Self Care

  • How I rock the miracle morning as a busy mum

    Wellness has always been a big part of my life and since I started growing my own business 5 years ago I have made personal development part of my daily routine. As well as being a content creator I have a side business as a wellness ambassador, which I love, and if it wasn’t for finding that I don’t know when I would have been introduced to the importance of Personal development and I often wonder without it if I would have found it at all. It’s funny how things happen for a reason.

    One of the books I read early on in my personal development journey was The Miracle Morning. I have recently picked it up again, determined to implement some of the suggested routines for success.

    If you haven’t ever heard of or read the Miracle morning, it is a number of items to do every morning to help put your mind in the right place first thing so you’re ready to tackle the day. These 6 habits, if implemented will change your mindset and set you up for success. Now these aren’t my idea so I urge you to go and check out Hal Elrod and also grab your own copy of the miracle morning.

    How I achieve the miracle morning as a mum

    Being a mum means my mornings are pretty rushed. My daughter is often a later riser (thank goodness!) and as a late riser myself I find that I will tend to sleep until she wakes because I perform at my best when I have the most amount of sleep. With this in mind it does mean that my miracle morning can only take place when my daughter is up, which does mean I tend to be somewhat distracted while I do it.

    To enable myself to get each of the six habits done I have to split them up and go for them when I see my window. The ideal time set out in the book is 1 hour although there is an amended 6 minute version for when you’re in a time crunch. 

    I personally don’t set a time limit for myself of the mornings where I am with my daughter, because sometimes I might get a longer period of time and sometimes I might struggle to find myself 6 minutes. In my mind, the most important thing is to get it done rather than worry about how long it takes.

    I start my morning off with a brief moment of self reflection, just a moment to pause and get acclimated to my day and I will often do this with my cup of coffee. A common phrase in our house is how amazing that first sip of coffee is in the morning. For me that first sip is the perfect moment to sit in silence and reflect.

    Next I move onto affirmations and I have them written down in a notebook. If I have time I will speak them outloud and several times. If I don’t I will just read them and pause briefly to reflect on each one.

    Next I try some visualisation. I say try because this is the one I often find the hardest when I am in the middle of a busy day already. Visualisation is also something I personally find the hardest too.

    After this I write in my gratitude journal and usually just a line or two about what I am thankful for that day. I also have space for an evening reflection in my journal so I make time for that before bed too.

    Next I do some quick stretches. I would love to commit to more of an exercise routine but I am not there yet.

    Lastly I read and I will be honest here I rarely manage to get this done in the morning and instead end up doing this much later in the day when my husband has my daughter and I have some time alone to work. 

    Life as a toddler mum is busy and chaotic but I hope I was able to show you that even though it seems hard it definitely is possible to create a routine around these habits and weave them into your everyday life. You can do it in so many ways; some people get up an hour earlier to get them done. I am not there yet but hopefully in the future that is something I can do. Have you ever tried the habits set out in the miracle morning?

  • Top 5 Audiobooks for Entrepreneurs

    Why I love Audiobooks!

    Running my own business is so busy but so worthwhile and I am always looking to expand my knowledge and building on my self-development is key for the industry that I am in. I used to be an avid reader as a child and teen and somewhere along the way I just seemed to lose the ability to sit down and read. Enter Audiable.

    When I realised that I really needed to spend more time on my self-development, and that meant a lot more reading than I was currently doing, I did what any person would do, I went out and purchased a couple of recommended books. They then remained on the bookshelf, largely unread and at most I had probably skimmed a couple of pages. I really needed something that would help me absorb these incredible books and get me back into the swing of reading and gaining this knowledge. A friend of mine mentioned that she had been getting audiobooks. I had dabbled with an audiable subscription before but I hadn’t really used it and ended up cancelling it. This was the perfect way for me to get through these books, I could listen to them wherever I was; doing the washing up, working at my desk, while in the car and even before I fell asleep at night. I immediately renewed my subscription and downloaded my first book. Given that I had already had a subscription before all my old books immediately appeared. What I love about Audiable is that before your paid subscription even starts properly you will get 1 credit so you can download your first book for free. This is a great way to help you discover whether audiobooks might be for you. Like I said, I listen to a lot of self-development books, and today I am going to go through my top 5 audiobooks for Entrepreneurs.

    Book on table

    My top 5 audiobooks for Entrepreneurs

    1. She Means Business – Carrie Green

    When I read She Mean’s Business the only words I had were: WOW.

    Honestly, that’s not me just hyping it up. If you’re a female entrepreneur, Carrie dives into the way she started, how she has found success and gives you some actionable tips to help you reach where you want to go with your business. If you’re a female entrepreneur I honestly couldn’t recommend this book enough.

    1. The Magic of Thinking Big – David Schwartz

    Although published in 1959, The Magic of Thinking Big is still relevant and still perfect for entrepreneurs today. The book talks about setting high goals and thinking positively in order to achieve them. David Schwartz also gives the reader a step by step guide in how to achieve their goals and truly embrace the magic of thinking big.

    1. You are a badass – Jen Sincero

    It’s full title, You are a badass: How to stop doubting your greatness and start living an awesome life. A book that crosses over between the realms of self-development and self-help, this book is nothing like how you have imagined self-help books would be. Uncover what is holding you back and help yourself move forward.

    1. 7 Habits of highly effective people – Stephen Covey

    The 7 habits of highly effective people evaluates the 7 habits which are exhibited by people who are successful in their fields. These habits help to produce the desirable results in your life and also in your business.

    1. Entreleadership

    Entreladership was written by Dave Ramsey and helps you uncover the ways in which you can grow your business to new heights. He gives tips on how he grew his multi-million dollar company, all from his living room.

    If you want to get started with audiable and claim your first free book, all you need to do is sign up with your Amazon account.