A Healthy Work/Life Balance

Do you find yourself saying yes to many things, both work and social related, and then find it quite difficult obtaining a good balance between them?

Getting the balance right can provide you with tremendous benefits, but are you struggling to find this so called "balance"?

Finding a balance is so important, and also positively impacts on your friends, family and coworkers.

Assess your current state of balance. On a regular basis, think how you're feeling at that moment so you can work out what needs tweaking.

Understand your triggers. This is a really key element. Being able to recognize the events or actions that trigger different states of balance will help you anticipate stress. Knowing what your positive or negative triggers are will help you work on solutions in advance and talk yourself down from that "stress cliff".

We've all been there, some more than others. Once your stressed and have worked yourself up onto the metaphorical "stress cliff" it's so very hard to think calmly and rationally. 

Think back on episodes of being in and out of balance, how did you feel? What was your trigger? Then you may be able to identify any patterns or common themes, and recognise these when they start to happen again. Take some deep breaths and give your stress trigger the flick (or the finger, which ever is more effective for you!)

Benefits of a healthy Work/Life balance

For most people, a healthy work/life balance means getting an acceptable share of time between their needs and those of others around them, whether in the workplace or in your private life. Many people experience firsthand how spending too much time at work can negatively impact their personal life. Conversely, being pulled by too many demands from home can make it hard to concentrate on work. Whether there's too much focus on work, or too little, when your work life and your personal life feel out of balance, the result is stress.

To establish a balance in your life, you need to review the various demands and responsibilities you have, both at work and at home. Then you need to determine your priorities and figure out a way to accommodate all the important things you need and want to do.

Each time you try to make a change in your life, it's likely you'll face both internal and external obstacles. 

Internal vs External Obstacles 

So what are Internal obstacles? Internal obstacles include attitudes toward change, attitudes about your personal ability to change, the need to feel important, and the tendency toward procrastination. Basically a bit of self-bashing. To overcome internal obstacles, eliminate negative thinking, believe in your ability to change, prioritize, and talk to someone you trust. All easier said than done of course, but perhaps just reading those points in short, succinct form, will at the very least, encourage you to think about this a little deeper.

What are External obstacles? External obstacles come from people, your organization, or resources. External obstacles also have to be talked through with someone who can make a difference, and who you can ask to take action. You need to be factual in asking for what you want, and reasonable and polite in telling the person how to help you. 

     

Sometimes in a work situation, your external obstacle simply cannot be helped. However your Internal obstacle can ALWAYS be changed, as these thoughts are purely your own. Your hesitation to change, your un-willingness to want to embrace something new or different. Your Internal obstacle is your opportuntity to give yourself a pep talk and work at these obstacles bits at a time. 

Do you watch Offspring? A huge reason why I love this show, is because I can highly relate to the self pep talks that Nina Proudman has with herself. 

"Don't be silly Nicole, no one will think less of you if you make decision A or B"       

"Now come on Nicole, you can do better than this"

"Stop talking, just stop talking. Why are you still talking. Oh god this is awkward. Just smile"

My internal monologue is a no-nonsense blonde and has talked me down from many a stress cliff.

Having a healthy work/life balance is important, and the balance that's right for you won't necessarily be right for your coworker or your friend. And it may not be right for you next year either. Anyone can create a different idea of what the perfect work/life balance should be. But it will inevitably be a dynamic concept, since it has to change many times throughout life, as the circumstances of life and work change, and you yourself change. The whole purpose of this blog is to promote and encourage change, we want to change for the better!

Images: Google Images           

Fitspiration

Tonight my routine changed a little and I found myself training inside a gym. As someone who is used to training outdoors, in the heat or in the rain, this was quite overwhelming. I could have bailed, come up with an excuse as to why I couldn't go, but I went anyway and have no regrets. Whilst my session was drastically different, my legs feel like jelly, my hands shake as I type this, I'm proud of myself for not backing out of something new and different that was potentially challenging and outside my comfort zone. I hope the below can also inspire you to do the same

Nicole

X

Winter Warmer Quinoa Porridge

As the weather starts to get colder, and it becomes a little harder to get up in the mornings, my muesli and yoghurt just isn't cutting it. While it still fills me up and is satisfyingly yummy, it leaves me with no warmth in my stomach to get me through the cold mornings until lunch time.

This morning I tried out a new recipe and approach on porridge, by incorporating some Quinoa with my oats. If you are gluten intolerant, you can of course skip the oats completely. 

