Plan Simple with Mia Moran

“Motivation is great, but habits begin with taking action.” –Patricia van EsscheYou deserve to be fully present. Yes, even if you are parenting or caretaking for aging parents. I asked Patricia van Essche, pilates instructor and artist, about why we might want to check out pilates during perimenopause. Her response is about more than exercise.Let’s start with exercise. If you are looking for a 10-minute workout, pilates is not it — but it still might be for you. We have so many things promised to us in short bursts of time, but some things (most things) take longer. Pilates can help your back and your posture. The breathwork is powerful and beneficial for the body.Patricia also talks about community and connection with pilates — and the power of showing up for yourself. We look at how to start a habit, how Patricia’s clients managed to start a habit with pilates — even juggling a lot and needing 50 minutes for a class.We talk about: How parenting shifts but doesn’t end as you kids get older even into adulthoodWriting down the thing you want to do and your planHow habits start with action and how we start slow and buildHaving somebody hold space for your commitment Reinventing yourself at any ageSetting aside time each week for the things you want in your lifeABOUT PATRICIAPVE is a bon vivant as well as an accomplished artist and illustrator. Whether it be a portrait, house or lively scene, her colorful, effervescent images are always fresh and whimsical. PVE perfectly captures "Artful Living" a well lived and celebrated lifestyle.From her hilltop studio aerie, Patricia van Essche, better known to her clients, fans and followers as PVE, creates illustrations and art pieces which depict a celebrated lifestyle of colorful and chic homes, pets, events and more. Whimsical, lively illustrations are the centerpiece of PVE’s artistry; which includes capturing favorite moments and images; design collaborations; creative commissions; enthusiastic consulting with entrepreneurs… and blogging about it all. Call on PVE to add art, color, beauty to your life and turn an image of what you love into a commissioned work of art to be cherished always.PVE was born in Louisville, Kentucky into a talented, entrepreneurial family which led her to attend the University of Cincinnati’s renowned College of Design, Architecture and Art where she studied Fashion Design. PVE was drawn to live in Manhattan and traveled the world as a designer and design director for fashion’s elite Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Liz Claiborne brands. PVE debuted PVE Design, a showplace for her own art, inspiration, and creativity. As an accomplished artist and illustrator, she has worked for numerous private commissions as well as with exclusive clients including J. McLaughlin, Secrets Gourmet, The Park Avenue Fund, The Princess Grace Foundation and Lava Barre. PVE lives in Westchester County, New York.  PVE is devoted to living artfully.  PVE is currently teaching Pilates at Club Pilates in Ardsley and Scarsdale. Patricia inspires others to find the joy of art and wellness.LINKSPvedesign.comInstagram @PVEDesignDOABLE CHANGESAt the end of every episode, we share three doable changes, so you can take what you've heard and put it into action. Action is where change happens.Even though we want big change, it’s really little things done over and over that make the difference. So pick a doable thing. Put it in your calendar. Weave it through your days for a week and then move on to the next one. It will have a snowball effect.Here are three Doable Changes from this conversation:DECIDE WHEN TO WORK OUT. If you want to build an exercise habit, start by deciding when you like to work out. Do you want to get it done first thing in the morning? Would your lunch break work best? Once you choose the time, block it off in your calendar. If you are going to take a class, book the class.WRITE DOWN WHAT YOU WANT. Get really clear about what you want. Write it down. That came up more than once in this conversation. Whatever challenge you want to tackle — lose weight, read a book, become a Pilates instructor, create more art — make a list. Write it down.SET THE TIME FOR WHAT YOU WANT FIRST. I asked Patricia how she juggles it all. She sets aside a certain number of hours for pilates and a certain number for her artwork. What things do you want time for in your life? How much time do you want to give them? Choose. Block of the time. Show up for yourself.

