Hey, there it’s Stephanie Yap (now, Stephanie Rozario) from my8dayweek.com!

Welcome to… How to feel more confident, carefree and creative this coming week…

Now if you’ve touched base on any of our other platforms welcome back.

How are you? It’s lovely to connect with everyone in our community – new and old.

Hope that our time together will feel like a meaningful and fun catch-up at a quaint cafe with a green tea latte in hand. And you can of course order whatever drink takes your fancy!

Just to let you know we have a free interactive quiz on our website:

It will help you discover:  “What’s your Productivity IQ?”

It’s a wonderful way to kick off a deep dive into womanhood – on both personal issues as well as professional issues.

My wish is that you will claim and walk in the superhero qualities you have – your skills, talents, education, upbringing and lived experience.

The best part is, that this combined is your secret sauce with your unique signature flavour.

Summed up in one word: priceless.

A little bit about me:

As a High School Preparation teacher for over 13 years and a Support Worker for over 3 years I am always blown away when I witness people in their flow, in their element, their genius zone.

It’s so precious. So inspiring. Often jaw-dropping. And magical. All in one package. What may seem easy to one person is not always possible for someone else.

Think of the person you admire – the gymnast, actress, SuperMum, Artist, Gardener, Teacher, Designer, each one riding in their amazing flow and kicking awesome goals.

From my observation, I wish to share three tips that encourage us to be in this genius zone more often, in fact, if implemented correctly, can literally be every day of the week.

Firstly, let’s explore how to build confidence

My big hack here is to…(number 1.)

Plan out your To-Do Lists the night before (which injects Confidence into the New Day…)

.

Honestly, I love To-Do Lists, it helps me stay on track and be in the zone to be super productive. If you are not already in this practice, I would swear hand to heart that this alone is An Ultimate Game Changer.

To add to this I have recently discovered—by creating my list the night before—I’m in the best frame of mind and far more motivated to hit the ground running when I begin my morning.

At times, waking up with an extra boost of energy, ready for the New Day.

With all the planning done, I already have my Most Important Tasks (MITs) set and an action plan mapped out, which makes me that much more enthusiastic and in the best frame of mind to actually get into the “Just Do it” mode – ticking off my boxes, systematically, one by one.

I must confess, I love ticking off boxes on a physical piece of paper. It’s become a habit I can’t do without.

And if via an online platform, my go-to is Trello…

My suggestions:

At the very start of the day, begin the list with at least three items that absolutely must get done (MITs) today.

At this point, make sure you don’t end up calling your Best Friend for a debrief, trying out a new recipe you found on YouTube, or walking the dog – INSTEAD OF finishing your assignment or report which is by the way due tomorrow or remembering to pay your bills before the impending deadline.

We need to address our priorities.

If you’re one of those people who has previously started your workday by feverishly scribbling a to-do list, I can definitely relate—I never would’ve dreamed that I could switch up my strategy with this SMALL easy to-do TWEAK, with such amazing results!

The second Life Hack I have made into a lifestyle habit…to create that carefree attitude is to…

2. Sweat it out (aim for 4 days a week) (Carefree)

“Sweating it out” comes with a range of perks. Once you make it part of your health + wellness regime, there is no turning back….

These days I mix it up:

1. Either go for a brisk walk after lunch and do 3 sets of a routine workout after 5 pm
2. Use my Resistance Band and challenge myself that way
3. Do light weights, working on my arms mostly

There are numerous reasons why sweating it out is a massive WIN.

• Releases feel-good hormones

– Does wonders for your mood and overall well-being

• Filters toxins out of the body, which in turn boosts your immunity
• Prevents colds and other infections
• Give us a natural “healthy glow”
•  Helps you to maintain a healthy weight, which means you can: Look good, and feel good.
• Ensures you get a good night’s sleep and controls mood swings

Third Life Hack and last Hack is…a sure way to increase creativity…

3. I call it “Fuel for the mind” (Creative)

We need to always be learning new things. As a qualified Secondary School teacher, this subject is of great interest to me.

And I happily wear the hashtag #StudentForLife.

“ Where and how do we learn the most important lessons of life?”

I believe its called 20/20 in Hindsight. It’s from failures, setbacks and disappointment. Basically, we learn from our mistakes.

And we learn when we have a growth mindset instead of just aiming for an end goal without perspective.

Knowing that our best growth happens in times of pain, difficulty and struggle is the basis of having a growth mindset.

One quote that really drives home the point is:

Your making point is your breaking point.

A growth mindset is the idea that when meeting a challenge, we respond not with “I can’t do this,” but rather, “HOW can I do this?”

I have come up with the C.O.R.E. principle to outline a growth mindset:

1. Curiosity – Feed your curiosity. Ask good questions and spend time researching the answers.

• One new thing. Make it a habit to add at least one new thing to your knowledge base every day. Absolutely anything will do.

• Read widely. Knowledge is never ending and the more fascinated we are about the world we live in, the more passionate we become about the issues close to home.

• Evolve: Be a change agent. Step up. Aim for the next level. Don’t settle for last week’s wins. Continually challenge yourself and never fall into the trap of thinking you have “arrived”, whether upon graduating or getting that coveted new position or promotion or pay-cheque.

To tap into this C.O.R.E., acknowledge that gaining knowledge across a wide range of subjects gives us a range of perspectives to call on in our own narrow day-to-day areas of specialisation. Furthermore, learning helps us more easily and readily adapt to new stages of life, circumstances and scenarios that take us by surprise.

When we have a critical choice to make we are better equipped with the knowhow.

By having a broad general knowledge we are able to make (more) sense of complex issues, exercise critical thinking and apply Good Old Godly Wisdom. For sure, learning deepens our character and makes us more confident, multifaceted and dynamic – maybe even, inspirational.

All in all, by adding Fuel for the mind through CORE, we ensure that our understanding factors all sectors, facets and aspects of this thing we call LIFE.

So there you have it – Here are 3 empowering Life Hacks that I hope you find useful, practical and transformational.

May it lead you to create the life you want and truly deserve.

From *my8dayweek* Cheering you on to your success.

“Come hang out with us for more of the same – in the pretty upbeat packaging of upcoming Events, E-learning and Entertainment.”