Who likes scheduling? and even worse following a daily schedule? Even though this practice might not be most fun and spontaneous, it definitely is very practical. So every night I take a time out to sit down and plan out my tomorrow. This practice has turned out to be a very helpful tool for me. My daily TDL ensures that I do not wake up everyday wondering what the hell am I gonna do today. Instead every morning when I wake up, I have set goals I will try to accomplish.
There is many ways to do it... you can write it down on a piece of paper, use a computer software like Word or even a scheduling software... you can even jot it down on napkin if that's all you have available... just make sure you write it down and are able to see it first thing in the morning. The software I use is a computer Journal called Journel (for Mac) and I use it for all my writing which includes: daily thoughts, goals, recipes, poems, quotes I like... I mean pretty much anything.
As far as the format, that again is up to you. You can schedule it minute by minute, hour by hour or just have a general overview of the day. In my case, I like to schedule things in block format which includes lots of flexibility because as we all know life happens and you can not always follow a schedule to a minute.
Well, I guess I'll just make it easier and show you what I mean. Below is an example of what my TDL might look like:
9:00 - Breakfast - Juice
9:30 - 10:30 - Bike Ride
11:00 - 1:00
- write back Jane (DONE - call back around Fridy)
- Check Jobs (5-12 applied to X Company - Follow up on Thursday w/letters
5-12 applied to Y Compny in EG - Follo up Thur. w/letters
5-13 applied to Z Company - Follow up w/letters Fri.)
- Call Doctor (DONE - Doc will call back - Call him Fri. if don’t hear back)
- Finish Jason’s Project and email (DONE)
- spend at least half an hour working on website (ongoing)
- spend at least half an hour on blog (ongoing - done) 1
- spend at least half an hour on portfolio (ongoing) 1
- spend at least half an hour on Maggies Wedding gift (ongoing)
12:00 - glass of water w/lemon
1:00 - EAT - 1/2 oatmeal (70)
1:30 - 2:15 - Fold clothes, clean bedroom (DONE)
2:30 - EAT - 1/8 cup walnuts (80)
3:45 - EAT - 1/2 can of fish + 2 small slices of bread (155) 305
2:15 - 5:00 - Keep working on unfinished stuff from earlier today (DONE)
5:00 - EAT - apple (75) 380
5:00 - 6:30 - Free Time
6:30 - 7:30 - Yoga
Rest of the evening do whatever you’d like :-) but don’t forget to plan tomorrow!
6:15 - mixed veggie salad w/avocado n dressing (350) 655
So there you have it. Pretty simple, huh? This way I can make daily notes so I don't forget anything and know whether the project or appt. is completed or what the next step might be. And since I'm working on making healthy food choices, I also keep a track of the food I eat and usually will plan that the night before.
So again, I believe this is a very important step in self development and achieving your goals. It has worked wonders for me. It has kept me on track and makes me much more productive. Just give it a try and see how it works for you. To Happy Living!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Small Steps to Success
So one of my goals for long, long while now has been to quit smoking. Yes, I am a smoker! Trust me, I know how ridiculous it is to talk/write about healthy lifestyle when in the back of your head you know that this one stupid habit just literally kills all your efforts. Well, I'm finally saying "That's it!"... I am too fabulous, too hard working to have my life controlled by this disgusting habit.
So why now? What has changed? Nothing really... I am just tired of being limited... by anything or anybody. I also got some great motivation from Leo Babauta, the writer and creator of zenhabits.net Leo has accomplished great things and most of his success has started with quitting smoking, becoming a runner which followed by becoming a vegan and a successful blogger.
Speaking of great blogs, I have discovered another one today (which actually led me to Leo's blog)... The Art of Nonconformity is a very interesting blog which forces you to think outside the box and pursue your dreams.
But back to quitting smoking. Well, there isn't too much to say about it except that tomorrow at this time I will be smoke free for 24 hr. Of course I'll keep you updated with my progress and hope to hear from you if you're in a similar situation as me.
