1. Q: How many years young are you and what is your living situation?
1. 41. I live with my boyfriend of 8 years. I have 2 teenage boys that I share visitation with.
2. Q: What's the biggest challenge you faced in changing your morning routine? How have you dealt with it/got over it/are still dealing with it?
2. The biggest challenge was finding focus for the day when I'd wake up. I'm not a very good sleeper so when I'd wake up, depending on if I had bad dreams, I might not be in the greatest mood or ready to start the day. That would result in procrastination or not knowing where I needed to focus my energy and the day would seem to get away from me, not accomplishing the things I wanted to and leave me in a rut all day and feeling "behind the 8 ball" playing catchup. Also, I work nights to pay the bills and am an entrepreneur during the day running a small business (scooter-car tour company in Los Angeles) so having no set time to wake up/go to sleep, I'd find that it hard to get up ready to start the day. I'm still struggling with it but this journal really helps. It gives me focus and I feel accomplished a few minutes after I wake up!! Setting aside my clothes each night and having a plan for the day helps me to feel more in control as soon as I wake up. It motivates me!
3. Q: What time did you wake up and go to sleep before you started using the Morning Sidekick Journal, and what time do you wake up and sleep now?
3. My schedule varies but usually I'd go to bed between 11-1am and wake up around 9-10am, now I'm going to be around 10-11 and waking up around 7-8am (when possible)
4. Q: What did your mornings look like before you started using the Morning Sidekick Journal? What do your mornings look like now?
4. Before using the journal, I was flexible about the time I woke up. I would then figure out what I was going to wear, and get distracted my emails and/or social media, putting off errands I needed to do til later or even the next day. :/ Shhhh.. don't tell anyone :) unless you're putting that in the next journal, because I'm sure I'm not the only one! So on a daily basis I would feel a lack of accomplishment even though I was doing a lot, I didn't really have any clear direction of priorities or starting the morning with goals and intention. Now I know what my day (morning) will look like before I go to bed at night. it's a reassuring thing and brings me confidence so I wake up more energized and excited to be progressive. Now I know what time I'll wake up & what I will start my day, what tasks I'll accomplish. I don't turn to my phone or go on social media which is what I used to do while still in bed :/ Now, I get up, shower, get dressed, eat (which I used to put off), then see if there's anything pressing (on my email/messages), then start checking off my list of what I wrote the night before that I wanted to get done. I do get distracted easy so it's not always smooth going, but I know that if I do get distracted, at least I can come back to my journal to refocus.
5. Q: In one sentence, what's your favorite thing about the Morning Sidekick Journal?
5. Each page is ever changing (so it doesn't get boring), with new ideas and side notes on the pages as reminders/tips, it's quick & SIMPLE!
6. Q: How has using the Morning Sidekick Journal and doing your morning routine impacted your life overall?
6. I had been searching for a journal where I could write down my favorite moments of the day and reflect. Over the years I've heard that's a great thing to do because it helps you feel more positive about the days and appreciate the smaller moments, especially when you have a lot going on, but I just couldn't find one that I really liked or worked for me. I felt like it was still missing something and wasn't feeling as rewarded as I wanted to each day because negative thoughts ( I didn't do this, I overslept, etc...kept filtering in)
So when I saw this journal advertised (yes, on social media, Instagram, as I was procrastinating starting the day!), I knew I had to give it a chance and I'm so happy I did! It combines being grateful under "magical moments I experienced today" but it also gives me so much more. It helps me to be in control of my life and feel more accomplished!! What I didn't realize before getting this journal was that I need something that would START my day positively and focus me with tasks to complete, and then also plan my sleeping and gave me a sense of reward at night to limit my negative self talk to be able to really reflect and appreciate the day & my accomplishments It also gives me a tool that no matter what is coming up or what happens, expected or unexpected, I have this journal to ground me and get me back on track.
**without the journal, I would have even put off/procrastinated doing something like answering these questions or replying to emails unless they were time sensitive or super urgent. This journal helps me see a task, set a time (or day I'll do it), and actually do it so I don't procrastinate**