In this week’s episode, Kris Rice and I talk about how she prioritizes wellness and tends to her most important priorities. (And don’t miss the freebie she’s offering TPW listeners–see the link below!)
Prioritize wellness without feeling like you have to do it all
Kris Rice works full time in the tech space for one of North America’s largest IT and networking companies. At the same time she’s building a business serving clients as a holistic health coach. Kris lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two young daughters.
Kris’s morning routine
Kris is a very routine person by nature and thrives by following a set schedule. She begins each day by waking up at 5:00 am to give her time to herself. She may write, create, or even pay the family bills. This gives Kris a grounding for her day, something she really benefits from.
A typical day
After her early start, she begins her workday and makes an effort to block her time, allowing her to focus on one task at a time, rather than trying to multi-task. The Corona Virus pandemic has not made a huge impact on Kris work-wise, as she has always worked remotely. However, Kris states that the family is together all day due to quarantine measures, which has been challenging at times but also good. She says that she has been able to be more transparent with her children and involve them more in family matters. At the end of the workday, Kris tries to wrap everything up by 4:00 pm so she can focus on her family for the evening.
Biggest productivity challenges
Kris struggles, like most of us do, with saying no. She also has a tendency to set unrealistic expectations for herself. To address those tendencies, Kris tries to identify three things, for example, that she needs to get done that day and everything else can wait. She doesn’t have to do everything that day and it’s okay.
Kris gives herself frequent “pep talks”, assuring herself that it’s okay to focus on what matters most and let go of the less important things. Doing less, but with a focus on quality, helps Kris set boundaries with her time and what she chooses to focus on. Kris finds that when she doesn’t make a concerted effort on setting boundaries with her time, she will try to do too many things and lose sight of what is truly a priority.
Tools Kris recommends
Kris meditates daily, which allows her to focus on what’s truly important. This mindfulness practice is a big part of her day. Her daughters join her in meditating as well, which seems to help them with managing their anxiety and sleeping better. Kris is a fan of Gabby Bernstein’s meditations and also recommends her book Super Attractor: Methods for Manifesting Your Life Beyond Your Wildest Dreams. Kris feels Gabby’s book and meditations are especially applicable during this time.
Kris recommends the books Everything Is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo and Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time an Energy Management for Ambitious Woman by Kate Northrup.
When it comes to daily organization, Kris uses both a paper calendar as well as a digital calendar to block time and keep her daily tasks prioritized.
Kris is also a huge fan of The Perfect Day Formula, which is a great way to prioritize what matters to you. The method involved drawing a 7×7 grid on paper (or it can be done on an online calendar), with the grid representing days of the week and the hours of each day. This tool helps you to look at your time and the way you spend it, and to see if it aligns with your values.
Kris also enjoys Amy Porterfield and her teachings on the concept of “batching”. This helps Kris with planning her writing content in a way that makes the most use of her time. She finds that she can get the same amount of work done in half the usual time when using this method.
What is a Holistic Health Coach?
A Holistic Health Coach focuses on the whole picture of one’s well-being, which is about more than what you are eating or how you exercise. A lot of what makes you healthy is about what lays beneath the surface, things that you do to calm your mind and stabilize your nervous system. These are things that are less tangible but important to be considered. Kris feels that our minds and bodies are interconnected and all the pieces need to be examined.
Kris invites her coaching clients to give themselves these permissions:
- Permission to shift their morning routine: For many of us our morning routine is our rock; meditate, journal, workout, breakfast, work. The gurus always say to have an iron-clad morning routine, right? Well, now with partners and kids home, no commute and homeschooling, sometimes it’s all just going to blow up. Shifting your morning routine doesn’t make you a failure, it makes you amenable to circumstances.
- Permission to repurpose their time: Most of us are always learning and thrive by trying new things. The latest webinar, podcast, or training that will help me move my career forward. This is a pretty great quality to have. And (it’s always an and!) now’s a great time to learn how to bake that sourdough loaf you’ve always wanted to try, or to finally learn crochet. Not everything has to be go-go-go all the time, it is OKAY to pick up a new hobby that has nothing to do with career success!
- Permission to feel the feels: Be grateful! Find the joy! Be positive! Yes, of course see the good, and as we navigate through the current circumstances, it’s okay to feel scared, or uncertain. What we resist persists. And once we’ve moved through our feelings, not making them wrong, then we can look toward how we can shift positively.
We can give ourselves a “permission slip” to step back, allow some grace, and see that it’s okay to change expectations of ourselves and make changes based on what the circumstances are.
What do you do to get back on track on a day when everything gets away from you?
When things start to get out of control, Kris’s first instinct is to try to control everything. One of the biggest lessons she has learned is to learn to step away. She has discovered that if she steps away and focuses on something else for a while, a “re-set” occurs and things start to get back on track. Kris has also offered to share with the community a resource she created called 5 Steps to Reverse Burnout. She hopes that you will find this to be helpful as you navigate the struggles of your own day.
What’s on the horizon for Kris?
Kris is really excited about the trajectory of her Deconstructing Wellness business. She feels that this will be an exciting and helpful resource for others and she can’t wait to see it flourish. On a more personal note, she is looking forward to celebrating Mother’s Day (which has already occurred by the time you hear this episode) with her husband and children.
Kris’s last words for the listener
When it comes to getting things done, start small. Focus on your non-negotiables and get those out of the way, so you can feel that accomplishment and move on to other things.
What do you think? Questions? Comments?
Do you have questions for Kris or me? Please share them in the comments section below or in The Productive Woman Community Facebook group, or send me an email.
More about Kris
Kris Rice empowers high-achieving women to prioritize their wellness without feeling like they have to spend 3 hours a day meditating! Through her inspiring blogs, social media, and DIY programs she’s here to show you what healthy looks like in real life — while making you feel like, if she can do it, you can do it! And when she’s not living her entrepreneurial dreams, you can find her indulging in snuggles with her Frenchie, cooking with her daughters, and binge-listening to podcasts.
Connect with Kris
Resources and Links
- Gabrielle Bernstein Meditations
- Super Attractor by Gabrielle Bernstein
- Amy Porterfield podcast
- The Perfect Day Formula
- Do Less by Kate Northrup
- Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo
- 5 Step to Reverse Burnout
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