I’ve found that when I don’t plan, life happens to me. I might get lucky for a while, but sooner or later, things begin to feel off and disconnected. If I put it off too long, it sometimes even culminates into an existential crisis.

But how can you plan in a way that feels good? So often it’s tied to the hustle, super-productivity, and trying to fit MORE stuff into every second. 

Fixation on creating control in my schedule can take a turn into future tripping. I want to pace my life for healing and organize my time in a balanced and nourishing way.

Benefits of planning

It can help to remember that there is a lot more to gain from planning than only productivity. There are many ways it can deepen our path and help us steep in the magic of living. 

Benefits include:

• Increased creativity

• Decreased cognitive load 

• Narrows the gap between intention and action

• Increased chance that enjoyable and meaningful things will happen 

• It’s more potent than motivation alone 

• It helps you see the bigger picture

• Helps you manage stress and cope with the demands of daily life

• Provides a sense of direction

• Helps you achieve your goals

And it doesn’t have to be tedious, monotonous, or make you feel like you're failing at life.

I get excited when I reframe planning as a journey to help me discover what I love. It can be a way to craft my days to be more fulfilling. I can then use this plan to create moments of care for myself and others.

Making a plan that feels good

Over the years I’ve found some tips that actually work, and help me stay in the moment while organizing my future.

• Keep it simple. In the most stripped-down terms: you’re figuring out the when and how of your why.

• Write it down. There are many benefits to writing it by hand first. I find it prevents me from overworking because it slows me down. Plus, writing it down will reduce your chance of getting distracted by your device. Putting it on paper allows for the satisfaction of crossing it out once you’ve completed an action. I still use an online calendar to set up essential reminders, but not until I’ve handwritten it first. 

• Adjust as needed. Create a way to track your plan so you can see how it’s working for you: cross things out, tick a box, or fill in a bubble. Take time to sense how your body is responding to them. Don’t be afraid to change your plan to better align with you.

• Create rituals. Build small rituals into your schedule. This makes it easier for your body and spirit to join the intentions your mind creates. These small traditions build a path to meaning that lives outside the grind. 

• Embrace natural cues. Attaching a signal to a habit will improve implementation (i.e., when I wake up, I will think of one thing I’m grateful for). Resist the impulse to set a reminder on your phone as a cue. Instead, the natural signals of your day (or zeitgebers) are a gentler way to introduce new habits to your schedule. The benefit of this type of cue is that it’s already worked into your body’s circadian rhythm.
  
  Rely on your cues that your body already knows instead of blasting alarms to remind you of routine tasks. Save the alerts for when you need them.

• Focus on finding your rhythm instead of scheduling each minute. It’s a simple perspective that creates more space around each activity.
  

• Keep it values-driven. Focus less on achievement and more on purpose.
  

• Be gentle. Cultivate a curious instead of forceful mindset.  If at the end of the week you’ve only gotten to half of your plan, you haven’t failed. Use the information you’ve gathered to understand your ideal tempo. Permit yourself to do less.
  

• Remain present. Presence and planning for the future may feel like opposites, but they’re actually a great team. When you think of it, making a schedule is designing a framework for mindful moments. Use them together to have a more significant positive impact and improve your desired outcomes.

Live more intentionally with the Self-care Planner

Lay a solid foundation

Before your first session:

• Get clear on what is most important to you. Remind yourself in each scheduling session by writing it at the top of your calendar. (If you aren’t clear on your values, find them out in less than 15 minutes with my “Values” worksheet in my password-protected resource library. Subscribe for the password ).

• Make it special. Anything can transform into a weekly ritual if you do it every Sunday after lunch over a cup of tea and a cozy chair. (Candles, a closed door, and relaxing music don’t hurt either). Set aside about half an hour. You may not need the full time, but it’s a good starting point.

• Decide the chunk of time you’ll be addressing. For me, I like to plan for the week with a loose outlook of a month. It’s individual. Choose what feels best right now.

