Sometimes people who know me well are surprised to find out that I love “To Do” lists. On the one hand, I love a really free unstructured life and schedule. On the other hand, I find that there’s a benefit to imposing some self-structure. One of the ways that I have always done that is with To Do lists. However, I have been moving towards a shift lately in which the To Do list is beginning to serve a different purpose in my life than it has up to this point.

I use versions of the To Do list in many different ways. Each week I make my To Do list for work which includes when I plan to do different writing jobs. It also includes items that aren’t deadlined but that I’d like to do such as researching writing contests or looking for new clients, etc.

I often make a weekly To Do list (in calendar form) of the other things that I want to do with my week. Sometimes this is very structured. I get these ideas in my head about what I should be doing in order to have the life that I want. Then I create To Do lists that reflect these ideas. For example, I decide that I should be going to yoga three times per week, hiking once a week, attending at least one cultural/educational event per week, doing something artsy once per week, etc. Then I make a calendar-based list of specifically what activities I’m going to do that week and when.

I also sometimes make monthly To Do lists. These reflect the same types of things as the weekly list but Keep reading…

Tags: goals, lists, organizing life, to do list

As I sit down to write this, I am asking myself, “what is the smartest thing you’re thinking about right now?” I want to cut through the mess and share smart thought-provoking thoughts here. But the truth is that my smarts are kind of scattered right now.

During the times when I feel healthiest, I am enjoying a routine. I journal in the mornings. I read a bit in the morning as well. Then I work for a short period of time. I go to yoga or for a walk. In the evening, I do something creative (crochet/collage) while watching a movie (foreign/documentary). I go out a few times a week with friends for discussion and entertainment. The entertainment is often educational/artsy/cultural.

However, I fall out of this pattern as often as I fall into it. At the moment, the routine has faded. There are still a lot of smart, creative things happening in my life but they feel more scattered. There are books on my bed but none are succeeding in capturing my daily interest. I’m watching addiction shows (Intervention/Hoarders) more than the movies in Spanish I really want to be watching. I’m working more than usual and going to yoga less.

It used to be that I’d beat myself up when I fell into times like this. I felt like the routine way of doing things was “right” and this was “wrong”. That’s changed in the past year or so, though. I know that the routine feels better in a lot of ways and I aim for that. However, I also know that sometimes ideas and thoughts and understanding emerge from the messiness of less routine times.

I do think that I need to make a concentrated effort to journal more and go to yoga more. Those things bring me back to myself so that I can actually analyze and understand and articulate what’s going on in my head. The rest will sort itself out.

And honestly, I think that might be the smartest thought that I can offer today … to aim for great things for yourself but cut yourself a lot of slack when you aren’t doing precisely what you think you ought to be doing.

Tags: diary of a smart chick, smart

One of the things that I think is most important to learn how to do as an adult is to learn to take time out for yourself on a regular basis. I think it’s important to learn to take a few moments each day to just breathe and to be still with yourself. I think it’s important to learn to take a half day out of your week to do something alone that you truly enjoy. And I think it’s important to learn to take vacations or pursue long-term goals that allow you to take time for yourself in a bigger way throughout the year.

When you take time for yourself, you recharge your batteries. You get in better touch with yourself. You understand your needs and wants and emotions better. Taking time for yourself therefore allows you to give more to the people around you because there is more of you available to give. It allows you to be more productive while simultaneously allowing you to be more creative anmd flexible in your productivity.

Sure, it’s possible to fail to take time for yourself and to give your all to something in a productive way for awhile. Some people can even do this for long stretches of time. But you can’t do it forever. At some point, something’s got to give and then you burn out because your body and mind demand the attention that they need. Instead of doing that, we should take time out every day to be with ourselves and to be kind to ourselves so that we can keep going day after day without sacrificing our positive experience of life.

Tags: business, health, self care, taking time for yourself, time management, wellness

I always find it funny when people say that they don’t have the time to relax. It’s funny to me because of the irony of the fact that those people who have the least time are the ones who most need to relax and yet they don’t feel like they can. What I’ve discovered is that learning to take time away from your obligations is the single biggest thing that can allow you to be most productive in the times during which you are busy.

Learning to take time for yourself doesn’t mean that you have to give up any of your daily obligations. Take a look at my tips for ten ways to destress yourself in ten minutes or less. Each of these tips can be used throughout the day to decrease destress and yet none of them takes so much time that any part of your day should be hindered as a result of taking that time to chill out.

In fact, you will most likely find that the rest of your day goes much better because of the fact that you have taken a little bit of time to yourself. When we spread ourselves too thin, we don’t offer our full selves to anything that we are doing and everything suffers as a result of that. When we manage to take the time to care for ourselves, we do better in all that we do even if it technically seems like we have less time to give to things.

Tags: destress, health, hubpages, kathryn vercillo, life, relaxation, stress, stress tips, wellness

Anyone who is interested in yoga, meditation and general wellness should make it a point to check out the many different articles that were recently submitted to the Roundup of Yoga, Meditation and Personal Development blog carnival. There was a lot of useful information provided there!

My own post was on the many benefits of yoga was included in this carnival. Of course it was in the yoga section along with posts on bikram yoga, face yoga, yoga for beginners and the internal strength built by yoga. Also in the yoga section were two chakra-based posts on the root chakra and the heart chakra.

Another topic covered very well in this blog carnival is the topic of meditation and spiritual growth. This includes posts on the zen of clearing your mind, the law of attraction, consciousness and mysticism.

