back to your own personal path. You know where you need to be and you know where you’re going. Stay true to your own nature and September can be a month of peace instead a month of “keeping up with the Jones’ ”

Virgo Aug 23 – Sept 22: 

You’ve totally got this! Virgo, this month is all about you taking charge and owning YOU. September brings a fierce energy that allows you to be the boss, leader, decision maker and kick-ass chick you are. Your life is YOUR LIFE and this month you take full ownership. Say no when you feel like it and yes when you can. Your power comes from using your intuition to guide you as you navigate the coming weeks with ease. Don’t second guess yourself, and don’t live life on anyone else’s terms but your own. You’ve known the answers all along…now it’s time to act on them.

Libra Sept 23 – Oct 22: 

Be careful of playing the role of “personal therapist” to friends and family this month and remember that in order to be stress free, you first need to focus on yourself. Taking on too much of other people’s emotions can be debilitating and cause negative emotional and physical side affects. Take this month to sort out just what your relationships need, tough love may be the right approach…even if it’s just to save your own sanity. In order to have the balance your sign desires you’ll need to even out the scales once again by giving a few members of your inner circle a reality check, in the nicest way possible.

Scorpio Oct 23 – Nov 21: 

Scorpios come with their earned loyalty and distinctive strike. Many don’t realize though that underneath a Scorpios tough exterior lies an inner soft side that runs deep. If you’ve been guarded for a while you may start to feel like isolating. There’s nothing wrong with taking time for yourself, but remember, there are people in your life who care about you and before you take time for yourself, let them know. Not only will it mean the world to them, it will also open you up to a deeper level of communication, honesty and connection.

Sagittarius Nov 22 – Dec 21: 

You distinctly know who you can and cannot trust. Let’s get real, people can be drama. There’s no need to get caught up in office politics. Show up, be a boss, do you and leave happy. Let the drama queens get to pre-occupied to cash in on opportunity. Keep your eyes wide open and you’ll be able to receive the rewards that come along with observation. Too much talk will drag you down, your self-worth is no one else’s but yours. Fresh fruit will also help you mid September.

Capricorn Dec 22 – Jan 19: 

September is all about self-care for the Capricorn. You’ve learned the value of self-care this past year and now it’s time to truly incorporate what you’ve learned into your daily life. Staying in the now will keep you grounded, humble and self-aware as you make your way through this month. When you find yourself distracted or stressed out acknowledge the actions you personally took to put yourself there. Success is important to the Capricorn, but don’t get so focused on the end goal that you miss the entire game.

Aquarius Jan 20 – Feb 18: 

In order to be heard by others this month you must stop acting out of emotion and start truly communicating what it is you need from others. Generally, people won’t know what it is you need until you tell them. This is the month of “ask and you shall receive” Aquarius, so ask away, you might be pleasantly surprised. Progress not perfection is the key.

Pisces Feb 19 – March 20: 

Intention is the big thing for Pisces this September. Your intention will manifest itself in all areas of your life, what you choose to vibe with is important. Honor the space in your heart that knows where your emotions live, your vibe attracts your tribe. If you aren’t attracting people, places or things into your life that truly serve you, it’s time to switch up your intentions. Get real with yourself and what your looking for. Once your balanced the end of the month will bring with it an awesome new gift.

 

Love you all, you astrology loving spiritual junkies.

See you on instagram,

Carlee xoxo. 

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HOW TO BE A FOCUSED BADASS EVEN WHEN YOU’RE LIKE, SO BUSY. (and the best iced coffee recipe)

Right now I’ve got a lot of things on the go (don’t we all?).

School, working full-time and building The Self-Care Enthusiast.

Oh, and taking care of Alice. She has her own doggie blog section you can find right here.

All of this got me thinking, how does one keep it all together while juggling so many things? Shout out to the moms doing all this and more.

There’s the obvious answer like time management, which I’ve honestly had to work on and there’s a LOT of growing room left for me to improve.

I sat down to think about the not so obvious answer…

Things honestly didn’t change for me until I got concrete about what I wanted out of my life, my business, my relationships and my home environment. I had to get serious about where my future was going and realize I was the one that was in charge of it.

Not my boss, not my boyfriend, not my dog, not my parents…me.

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Before I got serious I was just floating through life, not focused at all. Like zero focus. None.

I grabbed a journal and got real with myself, like really real.

What did I want? What would my future look like? What would happen if I stayed the same?

It’s tough but the focus came when I set real goals AND started working on my own business. Having something that was mine, where it would fail or succeed based on how much work I put in was the game changer.

I feel like a great employee, I show up and get the work done, but for all the jobs I’ve had my heart just wasn’t in it. I’m SO much more focused and decisive when I have the freedom I need to make decisions and work towards supporting myself.

But that’s me, you might be the same or you might be a little different. The best part is you get to decide.

