Chynell [00:00:01]:

You're listening to the Routine Your Dream podcast with your host, me, Chanel. I sincerely believe that success is hidden in your daily routine. So let's routine that dream of yours and watch your life and business unfold exactly as you dreamed. Shall we? Let's go. Hey, I'm coming to you today with hopefully, a perspective shift. If you've been in the trenches, you've been on go, go, go, autopilot mode, hustling, doing the most or doing the absolute least because you're so burnt out, if you're anywhere on that spectrum, if you're not coasting, either you're at a screeching halt or you are, like, going 200 miles per hour. Today I'm bringing you the concept of having little romantic, romantic little productivity dates with yourself. We're going to be romanticizing the things that you need to do that you know will move the needle in your business.

Chynell [00:01:06]:

But maybe it's become a dreaded task. Maybe it's been something that's been hanging out on your to do list for way too long. Or maybe you're just overwhelmed by your to do list. I want to shift your perspective and start romanticizing the tedious tasks and more. So let's turn them into cozy tasks. How about that? Let's make your to do list more of a love letter to your future self. Because you know that the things on your to do list, if you've been prioritizing, right? Of course, sometimes your to do list has things that they have no business being on there. But let's say your to do list is a legitimate list full of the number one priorities of exactly what you need to be focused on.

Chynell [00:01:55]:

Those are truly love letters to your future self. If those little check boxes get checked off, off, instead of being put onto the next day and onto the next week, you know that your future self would thank you. So that is why I want to bring that concept of, like, let's romanticize it. Let's literally have a productivity date together. I mean, really, just imagine one thing that could just be glamorized. So for me, you may have seen me on Stories or you may have heard me mention that one thing I've been doing to have a little romantic productivity date with myself is getting dressed up. Makeup, earrings, and everything before I get behind this mic to talk to you. Yeah, I'm dressed up right now.

Chynell [00:02:45]:

All because I'm like, I want to romanticize podcasting. I want it to be this thing I get excited for, and I don't know, maybe I'll show up differently. Maybe you'll be able to tell that I'm not in sweatpants and messy bun getting stuff done mode, but more in a. I don't know. It's like a switch has turned on when I get behind the mic and I'm like, glamorized for. You're not gonna see it. It's like this. I don't know.

Chynell [00:03:19]:

It's a really cool thing. Now, listen, it's not just about getting ready, putting makeup on, things like that. That might not be your thing. What your thing might be to take a romantic little productivity date. Might be you actually saving your favorite drink or a favorite playlist or your favorite fall pajamas and the fireplace. You know, like, actually setting a vibe of, like, you know what it's time for? Gilmore Girls and hot chocolate. So instead of just saying, like, oh, I'm about to watch Gilmore Girls, uh, it'll be. I'm gonna create a Gilmore Girls themed data date with my dashboard.

Chynell [00:04:06]:

I'm going to take a look at what's been happening over on my blog, looking at the Google Analytics and seeing what popular pages that I've recently had and how I can make more of that. You know, like, make it special. What? Think about the thing that you've been putting off and see if you can't start to look forward to it. Another thing that you might do is you might go to a different environment entirely to do the thing that you've been putting off. I know when I was writing my first book, I say first because one of these days I'll have a second. When I was writing my first book, and the publisher, they needed it by a certain date, and I was like, all right, I need to lock in. And so I took myself to a hotel. But you know what? If you just took a tiny little tedious task of yours and turned it into a cozy task by cozying up in a different environment.

Chynell [00:05:01]:

Maybe you always work at your dining room table or in your office. Like, get in bed. Like, do breakfast in bed and emailing or something. You know, like, really think about how you can create these dreamy systems. Systems, no pun intended, from the Routine youe Dream podcast. Dreamy systems that are practical but still make your brain feel like it's like, ooh, this is exciting. Like, we need a trick. We need to.

Chynell [00:05:31]:

I have to sometimes trick my brain. Like, really imagine, like, what it would think about how, like, fun it would be to map out your month with ease. Maybe it's like the first Sunday of the month. You're fully in planning mode. You know, like you have the window open. I love, I love the like that crisp fall air that has a little bit of a chill to it. You maybe you made yourself like instead of a regular coffee, you have like a cinnamon chai tea or some other fancy drink that you don't normally make for yourself. Because this moment is all about setting like that big picture map of like what you're going to do that month.

