• Weekly Intention: My intention this week is to step back a bit. I think I’ve been struggling a lot lately in several areas. I am definitely struggling with my food and the choices I make there. I am struggling to stay on top of my mails at work and do all the context switching required for me to do my job well lately. I am still trying to get a hold on my schedule and figure out when I do what. I am also struggling on a personal level with my attitude and outlook. While I am holding everything up, I feel very tired, resentful and quick to anger lately. I also feel a strong sense of scarcity. Especially on the weekends. So I want to take a big step back, take a good look at what’s going on and why I feel the way I do. This is not how I want to live out my days/moments. I want to make purposeful choices and then act upon them. For me to be able to do that, I need to be clear on my purpose, on how I feel, on what I want to do, etc. My plan is to do some soul searching but mostly a lot of journaling. Writing things down, making plans, organizing my life, putting how I feel down on paper always helps me connect with myself. So that’s my plan. At least that’s the first step I plan to take. If that doesn’t work, there’s always more things to try.

• Choices I want to make:
• One: I will choose to tackle my work schedule. Figure out what I like and what’s tough and how I want to change things moving forward.
• Two:  I will choose to journal about my feelings around life right now, what’s tough, what’s working, what do I want to do differently.
• Three: I will choose to take time for myself this week. Block it out on my calendar and use it to reflect.
• I am looking forward to: book club. it will be at my home this week and i like hosting it.
• This week’s challenges:  lit club. just because I am not sure what I am walking into. Also going to work twice and each kid has a day off school this week so a lot to juggle.
• Top Goals:
• Work: My intention this week is to make a plan for each time I work with.
• Personal: I wrote this last week but didn’t do it so I will repeat that I want to spend time journaling.
• Family: I want to be less tired when I am around my kids. I want to read to Nathaniel.
• I will focus on my core desires (kind, strong, true, generous, brave) by: 
• I will be kind to my soul. I think I really need it.
• I will be strong and get organized. I know I am getting in my own way.
• I will be generous with kindness to myself. I will take time to rest.
• I will be true to who I want to be. I will take the time to reflect and understand what I want so I can act intentionally.
• I will be brave and say what needs to be said. I will not be afraid to admit what I don’t know.
• This week, I want to remember: that things will be ok. there isn’t much a lot of sleep and rest won’t cure. And journaling.

Here’s to a wonderful week!

• Weekly Intention: My intention this week is to first give myself some grace and then to see if I can get myself a bit more organized. As part of my journaling exercise last week I made a list of what I do in a typical week/month, here’s my list (these are not in any order):
• drive the kids to shuttle/school and back every day – around 2 hours a day
• exercise daily
• read/listen to 1-2 books a week
• do school work+classes with Nathaniel daily
• do school work with David daily
• meetings and work with Seattle, New York, Mountain View, Sydney and Zurich (less and less) daily
• spend time with Jake most nights
• drive to work at least once (often 2-3 times a week)
• drive to David’s school 1-2 times a week
• drive to Nathaniel’s school (besides drop off/pickup) 1-2 times a week
• help my nephews with their college essays + homework
• socialize 1-2 times a week (1-1 or group)
• take care of my skin daily (this is something I used to never do.)
• take weekly classes online/learn something new or do art
• walk 10K steps every day
• do 7 minute workout daily (though i didn’t this week!)
• 1-2 coaching clients a week
• prep/cook dinner + pack lunches + make breakfast daily
• sleep a minimum of 7-8 hours every night

This list is just a 10-minute exercise. If I think I am sure I can come up with more. And all these items are things I do every single week. That’s a pretty long and varied list. Which means that if I want to keep up the pace, I need to be better organized, I need to chunk things better so I am not context-switching constantly and spending time making two trips to school or work when I could be just as effective with one. This list also doesn’t include the oodles of ways in which I waste time or some chores. Like doing laundry, dishes, watching TV or playing candy crush. Which I do a lot. And the less effective I am in getting through my day with grace, the more I see myself wasting time. So I think organizing my days a bit better will allow me to do also waste less time. Or so I think.

This is one of the areas around which I’d like to be intentional this week, especially since I have two trips planned in October.