So, how do you become a focused badass even when you’re busy?

Intent, passion, set real goals… and using the calendar on your phone wouldn’t hurt either.

Of course never let anyone waste your time. I had to understand my own value and believe it before anyone else saw any value in me. Self-worth means saying no when you need to and if you’ve got shit to do, stay focused girl. Not everyone is worth your time right now. Yes, they deserve respect, kindness, a smile, but you’ve got 24 hours in a day and you need to remain a focused badass…okay?!

Oh, before I go, one other thing I’ve learned is that if I think of something I have to do, like call my dentist to reschedule an appointment, I have to do it right then in that moment or else I wait WAY to long…(this can’t be just me?)

 

 

….priorities, priorities, priorities.

Shall I just say this, especially for you my dear reader, the world would like us to be organized to perfection, every t crossed and every i dotted. I live life a little more on the wild before 9pm side. A little messy, a little chaotic, a little insanely focused on what I’m passionate about and litterally ignoring the rest until im forced to look up…

You’ll never go wrong with an alarm reminder, a paper calendar and utilizing the calendar in your phone, and a precise set of goals for the day.

If you want to go the extra mile iced coffee with cinnamon instead of sweetner is the best compliment to a kickass focused productive day. (Recipe for my favourite below)

Let me know how you stay focused…we can help each other.

Message me in the community or I’ll see you on snapchat,

Carlee. xoxo

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I try not to have dairy anymore for my own personal health reasons so I have my iced coffee with almond milk but you can subsitute with actual milk, soy milk, cream etc. 🙂

Iced Coffee With Cinnamon

Step 1. Brew your coffee. (easy enough, sometimes I brew a whole bunch so I can have it throughout the day)

Step 2. Let chill in fridge (in freezer if you’re seriously in a hurry)

Step 3. Get your cup or beverage container and add the desired amount of milk. (first)

Step 4. Add cinnamon 1-2 tsp and stir into milk.

Step 5. If you wish add a dash of  vanilla extract

Step 6. Add 5-10 iced cubes

Step 7. Pour in chilled coffee & stir.

Enjoy!

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SELF-CARE JOURNALING & WHY YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY TRY IT.

Journaling has always been something I avoided, it always represented a blank page waiting for me to spill all my dirty little secrets onto it, filling in all the lines with all of the embarrasing things I’d done.

In truth my self-care journal does have a lot of the embarrasing, shameful and down right terrible things I’ve done but while writing about them I always seem to find a beautiful lesson hidden under all those gross feelings, a lesson I had missed along the way.

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I started journaling after reading the Artist’s way by Julia Cameron, a 12 week journey to higher creativity. She suggested writing 3 pages a day of pure nonsense…anything that came up in your mind. She called them the morning pages.

I didn’t expect much but I gave it a shot.

The first morning it took me an hour to write 3 pages. The second day it took me 45 minutes and the third day it only took me half an hour. I felt lighter, happier, more focused. It was amazing what a half an hour of writing about pure nothing could do. I started by writing mundane things like what I had to do that day, what groceries I was going to buy, what book I was reading.

Then it moved into deeper waters. Soon enough I was writing about what I wanted to do with my life, where I could infuse creativity, the people who had hurt me & the people I myself had hurt. I wrote about family, friends, relationships, work, therapy, addiction, fashion, judgement, jealousy….

My fear of the pages slowly vanished and I was left with a version of myself that I had never met before. Perhaps I had known her once in childhood but to find her again in adulthood was an unexpected blessing. 

Each morning I sit with myself when it is quiet and still, drinking my cofee with almond milk and I journal. I always talk about what happened at work or what hillarious thing Cody (my partner) said and then I’ll write about how I’m feeling…the truth of the matter. Some days I’m great, some days I’m a mess. I’ve come to realize that’s life.

(To prove my point here’s an unflattering, unfiltered, unedited picture of myself in the morning…just for you & yes the bottoms match)

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Writing about where I’m at honestly and then documenting what I’ve done to take care of myself in the last 24 hours has become a ritual. 

It’s a sounding board just for you. It allows you to explore what you like or disklike. It is a safe space for some tough self-love.

Have you ever seen those detox foot baths where the water turns a dark muddy brown by drawing out all of your toxins? Journaling is like that…but for your soul.  

Take the plunge and start journaling about your day, the fight you had with your spouse, the pasta you had for dinner, the moment you found for yourself and how you are honestly feeling in the moment.

There are a few different ways to journal about self-care, the morning pages are a great place to start or you can try bullet journaling (see above). It’s super simple, you just write down your triumphs, fears, memorable moments in bullet points, even incorporating some art if you want to. Get creative with it!

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If you haven’t yet subscribed to the blog now is a great time because you’ll have your own guided self-care journal sent right into your inbox…no excuses!

Carlee xoxo. 

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