Make every day counts

#empowerwomenthroughcreativity

Simplicity, my only truth

 I still have this strange feeling when I'm about to write a new article. Writing doesn't come easily for me (I hate to read and write!). And at the same time, I am easily carried away by this feeling of excitement and surprise when I see my thoughts and ideas take shape under my fingers, on my keyboard rather than with a box of colored pencils. It's an amazing feeling to see the words end up aligning themselves…

I also often have the feeling I got used to write you some commonplaces but finally, who said that to be taken seriously, to talk about one's passions and tastes he had to have been gone to hypokhâgne / khâgne? The important thing is to do, at least to try.

It’s already what I believed in when I created Heimstone: to have a brand fulfilled with unbounded collections, spontaneous ones, just like a big spill of everything I love, with no consideration if it's politically correct or not.

And in the end, our journal EWTC (Empower Women Through Creativity) is the same to me: a simple space of exchange(s), where we can express opinions, make jokes, tell light or deep stories, give a point of view, without necessarily aiming to revolutionize the world. This new space is also yours. At the studio we like to read your feedbacks in the comments section: please keep going!

So finally this journal makes me feel good: it’s all about putting words on simple things maybe, but especially talk about them! And if miraculously it can give some ideas or impulses to other women, then it makes me happy.

One of these simple topics is the organization of our daily life. The majority of us live with the pressure of having to be a superwoman, whereas ultimately we are just normal people, with busy days. It's time to get rid of all that! The goal is not to fit 36 hours in 24 but rather to optimize one’s day to day and learn how to create some time. Subject down to earth, but of the greatest importance because for me organization is the key to freedom.

Efficiency : work, family, leisure - happiness per minute

To be organized, you have to be efficient, because efficiency allows us to create time to do what really contributes to our fulfillment. Organization also means discipline.

I know it's not necessarily a main strength for everyone, but it's never too late to start organizing, you'll see that an organized life removes a lot of stress!

I think I was born "organized", as a result it does not require much effort for me, but on the other hand, the major part of my work is constantly not to fall into the opposite, psychorigidity! Everyone has a little job to do about themselves ...

I feel that my life would be chaotic if it were not so organized. Attention, that does not mean that I plan every single of my movements or that my decisions are all fixed, quite the contrary, but that means that my priorities are defined, and it helps me to see clearly in the unfolding of my days, because there are so many things that I like to do!

Here, I wanted to share with you some points that seem important to me for those looking to organize and optimize their daily life. There is not necessarily any precise order, but these are (from my point of view) the fundamentals, and what is great is that they are all related, and also that they lead to each other.

#TO SLEEP

You are getting to know me ... sleeping is one of the most important things in ALL areas (and in my life!).

A mind at rest is resourceful, evolves, empties, cleans itself, in short, it's essential to keep going all day long.

Sleep also comes with a more general lifestyle, a balanced diet for example, remember our article The beautiful balance.

#MANAGE and understand one’s environment, one’s missions to be effective.

I think the more we become aware of what we have to do, the more we learn and ask questions about the task, what is really expected from us, the more effective and less stressed we are. Very often in our professional life, the shadows are scary and to put it very clearly, I do not have time to waste my time doing my job badly. I much prefer to take more time to understand my mission, and therefore take less time to execute it than the other way around.

The more we master our mission quickly, the more we manage to create quality time to be creative and imaginative. Ultimately, this is how we surpass ourselves and break the boundaries that we impose on ourselves.

#HAVE THE SENSE OF PRIORITIES, set goals.

What do I like to do? What makes me happy in my daily life? What would I like to do that I don’t do? How can I create more time and space in my days? Do not forget that when we do things out of love, we do them faster and better!

Moreover, to help you see clearly through this, do this little exercise that I like. Take a sheet of paper, draw three columns,

1) List everything you do during your week (transportation, work, time with kids, sport, exhibitions, shows, pottery ... everything!).

2) Assign the time you spend there per week and

3) Give a rating on 10 of the doses of happiness that each activity brings you. You will see very quickly if there are obvious offsets. If your workout gives you a 9/10 well-being, you cannot decently spend one hour per week doing work out. We all need our moments of serenity! It is time to organize to leave more places for activities rated at more than 7/10 ... you will see that by magic, some lost minutes will reappear! 