Another goal I'm trying to work on is to become an early riser, and again Leo and Steve have wrote fantastic articles about that. My approach will be to start with a set time and move back 15 minutes every other day or so. Sadly, my current wake up time is around 10am so it might take some time to get down to 5am. But I also know that it's a very doable goal. I have actually done that back when I was living in the city and had a hellish commute. The point is that if you really want something you'll do whatever it takes to achieve it.
Well, that would be all for now my friends. Of course I have plenty more goals, but for now let's stick to these two. Will be checkin in shortly to update you on my progress... To Happy Living!
So why now? What has changed? Nothing really... I am just tired of being limited... by anything or anybody. I also got some great motivation from Leo Babauta, the writer and creator of zenhabits.net Leo has accomplished great things and most of his success has started with quitting smoking, becoming a runner which followed by becoming a vegan and a successful blogger.
Speaking of great blogs, I have discovered another one today (which actually led me to Leo's blog)... The Art of Nonconformity is a very interesting blog which forces you to think outside the box and pursue your dreams.
But back to quitting smoking. Well, there isn't too much to say about it except that tomorrow at this time I will be smoke free for 24 hr. Of course I'll keep you updated with my progress and hope to hear from you if you're in a similar situation as me.
Another goal I'm trying to work on is to become an early riser, and again Leo and Steve have wrote fantastic articles about that. My approach will be to start with a set time and move back 15 minutes every other day or so. Sadly, my current wake up time is around 10am so it might take some time to get down to 5am. But I also know that it's a very doable goal. I have actually done that back when I was living in the city and had a hellish commute. The point is that if you really want something you'll do whatever it takes to achieve it.
Well, that would be all for now my friends. Of course I have plenty more goals, but for now let's stick to these two. Will be checkin in shortly to update you on my progress... To Happy Living!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Spring Garden
So Spring has finally arrived and with it finally some great weather. You can definitely tell that summer's on its way, especially on a beautiful 70 degree day in Chicago. One of the exciting things about this season is planting and growing your own fruits and veggies. I understand that many City dwellers might not have too much space to grow their own stuff, but I really think that everybody is capable of finding just a little room. And if you absolutely have no room to plant anything, you can usually rent a plot even in the busiest of cities :-)
This year I happened to be staying with family who owns a townhouse in the suburbs. We do not have a backyard but we do have a small patio which is now covered with pots of plants and flowers. Here's what our little garden looks like:
Flower Patch
Veggies - Sweet peppers, Chives, and Strawberries
Tomatoes
More Tomatoes
Super Tomato
Well, needless to say... I'm gonna be eating lots of tomatoes soon. And I can't wait, I can already see the yummy tomato salad with fresh chives, topped with mozzarella....mmmmm! I'm also super excited about the strawberries. Bet they're gonna be delicious, not like those tasteless monsters you find in the grocery store.
So what about you guys? How are your gardens coming along? Feel free to share comments, links and photos. And of course, Happy Gardening!
This year I happened to be staying with family who owns a townhouse in the suburbs. We do not have a backyard but we do have a small patio which is now covered with pots of plants and flowers. Here's what our little garden looks like:
Flower Patch
Veggies - Sweet peppers, Chives, and Strawberries
Tomatoes
More Tomatoes
Super Tomato
Well, needless to say... I'm gonna be eating lots of tomatoes soon. And I can't wait, I can already see the yummy tomato salad with fresh chives, topped with mozzarella....mmmmm! I'm also super excited about the strawberries. Bet they're gonna be delicious, not like those tasteless monsters you find in the grocery store.
So what about you guys? How are your gardens coming along? Feel free to share comments, links and photos. And of course, Happy Gardening!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
5 tips that will make the raw transitions easier
Well, no one said that it's going to be easy. But again, nothing in life worth while is easy. So as a person who is personally going through the process of going from cooked foods to raw foods... here's a few tips that will help you succeed...