Many like to use quinoa flakes instead of the quinoa seeds, which would certainly cut your cooking time down in the mornings if you are on a tight schedule. Before we jump to the recipe, here's a little quinoa education for those that have been interested, but not sure what this super-food is all about.

Quinoa 101:

Pronounced "Keen-Wa" , is a grain-like crop that is grown for its edible seeds. Originating in the Andean region of Ecuador, Bolivia, Columbia and Peru, where it was successfully domesticated 3,000 to 4,000 years ago for human consumption

Quinoa seeds contain essential amino acids like lysine and good quantities of calcium, phosphorus, and iron.

The Incans, who held the crop to be sacred,referred to quinoa as chisaya mama or "mother of all grains. Today, people appreciate quinoa for its nutritional value. Quinoa is considered a superfood. Protein content is very high (14% by mass), yet not as high as most beans and legumes. Quinoa's protein content per 100 calories is higher than brown rice, potatoes, barley and millet, but is less than wild rice and oats. 

Nutritional evaluations of quinoa indicate that it is a source of complete protein. Furthermore, it is a good source of dietary fibre and phosphorus, high in magnesium, iron, a source of calcium and useful for vegans and those who are lactose intolerant. Quinoa is also gluten-free and considered easy to digest.

Winter Warmer Quinoa Porridge

Serves 2 (or if you're a single lady, 2 yummy breakfasts that you wont need to share)

Ingredients

3 Cups Water

1/4 Cup of red or white quinoa

1 Cup of oats

a handful of sultanas

a handful of almonds, walnuts - roughly chopped

honey or pure maple syrup

Instructions

- Pour the water into a saucepan and bring it to the boil

- Add the quinoa and boil for 10 minutes over a high heat

*** For those that are time poor, you can replace the above with 1 cup quinoa flakes to 2 cups water, and this would only need to boil for 3-4 minutes ***

- Stir in the oats, sultanas and nits, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the water has been absorbed, and the mixture is at the conistency that you prefer.

- You can add a little water, or milk of your choosing if the porridge is too gluggy for your taste

- Serve drizzled with the maple syrup or honey

I also added ground cinnamon to mine just before serving, with a sprinkle of shredded coconut, chia seeds and an LSA mix. I also cut up some fresh strawberries and a table spoon of natural greek yoghurt.

The best thing about making porridge is that you can play around with all kinds of optional extras. Cocoa nibs, coconut, blueberries, more/less yoghurt... the choice is yours!

Enjoy!

Images: My Own

Sources: Wikipedia | Quinoa: Production, Consumption and Social Value in Historical Context by Alan.L Kolata

Bali ~ Part Two

You know you're about to have an amazing week, when you step into your luxury villa, hidden in the heart of Seminyak, and read your week's agenda, laid out on your bed alongside Lemongrass Soap, Coconut and Vanilla Lip Balm and Body Butter. 

"Welcome to Salt! Enjoy your Spa Unwind session of Reflexology & Balinese Head Shoulders session by the pool.

3pm - Afternoon infused water, juice, tea or coffee, ask our butler if you need any help unpacking your bag.

6:15pm - Meditation

7:15pm - Your delicious nutritious dinner, served at Salt's dining table

8:15pm - Salts Movie Night under the stars. Sit back and enjoy Salt's open-air lounge with delicious guilt free movie snacks.

We wish you a beautiful sleep and mimpi manis (sweet dreams)".

You could not wipe the grin off my face!

We were woken daily at 6:30am to get ready for our 7am Yoga session by the pool. I had never tried Yoga before, would I just have to lie there in child's pose while the rest of my retreat buddies excelled in Downward Dog and Cobra? No, because Nicole version 2013 tries new things! I absolutely loved the yoga, something so new that seemed to come quite naturally and quite quickly. 

As this was also a Surfing retreat, Nicole version 2013 also gave this a go. Wearing my sexy bright yellow rash vest - possibly modelled on Big Bird, I hit the waves of Seminyak beach. 

Ok, so I actually slowly and cautiously waded my way out with the help of one of our surf coaches, but I was determined for my Blue Crush moment! After watching the waves for awhile (with no idea what I was meant to be "watching"), I heard someone yell GO! so I paddled, paddled, paddled aaaand jump up! A few successful tries resulted in standing up about twice, not bad for my first go. After that it was wipeout after wipeout. 

A lot of beach water was swallowed. My pants were full of sand. I began to feel less Kate Bosworth and more Bali belly victim, so i picked up my board, after it sufficiently slammed into my shins, and sat on the beach and drank my coconut.

