Stress Free Friday - 7 Ways to Reduce Stress

Our days are filled with family activities, running our business, dealing with things at home, and a variety of chores, and it's easy to get stress out. Reducing stress is important for your mind, body and spirit.

Fridays are perfect for enjoying stress free activities!

Here are a few suggestion to help you relax and recharge:

Take a nap - Sometimes just finding a quite place to close your eyes is all you need to recharge.

Listen to music - Even when you are working this is a great way to clear your mind.

Lay outside and watch the sky - Perfect if you just want to relax and do nothing and enjoy the warm weather

Light some candles - Choose lavender or vanilla two very relaxing scents.

Enjoy some chocolate - You can never go wrong eating a wonderful piece of decedent chocolate.

Get together with friends - Make sure it's not at your house, you don't want the stress of having to clean.

Look through old photo albums - This is a great way to get a good laugh and go down memory lane.

These are just a few ideas to help you reduce stress. Here is a list of 52 relaxing and stress free ideas.

What is your favorite way to de-stress?

Make Everyday A Perfect Day

Want to get your day off to a good start?

Creating a habit of introspection as you rise in the morning will give you insight into the day you want to create.

Start by asking yourself these three questions before you get out of bed:

What will I accomplish today that will make me successful?

What incredible memories do I want to create today?

What three things can I focus on today to move me in the direction of my dream life?

Let the energy of the question guide you to having a successful day.


Not a morning person, then incorporate these three evening questions into your night time routine to inspire your morning planning. 

Overall, what worked for me today and what did not?

In what ways could I better spend my time tomorrow?

What will I apply more earnestly tomorrow no matter what?

These questions will give you an understanding of yourself and your working reality. 

Whether you do the morning or evening questions, asking yourself these questions will give you insight into your true self, helping you discover what you want and need for success in your business and personal life.

Try asking your question everyday for a week, if it feels right go another week, and then another, until it is a habit and a useful part of your planning and success.

Do you do any type of introspection during your day?

7 Ways Successful People Start Each Day

When you start your day with a can-do attitude you will have a more productive day and the energy to keep moving forward. 

The ideas I am sharing with you today are simple ways to start your day, and will help you achieve the can-do attitude you need to succeed. These ideas are very basic, but if you add them to your morning routine you will see a positive effect in how you feel and the work you do.

Move your body
When you get out of bed stretch your entire body, to get the blood flowing and take slow deep breaths to clear your mind. If you have the time add in a few exercises to loosen up your muscles and joints.

Inspire your mind
Before starting your workday is a great time to review your goals. Having them fresh in your mind when you start your day can inspire your best work as you go through your day.

Ignore email and messages
I know this is a hard one, but by if you wait till you are ready to start your workday to check your messages it will leave your mind free to reflect on your goals and thing you want to accomplish.

Fuel Your body
Breakfast defines how you feel for the day, so choose what you decide to eat wisely. Fruit, veggies, and lean protein will sustain you for hours. This is not a meal to be skipped, you do your best work when you have the fuel you need.

Feed your mind
While you are dressing, eating breakfast, or if you have a commute, these are good times to listen to motivational audio and inspirational music. Listening to the news or talk radio will only add stress to your day.

Be Cheerful
When you are upbeat and enthusiastic and share those positive feeling, it will inspire everyone around you to do the same. 

Do an important project first
Start your workday by deciding what is your most important project and do that first. By doing this you create momentum that will keep you energized all day.

I have incorporated all these ideas into my morning, and I found that it was not as difficult as I thought it might be. The hardest part for myself was not looking at email and messages, but it has been a few weeks now and I'm now fine with waiting till I'm ready to work.

Try to incorporate some or all of these ideas into your morning and see how you feel about your work and your goals over the next few weeks. 

Which of the 7 ideas do you think would be challenging for your morning?

4 Easy Steps to Reinvent an Idea

This is the perfect time of year to evaluate your business, your creative path, and even yourself. Do you need to change things up for the new season, is there something you want to learn, or are you adding a new collection? Then it's time to consider making some changes and reinvent your ideas.

Reinventing yourself can be exciting and scary, and making changes can be uncomfortable. But a new path will help you grow as an artist and a person.

Here are some easy tips to follow to reinvent yourself and your ideas:

Go at your own pace - You are doing this for yourself, take your time, find the best possible solutions for yourself, and then make changes slowly.

Do your research - There are many options, ideas, and opportunities, learn everything you can so you can make good choices.

Listen to yourself - It is easy to let outside influences distract you, but you know what is best for you, you know the answers, let your gut guide you in your new direction.