1. Keep it Simple
Dehadrators? Sprouting? What? As a newbie I definitely don't want to deal with all that stuff. I mean if you want to go all out, then go for it. But in my case it is definitely easier, at least for now, to keep it simple. And by simple I mean basing your diet on mostly fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and of course juices and smoothies. For the latter two, you do need some equipment like juicer and a blender but again those are easily found and obviously not too difficult too use. And if you still can't figure out what "simple" means, here's an example:
Breakfast - Green Smoothie or Fruit Juice
Lunch - A fruit salad
Dinner - A large green salad
Snacks - nuts and seeds
Of course, you don't want to eat the exactly same thing everyday which brings me to my next point...
2. Get Creative
With so many health food stores popping out everywhere you have more than enough choices to get creative. Many raw foodists like to stock up on raw products so they always have many choices and never have to reach for cooked food. I usually stock up on fruit so I can always make a fresh juice or smoothies, but as far as lunches or dinners go I tend to follow my taste buds and go day by day. So you'll often see me in a local Whole Foods or other health food store, by the salad bar creating my own Salad Creations. Also with raw food getting more and more attention everyday, you can now purchase raw goodies like Raw Granola, Raw Cookies, Sprouted Bread, Raw Honey and chocolate... as you can se the possibilities are endless. And with the endless possibilities comes the pressure so...
3. Take it Easy
Many people try to jump into raw food overnight and some are successful but some not so much. When I started out, I would go for few days 100% raw and then give in and eat some cooked food which is not a bad thing but for some reason made me feel like a failure. Which in turn would make me think that "hey, since I ate some cooked food, now the whole day's ruined and I might as well go and pig out". This is the kind of thinking that made my efforts fail one diet after another. Start slowly, it's ok not to be 100% raw right away. It's better to be 50% raw and 50% healthy cooked food than 100% raw for few days and then eating a large pizza in one sitting. So once again, take it ease.. take it slow! You might want to start of with just a raw breakfast then when you're comfort do raw breakfast and raw lunch... you get the point. Another way of transitioning is to slowly go from a meat eater to vegetarian, then to vegan, then to raw. Start with eliminating red meat, then all other meat, then fish, then dairy products... just go at your own pace and see what works for you. The main thing is not to punish yourself. We're all humans and we make mistakes. And speaking of humans, it brings me to my next point which is...
4. Make New Friends
Now a days there's so many online communities which of course includes raw food communities. Go online, do your research. Join groups, talk to people and learn new things. There are meet up groups in every city. There are people out there just like you looking to help you and make new friends. Seriously, just be open and willing to learn and the opportunities to make new friends will just present themselves. This doesn't mean you have to forget all your all friends, but now you can be the teacher too. You can inform your friends on raw food diet and healthy food choices. Take your friends and go explore some raw food restaurants in your city. Just be open and have fun with it. Yes, that is the main key...
5. Have Fun!
Seriously...what does it all matter if you can't have fun. There's no way you can stick with something if you don't enjoy doing it. So learn, research, involve your friends, get out there, move, walk, run, laugh...do it all. Do it now! Because there's no time like today and the benefits are tremendous! Love and Sunshine to all of You :-)
1. Keep it Simple
Dehadrators? Sprouting? What? As a newbie I definitely don't want to deal with all that stuff. I mean if you want to go all out, then go for it. But in my case it is definitely easier, at least for now, to keep it simple. And by simple I mean basing your diet on mostly fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and of course juices and smoothies. For the latter two, you do need some equipment like juicer and a blender but again those are easily found and obviously not too difficult too use. And if you still can't figure out what "simple" means, here's an example:
Breakfast - Green Smoothie or Fruit Juice
Lunch - A fruit salad
Dinner - A large green salad
Snacks - nuts and seeds
Of course, you don't want to eat the exactly same thing everyday which brings me to my next point...
2. Get Creative
With so many health food stores popping out everywhere you have more than enough choices to get creative. Many raw foodists like to stock up on raw products so they always have many choices and never have to reach for cooked food. I usually stock up on fruit so I can always make a fresh juice or smoothies, but as far as lunches or dinners go I tend to follow my taste buds and go day by day. So you'll often see me in a local Whole Foods or other health food store, by the salad bar creating my own Salad Creations. Also with raw food getting more and more attention everyday, you can now purchase raw goodies like Raw Granola, Raw Cookies, Sprouted Bread, Raw Honey and chocolate... as you can se the possibilities are endless. And with the endless possibilities comes the pressure so...
