185 - Coming Back to Simple Joys
A reminder today that things don't have to be complicated in order to produce joy. The simple and mundane things can be incredibly rewarding and life-changing. Tap into and make space for them. Let's talk about reminders for simple joys today!
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Transcript:
Hello, you are listening to episode 185 of the Mindful Productivity Podcast. I'm your host, Sarah Steckler. And in today's episode, I thought we would come back to remembering and creating reminders to come back to simple joys in your life. A lot of times I find myself in this very over complicated state of mind where I need to do all these big things or make all these huge changes in order to be happy. It's another version of the all be happy when scenario. But recently, in doing more journaling and more self-reflection and stepping away from a lot of the habits that kind of pop up, endlessly scrolling, doom scrolling, moving away from those things and coming back to being a little bit more grounded, I've been reminded of the power of simple joys and how really every day can be happier when you focus on the small things that make you happy and when you really, really acknowledge what you truly love and make time for, it unapologetically. So let's go ahead and get into today's episode.
Welcome to the Mindful Productivity Podcast. I'm your host, Sarah Steckler and this is the place to be to live a more mindful and productive life. If you're ready to turn daily chaos into calm and start your days with intention, then get ready to join me as we dive deep into mindful living and personal productivity. It's time to connect with your true self so you can live the life you want to live. And it all starts now.
Hello friends, welcome back to the podcast. I am so glad that you're here listening. Whether you're a long time listener or you're brand new. Welcome to the podcast. Welcome to the community. It is a nice day here. There's a lot more light in my office this afternoon. Daylight saving time has ended or started. I can't remember. I was getting confused and I'm really hoping that here in the United States it ends and they stop and they've put it out there. Hopefully it passes the house because that oh, I just think that would be lovely to stop having to jump back and forth with the time. It always messes up me and my sleep in my mind. And then I never know when Bella actually wants to eat dinner because she's always confused too. So anyway, I'm really hoping that that changes. But before we jump into today's topic, I thought I'd share a quick couple of updates about what's going on behind the scenes in business as we like to do. We just wrapped up Productivity and Planning Week. Well, at the time of this recording, we're actually in the middle of it and it's been so much fun.
We have 30 different trainings and a bunch of different speakers, huge, diverse range of topics and it's been so much fun and I am learning so much and the comments are popping. The Facebook group is a ton of fun and if you want to check out Productivity and Planning Week and you missed it. You can still head over to ProductivityWeek.com, and there is going to be an option to buy the Productivity Pass for another week. So I may bring this back at some point as another option. I'm not sure, but if you miss the trainings and want to get extended access to them, you can find them all there. But this running this round again, and I'll have to do a whole podcast recap soon. I did things a little bit differently running my second summit, and I was a lot less stressed, so I'm not feeling nearly as stressed. I didn't schedule any extra calls this week, really just made time to enjoy all the trainings and be a participant myself, which has been a lot of fun. And at this time, right now, we're nearing about 700 people that have signed up for the event, which is awesome.
We surpassed our goal from last year, and it's just been so much fun. So thank you all for any of you who attended that. Thank you to all of our speakers who are a part of it. It's been a lot of fun. Also, today, if you're listening at the time of this recording, is the first day of enrollment for Wayne's Spring enrollment. Wayne is one of my favorite business programs, and I am an affiliate. And this time around, I'm offering not one, but two amazing bonuses. If you enroll with my link, if you have no idea what Wayme is and you want to learn more and you're curious, you can go over mindful productivity podcast that's W-A-I-M. This is ultimately the coolest online business space to be, especially if you're new to business or you're really wanting to come back to a space where you get permission to do things your way. It's not just one coach or guru like being like, this is how you have to run a business, and this is the model you have to have. I really appreciate that Jason and Caroline make space and hold space for all different kinds of business models, and I'm always referencing everything in their course and platform so you get lifetime access to it.
But there's no sense in me trying to explain all of it. It's really just best to go check out everything I've written about it. And I also have a podcast episode on it as well. But if you're interested, definitely go check that out. So today we're talking about simple joys, and I have to give a big shout out to Carly Victoria. She was a speaker at Productivity and Planning Week, but she's also just an incredible human, and I actually invested in one of her courses recently called The Authentic Journal. I don't think she's still running it right now, but she may offer a self paced option. I'm not sure I reached out to her. So Carly, hopefully you'll get back to me and let me know. But I recently had a call with her for her group program through this, and we did a live journaling session. And I have to be really honest with you, I have trouble showing up personally to live calls because first of all, I always want to listen to things on two times speed. I mean, I talk faster, I listen faster. That's just how my brain works. It's easier for me to receive information when it's coming at me a little bit faster.