Your scheduling ritual

Here’s a step-by-step outline that you can apply to your next calendaring time:

1. Light a candle, grab your favorite planner, and get cozy in a chair with your favorite blanket.

2. Write down your core values at the top of the page.

3. Choose one action you can take to express your values this week.

4. Set up self-care rituals before any other events.

5. Add rituals to your calendar or a habit tracker.

6. Check-in. From time to time take a moment to see how this plan feels to you. 

7. Review. Once you’ve finished, look it over again. Does your plan align with your values? Adjust it so it does. 

8. Close the ritual. Blow out a candle, give yourself a pat on the back, or clear off your desk. Do something to show your body that you’ve finished planning for today.

Don’t obsess or try to make things perfect. Just do your best in this time you’ve given yourself. It’s inevitable that your plans will change. But now you have a compass. You’ve taken the time to dream and inject this dream into real life. You’ve given your soul a door to walk through, to enter the dimension of time.

You are the one designing this system. Treat it as a creative project, with curiosity and a willingness to break the rules (especially your own).

If you would like more guidance on creating a value-based plan you can purchase my self-care planner and get started today.

Remember: Planning is a kindness you’re doing for yourself to create a rich life filled with joy, meaning, and love. 💖

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I’ve found myself avoiding resolutions this new year. They feel so separate from the actualities of daily life and just plain not fun. Instead, I’m focusing on creating moments that are enjoyable to replicate. I’m intentionally inserting joy in the form of rituals.

The beauty of a ritual is that it’s positive, unlike resolutions that often involve planned deprivation.

Your resolution to ritual formula

It’s easy to build rituals from your well-intentioned resolutions. It involves reframing and a little magic from creative thinking. Just follow the steps below:

1. Write down your resolution.

2. Write down one or two of your key positive motivations behind it.

3. Brainstorm a few activities linked to these core motivations that you would enjoy.  Add a dash of ambiance and intentionality while you’re at it. This package will form the foundation of your ritual.

4. Link the ritual’s occurrence to something you already do regularly, like getting off work or walking your dog.

5. Now you’re ready to drop the resolution and replace it with your ritual.
   
   

Recipes for rituals

Here are some examples of swaps for some of the most common New Year’s resolutions.

Resolution: “Lose weight”

Key motivation: Health + Mindful eating

Ritual: At dinnertime, light a candle. Serve healthy whole foods on your favorite plate with cloth napkins. Take a moment of appreciation for your food. Set a timer for 20 minutes and slowly enjoy your meal without rushing. Finish your ritual meal with your favorite tea.

Read next:

Mindfulness through your senses

Resolution: “Exercise more”

Key motivation: Ease with your body

Ritual: Every Friday after work, put on your most comfortable outdoor play clothes. Go to your most treasured hike or greenspace. Walk to a resting spot that you enjoy and sit there a moment, taking in all that nature has to offer. Take off your shoes and ground yourself. Write in a pocket-sized journal about what fills up your heart about this place. Do some easy, simple stretches that feel good and head back home.


Resolution: “Get organized”

Key motivation: Peace through order 

Ritual: Every Sunday morning after breakfast, take a photo of a small area that you would like to declutter. Using a basket made of a natural material, carefully remove each item that doesn’t belong there into the basket. Set a timer for 10-20 minutes. Gently put each thing away with care, and as you do so, feel gratitude for each hardworking item. Take your after photo and then grab a cup of your favorite warm drink and admire the freshly cleared space.

Include others

Resolution: “Reach out more to family and friends”

Key motivation: Love + Community 

Ritual: Every Thursday evening, after responding to your last work message, light a candle, grab a cup of your favorite tea, and head to your favorite cozy spot. Bring your hands to your heart for a minute as you think of a person you’d like to reach. Contact them in a way that brings you joy (call, create a postcard, or write a letter). Share one thing that you appreciate about them. In a beautiful small notebook, write the name of who you want to call next week. Blow out your candle as you silently say “Thank you” for having people you love in your life.

Resolution: “Go to bed early on Sunday”

Key motivation: Soothe Sunday scaries + Rest

Ritual: Pajama party time! Each Sunday before dinner, invite everyone in your house to get ready for bed dressed in their favorite pajamas. After dinner, relax in your living room by firelight, play a game, or do tarot. When anyone feels the slightest bit tired, head straight to bed.

(We’ve had success in our house with this last one). 