“We can't go through menopause correctly if we have too much stress. This is a natural process, but a lot of our current societal stuff interferes with this natural process.” –Ana StauchWhat does it really mean to get healthy? I’m not talking about scheduling your mammogram and colonoscopy (though that too). What can you really DO and who can help us through that? I’m so excited to talk with Ana Stauch, a nurse practitioner who helps women navigate perimenopause and midlife health.Ana talks about four pillars we need to tend to for health: nutrition, sleep, movement, and connection. Some of those look different as we age. We need more protein. We need to prioritize sleep. We need movement that helps build muscle.We don’t need to overcomplicate it. There is a lot in our lives that may seem to make it hard, but you can give yourself permission to prioritize the things you need to do for your health.We talk about: The deep toll stress takes and why we need to get serious about itFinding a healthcare provider you like and trust (and a tip for finding one)Experiencing a similar symptoms to puberty — but not being able to just slam the door and retreat to our roomTransitions and stepping into our purpose at this stage of lifeThe four pillars of health — one is connectionWhat labs can tell you if you dig deeper than the normABOUT ANAAna Stauch is a nurse practitioner from Jacksonville, Fl. She has helped thousands of women navigate hormonal changes and improve their health over the past 24 years. She opened her primary care practice — A New Way Healthcare — in 2018 and more recently developed a program called New You which guides women through midlife addressing hormones, holistic health and self development. She is also the medical advisor for Radiate Wellness Products. Ana is Level-1 certified in Functional Medicine and a member of the National Association of Menopause Society.She lives in Atlantic Beach, Fl with her husband and three sons, two of which are away at college. She enjoys practicing yoga regularly, walking on the beach, reading, traveling and is currently in her own perimenopause journey!LINKSanewwayhealthcare.com/newyouradiatewellnessproducts.comDOABLE CHANGESAt the end of every episode, we share three doable changes, so you can take what you've heard and put it into action. Change comes from action. We tend to overcomplicate things. Doable changes are small actions that you can add into your life, one at a time to make micro shifts and really create a ripple effect that will create a big change over time. Keep it simple. Keep building. Here are three Doable Changes from this conversation:KEEP IT SIMPLE. Get quiet for a minute and your gut and your intuition know exactly what you need to work on first. You know that maybe six cups of coffee or drinking two liters of soda isn't a great idea. You know if  don't do any movement most of the day. You know if you go to bed too late every night. Write down whatever comes up. You know what you should work on. Then keep it simple. Park further away from the door. Cut your coffee in half. Once you’ve made an adjustment you can take stock again and make another shift.FIND A PROVIDER YOU TRUST. This is huge, and it can be hard. You can ask friends for recommendations. You could ask a compounding pharmacy for provider recommendations if you want providers who might think outside the box a little more. You can look for people who specialize in perimenopause/menopause. If you don’t feel heard or are told “it’s just age,” keep looking. This one may take a while, but it will pay off when you find one.PRIORITIZE SLEEP. Of the four pillars, this is a particularly important place to start. Unwind a little before, but don’t use devices with bluelight right before bed. Set yourself up in a cool, dark room. Go to bed with enough time to sleep for seven to nine hours. If getting to bed on time is the issue, what gets in the way? Do you need to eat later? Leave a chore for the morning? Turn off your phone sooner? Your doable change might involve changing your environment or routines.

May is my birthday month. For the past few years, I’ve been making a plan for the month that gives me lots of little wins, so by the time my birthday rolls around, I feel super celebrated… by me! In this episode, I’ll take you behind the scenes of my plan, and give you some questions you could ask yourself. If you want a birthday planning sheet, send us a DM on Instagram that says “birthday plan”, and we’ll get it to you.