So I gave surfing a go, nice work Nicole v.2013. Then decided I would focus the rest of the week on honing in on my Yoga skills and just generally relaxing. Back at home I have some difficulties relaxing and doing nothing, as I always feel like I should be doing something else, or better using my time. It was so nice to just sit by the pool and read, and know that you had no time restraints, nowhere else to be, and could just enjoy the present moment.

We received daily massages to work out those surfing knots, and my laying by the pool knots. The villa itself was amazing, a very small group of eight of us on the retreat, we were so lucky to have such a great group to enjoy the week with. It only took one day of this retreat, and I felt so much more relaxed and calmer. As it got darker at night, they would light candles around the pool, we would sit and chat about the day, order some tea, no rushing or worrying. Knowing the time became less important, unless it was to keep track of your next massage session.

The food was healthy, organic produce made by the retreat chef. The menu was designed by Pete Evans of My Kitchen Rules fame, and we were also advised that in the next few months the Bondi boys from My Kitchen Rules would be travelling to the retreat to cook up some recipes and ideas for their upcoming cookbook.

Varieties of fresh fish, chicken, tofu and tempeh with red rice or a small salad to accompany. Breakfast was by far the favourite, with amazing suprises like banana crepes, omelettes, fruit and muesli, egg/avocado/tomato breakfast tortilla and breakfast frittata. 

Confession time: There was a lot of spicy food. Would you like some food with your spice?My mouth was on fire. No amount of water or red rice could get that spice out. There may have been a few trips down the alley to the Mini Mart for a Snickers bar. I felt a bit like I was eating contraband at Fat Camp, but man it was worth every bite.

One of my favourite days was a group yacht trip out to Nusa Lembongan where we got our snorkel on, did daring things such as banana boat rides and some stand up paddleboard fun. As I had been enjoying the yoga so much throughout the week, I thought it might be a fun challenge to see if I could try some of these yoga moves on the paddleboard out on the water. It was a little rocky but was amazing. After the hour of paddleboarding my hearbeat was racing, oh hey there stomach muscles, found you again! Some of the best, impromptu fun i've had.

The week went far too quickly, and there were simply just so many amazing moments. One of the hardest parts was saying goodbye to my lovely friend Maddie, who was continuing on to India, to focus on 6 months of travel and a journey of finding her flow. An amazing mexican dinner (Motel Mexicola, which is a must!) and a sneaky frozen margarita, and we parted ways. Those of us with fun things like mortgages headed off to the airport, while our inspiring Mads looked ahead to India.

To summarise this week and pin point favourites, is just so difficult. It was nothing like I expected, but better than I expected. Was it the 24/7 butler service? Maybe. The sunbaking and fruit platters? Maybe. The highly attractive Brazilian retreat manager? Possibly. Or just simply sharing something new with friends and having a great time, and all of the above.

Back in cold, brisk Sydney, I am on a mission to continue the Yoga, and focus more on making myself sit still and relax. Stop the rushing around and multitasking, and just sit in my cosy apartment and relax...and google kittens, because wouldn't it be so cute if I got a kitten? And not remotely turn into a single spinster cat lady AT all...

Terima Kasih for reading

x

Images: My Own

Happy Hump Day

While Bali ~ Part 2 is in progress, I hope you enjoy the below to get you through Hump Day!

Thank you to all who have given such amazing, positive feedback towards this blog thus far x

 

 

Images: They All Hate Us | Pinterest

 

Bali ~ Part One

The sun is out, but the air is cool. I'm tucked inside, ugg boots on, blanket on, hot cup of tea next to me.. what better time to start to share with you my two weeks experience in Bali, where there was no sight of ugg boots, but lots of sweating, coconut drinking and my first world problem was to decide which bikini to wear by the pool.

What I Did

The first week of my Bali adventure was mainly playing tourist. We visited the Bali Safari and Marine Park, had some cuddles with an Orangutan, lay by the rooftop pool and soaked up some sun and did a lot of walking, shopping and seeing local life. For those that have been to Bali, you will most likely be smiling and nodding at this, but for those never been, Bali is a place that you can't help but return to, again and again. It's hot and humid, from the moment you step off the plane, to the moment you step back on.

 The smells can get to you, a mixture of rubbish, incense from the offerings and the typical Bali clove cigarette. The moment you see a stray dog or cat walk towards you, you immediately think "rabies". The people are so happy and friendly, the traffic is chaotic and has no rhyme nor reason to it- the organised person in me found this a little hard to witness. But there is no road rage, no anger, just so many smiles, people happy to welcome you and show you their way of life.