3. Take it Easy
Many people try to jump into raw food overnight and some are successful but some not so much. When I started out, I would go for few days 100% raw and then give in and eat some cooked food which is not a bad thing but for some reason made me feel like a failure. Which in turn would make me think that "hey, since I ate some cooked food, now the whole day's ruined and I might as well go and pig out". This is the kind of thinking that made my efforts fail one diet after another. Start slowly, it's ok not to be 100% raw right away. It's better to be 50% raw and 50% healthy cooked food than 100% raw for few days and then eating a large pizza in one sitting. So once again, take it ease.. take it slow! You might want to start of with just a raw breakfast then when you're comfort do raw breakfast and raw lunch... you get the point. Another way of transitioning is to slowly go from a meat eater to vegetarian, then to vegan, then to raw. Start with eliminating red meat, then all other meat, then fish, then dairy products... just go at your own pace and see what works for you. The main thing is not to punish yourself. We're all humans and we make mistakes. And speaking of humans, it brings me to my next point which is...
4. Make New Friends
Now a days there's so many online communities which of course includes raw food communities. Go online, do your research. Join groups, talk to people and learn new things. There are meet up groups in every city. There are people out there just like you looking to help you and make new friends. Seriously, just be open and willing to learn and the opportunities to make new friends will just present themselves. This doesn't mean you have to forget all your all friends, but now you can be the teacher too. You can inform your friends on raw food diet and healthy food choices. Take your friends and go explore some raw food restaurants in your city. Just be open and have fun with it. Yes, that is the main key...
5. Have Fun!
Seriously...what does it all matter if you can't have fun. There's no way you can stick with something if you don't enjoy doing it. So learn, research, involve your friends, get out there, move, walk, run, laugh...do it all. Do it now! Because there's no time like today and the benefits are tremendous! Love and Sunshine to all of You :-)
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Longevity on Oprah
I don't watch too much tv but last night I watched an Oprah show that caught my interest. The topic of the show was Life Extension. The first couple guest were people who were on the calorie restriction diet. They were on about 80% raw diet and consumed around 1900 calories for a man and 1600 for a woman. All the guest claimed that this diet have changed their lives. They had more energy, looked younger, haven't been sick for years and their life expectancy was greatly extended.
The doctor on the show, Dr. Oz explained that the way the calorie restriction diet work is that once our bodies have a calorie restriction, they start to work and use the energy more efficentlly therefore making our cells age slower. Of course, I'm sure that the major part of this diet is the raw part. I mean, I honestly doubt you'd be getting these benefits from eating burgers and fried food, even if you kept down the calorie intake.
Another guest on the show was 85 year old David Murdock, the owner and founder of Dole. Mr. Murdock swears by the fresh fruit juices he consumes daily. He can do 50 pushups and feels better than ever. You can check out the clips from Oprah's show here!
Now from Oprah's diet to my diet... I had a great day as far as staying raw and feeling good. Here's what I had today:
2 liters of water
1 pear, 1 banana, with some raw granola and raw walnuts (yummy yum..I cant emphasize enough how much I love this combo)
2 slices of sprouted bread with tomato hummus, tomatoes, radishes, and green onions
1 champagne mango (good, pretty much the same as a regular mango)
Couple handfuls of raw walnuts
another bottle of water
So I'm very happy with my food intake today. I felt great most of the day and not even really hungry. At one point in the day I started to feel like I was coming down with a cold but it went away. I ended my day with a half an hour walk on the treadmill and listened to the first 30 min of Steve Pavlina's new podcast. The podcast started of with some interesting points and I cant wait to finish listening to it tomorrow. Well nite nite everybody!
The doctor on the show, Dr. Oz explained that the way the calorie restriction diet work is that once our bodies have a calorie restriction, they start to work and use the energy more efficentlly therefore making our cells age slower. Of course, I'm sure that the major part of this diet is the raw part. I mean, I honestly doubt you'd be getting these benefits from eating burgers and fried food, even if you kept down the calorie intake.
