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How to Create Good Habits and Break the Bad Ones

Habits….we’ve all got ’em — some bad and some good.  In fact, 40-45% of our daily behaviors are habits!

In today’s Intentional Living video, I discuss the ins and outs of habit formation: how to create good habits and break the bad ones.

Watch today’s video to:

  • Learn what the 3 parts of the habit loop are and why they’re key to understanding your own habits.
  • Find out how the Tiny Habit formation system will make creating new healthy habits super easy.
  • Discover the 2 most effective ways to break a bad habit.

After watching this video, a viewer sent me this snapshot of her plan to break a habit of binge watching Netflix at the end of her day.  I love how she gave herself alternative activities for how she wanted to spend her time!

She’s on the right track…you must set your intention before you’ll gain any momentum.

If you’d like more information on Tiny Habits, I wrote a blog post here.

If you’re looking for a good read on the topic of habits, I recommend the following:

Gretchen Rubin’s book, Better Than Before, was one of my all-time favorite reads.  It was easy reading and really helpful — this book is bound to transform your life. Click here to purchase on Amazon for less than $10!

If you search for information on habit formation, Charles Duhigg’s name will come up every time.  While I haven’t read his book, I’ve read lot’s of articles, blog posts and praise for his wisdom in the habit formation arena.  Click here to purchase on Amazon for under 10 bucks!

Here’s to creating new and healthy habits and chucking the bad ones.

Appreciate you spending time with me on the blog today!  Please share with friends, family, and co-workers.

Jill xx

Disclosure: Please note that the book links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase.

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How To Maximize Your Most Valuable Resource: Time

Time management

The #1 reason people fail to live with intention is the lack of, or mismanagement of time.  Don’t let this be part of your story.

Today, I share a simple, yet very powerful exercise in understanding where/how you spend your time, where/how you’re wasting time, and how you can create your ideal schedule to live a life of intention.

Exercise from video:

What you’ll need:

Paper and pencil.
Your current calendar.

On a blank piece of paper, write the hours of the day along one side of the sheet and the days of the week across the other.  Depending on your typical schedule, you may write the hours down in one hour, 30 minute, or 15 minute chunks.  Fill in the time slots with the activities, appointments and responsibilities that account for the time in your day.  NOTE: Don’t forget the scrolling through Facebook/Instagram/Pinterest time (no judgment, let’s just make sure you are giving a true representation of where you spend your time.)

Next, you’re going to circle, star, box and X the items on your schedule.

  • Circle all items on your schedule that are non-negotiables based on your values, your season in life, or your survival.  A non-negotiable may be getting up at the crack of dawn to go to work 5 days per week, or packing your kids school lunches, or driving your spouse or elderly parent to their doctor’s appointments.  It may also be exercise or time with your favorite person. 
  • Put a STAR next to all the things in your schedule that bring you joy or fulfillment.  Making breakfast for your loved ones, working out, volunteering, painting, singing in choir, etc.
  • Put a BOX next to all the thing that are important, but you can either give the task to someone else or move it to a later date.
  • Put an X next to the things on your schedule that are time and life suckers!  These are the things you are going to remove, minimize, and/or schedule more tightly in your schedule.

Don’t rush this process.  Take your time so you are sure to include everything that should be on the schedule.  You want to be as realistic as possible.

On another sheet, write down your ideal schedule that supports and aligns with your values and intentions for your life.  This is where you will remove or minimize items that you marked with an X, delegate or move those you marked with a BOX, possibly devote more time to the items you placed a STAR next to, and last but not least, see where you have new chunks of time available to intentionally fill with absolutely nothing and with things that support a healthy, balanced life.    

When you’re done (today or in the next couple days) I’d love to hear how this exercise worked for you.  Did you spot some obnoxious time sucks in your schedule?  Did you realize how little time you were devoting to VERY important things?  Did you feel a sense of relief when you placed an X next to one of the items on your calendar, signifying and making a decision to rid that from your life?  I would love to hear from you.  Let me know in the comments or by emailing me at Jill@JillGottenstrater.com.

Here’s to creating a schedule that honors you and lends itself to an intentional, fulfilling and impactful life!

Jill xx

Click here to join me on Wednesday mornings for my Facebook LIVE video series.

In case you missed it…Click here to read my post on understanding your core values and living them out in real life.

