Creative Breaks + My Night and Morning Routine

Dress: Odd Molly (c/o) wearing size 1 (sign up here to get 10% off your purchase) / Earrings: similar / Bag: Madewell (similar) / Hat: Lack of Color / Eyeshadow Palette / Curling Iron

t’s been so incredibly hot here in Phoenix, like 107+ and while I love my home and being here, we just got a bit stir crazy and Benjamin wanted to escape. Last weekend we headed up to north, just 100 miles away to be with good friends who invited us. They are the owners of The Strawberry Inn, and were also our relators when we sold the townhome earlier this year before the COVID-19 pandemic.

We went to a winery to hang out, stayed in Strawberry Inn’s new cute white tiny cabins (coming soon! you can pre-book now) and went to a winery and topped it off with some Dairy Queen! We also watched a movie outside on a wall with blankets on. It was a nice change of scenery, it’s nice to be around friends again in the small dosages we do get. Arizona is open for the most part with some limitations and we’re still encouraged to stay at home and social distance. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit this new lifestyle a bit hard on me. I’m usually always meeting friends for lunch or doing something social and this has forced me to slow down. It’s difficult, but also a blessing and I try to focus on the blessing and take the time to slow down and work on other things.

I also no longer have FOMO, so that’s a plus, no one’s doing anything cooler right now, right? *wink*

I also had a break with two of my girlfriends last week at a resort with a lazy river right before the Strawberry trip and it was much needed. Girl talk, work talk, laughter, I packed no makeup for the next day. It was truly an unplug and enjoy this time without pressure to create content. My heart was just full! There’s a time and mood for content creation and I just haven’t been feeling it – even though I love what I do, sometimes I can overwork myself to burn out.

I came back feeling refreshed, my heart felt full and that break trickled into other areas of work, home life, it is amazing what those breaks do, even if they aren’t extravagant like what I would normally be doing this summer – overseas travel. And it’s also OK to take breaks and say hey right now I don’t feel like working to the bone.

I thought I’d share some quick tips that’s making me feel more productive – yet also giving myself rest.

Night time Routine

• Clean sink – all dishes in the dishwasher and if full, start it before bed
• Fluff pillows on couches before heading to bed so in the morning it looks nicer
• Clean office desk

I am usually in bed by midnight or at least 1 am, I’m a night owl.

Morning Routine

• Make bed
• Make coffee or drink V8 Energy (amazing!)
• Put away clean dishes
• Fluff pillows on couches if I didn’t get to do it the night before
• Get ready for the day – including light makeup!
• Get dressed in real clothes *wink*
• Light a candle in the office and start checking emails

I wake up around 8:30 am. If I feel extra tired (like bad sleep or whatever) I will sleep in a little longer but rarely past 9:30 am. I prefer to get up around 8 because I feel more productive but honestly the emails for work don’t come in until late morning and I am more productive at night so it seems pointless to be an early bird *wink*. I don’t check any social or email on my phone as soon as I get up.

Usually because I have my phone plugged in another room. Social messages are the last thing I check, and I check it around 11 am unless I have a deadline for a campaign to post! I know crazy right? When I log into my desktop in my office I see iMessages pop on my screen so I answer my friends and then check my email. Maybe one day I’ll share what a typical day looks like for me even though there’s not really such a thing. *wink*

Do you have any night or morning routines that help you feel more productive or give you rest?

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