Ease into your new direction - You don't have to make all your changes all at once, try a few things until you know exactly what you want to do.

These steps are easily translated into starting a new project or even new product development. Go out and discover something new about yourself, and enjoy all the new things you will learn.

When was the last time you reinvented some aspect of your business?

An Unconventional Idea to Boost Your Creativity

There are so many ideas for giving your creativity a boost, and I have covered many ideas here on Everyday Inspired.

Here is one idea that is not talked about a lot, but will not only help you creatively but also physically.

Listen to your body

It's so easy to override the messages our body send us, like when we are hungry, when we need a break from the computer screen, or need to get some fresh air, but what if we listened to those messages and took the necessary breaks to be more relaxed.

Our body knows best. Listening to its cues will guide us to having a more relaxed mind, therefore being more creative.

Do you listen to your body for cues to take breaks?

15 Ways to Avoid Burnout

This time of year is all about go go go! You have family obligations, shopping, cleaning, cooking, creating, and running your business.

Accomplishing anything is more difficult if you are running on empty. As you know, you accomplish more when you are rested and not feeling crazed.

Over stimulation and being over scheduled  are a recipe for burnout.

Here are some easy ways to relax, recharge, and rejuvenate during this busy time of year.

1. Take a nap

2. Take a walk

3. Visit a museum

4. Put on some music

5. Write in your journal

6. Take yourself on a date

7. See a lecture or speaker

8. Repair or mend something

9. Go through your inspiration folder

10.Work on a puzzle, do sudoku or a crossword

11.Paint something

12.Watch a funny movie - for a good laugh

13.Find a new trail to take a walk on

14.Enjoy a relaxing bath

15.Visit a park, church, or store you always wanted to visit

Whatever you decide to do take a little time for yourself this season to avoid burnout.

What do you do to avoid burnout during the holidays?

Music Break

Music can calm the soul, and transport you into a peaceful frame of mind.

For a little me time this weekend, create a playlist of relaxing music. Play it when you need a break at home or out running errands to help you relax and enjoy what you are doing.

When creating your list be mindful of the songs you choose, organize the songs from fastest tempo to slowest, and consider starting with lyric songs and ending with classical. The natural progression will assist you in slowing down.

Play this list of music anytime you need a break, or to relax your mind. The more you do it, every time you choose that playlist your mind will automatically start to relax.

What is your favorite song to relax too?

Share Self-Love Saturday with your social community.

September 13 is Positive Thinking Day

Happy Positive Thinking Day!

Today is the perfect day to start making positive thinking and a positive attitude part of your life everyday.

It's easy to get started.

Incorporate these simple ideas into your day.

Affirmations keep you positive - Start your day with "It's going to be a great day!"

Be Mindful - Stay in the present moment, always reminding yourself it's going to be a great day.

Track your gratitude - Keeping a journal of what you are grateful for will only enforce how good life is.

Stay Inspired - Read and Watch motivational and inspirational materials daily.

Surround yourself with positive people - They will help you stay focused and positive.

Be Kind - Taking care of yourself and others will keep you in a positive frame of mind.

Smile - Share your smile throughout your day, because a smile is contagious.

Super simple ideas for a positive out look on life.

What are you going to do for Positive Thinking Day?

Share Positive Thinking Day with your social network

Fun Ways to Enjoy Summer

It's the time of year to get out and enjoy the great outdoors.  Take a day off and get away from your work, remember a relaxed mind is a creative mind.

Today I am sharing a list of fun things you can do as a family, a couple, and or even by yourself.

Family Fun

Spend an afternoon playing with your kids - blow bubbles, play with sidewalk chalk, have a water balloon fight.

Go on a picnic - pack up a few snacks and head for a park near you, and enjoy an afternoon under a shade tree.

Be a tourist in your hometown - visit local shops, stop at places you drive by everyday, find new sites to check out.

Have a family craft day - perfect for a rainy day. Break out some art supplies and spend some time creating. Maybe make a family collage, having each person create their own piece and bring them all together on one canvas.

Start a summer family journal - encourage everyone to write or draw something about what they did each day.

Couples Fun

Get away for a long weekend - you don't have to go far, just enjoy spending time away from home.

Bike around town - stop at places you have never been before.

Attend a free summer concert - in a town near you.

On a rainy day spend the day snuggled together watching movies on TV

Spend a day exploring flea markets, antique shops, and garage sales.

Alone Time

Do a fun art project - work with materials you don't usually use, explore new ideas.

