Everyday Happiness - Finding Harmony and Bliss
Education:Self-Improvement
Have you ever heard of the french cooking term “mise en place”? Well today, we explore how to mise en place our day.
Transcript:
Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.
I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and as we’ve been chatting, you know, I’ve been thinking a lot about time recently. I realized I actually do some habits that really do help me start my day feeling like I have time to conquer the day. Now, if you listened to episode 502 you’ll quickly realize that these habits won’t cure how I feel when I think about my high school running off the college and how fast time flies, but these are habits that help me get through the day with ease and grace so I thought I would share them with you.
During the covid-pandemic lockdowns my daughter was into taking online cooking classes. One of the things we learned was how to get really good at mise en place, this french term for getting all of your ingredients in place and measured out before you start cooking.
You are probably asking, what does this have to do with time affluence, well, I’m so glad you asked. For me, it’s how I set up my environment for a successful day and it’s essential for my successful morning, one that is orderly (one of my core values) and in flow, especially if I have a busy day.
I start the night before with getting the coffee pot ready and my vitamins all portioned in this tiny little bowl I got as a Christmas gift from my bestie. Coffee is my love language, and it’s so nice to just hit that button in the morning. I personally like to smell the coffee brewing, so I don’t use a timer. And the little bowl, it makes me happy to look at. Two things that are guaranteed to put a smile on my face first thing in the morning arte set up the night before. You might even say, I’ve mise en place’d my morning.
Now, after a bit of time, the children start to wake up. The night before I’ve also gotten a head start on kid stuff. My little guy’s iPad is charging on the kitchen counter so we don’t forget it in the morning. His backpack is ready to go. His clothes are laid out for easy dressing and he’s also feeling like his day has also started with ease and flow.
Back in the last few episodes, I’ve talked about that mom guilt. But if I think about quality over quantity, we have great stress free mornings that are filled with connection, so I try to remember that when time feels like it’s slipping away.
We also have a family meeting every morning. It’s when the kids sit at the kitchen counter and my husband does the dishes and makes the lunches and I stand with my coffee and no phones. We talk about the day ahead, say gratitude, we watch them consume their vitamins, because they are tricky kids and don’t love vitamins.
We also talk about what their Intentional Margin is for the day, do they have anything they are looking forward to. If there is a big test, it’s a major pep talk in the morning. The conversations vary, but it’s a time where we get to help set our kids up for a successful day. If you want to learn more about this family meeting, you can pop over to my website www.katiejefcoat.com/blog and download the free playbook I have over there.
As a bonus, if you are thinking about how you might mise en place your day, also consider identifying the night before when you will wake up and what your number one priority is for the next day.
Until next time, remember kindness is contagious.
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Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/
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