feelgood

Pro Feelings

Bardees, , Leave a comment

I’m starting to feel like a real writer taking some time away from my family while on mini-vacation to use my mini-laptop to write today’s post.

I already spent some time in the morning before leaving to our vacation destination getting my weekly newsletter ready, to have it ship tomorrow right on schedule.

Writing in a hotel room and scheduling newsletters are stuff I never did before. I feel so professional committing to my practice. I am becoming who I want to be. It feels different because I made these promises myself. There is no “have to” taste in this at all.

One last note-to-self: write more posts and have them on queue for longer vacations in the near future, hopefully.

Pro Feelings

Food journaling

Bardees, , , Leave a comment

I started food journaling 3 weeks ago to track the reason of digestive system problems I’ve had for a while. I never attempted logging what I ate before because I usually don’t have weight goals and thought this was the only reason people would go for food journaling.

After trying it, I realized it’s amazing how food journaling habit makes us more mindful of what we eat. We actually pause and think before we eat because whatever it is, it will go into the food journal.

I’d like to keep this habit because I already had a very quick win defining my stomach pain’s root cause. I would encourage you to try it and tie food types to uncomfortable physical symptoms like headaches and bloating, so you can experiment with your diet based on that. We owe this to our bodies.

(in case you wonder: my trigger is sunny-side-up eggs, I would never have considered it because I’ve been having them for years).

Food journaling

Motion Vs. Action

Bardees, , , , Leave a comment

“Motion makes you feel like you’re getting things done. But really, you’re just preparing to get something done. When preparation becomes a form of procrastination, you need to change something. You don’t want to merely be planning. You want to be practicing.”

-James Clear

I love this idea so much by James Clear in Atomic habits. Reading it for the first time was a lightbulb moment for me. I do love my motion so much. I spend so much time planning and tracking. Being aware of the difference, however, helped me realize I may be acquiring clarity but not actually making progress towards my goals.

This week, after a super first quarter of the year, I gave myself permission to enjoy motion only. I spent my mornings doing the first quarterly review of the year on 2 different planners, mind you, plus re-thinking and re-writing of my goals for the second quarter, and simply reading. I did not record a new podcast episode. I did not create a mid-week post for Instagram. I just enjoyed the motions.

This on-purpose break is the exact thing I needed. I’ll make it happen more often, maybe this is how each quarter should actually start. As a result, I am definitely feeling more ready to jump into action again.

Motion Vs. Action

Recommit

Bardees, Leave a comment

You broke your diet?
You binged on social media and Netflix?
You yelled at your kids again despite your intentions to be a calmer parent?
You stopped meditating?
You stopped working out?
You gossiped again?
You stayed up way too late?
You slept in way too late?
You let your books collect dust?
You broke the chain of your new daily habit?
You checked your phone first thing in the morning?
You did not do what you said you would?
You let the gas tank go empty?
You went to bed with makeup on?
You did not return that phone call?
You kept picking up your phone while with family?
You kept picking up your phone in your focused session?
You got the gift last minute?
You forgot to drink water?
You postponed that task one more time?

Good! Now you are aware this is not what you want.
Forgive yourself and simply recommit.
That is the beauty of a new day.

Recommit

A Fine Saturday

BardeesLeave a comment

I started my Saturday at 7am by taking a one-hour walk with 2 dear friends of mine. It felt so good to start my day on such a high note that I will try to commit to it every Saturday, especially with this great weather.
Walking has been a consistent habit of mine since last year’s lock-down. I have been mostly doing it in the evenings to watch the breathtaking sunset view we have outside our house. Today however, I felt rewarded socially by seeing my friends, which we don’t get to do during these tough times, and also by seeing many people walking this early on their day off. I consider walking as a new habit in our culture and I’m proud it is spreading.

Do you walk? Our physiology changes when we move, so get going.
I recommend getting a smart watch to track your steps, it’ll make it a game you can win every day.

A Fine Saturday

Find The Good

Bardees, , , , Leave a comment

I was reading the Arabic translation of an English book that I owned to be able to find better words to use for my Arabic podcast. The translation was excellent and kept the spirit of this favorite book of mine intact. Then I noticed a mistake in translation where the translator missed negating a sentence that the author did. The first thought that came into mind was: oh I have to find the email address of the translator and notify him to make sure he fixes this in the next version! Then, I noticed my thoughts.

Continue reading “Find The Good” →
Find The Good

Woke Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bed?

Bardees, , Leave a comment

Maybe you did not sleep well, maybe you did not sleep enough, maybe as a woman, it’s your hormones and you are in your winter, which I believe is a time you need to be totally resting, but you still need to show up for life. Maybe you are anxious about an upcoming meeting or a work load that needs to get done this week.

So what should you do? How do you keep this energy form ruining your day, week and being picked up by people around you? Energy is contagious after all.

Continue reading “Woke Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bed?” →
Woke Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bed?

Anticipate

Bardees, , , 1 Comment

Anticipate is one of my favorite words. If we think about it in terms of work and projects, it is really helpful.

Anticipation helps us plan better if we:

  • Anticipate changes.
  • Anticipate obstacles.
  • Anticipate questions.
  • Anticipate expenses.

Anticipate is another term for risk management in projects or how we might do a SWOT analysis. It is, in this case, a guiding direction.

Continue reading “Anticipate” →
Anticipate

Radio Crush

Bardees, Leave a comment

A little thing that few people in my life know I like to do every now and then is sending voice notes to my favorite local Arabic radio station Watar FM. It’s my favorite because their Arabic choice of music is so good and especially because I respect their strict policy of not speaking over music. So when a song is playing we get to hear it from start to end. No ads. No interruptions. On the other hand, there are certain radio shows elsewhere where we are put through the agony of presenters singing along with songs not just cutting them. Does it annoy you too?

Continue reading “Radio Crush” →
Radio Crush