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How Your Core Values Look In Real Life

How intentional living holds hands with core values…

Join me this week on the “Your Intentional Life” video series as we dig even deeper into core values and how they show up in real life situations.  Last week we began to uncover the concept and importance of core values, but this week, we go deep.  I even created a guide/workbook for you!

We will cover:

  • Definition of core values.
  • Why understanding and being able to articulate your core values is so important.
  • How your core values affect all areas of your life, including your personal-life, work-life, family-life, and love-life.
  • And to package it all up with a bow, I created a great guide/workbook for you to download to walk you through the process of really understanding what your core values are and how they inform your life.  This is where the rubber hits the road, friends!  Download this free guide,  complete the simple exercises to help you clarify and declare your values and see how they show up in your day-to-day life.  Do this…you will thank yourself.  : )

Enter your name and email below to receive your free core values guide!




I hope the guide/worksheets help you, like they did for me.  I would love to hear from you.  Did you have an a-ha moment?  Did you discover something about yourself that surprised you?  Maybe you’re finding it hard to narrow it down.  No question or comment is silly…your questions and comments are what help me to understand what sort of information I can provide in the future.

Much love, friends!

Jill xx

P.S. If you have friends, family or co-workers who would benefit from digging deeper into understanding their core values and how they could live more intentionally with this knowledge, share this post.  Sharing is caring. : )

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Core Values: How to Understand and Live Them Out

Understanding and Living Out Your Core Values

Our first week of the “Your Intentional Life” video series is on the books and we talked all about core values and how foundational they are to intentionally living!  If you didn’t catch it on Facebook LIVE earlier this week, I’ve got the video here for you now.

This week we talked about:

  • What Intentional Living and Core Values have to do with one another.
  • The importance of understanding, articulating, and living out our core values.
  • The three categories of people that may find themselves living outside their values–I wonder if you see yourself in one?
  • A simple exercise to figure out what your core values are.

Join me on the video now…

I hope you’ll take a few minutes today to work on your list and define your top 3-5 core values.

Remember to think about these two areas when you’re putting your list together:

  • What words describe what is most important to you?
  • What characteristics define who you want to be?

I mentioned brain-dumping as a resource for you to figure out your core values…here’s the link for that post.

What are your core values?  Do you struggle with living out those values?  If so, how?  Comment or email me…I’d love to hear from you!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, friends!

Much love,

Jill xx

I hope to see you this coming Wednesday morning as the “Your Intentional Life” video series continues.  Click here to “like” my blog’s Facebook page, so you’ll be notified when I go LIVE each week.

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Intentional Living Series on Facebook LIVE Begins Soon!

Inspiration for intentional living…

I’m just back from a week at the beach and it proved to be the perfect time to think about all the topics I will be discussing in my Intentional Living Facebook LIVE series that starts this coming Wednesday morning.

I don’t know about you, but when I’m on vacation, it’s hard to stick to a normal routine.  I enjoy being more flexible with my schedule, but there’s at least one routine I maintain: “intentional walks” (and since I’m on vacay, the walks are long).  These walks do not include thinking of all the things I need to get done that day, or achieving a certain number of miles.  These walks are a semi-unlimited pocket of time in which I don’t have to get back to anything. It’s a time dedicated to quiet, dreaming, wonder, and gratitude.


Photo: My faithful walking companion.

Four years ago to the week, I was walking on the same beach and I felt a very strong call to begin writing a blog.  I wrote one post that week, but never shared it.  Fear, and that crazy imposter syndrome, I mentioned a few weeks back, crept in and took over.

It took me another 15 months to get the guts up to start the blog you read today, and I can tell you that learning about, and practicing intentional living has been key through it all.

But behind the blog is a life changed due to the small, daily steps of attempting to live as intentionally as I can.  The blog is my way of sharing with others: tools, techniques, and inspiration, so that someone — like you — may read or hear something that guides them toward living their life with more intention, meaning, and joy.

I hope you’ll join me over the next few months for the Your Intentional Life series.  Click here to “like” my blog’s Facebook page, so you’ll be notified when I go LIVE each week.

The series will run from July – September, 2017 and I’ll be covering things like:

  • Defining core values
  • Clarifying life-direction
  • Creating confidence
  • Finding peace through mindfulness
  • Creating systems to limit overwhelm
  • And lots more….

For those of you who aren’t on East Coast time, don’t worry, the replay will be available when you rise and shine.

Can’t wait to see y’all on Wednesday!

Jill xx

 

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