Another guest on the show was 85 year old David Murdock, the owner and founder of Dole. Mr. Murdock swears by the fresh fruit juices he consumes daily. He can do 50 pushups and feels better than ever. You can check out the clips from Oprah's show here!
Now from Oprah's diet to my diet... I had a great day as far as staying raw and feeling good. Here's what I had today:
2 liters of water
1 pear, 1 banana, with some raw granola and raw walnuts (yummy yum..I cant emphasize enough how much I love this combo)
2 slices of sprouted bread with tomato hummus, tomatoes, radishes, and green onions
1 champagne mango (good, pretty much the same as a regular mango)
Couple handfuls of raw walnuts
another bottle of water
So I'm very happy with my food intake today. I felt great most of the day and not even really hungry. At one point in the day I started to feel like I was coming down with a cold but it went away. I ended my day with a half an hour walk on the treadmill and listened to the first 30 min of Steve Pavlina's new podcast. The podcast started of with some interesting points and I cant wait to finish listening to it tomorrow. Well nite nite everybody!
City Girl - Country Girl
In my life I had the pleasure of both living in the city and the suburbs... and I must say, I am definitely a city girl! Some people think that I'm crazy, they automatically bring up all the possible issues: the traffic, the pollution, the crime, over crowding... but for me the city makes me feel alive. When I'm living in the city I feel more alive... more alert. Why? Maybe because you do have to be more alert. You have to keep your eyes and ears opens so you don't get ran over by a crazy cab, or even mugged. But living there just makes me feel like I accomplish more, even when I'm driving in circles trying to find a parking spot it's like a challenging game. You have to find the spot, then somehow squeeze your car in and not to mention trying to undig yourself the next day during a crazy Chicago winter. As opposed to living in the burbs and pulling up on your driveway, pressing a button and pulling in to the garage. Easier? Yes! More convenient? Definitely? More fun? Not for me... I love the challenge of the city.. the parking hunting, the killer traffic, crazy people.... Oh the people, how I love people watching. All these goofy individuals, I love them all. I can sit and watch and wonder what their story is. I mean, I'm not gonna go into all the wonderfulness of living in my favorite city in the states...Chicago.
It makes me feel alive...it makes me happy! But there also is something to be said about the happiness of the suburban living. The peace and the quiet... but what draws me to it the most is the nature. The green trees, and the trails, and just being able to get out and all you hear is the birds. It's a different way of being and feeling alive and I also appreciate it very much...but deep in my heart I know I am a city girl...and I can always find that piece of the suburbs in the city but I can not find the city in the burbs. To be honest, one of my dreams which I will hopefully achieve sooner than later, is to have my bad ass condo in the city and a log cabin somewhere in the country... and I mean real country, not just the suburbs.
Now few word about my diet...so I finally made the decision to get serious...and here is what I had today:
1 liter of water with my green supps.
2 mandarins, an apple, and 4 carrots
Now this is where I got myself a little screwed up, my friend asked me to join her at Chevy's today. So I did, and tried to order something somewhat healthy which actually didnt work out that great, I had:
couple chips with salsa
half a salad
half a flan
and a tall glass of beer
This all doesn't sound too terrible but it actually gave me a massive stomach ache which felt like my intestines were being twisted...yuk!
On the brighter side, I did a lil bit of shopping at Whole Foods today and came out with some goodies including: strawberries (2 boxes for $3.99 - which I though was a great steal), champagne mangos (never had them before but very excited to try) pears, pineapple ($3.99 - another great deal, I thought) avocados, some raw walnuts, bananas, and my yummy raw granola (that one is way too expensive - $9.99 for a small bag) Well, so there you go, I guess we all know what I'll be eating for the next few days ;-)
It makes me feel alive...it makes me happy! But there also is something to be said about the happiness of the suburban living. The peace and the quiet... but what draws me to it the most is the nature. The green trees, and the trails, and just being able to get out and all you hear is the birds. It's a different way of being and feeling alive and I also appreciate it very much...but deep in my heart I know I am a city girl...and I can always find that piece of the suburbs in the city but I can not find the city in the burbs. To be honest, one of my dreams which I will hopefully achieve sooner than later, is to have my bad ass condo in the city and a log cabin somewhere in the country... and I mean real country, not just the suburbs.
