Locking In
Happy Sunday beautiful people! I am currently on my way back from New York. My family and I had the best time and it was a much needed reset that came at the perfect time. We ate great food, laughed, talked, and spent comforting moments together. I have been somewhat of a world traveler lately lol and I feel like I haven’t stopped packing and unpacking for weeks. With that being said, I am ready to be in Chapel Hill for the next 3 weeks to end off my first year of college. Of course I will do a freshman year recap in the coming weeks, but for today’s post I wanted to write about how I am going to stay focused, reach my goals, and end off the school year in the best way possible.
It is time to lock in. Before summer arrives I not only want to excel academically, but also work on my mental health. I am going to dedicate these 3 weeks to me. Focusing on myself and becoming the best version of me. Yes, becoming the best version of myself is my lifelong goal, but unfortunately life can get in the way and we can forget to be intentional about how we are living and how we will achieve our goals. I can’t think of a better time to refocus and concentrate.
It is all about reframing your mindset. Instead of thinking that the last push to summer is going to be horrible, use it as your time to really grind and work hard. Take one thing at a time, and being in the present.
I think we can all agree we are over “it” and ready to be laying on a sun chair with a cold beverage and a juicy pineapple, but the thing is… we aren’t there yet. Transporting to that chair isn’t an option so let’s put in the work and reap the rewards after.
My mind is a bit all over the place and I want these few weeks to recenter myself and calm down. My first step in this process is evaluating and noticing what it is that I want to work on. I know I want to really tune into school and keep my flow going. I want to keep my workout grind going because it energizes me, shows me my power, and makes me happy and healthy. I want to eat healthy, less meat/beef, less processed/fried/ sweet food. I want to journal before bed, allowing my thoughts to flow onto the pages. I want to meditate and keep my space clean especially when I get busy. I notice keeping clean can be hard when I have a lot going on but even taking a minute to clean makes the space and my mind feel so much better. I want to stay organized. Yet, this is the end of my freshman year of college so I want to have fun and be free. I will embrace the balance and enjoy where I am at. There is no rush and everything has a purpose. I also need to prepare for summer and tie up any loose ends.
As far as school goes, I like to make a list of all the big tests, projects, and essays and their due dates and plan out a study/writing schedule for each. I like to visualize it on a calendar as well so I can see how much time I have. This way, I can study a little bit at a time and mentally know when I have to be ready for each subject. Start by writing down each subject you have, then write the due date, think about how much time it will take, and make your schedule. I have decided to also include other assignments in my schedule so this is the list of everything school related I need to do.
Global Studies:
Final Essay: Due April 29
Final Exam: Due by May 7
Stats:
Homework 7: Due April 24
Homework 8: Due May 1
Final Exam: May 2
Reli 71:
Final Project Pt. 1: due April 30
Final Project Pt. 2: due May 9
Final Project Presentation: May 10 at 8 am
Econ:
Chapter 14 homework
Chapter 15 homework
Chapter 16 homework
Problem set 5
Final Exam : May 6
PWAD:
Final paper: due May 9
Last day of class: April 30!!!!
In terms of my workout grind, I am going to continue doing my early morning workouts, and I want to incorporate more yoga classes. I might try to do a class on Sunday mornings especially because Sunday is my reset day. I will probably keep Saturday as my rest day because it is nice to have a full Saturday of fun and no obligations. I have been doing strength + hiit workouts around 4 days a week and then 2 days peloton. I also teach my bodyweight strength/hiit yoga classes. Walking to classes is also a great way to incorporate movement and I want to start doing more mental health walks just to clear my mind and think or walk with friends and catch up. I also like to add in a cardio kickboxing video at least once per week because it is so fun and a great form of cardio. Here is what this weeks plan for workouts is:
Monday: hiit + 45 min strength
Tuesday: peloton + teach
Wednesday: cardio kickboxing + strength
Thursday: peloton + arms + abs
Friday: hiit + strength
Saturday: rest
Sunday: yoga?
My vacations have been beyond amazing and I have had the best food ever which is obviously amazing, but I am ready to eat my typical healthy food because it makes me feel great. I love to have food for the soul, but now I want food with nutrients. I do my best while in college! By no means do I want to suggest getting rid of any foods because balance is what it’s all about and getting ride of things is not sustainable. However, I do want to try to significantly reduce sweets and junk food for this last push mainly to serve as a full mind, body, and soul reset. I also have been so bad about drinking water and I am making a goal to carry my water around and really focus on that especially with summer upon us.
Since my mind has been all over the place, I know I need to be journalling. No pressure, no structure, just thoughts. My plan is to put my phone away before bed and journal and meditate. It is not necessarily realistic for me to put my phone away an hour before bed and read because most days are extremely long and I read a lot for school. Instead, about 15-20 minutes before bed I will put my phone away and journal and meditate. I also want to reduce my screen time. I used to have a really low screen time, and yes I do need my phone for school sometimes, but I want to eliminate endless scrolling. Social media doesn’t really help when you’re trying to focus on bettering yourself. It can be a good distraction or offer good advice, but a lot of times it just creates comparison. I am taking on this journey of me, to come back to me. To live in the present, to be kinder to myself, and to take care of me. Everyone has a different story and different chapters in that story. Comparison only gets you further from your personal truth.
Having a reset/ cleaning day is really important whether life is busy or not. Remember, you can make time for whatever is important to you. Prioritize you and what you know you need. I need a clean environment. I am going to go back and clean tonight and try to clean a little bit every day. Then, on Wednesday and Sunday I will do a big clean. I have to leave soon so I also need to start packing. Ahhhh.
When it comes down to it all, I also want to have fun and embrace the spontaneity. I want to be with friends and have fun and say goodbye before we all go our separate ways this summer. Work hard play hard is always my motto.
There are some other loose ends I need to tie up and a few things I need to prepare for. I need to pack my room up and figure out a storage service. I need to sign up for an online class I want to do next fall. I need to meet with UNC study abroad because I am studying abroad next spring!!!!! I am also extremely excited to announce I will be interning for Morgan Stanley this summer so, I need to get everything ready for that as well.
Most of all, this is the continuation of my self-love journey. Self-love is not linear and there is no real ending, but sometimes we realize we need to put a greater emphasis on it and for me that time is now. I am excited to do this fore me. I have a lot to reflect on with school and life and the future and giving myself the space to do so is going to be key.
This last push is our time to shine!