And so sometimes I will skip live calls so that I can listen to it easier. However, with something like this where you're actually doing the journaling live, I was like, well, I got to go. And I noticed that whenever there's a live call like this and it's optional, I can make a ton of excuses for myself. I can say, well, maybe you could use that time differently. Or do you really have time for this? Especially since this was a course where it's not directly business related? I came up with all these reasons a couple of days before about why maybe I shouldn't go. And I pushed forward and I said no. And I kind of called myself out. And I was like, just show up. And I did. And not only did I show up, but I made sure I didn't have my phone with me. I got rid of any other distractions, and I really set the intention of you are going to be completely present for the 60 Minutes, and you're really going to be here and do these journaling prompts. Because I just noticed I know this about myself. Even when I'm on Zoom calls, it's really easy for me to open up another tab, start checking email.
I was like, no focus. And I did. And I just wanted to share that it was so incredibly powerful, not only the Journal prompts that we went through, but also sharing with the other people on the call about what came up for us. And it was a really lovely reminder that things can be incredibly simple, but incredibly powerful, especially when we give them our attention. So in the past, I know I've signed up for other calls, similar styles of calls before, but I haven't really been present. Right. I didn't really do the prompts. I just kind of listened to the Journal prompt and was like, okay, but didn't actually sit down and put pen to paper, didn't actually do the work. And it's in those moments where it's really easy to be like, well, this isn't for me or, oh, this isn't valuable to me, or I already know this. Right. Because some of the Journal prompts we went through seemingly felt very simple. Right? But the longer you Journal and dive into it, you're like, oh, my gosh, there's so much here to explore. And so I just want to remind you that if you have a resource or something, you've invested in your life and you have any of these thoughts, maybe call yourself in and say, well, what would happen?
What would change? What would I be able to experience if I actually held space to go through this container that this person created for me, whatever it is, and really see what comes up for you? Because I was blown away by how in 60 Minutes, where I could have easily spent time messing around on my computer, not actually getting anything done, I was able to really feel grounded and come into this place of really tapping into what I need right now in my life. And one of the biggest themes that came up was simplicity, simplicity and simple joys. And I really found myself doing a lot of journaling around what I need right now. And even after the call for the rest of the day leading throughout the rest of this week, I've just been walking around being like, what brings me joy? And really tapping into that and realizing that a lot of the reasons why I often feel stressed or overwhelmed are for life reasons and they're valid. But sometimes I get so stuck there in that place. And so I've been really coming back to the most simplest, silly of things that bring me joy.
So I wanted to share a couple of those with you today. Some of the things I've been into and also how I've been creating more kind of practices and rituals around things that bring me joy. Very small things. So, for example, I recently purchased a new keyboard and let me actually jump into a space here so I can type a little bit. I will have this linked up in the show notes, but I also made a couple of reels with this. But this is my new Bluetooth keyboard. I don't know if you can hear that. I love the sound of these keys. And then I also do have another one. You may have seen. It's like more of a mechanical style and it has the Led behind it. And that's what that one sounds like. But this one, I don't know, it feels it's just like wonderful butter on my fingertips and in my ears. And I love it so much. And so I've been enjoying using my new keyboard. But I thought, wouldn't it be fun if because I love typing on it so much, right? I was like, wouldn't it be fun to use, like in between Pomodoros, you have a five minute break.
And I was like, wouldn't it be fun as part of my break practice to have fun with my keyboard? So what I've been doing is going over to a website called Monkeytype.com. You can sign up for an account, you can customize the background. But basically in I think it's 32nd sprints, maybe a minute. It gives you words and you can see yourself type across the screen, which I think is really cool. And interactive, and then you can improve your both typing speeds, your words per minute, and your accuracy. So I've been doing this so much, and I don't know why, but my brain just loves it. It's such a fun way to focus. And one of the things that happiness researchers always talk about is how happiness really stems from these focused moments where you're really focused on something very, very detailed and very specific. So doing this has been a lot, a lot of fun. And there's also another website I found. I think I have it up here. I think it's called Typelit.com. And basically it's a website where you can type out entire books. I started typing out Alice in Wonderland. They also have, like, 1984 and a couple of other ones.