There is a sort of magic that rituals cast our state of mind. Join me in trying out new habits for a more joyful transformation.

Embrace the beauty of this new year 💖

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“Let the waters settle and you will see the moon and the stars mirrored in your own being.”

—Rumi

With November comes the beginning of colder weather, a signal to your body to stay home and go within. It’s a great time to do an at-home retreat and really give yourself some TLC.

Cozy up

Set up a peaceful environment at home. Maybe that looks like creating a little nest for yourself with your softest blanket. Use that space to curl up with a good book, write in your journal, or take a nap. If you’re by a window, watch the trees change from your little slice of refuge.

Retreat from the everyday

Prevent burnout. Do a mini-retreat (use the one-day creative retreat guide from the resource library), take a day off, and devote it to creative expression.

Put at least one day on the calendar where you’ll turn off your phone for a minimum of four hours and do your creative practice in the most luxurious way possible. Give it to yourself as a pre-holiday treat.

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One-day creative retreat

Adjust your circadian rhythm for daylight savings

Adding an hour to your schedule sounds like a bonus, but can upset your circadian rhythm. Make daylight savings less disorienting by getting ready the week before. It can help to adjust your eating and sleeping times starting the last week of October.

Getting lots of bright natural light during the day and then limiting it along with bright screens at night can help you, even weeks into the time change. (Read more about this in my post about the best ways to adjust to the end of daylight saving time).

Journal prompt for this month:

How can I use creative expression to explore my deepest emotions?

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Light has almost invisible effects on your life. While you’ve likely grown up under the glow of artificial light, it hasn’t even been common in households for an entire century. Having light so cheaply available to us after dark is a newer phenomenon in human history.

Our anciently-developed bodies have not yet evolved to adapt to the circadian rhythm disruption brought on through electric lighting (documented through the dramatic adverse health effects of shift work). 

This has certainly been true for me. I’ve gone through periods where I’m susceptible to light sensitivity (mostly artificial light, which I have slowly readapted over the years but sometimes am rudely reminded).

In the past, I needed to live in an intentionally dark world (as much as I could) due to chronic health issues, and it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It had profound effects. I lost friends over it (living without light is truly a radical choice that makes you less available) and adjusted my career path. I’ve experienced what a considerable disadvantage it is to live in a world built on artificial light when you can’t use it.

Nevertheless, as much as I’ve suffered ill effects of this artificial light dependency, I love technology and the other freedoms brought by it. In fact, I enjoy it so much that I find it almost impossible now to cut it out for an entire hour each day.

It feels unmanageable to live without artificial light and screens. Anyone who has experienced a prolonged blackout knows, it can feel like your entire life (and sanity) is dependent on it.

It feeds into the modern illusion that humans are made to live an electronically powered day. The luxury of cheap electric light is so easy to take for granted. You work in front of an artificially lit screen all day and watch a different flashing screen throughout the evening without even thinking about it as a choice. The modern technology age and entire economies are built on electric light. 

I have since learned that many of my peers experience symptoms from artificial light dependency. Vertigo, migraine, light-sensitivity, headaches, eye-fatigue, nausea, and sleep disorders are very common side-effects from spending over three hours locked to a screen. And to top it off, our screen use has only become more addictive over time, dramatically shifting our social and political structure.

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The best self-care routine for fall

Access to light can be used as a way to control the hours in your day. Daylight saving time was invented as a policy to control consumer use of readily available artificial light and reduce energy consumption. The (patriarchal) thinking was, people would use the extra hours of sunlight in the evening spring through summer for activities and spending. 

This bright idea has been dimmed through scientific research showing its negative effects on the human body. Stop playing games with our circadian rhythms!

The hypothesis that there would be hours in each day where artificial light use would be reduced has not proven to be true in the case of modern energy. Instead any energy savings tend to come from decreased appliance, heating or A/C use.

What you can do this daylight saving time

I used to look forward to having an extra hour of sleep each autumn, but last year I still felt groggy well into November and heard from some friends who were having trouble adjusting too. It turns out there are health implications for messing around with your circadian rhythms even when it seems to be in your favor. 