“When you take the focus off of the weight and focus on the habits, it's amazing how your body changes.” –Krystal TaylorExercise is not a chore. So many of us look at exercise as a thing we have to do to transform our body or maybe to improve our health. But what if we switch that up? Krystal Taylor is a certified personal trainer who realized that the real transformations were about changes in energy and confidence.That isn’t to say that you won’t see changes in your body, but things shift when you change your focus. And for people who are exercise-phobic, think about movement. There are lots of ways to move your body.What do we do so that we can keep being active in our 70s and 80s (and beyond)? How can we really build an exercise habit?We talk about: Focusing on habits like water, sleep — but one at a timeCreating a realistic plan that you can be consistent with instead of burning yourself outNot restricting yourself when it comes to food—especially carbs—and accepting foods are part of your plan (not a cheat food or cheat day)What an accountability partner can do for youSimple ways to add more movement to your dayBeing kind to yourself and focusing on the why not the howABOUT KRYSTALAs a Certified Personal Trainer, Krystal Taylor has helped hundreds of people who are on their journey to a healthier lifestyle. She doesn’t believe in fad diets, but instead in adopting a healthier lifestyle. The change happens with your mindset first so that’s her focus.As a former Adjunct Professor and Corporate Trainer, Krystal has always had the desire to educate people. While she enjoyed those jobs, she realized her passion was to help people get healthier and look better. So she decided to merge her training skills and love for fitness to be able to provide the best programs she could for her clients and gain specializations in Fitness Nutrition and Weight Management.She offers virtual training programs (meal and exercise), unique fitness products (playing cards), and consultations.LINKSwww.fitnessisnotagame.comF* The Scale: Don't Let A Number Weigh You DownYouTube @FitnessIsNotaGame Facebook  @FitnessIsNotaGame DOABLE CHANGESAt the end of every episode, we share three doable changes, so you can take what you've heard and put it into action. Action is how change happens.Often we feel like our actions have to be huge to match the bigness of our desires, but we have seen over and over and over again that the little things add up. By stacking up a series of Doable Changes, you will create that big change that you crave. Choose the one that really resonates with you this week and really make it part of your life. Here are Three Doable Changes from this conversation:MAKE A REALISTIC PLAN. When you get overly enthusiastic and decide to work out every day … you’re likely to burn out and quit. When you are realistic about how much you are ready to add in for your body and what you can fit into your schedule, you are more likely to succeed. Two times a week that you do consistently is better than five times a week you don’t do. Once you make the doable amount happen consistently, you may find ways to build in more if you want to.ADD A FEW MINUTES OF MOVEMENT. Start adding more movement to your day in micro increments. You could dance it out to your favorite song. Add push ups off the counter when you fill your water bottle. Walk the dog or work in your garden. You could pick one thing that you tie to something else, like the water bottle example, as a way to build the habit, or pick something new each day … dancing one day, a dog walk the next.FOCUS ON YOUR WHY. Knowing your why helps in two ways. First it can help motivate you when you don’t feel like following through on your plan. In addition, you can shift your mindset with your why. “I can’t eat pizza” is a lot different from “I feel bloated when I eat pizza too often.” “I’m going to exercise because want more energy” is different from “I have to work out to lose weight.”

Feminine Productivity is a new way to navigate time. Most of the stuff in the time management world was created by men. I’ve got nothing against men. I’ve got nothing against great time management books. And very often the people who are writing this information have dinner waiting for them when they get home. As women, we hold so much —  kids of all ages (cause they don't stop needing us as young adults), careers, the changing landscape of our bodies, aging parents, homes that need attention, vacations, breakfast, lunch and dinner, often for not just us.Listen in to learn how Feminine Productivity is a way forward.

