Good morning, friends! I hope you’re having a great week.

Mine’s been a little crazy. Shane and I went on a weekend trip to Steamboat Springs to ski, hit up some hot springs, and snowshoe, and then yesterday I took the morning to ski again with my friend, Katie.

Also, I cannot explain how amazing – and liberating – it felt to be running around in a swimsuit not even an hour after hitting up the slopes.

Strawberry park has natural hot springs, and it was crazy how, well, hot they were. It wasn’t too cold of a day – in the fifties, but it was still a really cool feeling.

Since all the fun was had these past few days, I’ve also been waking up very early, and staying up a bit later, in order to get work done on my business and serve my awesome clients.

So anyway – about the title of this post.

Contrary to what you might have expected, this post isn’t about my 12 rules to lose stubborn fat. Nor is it about my 12 rules to get the most out of your workouts.

Nay, this is my 12 Rules for Living a More Productive and Happy Life.

For the past coulpe years, I’ve been trying to create and respect my own boundaries more and more. I’ve always called them boundaries, because I try not to let external influences cross them.

But they could also just as easily, and in fact probably more inforceably, be called rules. I think calling them rules calls out a more definite principle to them.

In my membership community, I have a monthly book club, and this month’s book is Craig Ballantyne’s Perfect Day Formula, and he describes what I called boundaries as ‘rules.’ Just as you would stop at a stoplight, because it’s a rule, you should follow your own rules, because your sanity is well worth it.

Now, I may be a bit more flexible about bending my rules than I am the state laws, but it’s still nice to have them laid out. As they say, when you write out what you want to come true, it’s much more apt to happen.

My 12 Rules for Living a More Productive and Happy Life.

1. Don’t pick up phone until I’ve been awake for at least an hour. 

I really try to abide by this rule, because if I start my day off by looking at my phone, it sets the tone for an urgent day. I’m making the decision to react rather than be proactive if I do this. There are times to react, and it’s not within the first hour (or two) of my morning.

2. Stick with my email-reply system – and a system for all processes in order to avoid unnecessary stress.

Again, to avoid urgency, and the sense of urgency, I have a system for my email response. It’s simply to respond to my emails in the order in which they were delivered to my inbox. My assistance calls out my emails from VIP one-on-one coaching clients first, and then I move on to my other clients, and then to other inquiries.

I also have a 24-hour policy, in that I will respond within 24 hours (but very rarely within minutes  – again, creates the sense of urgency.)

3. Be in bed by 9:00 pm four out of seven nights a week, and by 10:30 pm the other three.

I like – and need – my sleep. I’m up between 5:30-6:30 every day, so I like to be in bed by 9 or 9:30 most nights, and 10:30 the others. I do make exceptions to this rule about once a week, when having a night out. But honestly, even after a night out, I’d prefer to be home by 10:00 LOL

4. Leave my phone in my purse when connecting with friends and family.

Unless I have pre-scheduled work time during this time, then if I’m intentionally with friends and/or family, I try to leave my phone out of sight.

5. Take at least one walk a day.

Because vitamin D. Because leisure. Because fresh air. Because Niko. Because NEAT. Because mountains.

6. Maintain and build the relationships in my life.

I can be an extremely driven person, and it’s easy for me to let my passions take over my life. However, I have a few very amazing friends back in Illinois, and if I’ve learned anything from moving from IL to CO, it’s that long distance friendships are a two way street that require TLC.

7. Do something productive for my business daily.

I often get caught up working so much IN my business, that I must remind myself to work ON my business as well.

8. Don’t partake in gossip or spew unwarranted negativity or trash talk into the world.

Because, ew.

9. Play in the mountains at least once a week.

10. Be grateful.

This is my #1 stress buster and anxiety-easer.

11. Read daily – both fiction and personal/professional development.

Ever since I was little, I’ve been a reader. I’m constantly reading new fitness, business, and personal development books, but I also still read novels before bed.

12. Call my parents at least three times a week.

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What are some of your rules?