So this year, I’m trying something new. I’ve made a daylight-saving self-care calendar to assist with a gentle transition out of daylight-saving time (that really just shouldn’t exist).

I’d love for the circadian rhythm disruption of switching times to end forever, but in the meantime, this is the next best solution. Calendars can help you infiltrate your own screen time and get you into a healthier routine. Let’s use them to adapt to incremental changes.

Here’s how this calendar can help you:

1. Light therapy. Use your body’s natural sensitivity to the light to help you make time for more natural light and begin taking intentional breaks from artificial light.

2. Baby steps. Using small increments, you can adjust your sleep schedule to prevent that jet-lag feeling.

3. Establish a routine. Establish cues using self-care so your body can more easily understand transitions from rest to waking. Building your healthy routine involves: cleaning up your existing sleep hygiene, setting up a nighttime routine, and turning off screens 1 hour before bed.

4. Awareness. This time of change can bring underlying health issues to light. I’ve added a day to reflect on how your body feels throughout this time change.

(Share this post with a friend who could use some extra self-care but is too busy to take the time to make a calendar.)

While artificial light itself can cause circadian imbalance, daylight saving time has not decreased this effect -- instead, it has added to it. It’s a flawed patriarchal concept that treats our bodies as machines that can be calibrated to the desires of the dollar (historically retailers fought to keep it going to increase evening sales).

Barring a complete daylight saving time revolution, the best self-care we can do until it is overthrown is to use this time as a reminder that our bodies need natural light. Stay aware of its potential effects on our moods, bodies, and minds and help others adjust with you.

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“Wherever there are trees, we are healthier and happier” 
— Dr. Qing Li

It’s an odd feeling when we begin to miss something before it’s even gone.  That moment when you realize it won’t last forever, or much longer at all.

The fear begins to creep in, and you want to hold onto it. But then your grasping ruins the magic, so you then attempt to let go.

It’s reminiscent of the feelings of culture shock; once you realize you’re in it, the adventure starts right away, ready or not. Then your heart wraps around itself so many times that it becomes a ball in your chest and peeks out as a lump in your throat.

With the forest fires of the past few months in California and the West Coast, I’ve been feeling this sort of culture shock at home. I am trying to find my place in this changed and unfamiliar environment. I simultaneously realize that, like visiting Venice before it's underwater, now is the time to see all the natural sights I’ve taken for granted. The forests that I’ve grown up around may not be there tomorrow.

It makes me feel an urgency of appreciation. Like I need to get into the forest and memorize each path, see every landmark tree before it disappears.

I’m struggling to value the familiar without clinging to it.

“Leave your cup of coffee and your phone behind and just walk slowly. You don’t need to exercise, you just need to open your senses to nature. It will improve your mood, reduce tension and anxiety, and help you focus and concentrate for the rest of the day.”

— Dr. Qing Li

Forest bathing to the rescue

Forest bathing is an ideal way to slow down and savor the bounty that’s available to you in the present. For those of you not familiar, forest bathing (shinrin-yoku) is a Japanese practice of ecotherapy where you spend time soaking in the atmosphere of nature.

I learned about it a few years ago after reading “Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health And Happiness” by Dr. Qing Li. Full disclosure: I fell into it pretty hard, searching for Hinoki cypress and using ALL the essential oils from trees to get my ‘phytoncides’ dose (the immune-boosting chemicals produced by evergreens). 

But more than that, it changed how I approach nature. I’m not sure I would’ve even thought to change my pace if it wasn’t for the detailed explanation of why to do it, and for the research in this book shining a light on the subtle positive effects that nature has on our body.

Since then, my closeness to the trees in my life has deepened to a spiritual experience. I take breaks on weekend hikes to notice the trees and nature around me instead of just forging ahead to the finish line of a waterfall or view.  I’m listening to them now. I feel connected to their presence.

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The positive effects of being in nature and forest bathing

Even a single tree can change your state of mind. If a forest is not in your immediate area, think green (the color) and go for walks in parks, gardens, or adopt some house plants. Merely taking a nature break can have incredible effects on your well being. 