“I've learned to really just start to give myself permission to live a really good life.” –Linda PerryAre you stuck in the shoulds? So often even when we have a vision, it isn’t ours — it comes from the outside. When Linda Perry started asking “Is this the life I want to be living?” and pushing back against beliefs that had come from outside it led to enormous change.Linda is a mindset coach, and I’m excited to talk to her about making a vision a reality. The first step is to give yourself permission to put something on paper … and allow it to change. Linda recommends putting on your experimentation hat.Don’t worry about the how. Linda calls “the how” the killer of dreams. We need more clarity about the what and the why.We talk about: Releasing beliefs that keep us from what we want, like I don’t deserve a vision, I can’t reach a vision, if I try I’m going to lose everythingCreating a list of wantsChoosing to act now, not someday, how to claim time, and what happens when you doBeing in integrity with ourselvesLetting go of gold stars and owning your self-worthShadow work and how it helps usABOUT LINDALinda Perry is a mindset coach & business strategist who works with individuals, business owners and their teams become more self-driven and move toward 7-figure success. So many people get stuck on a plateau and don’t know how to move forward, Linda uses a mindset first approach to support  individuals and teams to tap into their core motivations, strengths and frees them from their blocks so they can soar past 7 figures. She is also a recovering attorney & copywriter and uses her skills of persuasion to show business owners how to make the impact they desire. Linda works with clients through her private coaching, group courses and workshops. She is also the lead business instructor at Levin Life Coach Academy where she teaches new coaches how to build a thriving coaching practice.LINKSlindamperry.comThe Top Three Blocks Keeping You from Getting to Six Figures and BeyondInstagram @Linda.m.perry LinkedIn @lindamperryDOABLE CHANGESAt the end of every episode, we share three doable changes, so you can take what you've heard and put it into action. Action is where change happens.Even though we want big change, it’s really little things done over and over that make the difference. So pick a doable thing. Put it in your calendar. Weave it through your days for a week and then move on to the next one. It will have a snowball effect.Here are three Doable Changes from this conversation:FIND YOUR VISION. Go ahead and write your vision on paper. You don’t have to figure out how to do it. You don’t even have to stick with it for the next 5 years, but write down what you want. Then ask: Is this really what I want — or is what I think I’m supposed to want? Keep experimenting until your vision feels clearer and more from the inside.CLAIM 5 MINUTES. Choose something you want to do and put 5 minutes on the calendar for that thing. Do the thing for 5 minutes. Do it every day for a week. Do you want to keep going? Do you want more time? Notice what happens to time and your ideas.HOLD YOURSELF IN INTEGRITY. We’re often good at being in integrity with others, but not with ourselves.Identify one thing you’ve said that you want to or would do for yourself — it could be related to health or business or something you love doing. Do the thing as if you were doing it for someone else. Remind yourself that you deserve to be in integrity with yourself.

“You can actually speak up for yourself with poise and grace and kindness.” –Amy Green SmithCan you be compassionate and assertive at the same time? I’m really excited to talk with Amy Green Smith about self-empowerment and how she stopped being a people pleaser.Don’t think you are a people pleaser? We go beyond the idea of people pleasing being something a timid wallflower does. Any time we alter who we are in order to gain favor from another person or party at a cost to us is people pleasing. Sometimes we people please to stay safe. It’s important to see where people pleasing is keeping us safe and where it is stealing our joy.We don’t always have to be disrupters. Sometimes we just want to be ourselves. The middle path can be messy, but it’s possible to stand up for ourselves without anger. We can communicate without yelling and screaming or biting our tongue all the time. We talk about: Taking up equal space with people with different ideasSetting and holding boundaries around challenging areas in relationshipsHow to live life according to what you want, not other’s demands Recognizing and feeling dichotomous feelings and not falling prey to guiltGoing back to your internal compass and checking your intentionQuestions to ask to find your truthABOUT AMYAmy Green Smith is a certified and credentialed life coach and hypnotherapist, masterful speaker, and personal empowerment expert. Amy uses her roles as coach, writer, podcaster, and speaker to move individuals to a place of radical personal empowerment and self-worth. With acute focus on helping people “find their voice”, she is highly sought after for her uncommon style of irreverence, wisdom, and humor and has been a featured expert in Inspired Coach Magazine and on Fox 5 San Diego.LINKSWebsite: https://amygreensmith.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyamygreensmith/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heyamygreensmith/DOABLE CHANGESAt the end of every episode, we share three doable changes, so you can take what you've heard and put it into action. Action is how change happens.Often we feel like our actions have to be huge to match the bigness of our desires, but we have seen over and over and over again that the little things add up. By stacking up a series of Doable Changes, you will create that big change that you crave. Choose the one that really resonates with you this week and really make it part of your life. Here are Three Doable Changes from this conversation:CHECK YOUR INNER COMPASS. You will get a lot of feedback from other people, and it’s not helpful. When you are feeling bad about how people react to something you say or do, return to your inner compass and check your intention.FIND YOUR TRUTH. Use this three prong question to find your truth in any situation. Ask: What are the facts of the situation? What am I making up? What else could be true? SET A BOUNDARY. Boundary setting is not easy. It takes time and energy, but it is an important step to living the life you want to live and giving up harmful people pleasing. Start by getting really clear about what you will and will not tolerate. Then communicate that firmly and with compassion.