#START your day with painful things.

In the morning we are rested, we have a lot of energy, so let's get rid of the painful tasks that could poison our day. Let's not postpone until tomorrow what we can do today. It’s the same observation, these (potentially negative) energies consume bandwidth, create anxiety and somehow affect the tranquility of our sleep.

Keep in mind that it's better to love every minute of your day than to hate it for a few seconds, so presto! We get rid of everything that bores us as soon as possible! 

#DELEGATE some tasks, to your partner for example.

We are not alone in our life and in our routine, do not hesitate to ask for help! Do not wait to be on the verge of burnout to raise your hand. Let’s remember that our vulnerability is also a strength and that we must know how to show and express it to our relatives or colleagues. Communication is also a key to freedom.

Do not hesitate to ask for a hand, to go shopping, to tidy the house, to take care of the children while you need to relax for 30 minutes in a bath. And those minutes are so precious! They belong only to us and personally they are the ones that allow my mind to wander and create.

The organization requires discipline, determination, but also common sense, again it will be necessary to appeal to the famous creativity inside you, because only you can find the organization that will match to your life and make you fulfilled. It will therefore be necessary to listen to you, test things, change your approach to find your own balance!

The daily life is made of unexpected events but also annoyances that can ruin our day even if it’s so well organized ... we must accept it, and let it go.

It happens to me quite often, it's like that, I do not care, and I try not to get upset if it's an event out of my reach.

Psychorigidity can be very frustrating, let's not forget to let go. An apocalyptic day? We must accept it, tomorrow will be another day!

Nothing is fixed, nobody is perfect, and this kind of challenges are also there to look at things in a new light and thus change the angle of attack.

In fact, I believe that balance is found in the movement, in the ups and downs of everyday life, in the effort that this organization requires, and in the rewards, it spreads at every moment.

A (super) normal day

I am looking for the easiest way to introduce you to my organization, especially with my children because you are so many to be amazed about the early time they go to bed!

I don’t want to repeat myself, but everything is a matter of organization, and I am convinced that even small children need to have rules, and to be empowered (at their own level) for their well-being in first place but also for their parents’, because there is a time for everything! My personal time in particular is only possible because I chose to empower my children.

With my husband we have always agreed that it was up to us to set the tempo and that our children would follow our rhythm.

Since the birth of our two daughters Ellis (2014) and Panda (2018), we have followed this rule, and frankly, it perfectly works (most of the time)! 

6h30- 7h45: I wake up with the sound of my children (the most delicious alarm clock), I never put an alarm, I take the time to cuddle my husband, my two daughters, we tell our dreams (the dreams of children are so exciting!)

No phone. Until 8:30 am, I am 100% dedicated to my family.

8am: We all four walk Ellis at school. If we have time, we stop to have a coffee together, even quickly.

Organizational tip: to take this precious time, I imposed myself the rule not to look at my phone in the morning, and most importantly, I prepare the night before going to sleep what needs to be prepared (snack, sports bag for Ellis, yoga outfit for me), and as a result, in the morning, even if the girls get up relatively late, it's not the race, and especially I do not get up stressed.

8:45 am: I arrive at Heimstone studio.

I open my mails, my phone, answer your messages!

Then I do everything that amuses me the least but that has to be done: accounting, solve the administrative problems, I send all the mails that has to be sent, like that when I’ll do something else, all the people I work with would be able to work on their own side! In a word, I do all the missions that I want to get rid of as soon as possible.

Organizational tip: I do this in a nice atmosphere, I light a candle, I make myself a tea, and presto, I put myself in it, I try to be as effective as possible, so I consult my phone only if It's necessary.

10am: The rest of the team arrives at the office. I make a quick meeting with them about the urgent / important missions of the day, and especially I delegate! I cannot do everything on my own. We are a team and we work as a team, which means that I can rely on them as much as they can rely on me.

Sometimes I delegate a lot of things, but I express verbally why: "I need you to work for me on this subject because I need to free myself some time to do this creative report for such collaboration (for example)".