1. You’ll be happier! It improves mood and focus, and has been proven to help with depression.

2. Forest bathing increases your creativity.

3. It reduces stress, as seen in how it can cause “lower concentrations of cortisol, lower pulse rate, lower blood pressure, increase parasympathetic nerve activity, and lower sympathetic nerve activity compared with city settings.”

4. Improves length and quality of sleep.

5. Boosts your immunity.

How to practice forest bathing (shinrin-yoku)

This practice is dead simple, and you’ve likely already done it without realizing it.

• Find a couple spots (ideally with some evergreens) you can visit easily and frequently.

• Leave your devices at home. Enjoy the forest in silence.

• Slow down, and wander. Listen to where your body wants to go, and go there.

• Change your perspective: Zoom in. For example, at a small stream, watch the leaves floating on the water. Observe the details of the micro-ecosystem. Then zoom out and sense how you are part of the larger whole in the forest.

• Stop and rest. Use your five senses to engage with the space around you. Get comfortable and settle in. Hang out awhile. “Drink in the flavor of the forest” (Li).

• Think of this green space as your refuge and use the space for meditation, drinking tea, yoga, picnics, and your creative endeavors. Invite a friend or two to join you.
  

It’s not too late to begin

While forest bathing isn’t a cure for grasping, it can make your spirit feel lighter and your chest spring open with joy as you hang out with your tree friends. Like any friendship, you can’t know if it will last forever. But when you focus on being with them, you sink into the beauty of right now.

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Take a break to focus on yourself

The time always comes when we need to shake up our routine a bit. Maybe that means exploring close to home or a new adventure. If you’re unable to plan a trip, an at-home retreat can do wonders to soothe your soul and reinvigorate your creative practice. Plus it doesn’t require you to purchase anything; it only entails intentionally setting aside time for yourself.

The threat of burnout is real, and using the tool of a one-day retreat can help you manage your stress levels and notice if you’re experiencing any emotional exhaustion warning signs. 

In addition to being a time to reflect on how you’re feeling, it gives you a chance to dive into creative activities you’ve been yearning to do. I’ve always found creativity to be a safe container. It brings beauty to messiness and a sense of peace to the chaos.

Download the checklists for your one-day creative retreat.

One-day creative expression retreat itinerary

Setting up for success is vital to ensure follow-through on your retreat plans. It helps you minimize distractions as well as provide prompts for you to continue engaging with the process. You’re setting up a seamless experience. Your future self will thank you. (Don’t forget to download the “One-day creative retreat checklists” from the resource library).

The day before:

• Set up your space. A retreat day is a fresh start, so hide or cover up things that notoriously distract you.  Put your devices in a drawer so that you’re only using the ones you truly need for your creative process.
  
  Tidy up the night before, so you aren’t killing precious time tomorrow. Set the tone with a flower or some greenery from outside and a candle or two.
  
  Make the things that you want to do more accessible. Bring out your supplies for your project so you can just flow into action. Place a candle and matches next to your meditation spot for tomorrow.
  
  

• Prepare for the expected parts of your day. Make all your minor decisions before the retreat to reduce your decision fatigue and impart a sense of ease. Have healthy and simple meals ready to eat in your fridge (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks). Put out your water glass and a mug with your herbal tea of choice. Choose your outfit for tomorrow (make it a comfy one!) so you can focus entirely on your creative expression.
  
  Pick a couple of guided meditations to listen to, as well as music and playlists to fuel your practice. Have your journal and a pen ready. Set up an inspiring book or two near your favorite chair. I find poetry especially inspiring to launch into a creative frame of mind.
  
  

• Unplug from your usual routine. Plan to be alone. Let people know you won’t be available. Set up an auto-reply if that will put your mind at ease. If television is part of your daily routine, unplug it after your last show tonight.
  
  If possible, download everything for tomorrow to your phone so that you can keep it in airplane mode for the duration of your retreat. Your retreat begins the moment you fall asleep tonight!

Read next:

37 tips to build your creative stamina

The day of your retreat:

• Guide your creative expression practice with the spirit of play and exploration.

• Take breaks as needed and be gentle with yourself.  Ask your body what it needs, and pay attention to its response.

• Take a nap. While you may find this day to be productive, that isn’t the point. The focus is on rest and restoring your creative spirit and energy.