Additional posts in this blog carnival ran the gamut of topics including happiness, hypnosis, making the most of life through gratitude, forgiveness and optimism, making good eating choices (like papaya), your subconscious mind, having children, addictive drugs, anorexia, creativity and life goals.

Which of these posts made you feel most at peace?

Tags: best blogs, blog carnival, blogs, health, kathryn vercillo, personal development, spirituality, wellness, yoga

My health and diet post about yoga being so much more than just a physical thing has been included in the stress subject section of the Total Mind and Body Fitness blog carnival. Other articles on stress that were included were about rush hour traffic stress, destressing at work and finding satisfaction in life.

This blog carnival isn’t just about stress relief, though. It’s about all aspects of fitness and wellness. Other posts included:

• Posts on the brain including those related to memory, positive thoughts and brain plasticity.
• Tips, warnings and hints for dating online as well as offline and dealing with issues like cheating
• Exercise posts on yoga, the body (especially abs) and using ellipticals
• Beauty posts on cosmetic fillers and hair oil
• Food and nutrition posts on alcohol, pizza, health shakes, cholesterol and tea
• Financial wellness information on online banking, business and volunteerism
• Some seemingly random posts on Montana, PhotoLab, gold investing and remarkability

Wellness is a really important topic to read about so hopefully you’ll find some helpful information from the other articles that were included in this blog carnival!

Tags: blog carnival, blogcarnival, exercise, fitness, health, kathryn vercillo, life, stress, yoga

I believe that the key to living a healthy life is to live in moderation. I don’t always stick with this belief. I have some hedonistic tendencies. I like to indulge and imbibe. I like to revel and rejoice. But ultimately, I believe that most things work best when they are done in moderation rather than at the extremes.

I believe that this is true of both work and play. I definitely go through periods of being a workaholic. This is sometimes great since I really do love the work that I do. But ultimately the lack of moderation in my work causes me to dislike what I normally enjoy about it and to seek to regain that balance of work and play yet again. Likewise, when I play too much, I miss my work. When I am too social, I miss my solitude and when I stay home alone too much, I miss my friends. My life is constantly about trying to find balance and that balance comes with learning moderation.

One specific example of moderation that works is in dieting and weight loss. I don’t believe in fad diets. I don’t believe in rapid weight loss. I don’t believe in extreme weight changes. What I believe is that your body has a weight that’s right for it and that if you eat healthy and in moderation then you will naturally balance out at this weight, the right weight for you and the one at which you will feel your best. I don’t believe in over-indulging in treats but I do believe in indulging in what you enjoy on a regular basis. I believe, ultimately, in moderation – in weight loss, yes, but more importantly in life as a whole.

Tags: balance, being healthy, diet, eating right, ehow, happiness, how to, kathryn vercillo, life, moderation, weight loss, wellness

Diary of a Smart Chick is certainly a diary of sorts. It’s a place where I think about my writing that I’m doing elsewhere on the web and add some insight to it and share it with others. But it’s not the only diary that I keep. I also keep a daily diary (or journal, rather) in my personal life. I’ve kept a diary off and on since I was about ten and it’s something that I do consistently now because I think it’s a really important part of my life.

For me, the journal is a place where I can get every single thought out of my head. I write in it every morning whether I am feeling happy or sad, sick or well. I write down what I’m feeling and what I’m thinking and what I’m going to do that day and what I’m worried about and what I’m excited about and what I don’t want to really write about.

Doing this allows that stuff to get on to the page where it can be processed. This means it’s not bouncing around inside of my brain anymore. The fact that it clears some peace of mind for me means that I can then go about my day without so much worry about those thoughts. I can make smart choices about how to handle problems. I can relax. I can be creative.

I believe that keeping a journal is something that is particularly important for writers. However, I think it’s a tool that anyone can (and should) use to get some peace of mind in their daily lives. It’s a way to understand yourself better. Plus keeping the commitment to write down your thoughts daily shows yourself that you value those thoughts and emotions which can go a long way towards living an emotionally healthy life.

Tags: diary, journal, kathryn vercillo, real words, writing

Yoga is a popular form of exercise, especially in California where I live. However, it’s more than just a form of exercise. Yoga is a means of connecting with yourself. It’s a tool that can be used to get away from the hectic pace of life and bring yourself back to the core things that matter for you. It’s a way to establish peace of mind, get to know what’s going on with your body and really heal yourself from the inside out.

I never thought that I would be a yoga person. I was always someone who couldn’t sit still for long. I was always someone who wanted to do hiking and indoor rock climbing and other activities that involved a lot of motion. And I was definitely never someone who enjoyed classes filled with people who were exercising together.

But then things happened in my life. My world crashed down around me. And the only thing that I felt capable of doing was breathing (although some days I didn’t even feel capable of that). That was when I found yoga. I signed up for a weekly workshop. I dragged myself there. I learned to do some basic poses. I learned to breathe more deeply. And I learned to settle my mind so I could just relax despite the chaos happening around me. The physical exercise is certainly an important part of yoga but yoga is about so much more than that.

Ever since I started that first workshop, I have felt that yoga must be an important part of my life for the rest of my life. I make time for yoga classes no matter what else is going on. When I was ill recently, the thing I missed most was being able to go to yoga. Although it’s not the right activity for everyone, it’s now the right activity for me.

Tags: ehow, exercise, health, how to do yoga, spirituality, wellness, yoga