Fresh start? Not quite 😵‍💫

Chaos is inevitable—here’s how I’m staying calm anyway.

Jan 24, 2025

COOKING Crockpot Chicken, Avocado, and Lime Soup I love a meal I can throw together in 5 minutes. Anything to avoid the dinner rush chaos!
WATCHING Sex Lives of College Girls loving this after the kids go down!
READING The Power Pause I was lucky enough to attend Neha’s book tour in SF this past weekend,as a long time follower, I love the movement she is building!
EYEING Hatch Restore Alarm Clock I think it’s time to finally leave my phone outside of the bedroom (why is it so hard?!) I’ve heard great things about the Hatch and I’m just about ready to bite the bullet.
SHARING MNT Marina In The Making Did you see we almost had to push back the MNT opening because of a single door?! It is moments of entrepreneurship like this that’s encouraged me to add more calm into my life😅

Currently

I don’t know about you, but this year’s “fresh start” hasn’t exactly felt… fresh.

My to-do list is out of control, my brain is constantly jumping from one thing to the next, and the mornings? A chaotic rush out the door. Evenings aren’t much better with the endless bedtime stall tactics—seriously, how many snacks can one kid need? And yet, here I am, trying to figure out how to find some calm in all the chaos, not just for me but to keep my kids grounded too (I truly believe my energy rubs off on them).

Lately, I’ve been thinking about the small things I can do to make the days feel just a little calmer. Nothing big or dramatic—because let’s be honest, who has time for that?—but tiny habits that give me a moment to breathe and reset.

One thing I’ve been focusing on is my mornings. I’m not naturally a morning person, but starting the day with intention makes such a difference. The first thing I do when I wake up is drink a bedside electrolyte mix I prep the night before. I never drink enough water, pair that with lower blood pressure, and I often get lightheaded at random moments of the day. This practice has really helped my day get started on the right foot.

I also take my vitamins (I worked with a functional medicine doctor virtually at Parsley Health to figure out what I need—Vitamin B12 and D have been super helpful for my energy and brain fog). Then, I move my body. Just 20 minutes, sometimes in my pajamas. It’s nothing fancy, and often accompanied by one of my kids—some version of mat pilates—I just focus on showing up, not being perfect.

One tiny hack that’s been working? Laying out my son’s outfit the night before. He’s the early riser, so getting him dressed right away avoids the morning fight when he’s already on the move.

On my way home from drop-off, I make time to connect. I’ll send a voice note to a friend or catch up on updates in my video group chat (we are active users of Marco Polo). It’s such a small thing, but it reminds me I’m not doing all of this alone.

During the day, I’m all about finding little moments to reset. I use a diffuser in my workspace with scents that are both calming and energizing—like citrus or eucalyptus. I’ve also been sticking with my daytime walks (don’t have a choice, Bear won’t let me skip… the ultimate accountability partner for this one). A 10-minute one at lunch and a longer one at the end of my workday. That after-work walk has been a lifesaver. It’s like this mini-reset I do with Jason that helps me shift out of “work brain” and into “home brain” before the dinner/bedtime madness begins.

Evenings are still chaotic, but I’m trying to make them flow a little smoother. I review the next day’s schedule before bed to avoid those surprise fire drills (because nothing kills my vibe faster than forgetting about a meeting or a random school thing). After I close my laptop for the night at 9:30p, I make a cup of calming hot chocolate and watch a lighthearted show.

Before I get into bed, I do two things: drybrushing to help with lymphatic drainage then a quick stretch—literally five minutes—and it feels like a way to officially close out the day.

Look, the chaos isn’t going anywhere. I’ve made peace with that. But these little habits? They’ve been helping me create pockets of calm that make everything feel a bit more manageable.

If you’ve been feeling the weight of it all too, maybe this is your nudge to pick one or two things to try. Even the tiniest change can shift your energy, and those small wins add up.