• Don’t judge what you’re making today. Focus on the process, not the result.

• No need to be rigid with your schedule; if you’re in a creative flow that feels good, keep going!

• Try something new, whether it’s breathwork during meditation or a new color in your palette, a retreat is a great time to try it out.

• Get at least one walk in your schedule. A Stanford study shows that thinking while walking leads to more creative thinking.

• Disconnect: no social, no email, no television.

Sample Schedule:

Morning

8:30 Breakfast

9:00 Journal

9:30 Begin your creative practice for the day

11:00 Take a tea break: read, rest, stretch, daydream

11:30 Listen to a guided meditation

Afternoon

12:00 Lunch

1:00 Nap

2:00 Return to your creative project

3:30 Snack break: stretch, read, lay in the sun

4:00 Get some green time, take a walk in local nature or a park for inspiration

4:30 Creative time with 15-20 minutes of clean up at the end

Evening

6:00 Dinner and a short stroll

7:00 Listen to inspiring music

7:30 Stretch

8:00 Reflect on your creative process that day. Freewrite in your journal for 10-20 minutes.

8:45 Get ready for bed and read

Download your free one-day creative retreat checklist from the resource library.

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“To be poor and be without trees, is to be the most starved human being in the world.

To be poor and have trees, is to be completely rich in ways that money can never buy.”

― Clarissa Pinkola Estés

For many, preparations for the holiday season officially begin now. Plan your holiday spending this month to prevent being swept up in the “must buy!” consumer feeling of December. It’s also a great month to start a holiday card project if that’s something you enjoy. If not, then nix it and put your creative energy toward something you want to do!

This year especially, enlist the help of your own creative nature by establishing a regular creative habit. It will help you process the angsty anxiety that can show up during the end of an election season and from holiday planning.

Begin an old fashioned correspondence

Invite communication with loved ones by sending a bundle of hand picked pre-stamped postcards to someone who could use a little joy in their mailbox (pretty much everyone now).

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Fall focus: Resilience

Plant future moments of delight

It’s the perfect month to plant some bulbs for spring in your favorite colors. Or go to a loved one’s house and do it as an excellent physically distanced activity. In six months, they’ll be reminded of you, right as winter is thawing.

Remember to stay grounded

October is a valuable time to make sure you’re sticking with your self-care. News doesn’t need to be a 24/7 spiral. Quiet your social media by turning off all phone app notifications. If everything is feeling too much, forest bathing is a lovely practice to help ground you if you’re feeling too heady.

Prep for Daylight Savings this month

Make Daylight Savings less disorienting by getting ready the week before. It can help to adjust your eating and sleeping times starting October 29th or earlier. Getting lots of bright natural light during the day and then limiting it along with bright screens at night can also help.

Journal prompt:

Who brings warmth to my life?

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“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth.

Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”

― Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

Staying in the present moment can be a challenge.

Your mind protests, because it’s impossible to measure a moment. There may be a longing to understand presence logically.

But your body wisdom knows and understands time in a way our mind can’t fully comprehend.

We’re culturally encouraged to sacrifice our depth of understanding for short-term productivity. We’re taught to model machine-like efficiency, to stuff down our feelings, and work hard.

But there’s a better way to coexist with time that works in harmony with our body.

Discovering an organic rhythm

Nature makes excellent company on the path of recalibrating your inner clock. Seasons remind you to slow down and tune in.

Deciduous trees slowly let go of their spring abundance in the fall so that each tree can save energy for the winter.  Speed would be problematic under these circumstances. If a tree lost all its leaves in a single day, it indicates an imbalance or health issue in the tree—no need to hurry it up.

Use your senses to ground your body in the present

Sensory awareness is the foundation of mindfulness. Paying attention to what is happening around you through your senses can help you slow down. The best part is it’s incredibly simple.

All you have to do is bring your attention to what you are touching, hearing, tasting, seeing, smelling, and feeling right now without judging.  

Read next:

37 tips to build your creative stamina

Other easy techniques you can do that encourage mindfulness include:

• Being kind (which has been proven to help complete your body’s stress cycle).