Create your own art day - visit a museum or gallery, window shop, take your sketchbook to a park.

Spend a rainy day reading you favorite art book or flipping through magazines.

Pamper yourself - polish your nails, wash your hair and let it air dry outside.

Do nothing - don't make plans, just spend the day sitting outside.

These are just a few ideas for having fun this summer.

What are some fun things you like to do when the weather is warm?

Step Outside

When you are having a busy day or just need a break, if the weather permits, step outside and for some fresh air and warmth from the sun or a cool breeze and a glance at the stars.

Even if you just have 5 minutes, spending those few minutes outside is a great way to recharge, regroup, and get inspired.

Enjoy your day!

DIY Friday - Creative Alone Time

Embracing Harmony Week has been a week full of ideas for finding time to yourself to relax and recharge. Today I have a list of things you can create for enjoying your Me Time.

How to make the perfect cup of tea

Make your own journal

Bake yourself some lemon and blueberry scones

Let the scent of lavender relax you

Create your own tote bag for your day trip

Everything you need to know for creating a relaxing space just for you

Now that you have lots of ideas for creating enjoyable Me Time, it's time to start adding Me Time to your schedule.

How much Me Time will you be adding to your schedule this summer?

Join the Conversation

Join The Conversation is a series, of community conversations about inspiration, creativity and business. Every new post will have a question and responses from bloggers in our community. Then, you the reader, will have the opportunity to answer the question in the comments. I look forward to having you Join The Conversation!

With Embracing Harmony week ending tomorrow, I would love to hear your thoughts. Take a few minutes and Join the Conversation.

Question: When you are able to find a little time for yourself, what do you like to do?

Annette - It depends how much time I have as to what I like to do. If I have a couple of hours, I enjoy thrifting, hitting the antique mall, or wandering through a fabric store. Sometimes I'm looking for something specific and sometimes I'm just looking to see what catches my eye. When I don't have that much time, I like to fix a cup of tea, put my feet up, and browse through my latest magazine. It's relaxing and often inspiring.

So Many Memories Blog

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Meeling - I love this question! Life is so busy for everyone these days, I think it's really important to take a little time for yourself. I try to take a few minutes everyday and just "escape" to a quiet corner to either read a little, play a favorite word game or maybe even close my eyes for 5 minutes. I always end up feeling refreshed after. I also love to cook, so thankfully for me preparing dinner is usually a fun and relaxing end to my day. Once in a while when I need an extra treat, you'll find me getting a pedicure - in California we live in flip flops nearly year round, so that's my excuse for keeping my toes in tip top shape! :-)

Life is delicious...come follow me and eat it up! 

The Hairy Peach Blog

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Gloria - One of the things I do is listen to sparks that I have tucked away. They are ideas, feelings, nudges ... that want me to notice them and give them consideration. All the hours I am awake, I listen to, focus on, and serve others and their needs. In my quiet hours I can be busy, but I listen to, appreciate, and reflect on those sparks.

 If I can get away for a few hours and want to feel refreshed, I take a drive and stop to take photos along the way, walk in a public garden or museum, find someplace totally new to me and have a meal, or see a play. More often for a break at home, music, tea, chocolate, and a big yellow furball are at
hand.

New End Studio Blog ~ Shop ~ Pinterest ~ Twitter

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Rachel - When I find a little time for myself, I like to work on what I've started to call my "muse projects." they're long ridiculous projects that won't make me any money, are a bit out of my comfort zone, but I feel compelled to try out. So I might choose out a really tough song on the piano and spend a couple of months to half a year diving into it in my spare time (although no one will hear it except the people who live with me ((who will have to forgive me))) and I might not even finish it, (in fact I usaully don't).

 But the beauty of the project isn't really the end-goal, but the half-way there, where I learn how to play piano a little better, or how to compose a story a little better (I've written some terrible books for muse projects, for instance), or how to use photoshop better and more efficiently (I've also made some pretty awful comics), or how to tailor clothes (and there's a half-tailored ugly jacket in my closet I've experimented on), or learned some facts I didn't realize before (like from the huge books on Russia I got from the library but didn't quite finish ((Ps don't ask me anything about Russia I've forgotten already))).

Also, if I felt like I had to finish it, then it would become work, and the last thing I'd do for myself is more work. Without a deadline, it becomes an uplifting part of my day.

Shop ~ This is Not a Craft Blog

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Now it's your turn to answer the question. Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Can You Find 5 Minutes, an Hour, How About a Half a Day?

You can have Me Time adventures regardless of how much time you have. Even with just 5 minutes you can create a moment to recharge.