11:50 am: I leave for my yoga class at 12:15, to recharge my batteries.

When I'm at yoga, I decompress the pressure of the morning (it does not look like it, but it can be demanding, it's about trying to think of everything). I’m focused at 100% in my practice, it washes my brain, and I go back to work as if I had a nap. What could be a problem before the class is no longer a problem!

Organizational tip:  there is time for everything, when I am at yoga, I do not think at all about what I have to do and especially I take the time to congratulate myself (and yes!) for this time I took for myself.

1:45 pm: I have lunch at my desk in front of my computer.

No, I NEVER have lunch with girlfriends, we cannot do everything, and as I said above, we have to choose our priorities!

Until 17h, I'm like a machine, I do all the FUN part of my job, the creative one, I work on our current collaborations, or on some event to come, in short, I’m enjoying it.

Sometimes it also happens to me to do less pleasant things ... it's like that.

5:15 pm: I leave the office and take my five-minute walk to home to enjoy the idea of the family evening that awaits me or my dinner with friends.

I make a quick stop to do some shopping.

Organizational tip: I don’t have time to see my girlfriends at lunch, so I find some time and other opportunities to see them. For instance, I would invite them for dinner, or for a tea time, even fast, on weekends. It's a winning combo! It allows me both to enjoy my home, to eat good things in a friendly way while keeping an eye on my daughters! Our social lives do not necessarily need to be punctuated by dinners at the restaurant, parties and other constant coffee appointments. Let's go back to the simplicity of which I was talking about at the beginning.

17:30: I'm at home, I jump in my shower, put on my pajamas and wait for Ellis who comes back from school and have her shower as soon as she arrives.

Organizational tip: to get your children used to have a routine to avoid difficult negotiations. Ellis knows the rules, after her shower, once she is in her pajamas, she can do whatever she wants.

18h: I try to enjoy my family at 100%. We cook dinner with my husband and our daughters and usually have dinner together at 18:30. We all eat the same thing (except Panda who only has two teeth, sweetheart), but what I mean is that we had never cooked a different meal for Ellis, we have always pushed her to eat everything, whether it was spicy or not, it has not always been easy. She has the right not to finish her dish, but that means there will be no dessert, in general she eats it all!

Organizational tip: I put my phone away until my daughters are asleep.

Ellis knows that during the week there is no TV, she also knows that it is not negotiable, so it's never a subject, it saves time!

Around 7 pm: One of us puts Panda to bed, while the other one is preparing Ellis for bed (brushing teeth, washing hands etc.). We read a story or two, it depends on whether she was wise ... If she wasn’t, there is no story!

Around 19:45: Ellis goes to bed, in general she is exhausted after her day, and, I hope, satisfied with all the attention we paid to her all the evening …

19:46: Everyone sleeps!

For my husband and me it's great, it means free time!

During the week we like to go to bed early. It happens to me to fall asleep without any shame at 20:30, or after a film, but I always have in mind that the more I sleep, the better it is!

After a long night's sleep (almost 9 hours), if one of my girls wakes up at 6:30 ... I'm in shape!

The nights we go out and we go to bed late (with a hungover the next morning), we take on ourselves! But I do it rarely more than twice a week.

So in conclusion, I would say that the most important thing to remember is:

• To be effective: action / reaction: we grasp the nettle
• There is a time for everything, disconnect!
• Sleep
• Have fun learning and organizing yourself.
• Let's have fun improving, reinventing ourselves, the daily life is boring, it's up to us to shake it up.

My top secret tips:

• Obama naps, sometimes only 10 minutes are enough, it refreshes for the whole day.
• Rinse your legs with frozen water in the shower, it gives a strong boost.
• Take five minutes at the end of the day when you are tired to congratulate yourself on everything you have completed in the day and tell yourself that in an hour or two, you will be with family or friends enjoying the second part of the day: relax.
• Think rigor and determination!

Above all, tell us if you managed to change your organization, to implement rituals just for yourself or what kind of minutes you managed to create for yourself!

To complete this article, feel free to read or re-read The beautiful balance and Heimstone: determination, creativity & cashflow.