• Moving your body or exercise

• Sharing a long hug or kiss with someone you love

• Tensing and releasing your muscles

• Taking a deep breath

The common thread through each of these activities is that they must happen in real-time. Each one supports your quest to wholly occupy your body.

Pace yourself

Try taking some time to notice the earth’s rhythm through your senses. Your mind may judge it as too slow or unproductive. But there is so much power in engaging the senses; simple observation, listening, and opening up.

Give this simple form of care to yourself, to one another. Do it to restore your body and create a sense of spaciousness. It is a celebration of life. Sync up with the powerful energy of this precious earth.

Give yourself the gift of healing presence to help your heart soften and release.

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“To be rendered powerless does not destroy your humanity.

Your resilience is your humanity.

The only people who lose their humanity are those who believe they have the right to render another human being powerless. They are the weak.

To yield and not break, that is incredible strength.”

— Hannah Gadsby

Self-care is especially crucial around transitional seasons. Fall brings the magnetic pull of busyness and productivity.

With a little mindful planning, we can meet this transition with grace. You can plan to make time for things that perhaps wouldn’t have made it to your traditional calendar: the quieter moments.

Invite gentleness into this autumn. Allow creativity and mindfulness to transition you into this season’s cooler coziness.

Focus on openness and resilience

Embrace change and let go of ideas that aren’t serving you. End some projects you started earlier in the year in favor of ones that nourish you.

Instead of ruminating on what you can’t change, work on changing the narrative. Try freewriting, express your deepest feelings on a particular issue, writing continuously for 20 minutes. This 1988 study shows that doing this for four days in a row has a marked improvement in your immunity and health.

Be mindful instead of impulsive

Autumn can bring an influx of inspirational ideas and clarity. You can use this to your advantage by developing more emotional awareness through contemplative activities like journaling, enjoying nature, meditation, or spending quality time with others.

Read next:

Soothing and warming fall elixirs

Keep your energy moving

Balance your contemplative time with active movement: dancing, yoga, and hiking are great, and as a bonus will contribute to improved sleep.

Expression and creativity are especially important to clear any stagnant energy and improve stress. Try revisiting a creative practice from childhood—no need to get overly serious with your expressive practice. Have fun and approach it with humor and carefree abandon.

Remember this

Live in tune with the season of autumn. Start incorporating these seasonal ideas into your daily routine (if you need ideas I have a post on the best self-care routine for fall that puts this into actionable steps throughout your day).

Feed your body and soul this season!

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Do this before scrolling more art studios on Pinterest

If you’re raring to take action with your creative expression, but feel like you need to create an inspiring practice space in your house before beginning (a home-studio if you will), this post is for you.

Before you start setting up a home studio, YOU need to start taking up space in your home. That’s right, another mindset shift before opening your wallet.

All that stuff (organization systems, styling, fancy furniture, a door you can close, etc.) is just icing on the cake. Try not to feed into consumerist tendencies, as exciting as they can feel in the moment. Set yourself up to work with what you’ve got before you bring in a bunch of new variables.

Making room for yourself

Enacting this mindset shift to take up space may require:

• Getting rid of uninspiring things.

• Being a temporary minimalist to free up space for you and your practice.

• Self-permission to get messy/quirky/weird.

• Having a “socially unacceptable” living space that works for you.

• Discussing with your roommates or partner.

• Getting real with yourself about what your priorities are.

• Making some significant changes in your life.

Some of these approaches are not easy to take action on. But when you focus on aligning with your unique needs for self-expression, you’re already making room for yourself mentally. I find this to be highly therapeutic.

Make expressing yourself a more prominent priority

Here’s what you can do today to turn your home into an expression studio that fits you.

Questions to ask yourself first:

• If someone walked into your home today, would they even know that you/your family live there in particular?

• If you had complete freedom, how would expressing yourself in your space look? (Would it be murals on the wall? A curated display of textiles? A yoga studio instead of a living room? Hammocks instead of sofas? Gold-foiled everything?) Dream big here.

• What is the bare minimum of space you need for your creative expression?

Then take a walk through your home, as if you were viewing it for the first time, and see what areas welcome these new expansive ideas.

No wallet needed

These changes do not require purchasing anything right it away. Instead it might look like:

• Moving things you already have into a more visible space.