Imagine you have a big puzzle to solve. It's so big that it might feel overwhelming to finish it all at once. So, instead of trying to put all the pieces together in one go, you decide to break it into smaller parts — so smart!That's what a 90-day plan is like! It's like breaking the big puzzle (a year)  into smaller puzzles that you can solve one at a time. In this minisode, I dive into why this is such a win for women.Here's why it's super cool:Less Scary: Just like solving a smaller puzzle feels easier, focusing on smaller goals for 90 days makes big goals feel less scary.Flexibility: 90 days provides enough time to make significant progress, yet it's short enough to adjust your plans based on changing circumstances or feedback.
Easier to Focus: When you know you have 90 days to finish something, you can focus better because you don't have to worry about what will happen far in the future. As some, we hold so much.  Achieving goals within a shorter time frame boosts motivation and confidence, encouraging you to continue working towards your long-term objectives.Feels Like a Game: It's like playing a video game with levels. Each 90-day period is like a level. When you finish one level, you feel awesome and ready to tackle the next one. Learning to Plan: You learn how to make plans and stick to them. This skill is super important because it helps you achieve your dreams, just like beating levels in a game gets you closer to winning.Makes Big Goals Possible: Sometimes, big goals seem impossible. But when you break them into smaller pieces with a 90-day plan, you realize that every step gets you closer to your big dream.
Evaluation and Adaptation: At the end of each 90-day period, you can review your progress, evaluate what worked and what didn't, and make adjustments accordingly.
So, a 90-day plan is like your secret weapon for making big dreams come true, one small step at a time!

“By conciously choosing foods, you are not only fueling your body but also honoring its needs.” – MiaBringing more feminine into your day isn’t about doing more. It’s about how you do what you do. It’s about support in what you do. More feminine in your day brings more balance and ease.When you are used to the masculine — to pushing through, to doing all the time, to a focus on efficiency and what you did not how you felt — things might feel hard. Some of the same things can feel easier, calmer, or more joyful when you bring in the feminine.In the first episode about feminine productivity, I explained a new process for planning that takes into account intuition, how you feel, and visioning. In the last episode, I show you to weave the feminine into your business. Today, let’s look at how to weave it into your day-to-day.If you are juggling a bajillion things and think this can’t work for you, I promise it can. I’ve used this process myself for years and taught it to hundreds of women who are doing the things they said were important to them and feeling good at the end of each day. I’ll teach you a new way to plan and love your day today in the free workshop Take Control of Your Day.7 Simple ActionsThese simple actions can shift the energy or your mood, support you, and help you tap into your intuition. They can happen in a few minutes and some even while you are doing something else.1. Start the day with gratitude. Gratitude is a way to center. It’s a tool we can use to lift our vibration before making a choice. It leads to different choices. Starting the day with gratitude is like setting the foundation for a beautiful house; it provides a sturdy base upon which to build the rest of your day.2. Support your body. This is an act of love and the feminine leads with love. Choose what you will feed yourself and how you will take care of yourself. By consciously choosing foods, you are not only fueling your body but also honoring its needs. Choosing nutrient-rich foods that nourish your body from the inside out can have a profound impact on your energy levels, mood, and overall well-being. Similarly, how you take care of yourself physically—whether through regular exercise, adequate rest, or practicing mindfulness—reflects your commitment to prioritizing your health and vitality. When you support your body, you are sending a powerful message of love and appreciation to yourself and laying the groundwork for a great day.3. Pull an Oracle card. Oracle cards are a powerful tool for tapping into intuition and gaining insight into various aspects of life. By pulling an Oracle card, you invite a moment of reflection and connection with your inner wisdom. These cards often carry symbolic imagery and messages that can provide guidance and inspiration for navigating your day.4. Leave space in your calendar. In our fast-paced world, it's easy to fill our calendars with endless tasks and commitments, leaving little room for spontaneity or self-care. By intentionally leaving space in your calendar, you create opportunities for rest, creativity, and magical moments. Embracing this openness allows you to flow with the rhythms of life, rather than constantly pushing against them.5. Ask for help. Doing everything alone is baked into the patriarchy, and somewhere along the line many of us came to understand this as we are doing it better if we can