Feeling Lost? Try This Simple 15-Minute Routine to Find Yourself Again

Recently I went through a period when I was feeling super lost. I felt unsure of how to structure my days, find motivation to get creative, move my body, manage my work, run a household, begin our homeschooling portion of the year, manage my kids and their emotional needs, and find any sort of creative outlet to help me feel inspired again. I was extremely overwhelmed and at the same time, slightly bored of my current situation. How is that even possible? I felt unsure about what I wanted, how to structure my time, if our direction as a family was on track, and how to get motivated to exercise and be creative again. To summarize: I was in a rut. Here I'm sharing the 15 minute routine that pulled me out of it faster than I would have ever imagined. It helped me reconnect with myself and organize my life.

THE ROUTINE (stolen from Brendan Burchard, one of the world's top motivational coaches): The reason this routine is so manageable is because you only have to take five minutes to do three different activities:

• Five minutes to move your body
• Five minutes to write and reflect
• Five minutes to read something inspirational or motivational or meaningful — something that uplifts you and challenges you

Oftentimes we're like, I want to wake up and have a moment of quiet to myself, but I don't really know what to do with that time. This gave me the absolute perfect structure and it made it feel very tangible. And you will quickly be stretching that time and saying, I need 20 minutes to write, I need 20 minutes to read, and I need 20 minutes to move. Because it really is that effective.

WHY EACH PIECE WORKS: Writing is one of the most important tools where we get information about what is really going on inside of us, what we really want, what we really feel. As we write, we release a lot of negative emotion and our frequency, our vibration starts to go faster and move higher. Ultimately it can help you reconnect to your higher self or to your spirit, because as you write, you raise your vibration to a point where your higher self can reconnect with you — if it's been a while and they haven't been able to because you've kind of been stuck in the muck.

Exercising and moving your body also raises your vibration, releases all sorts of incredible feel-good hormones and endorphins in your body, but it also grounds you into your body.

Reading moves your brain in the right direction.

GET READY THE NIGHT BEFORE: Get yourself ready today for tomorrow. Because otherwise, you're going to go to the space tomorrow and be like, wait, I have nothing to write on. Run to the kitchen and grab a pen. Wait, what am I going to do for my five minutes of moving my body? Wait, what am I going to read? Get yourself ready to move straight into this routine in the morning. Know what you're going to do for your five minutes of movement. Make it manageable and tangible for you. Know what you're going to read and know what you're going to write on and write with.

SETTING GOALS WHEN WRITING: When you're writing, set some small goals for what you're working on overall in your life and what you want to accomplish that day. It can be something simple like: I want to feel calm and present while I'm getting the kids ready for school today. Or I want to have something fun planned for us when I pick them up after school today. Or I want to get these phone calls done. The process of writing down those goals and accomplishing them throughout the day will not only help you give yourself credit — because you'll realize how much you do — but will also give you more focus. It will help you get more done during the day and build your confidence and help you get into some sort of rhythm and a routine of productivity and acknowledging what you're capable of accomplishing.

EXAMPLE FROM EMILY'S LIFE: I have been feeling very stressed and uncertain about the schedule. Is it okay for my kids to spend half of the year in an international school and then half of the year homeschooling? Is that too much for them? When I was writing, I asked for a little bit of clarity on that. I said, this has been heavy on my heart. Please allow me to have some clarity about this. And as my fingers kept typing, I wrote very clearly that there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. That I am focusing on the hard aspects of that situation as opposed to focusing on the hundreds and hundreds of upsides. That I'm focusing on the negative — which yes, there are some — as opposed to focusing on the positive, which definitely outweighs the negative. And so I was able to find some peace and clarity in that situation and tune into what I wanted. When for weeks I had just been like, what do I do about this?

This routine helps when you feel lost, unmotivated, confused about your sense of purpose, out of touch with your interests, overwhelmed, or stuck in a rut. It helps you reconnect with yourself and organize your life. Five minutes of movement, five minutes of writing and journaling and reflecting on your goals and what you want, and five minutes of reading something inspirational. You will be surprised what comes up during this time.