And, oh, my gosh, it's so fun. It's a little bit more challenging because you're not just typing words, you're also type in quotation marks, commas, all those kinds of things. Right. But it's been really fun. And I noticed that it's a lot easier for me to pay attention and read when my fingers are busy. And so that's one of the things I struggle with is making more time for reading. I'm always checking out books from the library and always wanting to read all the books I have. But when I sit down to read, I often really struggle to sit still and focus. And while I can't type out every book I want to read, that's not going to work. And it takes a lot of time. I just thought it was really an interesting reflection that typing out the book helped me read it. So that's been really fun. So I've been doing that. And then I set a goal for myself to try to hit get over 100 words per minute. And within one day, I went from I think my average was like 85 words per minute to start, maybe 90. And I now I'm getting over 100 words per minute, which is so cool.
And I was, like, so proud of myself. I still am. But then I went to the leader board in Monkey Type, and the highest score right now is, like, someone's getting 277 words per minute, which blows my mind, like, how. And I know that typing on, like, a QWERTY keyboard is not the fastest way to type. I know that there's, like, stenographer stuff, and then there's other keyboards that are totally, totally different where you can actually type multiple words, like at one. I don't know. It's all very fascinating to me. And if you get onto TikTok, you can see all that. So eventually I'd love to have a custom keyboard and learn more about switches. I have no desire to actually change the key caps myself. Like, people, you can change them out and buy different key caps and lube them yourself and do all this stuff. I don't have any desire to get into that. But if I could find someone that could build one for me that sounds how I want, and they could give me those custom key caps. That would be really fun, but it can get very expensive. I cannot believe the keyboard enthusiasts out there and how pricey it gets.
It's like a whole other world. Anyway, so I've been having fun, kind of doing a deep dive, hyper focus into keyboarding and typing. And I just can't believe how much joy that brings me. So I've really been having fun with that. And then I've also been coming back to really. And I've been talking about this more on Instagram. And I thought it was interesting that some people reach out, and I was like, oh, I've never thought about it that way. But my office at home is truly like my sanctuary. It is filled to the brim with squish Mallows, which I love more and more. And it's really interesting because I think sometimes I have all these interests and I love Kawhi stuff. And I bought these cloud lamps from Ikea that go on the wall that are clearly marketed for children. But I'm like, I want that. And there's all these things that I really love and enjoy, and they bring me so much joy. Like, right now I'm looking over to my right, and I have this giant Squishmallow of Connor the Cow. It's like the biggest one you can get. It's like the jumbo.
And I got it at Costco.
It's huge.
But every time I see him, I'm like, oh, my gosh, it just brings me so much joy. Like, a little thing goes off in my brain, and sometimes I feel like, I don't know if you ever feel this way. Like, at what point are some of my interests possibly cringy to other people? But at the same time, I just find so much joy in it. And it's always really funny to me, too. I've done a lot of different summits and podcast interviews lately with my video on. And the minute you see my background, first of all, my office is always very messy, and there's always, like, some kind of Squishmallow or five behind me. And sometimes I remember one of the reasons why I felt weird entering the online business space was that I always felt like I wasn't professional enough in the way that you're supposed to be professional. So now I just embraced that. I don't jump on Zoom all the time with a full face of makeup sometimes, but I don't always look as professional, right? But I still run a successful business, and I have squish my loss in my background.
But it's always fun when I jump on a call with people and they're like, oh, my gosh, your background brings me so much joy. Like, what is behind you? Like, what is that? What is that? And it's just so fun. And it's just a reminder, too, that when you are unapologetically yourself in how you show up or what your interests are or what the space that you kind of create, the color that you paint on the walls around you. You outwardly share your joy, and that can bring other people joy. So embracing the simple things that you love can truly bring a lot of happiness to other people, or it can give other people the permission to do something they love. You know, it reminds me a lot of when I first met my husband, when we were dating, and I can't remember if it was like. I think it was like the second week we were dating, I went back over to his place, and we were getting ready to go out to dinner, and I think I was picking him up, and he goes, oh, there's something I want to show you. And he runs into his room, and he pulls out this, like, giant cardboard box, and he, like, pushes it across the floor, and he opens it up, and I'm like, I have no idea what he's about to show me.