figure it out. This is just not true. The feminine likes a village. When something comes up that you can feel yourself tensing up, ask “who not how,” and see what pops in. Many of us tend to lean on one person for everything. A big part of what we will do in our course, Feminine Productivity, is actually design our village6. Get quiet. In the midst of “the busy,” finding moments of quiet can be incredibly nourishing for our feminine spirits. Whether it's through meditation, spending time in nature, or simply sitting still for 30 seconds, getting quiet allows you to tune into your inner voice and cultivate a sense of peace and clarity. These moments provide a sanctuary where you can recharge and reconnect with yourself on a deeper level.7. Make hard or boring situations more sacred. Light a candle and make a cup of tea when you are paying bills. Turn on calming or motivating music while you cook. I first learned to meditate while washing dishes and folding laundry. Approaching pockets of time that feel boring or hard with a sense of reverence can transform them into opportunities for growth and connection. By infusing everyday activities with a touch of sacredness, we honor the present moment. This shift in perspective reminds you that even in the most challenging times, there is always an opportunity to find joy and meaning.Take control of your day by weaving in more feminine.And we can show how to use a new style of planning and following through to realize your amazing visions, feel more balance and ease, and really learn how to bend time. Our course Feminine Productivity shows you this new way of being and how to do, even when you are trying to balance too many things and can’t figure out the time. This is how you make it happen.

“I check in with my intuition before I plan for anything.”–MiaWhen you think about the qualities that go into building a successful business, things  like strategic thinking, self-discipline, decisiveness, efficiency, focus might come to mind. When I asked Chat GPT to give me the top attributes of masculine energy, these were all on that list. When I asked Chat GPT about the top attributes of feminine energy, some of the words that stuck out to me that have been most important in growing my businesses are intuition, flexibility, reflection, desire and belief.There’s a lot of masculine energy that comes into building a business, but today I want us to consider how we can bring the feminine energy into our businesses and lives. It’s not that masculine energy is bad, but many of our systems and structures are infused with a lot of negative masculine. Even if they contain positive masculine attributes, we need more balance with the feminine. We need both masculine, but many of us were taught, or see around us, all the masculine stuff, and do not value, or even learn, the feminine pieces. We will be officially launching the Feminine Productivity course soon that helps you bring more feminine energy into your business and day. For now I want to share more about implementing in a new way in your business. I’m going to use the example of how I weave feminine into building a course, but what I share will work for any goal — filling your private practice, writing a book, growing your social media, landing a new big client.Listen to those kind, gentle intuitive nudges.If we can listen to our intuition, we have found our path to a result. The feminine is subtle, sometimes quiet. She is waiting for the right time, not because she is scared, but because she is wise and just knows. She grows to the rhythm of her seasons.Three years ago, I dreamt about the name of the course, Feminine Productivity. I loved it. I knew that was the name the second it rolled off my tongue. I bought the url. The same knowing that delivered the name, kept telling me not now whenever I sat down to write. I did not always listen. I made a workshop with the name. It was our least attended ever. I forced myself to write, but no new words came.Then a few months ago, at a retreat, I started getting whispers of what to include. I matched the whispers with extra time to capture them, and more extra time to be quiet enough to hear.A week or so ago, I was questioning what I was doing up so late writing. The behavior looked similar to a hustle and push mentality that has not resonated in a long time — but it did not feel that way. Instead, I was filled with excitement and purpose. I felt an internal urgency to communicate the concepts of Feminine Productivity right away. It reminded me of giving birth, and that was my intuition showing me that it was time. I was in the season of making. And I was up for it because I had just come out of a season of rest.What does this look like in practice? For me it’s quiet mornings that are nurturing to me. I spend time quieting my mind and connecting to my intuition. I go between meditation, stretching, journaling, and I love pulling an Oracle card.I have a waterproof pad in the shower, because I so often get intuitive hits there.I don’t pack my days, because it’s harder to hear or see those intuitive nudges when I’m super busy all the time. I slow down on purpose. I take time between meetings and tasks when I can.I eat food that literally keeps my channels open.I check in with my intuition