Last Labor Day I wrote a post titled, “Less Laboring and More Living” and it’s been on my mind all weekend…because I’ve done it.

In last year’s post I shared that the norm for me was to get by on 5-6 hours of sleep a night, “because I could.” I had a lightbulb moment where I realized how much clearer, fresher and energetic I am when I’m resting more and living more.

Fast forward to this year and I’ve made some HUGE changes in my life in the direction of less laboring and more living. Here are a few things that have happened in the last year…

• SLEEP. I am so freaking excited to report to you that I have now given up all but one of my early mornings and that early morning class will shift to start at 6:45 a.m. instead of 6 a.m. after Labor Day…so it’s not so bad. That means 6 days a week I can sleep until at least 6:30 but most days it’s more like 7-7:30 and I wake up naturally without an alarm.
• I gave up all of my personal training clients. As my role and focus at the studio continued to grow along with my desire to maintain my blog, something had to go. I slowly cut back on training over the last year until I had phased out all of my clients. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the work but I like the stability of having a permanent set teaching schedule with yoga and the flexibility, creativity and alone time that comes with blogging is appealing to me. I’m still thinking of getting into training again but with an online platform instead of one-on-one in-person.
• I never bring my computer to the couch with me at night. For more years than I care to admit, 90% of my blog posts were written after dinner on the couch before bed. I now carve that time out to watch a show with Tanner and relax. My computer stays in the office!
• I’m reading before bed. I decided I missed reading and to make it a priority again. It’s been a wonderful shift and the best way to wind down before going to sleep.
• We are traveling more and taking more time off.
• We are spending more time with friends.
• I’m blogging less. I’m not sure if you guys have even noticed but I’ve backed off of my posting schedule. Some weeks I might get 3-4 posts up, other weeks it might be 5. I give myself a lot of grace around that depending on what’s going on in other areas of my work/personal life.
• I’m saying no a lot more. If something isn’t 100% a fit when it comes to time, money, energy, etc…I say no. This has been so freeing and has saved me from a ton of stress.

Gosh, this is a goal that I’m so proud of actually making actionable steps towards and I hope to continue to improve the balance more and more as we wrap up 2017 and look forward to 2018!

And with that, a few pictures from my Labor Day Weekend.

Two amazing runs. This one on Friday solo and very humid. The other 5 miles with Virginia on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Both around a 9:15-9:30 pace.

Two pool days with my nose in a book. I loved The Marriage Lie and finished it in three days. Tanner started it at the pool this afternoon and is on page 175 already. He hasn’t put it down! Definitely recommend this one if you’re looking for an easy reading page turner.

I started Truly, Madly, Guilty today. Funny story, I recently purchased The Husband’s Secret at the used book store but when I started reading it I was like, “this is very familiar.” Turns out, I read it years ago. Oops! Hope this one is good. I’m just getting going with it.

Lots of puppy time. We dog sat Virginia’s nine month old cockapoo on Saturday-Sunday. Stella LOVES the big dogs. She had so much fun walking with them and kept up with us like a champ. Virginia told me her usual walk is around 15 minutes…we went for 45. Oops! 🙂

Look at this sweet face.

Not going to lie…we enjoyed having a lap dog for two days. (Oh and I so need to order those slippers y’all recommended…it’s happening TOMORROW!)

I tried Clean Juice on Sunday for the first time after I ran with Virginia and then taught strength at the Y. I needed a quick refuel before heading to the studio to teach a yoga class. This was strawberries, bananas, chia seeds, almond butter and almond milk.

And don’t forget to read about our super fun Saturday date night with ramen and vegan gelato!

I sincerely hope you enjoyed your Labor Day weekend and are entering this short week feeling refreshed and happy.

Is there anything you’ve given up or cut back on or added lately in an effort to “labor less and live more?” 

What was the best part of your Labor Day weekend? 

Last book that totally sucked you in?