We made a visit to the Tirta Empul Temple, a Hindu temple famous for its holy water where people go to bathe for purification. It was a tempting idea to take a dip, to encourage some enlightenment within ourselves, maybe this was just my Western mind's way of thinking, but the idea of taking a cold bath amongst 20+ other people in their underwear, began to lose its appeal. So we stood and splashed our hands through the stream of healing water instead.

What I Ate

About a year ago, my health and attitude were in a far different place. Travelling to destinations such as Bali, Thailand, Hawaii, come meal time, my eyes were always bigger than my stomach, and I would always find myself looking forward to the hotel breakfasts. Yep, you know the ones... Muffins, donuts, croissants, some bacon and eggs, seeing as they're catering to all cultures, why not sample some noodles, jellies, pizza, while you're at it? Oh I should be good, let me just put a piece of watermelon on my plate.

What a difference a year can make. Day One of breakfast at our hotel left us completely and utterly unimpressed, with most of the above items in abundance. A small mental pat on the back for having come so far with my eating habits and recognising what is good for the mind and body, and what is not, and then we decided no more hotel breakfasts.

We  ate out every day and were glad to try some great recommendations made by friends. Below were the favourites by far.  (Yes I still drank Coke on some days, i'm only human!)

Watercress Cafe - Seminyak

Owned by an Aussie, this place was a hidden gem. Super healthy, simple meals. The type of place where you finish your meal, but just want to sit around, and enjoy the atmosphere afterwards.

My amazing breakfast consisted of a cacao, banana, honey and soy milk Smoothie, followed by what the menu describes as "Sprouted Goodness". Two thick slices of toasted sourdough with tasty miso, fresh avocado (yes mum, I eat avocado now), juicy tomatoes, crumbled feta, house sprouts, topped with herbs, olive oil and sea salt, with a side of poached eggs and lime.

Zucchini Cafe - Seminyak

They describe themselves as "a little slice of Bondi Beach and Byron in Bali"

We had a taste of breakfast at this place, but it's the lunch that you want to try. A big wooden bowl of three different types of salads, with fresh toasted herb bread. We chose a fresh tabouleh salad, green bean and pumpkin pesto salad, and a Vietnamese noodle and coriander salad. 

We visited these two favourites multiple times! An honourable mention goes to Earth Cafe, for their raw food smoothies, however we found the food menu itself a little too raw and vegan for our liking.

We spent most days relaxing and looking forward to our upcoming Yoga and Surf Retreat. What would it be like? Would the people be nice? Would we starve? Would the food be spicy?(ok that one was mainly my thought), and please don't make me look like a fool attempting Yoga!

Our first week was an amazing start to this holiday, we packed so much in, in just a few days, and couldn't wait to see what the retreat had in store for us.

What I Read

You Can Heal Your Life ~ Louise Hay

This was lovingly loaned to me, and could not have come at a more opportune time. From Work, Relationships, Self Love and Friendships, life is really very simple. What we give out, we get back.

 What we think about ourselves becomes the truth for us. Every thought we think is creating our future. Each one of us creates our experiences by our thoughts and our feelings. The thoughts we think and the words we speak create our experiences.

~

Next Post: Bali Part Two - The Retreat!

Images: My Own

So Long, Farewell...

 

To all my lovely friends and readers that have so far been so encouraging towards this Blog, thank you, thank you, thank you! I hope you are enjoying what you are reading and seeing, and look forward to making this Blog a destination for you to escape the daily grind and share my love of anything and everything.

 

While we are on the topic of escaping the daily grind, I am off on a little holiday.

Two highly anticipated weeks in Bali, including a new experience for myself - a 7 day Yoga and Surf retreat at the newly opened and beautiful Salt Retreat. www.saltretreats.com

 

My friends and I are really looking forward to some sun, relaxing and stretching. Ok, a few cocktails probably wouldn't go astray either... or a massage...or that leather skirt I'll be getting made.

As a newbie to Yoga this should be interesting and i'm really looking forward to just switching off my brain and enjoying the present.

Here is a little sneak peak of where we intend to do such things

 

 

Have you packed your bags yet?

I look forward to sharing with you all about this amazing destination and retreat. Posts will resume on my return. In the meantime, enjoy the sunshine and the cool weather, it's the best part of Autumn!

 

xxx

 

Images: They All Hate Us | Salt Retreats Website