• Grouping together a collection of things you already own in a way that inspires you.

• Getting rid of things that generally wouldn’t make it into your donation box so you can prioritize space for what matters to you.

• Repurposing a space or an item to serve your creative needs.

Don’t worry too much about the actual square footage you’ll occupy. Turn your entire home into a space that supports your creative expression habit or have a small area that expresses who you are and what’s important to you. Put your expression front and center instead of hiding your feelings in a dark closet somewhere (or turn that dark closet into a well-lit tiny studio 😋).

Sometimes taking action on these steps can feel scary, like you’ve shown up to work in a see-through outfit. If that’s the case for you, set aside a moment to feel into that fear and locate where that’s showing up in your body. You can even bring it into your creative expression practice!

Read next:

37 tips to build your creative stamina

Align with your why

Are you continuing to feel overwhelmed about where to start? Take a peek at your values sheet. Then, reflect on whether your personal space embodies those values. For example, if your goal is to “dance with inspiration,” make sure you have room to dance.

I’ve done this in my home too, so I know how unusual this new way of approaching your space can feel. For example, healthful living is one of our core values in my home. I’m personally a fan of the functional movement teacher, Katie Bowman.

A couple of years ago, reading her work inspired my partner and me to buck socially acceptable norms. After months of deliberation we got rid of our sofa (gasp!) so we’d move more and keep our bodies healthy.

Creative growth is also a value of mine. It’s why my art hangs in most rooms in my house. It’s always there on the walls so I can reflect and learn from my work slowly over time.

Stay flexible and resourceful from the start

Most of 2020 I worked exclusively from a coffee table. I was interested in how being closer to the ground would affect my work. It was a great experience! I’ve expressed my heart out and grown so much in my practice at that coffee table. 

So let’s think outside the box! Some ideas for creative, functional workspaces:

• Coffee table

• Kitchen table

• Kitchen counter

• Floor 

• Outside

• Sofa

• Garage

• The park

• A reading nook

• A window seat

• Your parking space

• Closets (mostly for audio)

• Sidewalks

• Front or back yard

• Your car

• Foldable outdoor table

• A picnic blanket

Even when you have a fancy studio someday, you can continue to create in unusual places for the joy of it. There is no rule that you have to box your creative expression into one place.

You might even find you like it more than you thought.

Remember this on your journey

Your creative practice is flexible and can grow and shrink along with your lifestyle. It will look different for everyone, but that’s the point. We all have our own needs and priorities. It’s part of what makes life interesting. 

How much space are you willing to take up in your home? And how will you use it as a way to express yourself?

You don’t need everything to be perfect before you begin creating. Let your home and practice be a reflection of your life TODAY, in the present. Every moment counts!

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The principles

Express yourself

Expression brings acceptance of where you are right now. It’s a powerful way to process your experiences: everyday moments as well as trauma. Expression invites compassion and curiosity into your life. Your story and voice matter!

Keep taking action

Action has the unique ability to move our energy from our minds into our bodies. It transitions you through anxiety to a grounded space of calm and intention. Building a ritual will help invite conscious action into your life.

Adjust actionable steps to your schedule; not everything has to happen all at once. The main point is to focus on doing, not perfection. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, break big ideas down into baby steps and take smaller steps consistently. The growth you achieve through your process is more important than what you make.

Stay mindful

Bring awareness through breath and attention to the moment. Inevitably you will have critical thoughts. Mindfulness allows you to notice your inner critic and set boundaries. Notice fear for what it is — just a passing feeling.

Mindfulness helps you see the beauty of each moment. You are alive!

Be intentional

You are responsible for the energy you bring into your day. You are not beholden to the expectations of others or even cultural norms. It’s much more important to be authentic and put your full self into your life.

Check-in with yourself and your values regularly. Don’t be afraid to make up the rules as you go and fail/learn over and over. Make a mess and rejoice in your failures.

Be heart-centered

Align with your heart. You can love every part of yourself, even your inner critic. Be gentle with it like it’s a small needy child, listen to it, and forgive it for sometimes getting in the way.

Make time to show yourself some love.

Get your frame-worthy printable inspired by these principles in the resource library.

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