Now few word about my diet...so I finally made the decision to get serious...and here is what I had today:
1 liter of water with my green supps.
2 mandarins, an apple, and 4 carrots
Now this is where I got myself a little screwed up, my friend asked me to join her at Chevy's today. So I did, and tried to order something somewhat healthy which actually didnt work out that great, I had:
couple chips with salsa
half a salad
half a flan
and a tall glass of beer
This all doesn't sound too terrible but it actually gave me a massive stomach ache which felt like my intestines were being twisted...yuk!
On the brighter side, I did a lil bit of shopping at Whole Foods today and came out with some goodies including: strawberries (2 boxes for $3.99 - which I though was a great steal), champagne mangos (never had them before but very excited to try) pears, pineapple ($3.99 - another great deal, I thought) avocados, some raw walnuts, bananas, and my yummy raw granola (that one is way too expensive - $9.99 for a small bag) Well, so there you go, I guess we all know what I'll be eating for the next few days ;-)
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Oh Yumminess!
I had the best breakfast ever today... and to think I probably spent like 20 minutes laying in bed deliberating if I should have raw breakfast or go for SAD breakfast. So with all my planning and goals, I came to a conclusion that I'm just not a person who can stick to an hour by hour plan... but is anybody really. With that figured out (what a genius I am) I decided that I'm going to make it easy on myself. So here's my simple yet workable plan... ready? Are you sure? Because this is a groundbreaking concept...here it goes... Have a Raw Breakfast, Have a Raw Lunch, and for dinner have whatever my little (big) heart desires. I really think this will work for me, at least for a while and until I know that I'm ready for the full 100% transition. So the rules are pretty simple as long as I don't overdo the dinner part. Which, of course I'm not gonna run to McDonalds to get a Big Mac or anything like that. But I might share a dinner with my family (which is usually 100% cooked) and which I can usually modify and make it just a little bit healthier or just eat the "healthy" part of the dinner. I mean whatever, just go with the flow. I am tired of restriction and just want to enjoy living my life with freedom and joy. Same goes for working out... why torture myself on the treadmill when I can go and do something I actually enjoy. For example, yesterday early morning I took my dog to the local forest preserve and trust me we both enjoyed it greatly. We got to walk and play for over an hour, all while enjoying a beautiful day in nature. Another thing I enjoy doing is going to a yoga or pilates class, even a weight training class as long as I'm not stuck at the gym by myself trying to lift weights on those miserable machines. Balance and enjoy... it's all about finding the happy medium and sticking to it... the rest will fall into place at the right time.
And now that I got a little side tracked, back to my yummy breakfast... I call it "Banana & Pear Cereal"... even though it's not even cereal :-)
Ingredients:
1 banana
1 pear
couple tablespoons of raw granola
couple tablespoons of raw nuts (any kind)
So this is very simple as you can see, just make sure both fruits are very ripe. Take your fruits, cut them into small pieces and sprinkle the granola and nuts on top. The ripeness of the fruit will make the other ingredients stick to the fruit making sure that in each bite you have the texture of the fruit and the crunchiness of granola. Oh it was so yummy and perfect... just a perfect combination!
And now that I got a little side tracked, back to my yummy breakfast... I call it "Banana & Pear Cereal"... even though it's not even cereal :-)
Ingredients:
1 banana
1 pear
couple tablespoons of raw granola
couple tablespoons of raw nuts (any kind)
So this is very simple as you can see, just make sure both fruits are very ripe. Take your fruits, cut them into small pieces and sprinkle the granola and nuts on top. The ripeness of the fruit will make the other ingredients stick to the fruit making sure that in each bite you have the texture of the fruit and the crunchiness of granola. Oh it was so yummy and perfect... just a perfect combination!
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