• Choices I want to make:
• One: I will choose to create a self-tracking system for the kids so they can have accountability for their daily tasks.
• Two:  I will choose sign Nathaniel up for a swimming class again, we went too long without one.
• Three: I will choose to really enjoy my family. I will be gone two days next week so I want to spend even more time with them this week.
• I am looking forward to: possibly starting a volunteer opportunity in David’s school. Let’s see if it happens. I am also looking forward to the debate tonight!
• This week’s challenges:  a lot of night meetings this week, too. And Not a lot of room for getting things done this week.
• Top Goals:
• Work: My intention this week is to setup meetings for the two days I’ll be in Seattle next week.
• Personal: I’d like to spend a little bit of time journaling daily and be intentional about my food this week.
• Family: I want to take the time to do programming with Nathaniel and math with David daily.
• I will focus on my core desires (kind, strong, true, generous, brave) by: 
• I will be kind to my body this week. Feed it a lot of sleep and healthy food.
• I will be strong and do what i know is right.
• I will be generous with my patience this week.
• I will be true to my word and do what I said I would.
• I will be brave and establish my own limits this week.
• This week, I want to remember: that I am grateful to have the option to do all the things I do. I am living my life deliberately and fully.

Here’s to a wonderful week!

• Weekly Intention: My intention this week is to rest. I am very tired. I’ve been doing a lot of exercise. I’ve been going to both of the kids’ schools and to work. Driving a lot. I’ve been socializing with new people I don’t know. I’ve been putting myself out there in many ways again and again. And there’s more of it this week, too, but I also want to make sure I make time to rest this week. So my intention is to take my downtime and make it downtime. Make time to be still.
• Choices I want to make:
• One: I will choose to celebrate my birthday. So grateful for another one.
• Two:  I will choose to be brave again as I go to another event at David’s school.
• Three: I will choose to finish some of the work I’ve been putting off.
• I am looking forward to: Brene and Glennon’s class. My birthday and having a day off. Book club!
• This week’s challenges:  I have a late Wednesday which means I will be extra tired on Thursday. I also have trips to both schools again this week and one to work. It will all be ok.
• Top Goals:
• Work: My intention this week is to finish off a bunch of dragging todos.
• Personal: I’d like to see if I can make some type of schedule for myself now that the routine appears to be settling.
• Family: I want to make sure to go back to doing math with at least Nathaniel. I miss it. Also I’d like to read to him, too.
• I will focus on my core desires (kind, strong, true, generous, brave) by: 
• I will be kind to myself this week. Enjoy my special day.
• I will be strong and start making some changes in my diet. I can feel my body craving it.
• I will be generous with rest. I will let myself rest.
• I will be true to what matters most. Everything else will be ok.
• I will be brave and show up. Again and again.
• This week, I want to remember: that these hard moments are also the special, magical moments of my life. This is what life is made up of.

Here’s to a wonderful week!

• Weekly Intention: My intention this week is similar to last week. David officially starts school this week and I have no idea how the routine will go so I want to be patient with myself and him while we both learn to navigate this new world. I also have a lot of work trips this week so I want to make sure to balance it all as well as I can.
• Choices I want to make:
• One: I will choose to focus on work while at work and focus on my kids while i am home.
• Two:  I will choose to keep exercising. I can do this.
• Three: I will choose to go to bed early so i can get rest and my body can recover.
• I am looking forward to: hearing all about David’s first week of middle school!!
• This week’s challenges:  As I mentioned, we will be getting our new routine this week. Dropping both kids off at different buses, picking one up from school and the other one from his bus. This will take a while to get into routine form. I expect it will be rough this week. I also have to go to work three days this week so there won’t be much downtime I think.
• Top Goals:
• Work: My intention this week is to stay on top of all the teams and figure out the next phase in their tasks.
• Personal: I’ve noticed that I tend to use my end of day winddown as a way to do nothing and then go to bed late. I want to work on this and get to bed no later than 9:30 on nights when I don’t have meetings. This increases my chances of an 8-hour sleep night.
• Family: I want to focus a lot on the kids this week as well. Make sure we’re off to a good start into the school year. They matter most.
• I will focus on my core desires (kind, strong, true, generous, brave) by: 
• I will be kind to myself. There’s a lot to juggle this week.
• I will be strong and keep taking care of my body.
• I will be generous with myself. With my kids. With Jake. With work. I will operate from a place of abundance.
• I will be true to what matters most. This week is also about the kids. They come first.
• I will be brave by going to the volunteer fair at school. Yet another social event. I’m ready for a break.
• This week, I want to remember: that time passes so fast. that my kids are amazing. that my husband is the kindest person. that i am so incredibly lucky for all the supportive people in my life.

Here’s to a wonderful week!

Phew! I am finally back home after what feels like forever. I’ve spent the weekend getting organized, catching up on email and resting, resting, resting. After I finally processed the 1,200 photos that were sitting in my folder, I’ve posted 30 weeks of stories on my blog which feels wonderful.  Thanks to being out of town so much, I have a collection of todo items, appointments and a slew of meetings this week. But I am hoping that by the end of this week, I will feel considerably more caught up. I’d better because Nathaniel’s school starts the following week and I have to spend two days at David’s new school for Orientation. And then they are both back at school. New routines, new school years, and onward we go. So I have about 10days of summer left here and I will do my best to spend that time getting us on schedule/routine and hugging and kissing my boys. And, most importantly, sleeping in!

