Life Audit {Back to School Edition}

Happy {WELLNESS} Wednesday, friends!

A few weeks ago, I shared..

…this fun little book: 100 WAYS TO BE THAT GIRL by Fiona Ferris.

You know me, I love all the books written by Fiona Ferris.

They’re specifically written to women.

They’re encouraging.

They’re practical.

They’re upbeat.

And they’re always inspiring.

In 100 WAYS TO BE THAT GIRL, she puts down as point #96 that we should frequently do a “life audit”. I thought this was a fun little exercise and would marry quite well with this BACK TO SCHOOL SEASON we are currently in (because as I’ve mentioned approximately 4 billion times, I always feel like the beginning of the school year feels more “fresh start” to me than January 1st).

I don’t know about you, but after a nice long summer of…

…relaxed schedules, eating out more than normal, staying up later, sleeping in later, fewer commitments, and loads of downtime, these first few days back in the normal routine kick my butt.

I mean, FOR REAL though!

On Monday, Erika picked me up at 5:40 to take me to a dinner, and we both agreed that no matter what was happening, we were exiting at 7:30 on the dot because our bedtime was basically 8:00 PM now. Ha!

Here is my own little “life audit” to get me (hopefully!) back in gear for the new school year. I would love to know what things you need to tweak/add/remove/correct transitioning from summer to fall too. I think even if you don’t have school aged kiddos at home, there is no bigger seasonal shift than between summer ending and September beginning.

In no particular order, here is my Back To School Life Audit…

#1: BEDTIME, BEDTIME, BEDTIME

I basically need to eat dinner at 4:00 PM and go to sleep by 5:00. It doesn’t sound practical but man, it sounds delightful 😉 .

I know every school system is different but because of the heat, down here in Texas (where the high yesterday was 105 degrees), we tend to do many of our sports very early in the morning this time of year. What this means for the Shulls is that the first kiddo leaves for school at 4:45 AM (you read that correctly) and the last one leaves for school at 6:20 AM. All four Shulls are either at school or on the way there by 6:20.

We are getting up EARLY which means…we must, must, must, MUST get ourselves to bed early.

We must.

#2: A FEED CLEAN OUT

I don’t know about you, but on occasion, I’ll go through my social media feeds and clean them out. Let’s be real, I feel like when I open any social media app these days (especially Facebook right now!), it’s never people I really know and/or content I really want to see. It’s all “stuff” from the algorithm that I never followed and/or have no interest in. I want all the back to school/happy/fall-loving/travel/wellness inspired content in my feed. So on occasion, I’ll go in and try to do a big purge of “excess” and comb through and try to engage with the content that I really find beneficial and inspiring. If I’m going to spend a few minutes scrolling, I at least want to scroll past things that interest me.

#3: MEAL PLANNING

I’m not just talking about dinner meal planning but ALL meal planning. My Life Audit certainly needs to include making sure I have quick breakfasts, lunchbox items, and after school snacks. For me, getting dinner together every day is pretty routine…but I often feel like I’m a step behind on having allllllll the things for lunches (even extra baggies and foil and things like that) and after school snacks. I also feel like these are areas where I either “over buy” or “under buy”. I’ll buy a giant box of bars and my kids will only eat one flavor…OR…I’ll buy a pound of turkey for sandwiches and it’s gone by the end of the day. I have been a mom almost 18 years and it amazes me how I still miss the mark on things like this.

#4: GET MY APPS TOGETHER

Technology is great…but it’s also kind of a pain. My kids’ schools/teachers/coaches all use a variety of apps to communicate. Maybe you’re in the same boat? They not only use apps specifically for the district but they use Band…and Group Me…and Rooms…and SportsYou…and true story, on Monday morning, I checked every one of these apps at 5:00 AM about cross country and there were no new messages. Andrew and I were tag teaming, so I left for the gym and Andrew took Ashby to school. He called me and said no one was there, and I said “but I checked the apps and there were no new messages!”…and then I opened my email inbox and voila, an email was sent the night before at 9:12 PM cancelling cross country. Who would have thought they’d use old school tech and email the cancellation? Agh! Now, I will be checking all the apps AND my email every morning for changes. Sigh (again). My Life Audit desperately needs my apps together.

#5: DOWNTIME, DOWNTIME

I haven’t been reading as much as I normally do because I can’t quite seem to get my act together. Since I’m trying to get to bed earlier than normal, I’m reading less at night. But when I read less at night, I feel like it takes my brain longer to unwind. I find that I sleep better when I read more before bed…but I’m trying to sleep more, so I’m reading less. It’s a vicious cycle.

#6: KEEP IT SIMPLE (AT DINNER!)

As much as I love making an assortment of dinners for my family, right now, we are repeating a lot of meals. You know those moms who always make the same five dinners Monday through Friday? I get that now. Back in the day, I never would have made the same pasta recipe two weeks in a row, but right now, if my family likes it and it’s simple…we will repeat it.

#7: SHORTER, HARDER WORKOUTS

I was spoiled over the summer with more time for working out and more opportunities to get out and about and be active. Right this minute, I have less time, and it’s just too darn hot. I am trying to reframe my workouts to a bit shorter but HARDER.

And those are just a few little ways I’m “auditing” my Back to School self right now.

Anyone else tweaking things as they bridge the distance between summer and fall? If so, please share!

Okay and speaking of all things Back to School…