before I plan for anything. When I sit down to plan my week, I take time to breathe and get quiet. When I’m about to plan a big project, I often pull an Oracle card.Wondering about how to fit intuition into your own planning process? I’ll teach you how to do that in Take Control of Your Day. If you are tired from juggling a bajillion things, you should sign up for this free workshop.Establish belief.Mindset is really important in business. Every business coach I have ever worked with teaches one part business and one part mindset.In the masculine model, we spent time doing things based on measurement and metrics. The feminine bases choices on feeling.I was on a call this morning with a client. She has told me many times how good she is at what she does, and how she is different from her competitors. She said exactly what she was going to do this week to focus on new sales, but there was no wind in her sail. Her energy felt flat. I asked her to tell me what a client would say about working with her. The positive energy and beautiful words flowed, and we made it her mantra.Now she still has sales goals, but she starts with that mantra then moves to the task at hand.What does this look like in practice?Here are some specific actions that weave in the feminine when I’m trying  to follow through on a project or plan.Write down what’s holding you back. Reflection and contemplation are feminine. Write down what you’re nervous about and what’s feeling hard or overwhelming. Then identify one thing you can do to counteract those fears. This is where a tapping session, or yoga class, or understanding of your human design serves your work.Even if I spend 30 minutes writing what’s holding me back, I gain time because those obstacles can get solved instead of keeping me in procrastination mode or plowing through and making something that’s not great (that’s a waste!)Hype yourself up. Write a short (1–3 paragraph) review of your own work, as if you were your own biggest fan. Read previous compliments from clients for inspiration. What makes your work great? Why should someone work with you? There’s a lot of faith in the feminine — faith that your initial idea is amazing, faith it will all work out. When we get into the doing, it is so easy to lose that connection. This practice helps you feel it again.Connect to others who have been before you. Read a book or listen to a podcast about someone who has already done what you are doing. Borrow someone else’s belief, while you build yours.Feed desire.Those intuitive nudges are powerful and the best way I have found forward. When we have that initial intuitive hit, knowing, nudge, one could also call it a desire. In my experience, it’s the desire piece that makes a big difference in how a goal goes, and it’s the fleeting part.When an idea or next step comes intuitively into our hearts and guts, it's strong and clear and fueled by desire. Let’s say you get the hit that now is the time to make the course or write the book. The desire makes that almost seem easy.Then 10 minutes later our brain kicks in. All of a sudden, we are already behind, overwhelmed, and it does not seem so fun anymore. We keep pushing and it only gets worse. Our brain is trying to protect us from change, which it sees as unsafe.It’s our job to keep the desire alive and get back to the place of ease and flow. Remember how I stayed up late writing the course? Weaving in the feminine was the key to feeling focused and efficient (there’s that balance!)What does this look like in practice?Imagining the best case scenario. Before I make a plan, I write about my desired outcome. I write about how the outcome would impact my life, my family, those I’m helping. I really build the desire, I cultivate it in this story I’m telling. I go back and write it in the first person. I read what I wrote before I sit down to work. It’s challenging to do something for future you. This exercise brings your ideal future into the present.Feel the benefits of the result. This practice is about really feeling the outcome you want. I close my eyes and feel what it feels like to be done and have achieved the result I want. Sometimes I have to say it out loud a few times, so I can really get that energy of desire. This exercise helped me understand how flat some of my “wishes” had become, and how important it is to my motivation and focus to really feel that quality of desire.Clear energy. I find desire often gets squished by other areas of my life that are not getting my focus at that precise moment. So for example, I sit down to make slides for the course I’m working on, and the mess around me is super distracting. When I take 10 minutes to tidy it up, the energy of my work space is lighter. Or it’s time to be creative and something with one of my kids is weighing on me. The feminine art of clearing that energy makes those ideas come so much faster.I hope that what you are seeing is where the feminine needs some time and space, and how these things don’t take extra time — they are actually making us time.If you’re curious about this process of bending time and bringing more balance to your life (even if you are juggling too many things),  I’ll teach you how to do that in Take Control of Your Day. Sign up for this free workshop here.