Blog Posts from Dr. Robyn

Focus tip of the day! Time blocking. Time blocking is a great way for you to become focused and efficient at your to-do list.

Time blocking is a method where you split your day into blocks of time. You dedicate each block to a task. The blocks can be your choice of whether they are hour long, half an hour, 10 mins, or a mix! It’s up to you and totally customizable.

Here’s how it looks…
8:00 - 8:30 -- breakfast
8:30 - 9:00 -- exercise
9:00 - 10:00 -- house tidy up
10:00 - 10:30 -- check and respond to emails

And so on! Each time block of your day is ‘planned’ out so you are organized and centralized. No more searching for those random post-it notes and forgetting important appointments!

Give it a shot this week and let me know how it goes!

Psst! This is also a topic that we dive deeper into in my 5 Factor Focus course!

Set a time limit to complete a task: Setting time limits can help you focus and be realistic about how long it takes you to complete a task. If writing emails takes you 10 mins, but you only have 5 minutes to spare then move onto another task.

Prioritize wisely: Most tasks are either important and urgent, important but not urgent, urgent but not important and not urgent and not important. By labeling each task, it helps determine which tasks need to get done right away and which can wait (or be delegated out!)

Plan ahead: One of the biggest and best strategies! By knowing what you need to get done and how long you have to do it, you can break big sections of a project into smaller, more manageable chunks. This also comes in handy for real life! If you know that you have back to back appointments one day, then maybe don’t schedule a meeting with your boss too! Plan your big to-do’s when you know you will have both the time and energy you need to complete them

Have you checked out the Overcoming Overwhelm class that is in this group? It's a great place to get even more tips like this one!

When it comes to working out, sometimes it's the lack of a workout plan that gets us.

We say we'll go to the gym, but then realize we have no idea what to do when we get there.

Maybe we even say we'll take a walk but... sometimes those can be boring!

And without knowing what you'll be doing, you're more likely to skip your workout.

So in an effort to avoid all of those excuses, I am sharing with you a blog post that has 15 (!!!) 30 minutes full-body workouts that you can do from home.

Basically, you're set for the next few weeks AND it's a variety of movements so I don't think you'll be getting bored any time soon.

Give them a try this weekend. Even better, take out your calendar and schedule in each workout for the next couple of weeks!

My goal for the week is to keep my to do list small. To conquer this, I work on one thing a time.

Keeping a small to do list seems crazy. Maybe you are shaking your head at me.. "Robyn, I can't narrow down my list!"

One trick I've learned is to make a subset to do list of my long to-do list. What are my most important items? What are my necessary items? Anything that can be done later (or sometimes not at all!) I don't write on my weekly to-do.

Make a note of how much time you REALLY have available for your to-do list, estimate the length each of your items will take and keep the items that you know you will have time for. If you know you will only have a brief 30 minutes each day, don't put a hour+ item on your list!

If you haven’t, check out our class, Overcoming Overwhelm while still Getting Things done. Use the search guide section.

What's your goal for the week?

Here are my top 5 tips on making cooking less overwhelming!

1. Meal prep: This is cooking and portioning all your meals in advance for the week. Typically, this is done over the weekend but you can choose whichever day works best for you! I alternate between Saturday and Sundays.

2. Batch Cooking: Similar to meal prepping, you cook all your meals in advance but you don't need to portion them out that same day. Then the night before, pack your lunch for the next day. You have a little bit more freedom on what you eat and when than meal prepping!

3. Consider meal prep companies that supply you with all of the materials you need: While sometimes these aren't the most cost effective, it sure is easiest! I save this for times of my life when I am busy. They are great gifts too! A couple that come to mind are Balanced Bites Meals and Pete's Paleo.

4. Keep your recipes SIMPLE! Simple works! There is no need to get fancy meals on the table each and every night. I like to tell people that a hamburger cooked at home is better than a fast food hamburger even if it's "just" a hamburger. Search 'simple meals' on Pinterest if you need some inspiration!

5. Be sure to make "planned"-overs! (i.e., cook extra for dinner so that you have ready-to-go meals for lunch the next day): Psst! This is my favorite tip and one I utilize most often. Planned overs. You just double the recipe! A little bit more chopping, cooking, etc but you are already doing the work so why not! Then you have leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day.

Which of these is your favorite tip?