5 Simple Steps to be more Aligned

Do you sometimes get through a day or week and wonder what you’ve actually done and feel frustrated you haven’t made more of an impact with your time and meaningful progress? You might be surprised by trying out the 5 simple steps below, it can make quite a difference.

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1. Turn off the red dots

Most apps, including many where there is no real justification or reason, have the red notification dot that tells you there is something, however trivial, waiting for you to give it attention.

Try turning these off for a week, and log into apps on your schedule, not other peoples.

As an added bonus for this one, I also recommend turning off the WhatsApp setting that shows to others if you have read the message or not. I was feeling bad that I may have seen a message but not had a chance to respond and it was adding to my mental load. Now I’ve got it turned off, it has been a pressure release!

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2. Set times to check email & add an auto-reply to let people know

Step away from any pressure to send responses instantly. Add an auto-reply stating when you check your emails so people know when to expect a response. Send me an email hi@lauren-jane.com to see my one! Then schedule time twice per day when you will be fully present with your inbox, instead of being constantly ‘on it’ as soon as a new email comes in. Obviously this depends on exactly what you do, but the intention here is to be more intentional with how you spend time in your inbox and ensure others respect that you may not respond right away.

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3. Find your balance of scheduling vs spontaneity

Have a plan for each week that gives a theme to each day. This gives me the balance between freedom and flexibility but consistency and ensuring over the week my essential items are completed. I have writing days, client call days, an admin day and a ‘on the business not in the business’ day.

Check out my free intuitive weekly planning guide for more on this.

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4. Use the New Moon Phase to check in against your values

Each New Moon it’s a gentle reminder for us to check in over the last month how much have we been living our core values? Or use a certain date each month – schedule time in your calendar for this. Where you have been out of alignment, what steps can you take next month to correct this?

I also combine this with a monthly plan that syncs with the Moon- this simply means that each New Moon, I start my month, and over the month I have a 4-phased approach with a different energy to each week. This is the cyclical approach that can really help reduce overwhelm and flipping between wanting a plan yet wanting some flexibility and freedom.

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5. Create before you consume

Before scrolling or reading through emails from others in your inbox, ensure you have already done your content creation. Don’t slip into compare and despair. Limit your time and be intentional with social media. Have a separate inbox for all the lists you subscribe to. Don’t get distracted by someone else’s sales email.

Let me know if you find these tips helpful!

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