• Weekly Intention: My intention this week is to organize myself. I would like to wrap my head around all the disparate pieces of my life a bit before the kids start school if I can pull it off.  I also would like to do a bit of thinking around 2017. My word, my intentions, my projects. This is around the time of year where I like to begin thinking and planning for the next year.
• Choices I want to make:
• One: I will choose to get organized. Make lists, collect them together, reply/return/execute on long standing todos to be done.
• Two:  I will choose to show up for my 30-day goal that I just set. More on this later.
• Three: I will choose to rest and enjoy my time with the boys before they’re back to school.
• I am looking forward to: feeling a bit more caught up on my life.
• This week’s challenges:  I have the dentist (for me), the orthodontist(for david), and the post office (passports for both of the kids) all in one week. Not my favorite. I also have a lot of rearranging, cleaning of my calendar and adding a lot of new meetings this week.
• Top Goals:
• Work: My intention this week is to get a lot of work done at work so I feel more caught up and organized. I’m getting there slowly but I’d like to feel a bit more settled than I do.
• Personal: I want to rest and also eat well and work out and journal this week. Let’s see if I can pull it off.
• Family: The boys and I have been working on eating healthier and more varieties of food. I am so proud of their progress and hope to make even more of it this week.
• I will focus on my core desires (kind, strong, true, generous, brave) by: 
• I will be kind to my body. I will be working it pretty hard this week, so I will make sure to rest, too.
• I will be strong and show myself that I can do hard things. I can do this.
• I will be generous with my kids. I will teach them math, spend time with them and help Jake with his work.
• I will be true to my priorities and remember what matters most to me. Stay focused on my goals.
• I will be brave by setting up new meetings at work, putting myself out there more, making it work.
• This week, I want to remember: that I can do hard things. I am stronger, braver, tougher than I think I am. Physically and emotionally. I got this.

Here’s to a wonderful week!

Hello! I know it’s not Monday but i wanted to still make a point to be intentional before this week is out because I still have some adventures to go. I am writing this from Boston, sitting outside in my mother in law’s beautiful yard. I did the crazy flight from Sydney to SFO and spending 12 hours at home and then flying to Boston on the redeye and then driving for 2 hours and taking a boat and made it safely to Martha’s Vineyard without passing out.  I did get some interesting jetlag that night but I think being through that many timezones in one day made it easier to just sleep and not worry too much about what time it is. We spent 4 beautiful days in the Vineyard. We swam, we sailed, we spent a lot of time together. And now we’re in Boston. I’ve been working and playing as much as possible. Yesterday, I got to go to the Google office here, which was really fun. I also got to visit MIT and Northeastern which was quite a treat.

We have a few more days here and then we will take a short detour to NYC for two days to see friends and to show the kids NYC. I am looking forward to being in the city again. I love New York. And then we come back here to Boston for 2 more days and finally get to fly home. I will be honest that I am ready to sleep in my own bed again. But I am also grateful for all the unexpected adventures of this summer.

• Weekly Intention: My intention this week is to try to do more what I’ve been doing. Staying in the present moment. Being here now and seeing all the moments before me. Appreciating their uniqueness and their magic. I need both quiet and alone time which is hard to come by in these moments but there’s also magic here and I don’t want to miss a moment of it. I want to be thankful for all that’s here now.
• Choices I want to make:
• One: I will choose to focus on the good and on the joy of all that’s around me.
• Two:  I will choose to be generous with my time and openness. Being the best version of myself.
• Three: I will choose to make space for others so they can the experiences they wish for. I will choose to make it about them, not me.
• I am looking forward to: seeing NYC again.
• This week’s challenges:  The 8 hour round trip to NYC might be challenging. The lack of sleep will likely catch up with me. Balancing work and play and family time has been tough. But none of these are terrible.
• Top Goals:
• Work:  I would like to feel on top of all my work and my emails. Feel caught up.
• Personal: I want to stay patient and kind this week. Focus on giving and not taking. I also want to be easy.
• Family: I want to focus on them and see if I can make their wishes come true.
• I will focus on my core desires (kind, strong, true, generous, brave) by: 
• I will be kind to my family and my husband and my kids.
• I will be strong and move through these day with joy and kindness.
• I will be generous with my husband this week.
• I will be true to the best version of myself here. The person who I often yearn to be.
• I will be brave by paying attention to the magic here instead of the hardship.
• This week, I want to remember: That in a few weeks/months/years I will either forget about these weeks or look back upon them with wonder and joy. Either way, I will not remember the tough moments. I am so grateful for my one and only life.

Here’s to a wonderful week!