Sometimes the hardest part of enjoying Me Time is not knowing what you want to do, so it's easy to just sit around or watch TV. 

Now don't get me wrong sometimes just sitting around is just what you need, but it you would like a more meaningful way to experience your time to yourself give some of these ideas a try.

5 Minutes

~Close your eyes and take deep cleansing breaths until you feel yourself relax. Do a slow series of stretches further relax your muscles.

~Sit in sun and let the heat soak in.

~Take a brisk walk to get the blood flowing.

~Listen to your favorite song.

1 Hour

~Have lunch at your favorite restaurant. 

~Do an art project.

~Sit in a park and enjoy nature.

~Take a quite bath and relax.

~Take a nap.

Half Day

~Book a spa half day.

~Find a comfy spot, and grab your favorite book and get totally engrossed into a book.

~If your into cooking, make some of your favorite recipes or create new ones.

~Take a afternoon and go out to lunch and then catch a movie.

~Go to all your favorite stores and buy yourself a little something special.

Whole Day

~Visit a city close to you and have a day full oaf art. Go to art galleries and museums and any other favorite place to enjoy art.

~Take a mini road trip. Pack a lunch and drive to a unknown destination.

~Have a creative day. Create all those projects you always wanted to do but didn't have the time.

Whatever you decide to do with your time, remember to do something for yourself. As women we tend to forget about ourselves and do what we need to do for others first. It's important to take time for yourself to rejuvenate. 

When you find time, do something fun! 

If you had a whole day to do something just for yourself, what would it be?

A Quick and Easy Quiet Time Idea

Personalized Journal by moleskinebusiness

When your time is limited, but you really need a break, taking 10 - 15 minutes a day to yourself and your journal is a great way to regroup.

Taking time to do a brain dump, rant about a problem, or simply list what you are grateful for opens you up to discovering something new about yourself.

Daily Gratitude by WhisicalsPaperie

Here are 8 reasons why you should keep a journal
Record your daily life
Fuel your dreams
Gain self-awareness
Embrace who you are
Take a spiritual journey
Vent your frustrations
Make plans
Increase your positivity

Start with a journal you love. You can make one with all art techniques you love or purchase a beautiful handmade on off Etsy.

Keeping a journal is not all about writing. If you prefer you can draw, paint, collage, mixed media, or a combination of the medium of your choice. All you need to do is choose a medium you enjoy and get started.

Monogrammed Journal by OurLittleMesses

Add your journal time to you calendar. Even if you can't or don't want to do it everyday, carving out a time is the best way to commit to your journal time.

Journal time is a good way to take time to yourself quite your mind. After a busy day it can really help you relax and take control of your thoughts.

Do you keep a journal?

Find Time For Yourself

Just as you give appreciation, acknowledgment, 

adoration, and affection to others, you must also 

give this same kind of love to yourself.

Over the next 5 days their will be tips and ideas for enjoying me moments. Start by making a promise to yourself to take a few minutes everyday for yourself, doing something you enjoy.

4 Ways to make time for yourself
Plan an evening with yourself once a week
Take a class
Lunch alone
Plan a monthly outing (spa treatment, movie, walk etc..)

When you have chosen your me time add it to your calendar and tell your family. It will be easier to actually take time to yourself if you plan ahead.

When are you going to schedule your me time?

Are You Ready?

Starts Tomorrow

An Idea Partner

Last week there was a post to inspire you to create your own cheer squad, and it sounds like pretty much everyone has their squad in place. That's great, because we can always use a little support.

Sometimes you need more specific support, to flush out ideas for your business or art. Finding one person you can go over your ideas with is beneficial for you and your business.

My sister is my idea partner. Anytime I have an idea, she is the first person I call. 

I have been working on Embracing Harmony: 5 Days of Creating ME Moments, and I called her as the idea came to me to help me flush our my ideas and create a plan. We also brainstormed the name together.

For me, just having her to throw out words and ideas inspires me, and gets my creative juices flowing.

Our partnership works well together. I can be a up in the clouds creative person at times, and she is well grounded bringing be back to earth when my ideas get a little crazy.

Some traits you want for your idea partner:
• Someone with the same hopes and dreams 
• Good chemistry, so you will work well together
• Easy to talk to and share ideas

When you find the perfect person, create a working relationship. That way you can inspire, support, and count on each other to work out all you ideas.

Do you have a idea partner?

Create Your Own Me Moment

Enjoy some time to yourself listening to your favorite music. 

It's good for the mind, body, and soul!