And he starts pulling out all these I hope he doesn't kill me for sharing this. He starts pulling out all these different Green Lantern things, like action figures, memorabilia, blah, blah, blah, blah. I don't even know, right? And he also has a Green Lantern tattoo on his arm. And I remember just. I think that was, like, one of the moments where I was like, oh, my gosh, I love this guy. Like, this is my person, because the pure joy that just, like, across his face and his eyes just like a little kid showing me all these things that he loves so much, and that this was, like, his favorite. And this was before, like, the Marvel movies got really big again and stuff. And so he was so excited. But then there was also this really vulnerable side to it where I could tell he was sharing something with me, and he was unsure if I would think it was, like, uncool or weird, right? And so he's showing this all to me, and I can just see this look in his eyes, like, this anticipation of, oh, no, how she can react. And I remember just feeling so honored that he felt like he could show this to me, especially, like, week one or two into dating.
And I remember just being like, Holy crap, this is so incredible. This is so cool. I was like, I love this. I love that you are so passionate about something, and I love all this stuff. And I remember that just made him even happier. Like, wow. And so that's one thing, too. You know, me and my husband really practice is celebrating each other's small joys. So whenever he's really excited about something, whether it's, like, an update happening in destiny, which is the game he plays, or there's, like, a new guitar that he's into, or he's putting new strings on a guitar or modifying something. He does so many things. I know nothing about any of this, but I always am excited for him and I always want to listen and hear his joy because that just like amps it up. And it's the same thing for me. Sometimes I'll come home and I'll be like, I went squish mellow hunting and I found this Easter chick at Walgreens and it was the only one left and I've been wanting it and he'll just be so excited for me. And these are obviously just little examples.
But the same thing goes for my business. Like when I have these little milestones, even if he has no idea what something means or what the integration or piece of tech is I'm talking about, I'm like, I got it to work and blah, blah, blah, blah. Now this is automated. He's still so happy for me. So asking yourself within your own relationships, like, how can you be excited for other people? You know, how can you cultivate more of those relationships where people are excited for you? And also that you don't have to completely get or understand why someone's excited to share and celebrate their joy. So celebrating our joys more is also another simple way to bring joy into your life. Cultivating a space that really feels like your own sanctuary. Like, when I'm in my office, I forget about the world and I think we all need those moments if we can, right? To be able to escape and be able to think about what we need and to be able to come back to joy. And I also just think it's really important that for all of you listening that are creatives, like keep being creative if you have the energy and you want to share something you've made or something that brings you joy.
Or I think of all the people that make these YouTube videos where they're showing their planners or they post photos of it on Instagram or their office space or being outside. I'm so grateful for those pieces of content because I get to see and experience all those other moments right along with people. And I think sometimes a lot of us feel pressure, like because there's so many always horrible things happening in the world that who are we to share something positive or we feel like maybe we shouldn't. But I really want to encourage more people to share their joy because I don't think that suppressing our joy is what will solve anything. If anything, we need more sharing and creativity out there in the world so that we can remember the good things and that we can remain hopeful and we can remain able to take sustainable action for change. Anyway. Regardless, I hope this podcast episode just reminds you to tap into what brings you simple joy. Another thing I want to get back into is cooking. And with Spring very close, I'm feeling inspired to buy more produce, go to farmers markets, eat more salads and smoothies and really come back to just all the amazing foods that there are out there.
And I think for me, especially during the pandemic, it was really easy to get into a ton of processed stuff, which is fine. I don't eliminate any food necessarily from my eating ecosystem or whatever, but I noticed like, oh, my energy is a little bit lower because of that and so I'm excited to incorporate more foods that really feel nourishing and exciting and to try new things like to get out there and try different fruits and different things I haven't before. So come back to your simple joys. Remember that the simple things even just like going to a coffee shop or getting a latte on your way out or reading a book while it's raining or getting out your favorite blanket and putting it in the dryer and snuggling up with your pet and watching your favorite show or making tea in the evening. All these things, all these things that are very much yoga can really bring you a lot of joy and you don't have to over complicate it or completely change your life in order to bring those things into the present moment. So thank you so much for listening to this podcast.
I hope it was a lovely reminder for you and if you want to share what simple joys are in your life, I'd love to hear them from you. So have a wonderful week ahead and next week we have an amazing guest on the podcast. We're going to be talking all about self-discovery very, very excited about that. So I will talk to you then. Bye.
