Little by little
Do you know what makes a huge impact when it comes to staying ahead of your chaos?
Two things…
Consistency and grace.
Consistency requires regular action.
Grace requires realistic expectations.
Keeping a tidy house, for example, can feel like a daunting task but it’s really a bit of a mind game.
We’re conditioned to believe that if it doesn’t result in blood, sweat or tears, we’re not doing enough. However, the reality is that we’re doing too much and in the end we wind up bloody, sweaty, crying and burned out!
There’s a Tanzanian proverb that says, “little by little, a little becomes a lot.”
We put that proverb into practice by doing just a little bit around the house each day. It has a residual effect on our ability to stay ahead of the chaos and in the process does wonders for our mental clarity.
This can also be applied to exercise, mindfulness, healthier eating habits, and overall productivity as you’ll read in this week’s Smart Reads.
Additionally, we have a plan that incorporates daily, 5-minute life hacks to stay ahead of your chaos. Yeah, you read that right – just 5 minutes a day!
The “daily” part is the consistency piece, the 5-minute time limit is the realistic expectation… the grace!
So, what’s the plan?
We thought you’d never ask!
Watch Amanda’s 30 second video clip to get a sneak peek of one of our 5-minute weekday routines (we call them races!). Then, skim The List for all of this week’s expert wisdom on how a little effort can go a long way. Our Smart Reads this week are a collection of 5 minute life hacks for busy moms!
You’ll be amazed by what you can accomplish in just 5 minutes!
Oh, and remember to tune-in to the latest Grace in the Race Podcast Playlist (linked below) while you tackle your chaos!
The List: 15 new resources for moms, published weekly…
6 skimmable articles to offer perspective on this week’s topic, 8 informative and/or entertaining podcast episodes to make the chores fly by, and 1 insightful video to inspire you to move forward with grace!
📖 6 Skimmable Articles
🎗 Awareness 🏡 Home 🗂 Productivity 🥗 Wellness 🧗 Growth 👨👩👧👧 Family
🏡 What!? Why didn’t I think of this?
“Lightly spray an old sock with some cleaning solution and run your foot over the baseboards to whisk debris away in a flash.” Read 10 Cleaning Tasks You Can Totally Tackle in 5 Minutes
🎗 Have you noticed a rise in anxiety lately?
“Sometimes, all you need is five minutes of self-care to feel better.” Read Five 5-Minute Mindfulness Exercises
🗂 Take back your time!
“The secret to getting more done every day is to make the moments in between work for you.” Read Hack Your Productivity with These 5-Minute Tasks
👨👩👧👦 We started doing this with our kids and it’s established a healthy habit for the whole family.
“You can reap the benefits of working out with sweat sessions as short as five minutes.” Read Are 5-Minute Daily Workout Routines Really Beneficial?
🧗🏽♀️ Change your life 5 minutes at a time.
“It’s cliche, but an ounce of effort on the front end of this will save you a mountain of headaches on the back side.” Read 5 Five-Minute Habits to Try Today
🥗 You can do (just about) anything for 5 minutes.
“Though it makes me cringe to say so, one of my biggest personal weaknesses is the tendency to take on too much.” Read 5-Minute Tasks That Will Make You Healthier
🎧 8 Podcast Episodes
KEY:
📰 Newsletter Topic
👸🏻 Society & Culture
💡 Ideas: Big and Small
🤰🏻 Motherhood
😎 Relax & Escape
🧗 Growth
👨👩👧👧 For the Family
⏭ Series
💣 explicit language
🌭 frank content
⚠️ sensitive topic
📰 Happy Brain | Tidying for Mental Health (17 min)
“Can tidying up make your brain happy? I found a guy on Instagram who swears by it…”
👸🏻 The Moth | Brand New YOU (51 min)
“Stories of starting fresh. Unexpected opportunities, budding relationships, your next home, and a new take.”
💡 Life Kit: Health | Feeling Foggy? It’s Not Just You (15 min)
“The stress and trauma from the past year have taken a toll on all of our brains. Mental health care providers say their patients are reporting brain fog and fatigue. If that sounds familiar, here’s why — and what you can do.”
🤰🏻 How I Built This with Guy Raz | Diapers.com & Jet.com: Marc Lore (76 min)
“Around 2003, after forays into banking, baseball cards, and—believe it or not—bobsledding, Marc Lore landed on an idea for an e-commerce business: a website to make it simple for parents to order diapers. The only problem, as he quickly discovered, was that it’s impossible to make money selling diapers on the internet.”
😎 Family Secrets | Inheritance (18 min)
“Author Dani Shapiro reveals what it was like to, by chance, discover a shocking secret about herself, and what this secret taught her about identity, family, and new beginnings.”
🧗 Life Kit | Need To Make A Change? Behavioral Science Can Help (19 min)
“When’s the best time to start a new habit? And what makes some stick while others fall by the wayside? Behavioral scientist Katy Milkman’s new book, How to Change, breaks down the research about how to leverage human nature instead of working against it to achieve your goals.”
👨👩👧👦 Imagined Life | The Speaker (38 min)
“You have plenty of things to say. You just have trouble saying them. But one day, your words are going to make people stand up and cheer.”
⏭ The Dropout | Myth-Making | Episode 1 (45 min)
“On the premiere episode of The Dropout, you’ll meet a young Elizabeth Holmes. Convinced of her own destiny even as a young child, she would come to drop out of Stanford in her late teens, intending to mold herself after the great tech icons of our time.”
🎬 Insightful Video
What’s in the box?
Writer and designer Graham Hill asks: Can having less stuff, in less room, lead to more happiness? He makes the case for taking up less space, and lays out three rules for editing your life.
Watch Less stuff, more happiness | Graham Hill |TED2011 (5:49) in this week’s Grace in the Race Insightful Video.
That’s The List for this week!
Do you have a favorite 5-minute life hack or take away from this week’s list? Drop us a note in the comments!
As always, we hope our newsletter inspires you to get your ship together and get through your week with grace.
Have a good one and please reach out if we can be helpful to you in any way!
Love & Grace,
Rachel & Amanda
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🎧 Podcast Playlist 5/26/21