Chynell [00:06:11]:

So maybe you're pulling out the candle that fall. Like go to TJ Maxx, go on a little candle hunt and then say, this is going to be my email writing candle. This is going to be my content creation candle. This candle is going to be the candle that I get to burn every time I'm working on this product that has been needing to get out forever with it being fall. It's such a perfect time to just get cozy in your favorite, like comfy chair that your favorite blanket draped across your lap and just being like, I don't know, set this scene, set the vibe. Like, if you were about to host a dinner party, what would you do? How would your house look? What would be the area? Like, would you light a candle for the entrance? Like do something special even if you are in a chaotic environment. Do me, do me this favor. If you're, you're, if you're a full time seller and you are at home working from home all the time, try this.

Chynell [00:07:11]:

Get up, get dressed. I know you're gonna say, oh, but if I go straight to working, I'll get more done. No, no, no, let's back it up, let's back it up. I want you to get fully dressed, leave the house. Even if it's for like a quick, a quick trip to get a drink or gas up even or literally you can make your, if you want to be, if you want to be in like budget saving mode, save your money, make your drink in a to go cup from home and get in your car, put on this podcast, let me hype you up and then turn around. Like take a quick little 10 minute drive, then turn around. And then when you enter the house now it's like, you know, you don't get that when you're, when you used to drive to school, you don't, you don't have that, you don't have that commute anymore to like get your mind right and everything. So even trying something like that, I don't know what it's going to be.

Chynell [00:08:06]:

I want you though to create a dreamy system full of cozy tasks that feel like a true romantic date. You know, I'm not single, I'm married. But I do see content creators who film themselves, quote unquote, dating themselves. And you know what? Why not date your business? Why not? Like, why, if you've been at this for so long that things are feeling very systematized and not in a good way, not systematized. And I'm on a golf course chillin, kind of systematized where everything's just running, your team's running the show and you're just sitting back relaxing. Not that kind of systems. What I mean by what I'm saying is that robotic feeling of like another day doing the same thing. And that gratitude is kind of like running very low in your body right now because it feels.

Chynell [00:09:02]:

Everything just feels like a have to. That is what we're trying to eradicate right now while still getting your business to move forward. Really imagine with me what it would feel like to set that, set that cozy scene. And then you grab your laptop, you pull up your Google calendar, you're looking at the month, you're like, all right, what do I want this week to be about? What products do I have on my plate? And then you're planning your stories, you're planning your emails, you're just thinking about, what are the products that I need to promote. You're finding joy in the color coding of your calendar. You're setting the vibe for each week. Maybe you're like, you know what? I feel like I want to start off the first of the month building my list. I'm going to be pushing lead magnets.

Chynell [00:09:54]:

Maybe I'll start a lead magnet ad. Maybe you have a fun little playlist going for you to start that ad, but you're really just getting that big picture before you even do anything else. It's just like, you know what? I'm going to have a big picture planning moment with myself. I don't have to execute if I want. If I'm planning on running an ad, I don't have to pull up ads manager right now. I'm just going to enjoy the moment of a fresh start to a new month, a new chance to go after my goals. And maybe if you're an aesthetic girly at heart, you even add a little camera, maybe your phone to even like record some B roll of you doing your big pict planning. And maybe you're sharing with your audience.

Chynell [00:10:39]:

Like, I'm cooking up some great ideas for you this month. I mean, just instead of being like, oh, it's the first of the month. Let me, like, hurry up and try. You just slow it down, Slow it down. I feel like productivity is always associated with sprints and running really fast. But maybe, maybe you're going on a little slow dance with your list. You know, like, let's. Let's relax, let's chill.

Chynell [00:11:04]:

You know, this part of the process should not feel rushed. If you're setting the stage for the month, you're laying all the foundations. And as you imagine with me, imagine what it would feel like to end. You know, you took a half an hour, hour maybe, and did that big picture planning. And then think about it. You're sipping that chai tea or whatever it is. You have a roadmap for your monthly emails. They're all tied together.

Chynell [00:11:31]:

They're cohesive because you have a plan. You're not flying by the seat of your pan. I really want to give you that gift. I want you to experience just a little pleasurable, A pleasurable moment doing something that is typically not pleasurable. That is the goal here. So I used big picture monthly planning as the example, but it could be anything, Anything that you want to romanticize. Maybe you go to a cafe across town that's 30 minutes away. You haven't been there for a while, but it was one of those where you're like, oh, my gosh, this place is so cute.

Chynell [00:12:09]:

I want to take a picture. If you've been to a place like that in your city where you thought it was so cute that you needed to take a picture there, you were out with your friends. You can go there at noon. If you're full time, you can go there at noon. You can go there on a Saturday with your laptop. Maybe. I don't know. I don't know what you're picturing in your head, but go somewhere fun and then tag me on stories saying that you're on a romantic little productivity date, how fun would that be? I want you to have fun.

Chynell [00:12:38]:

Let's put fun back in your business. Let's put the calm, the cozy, the fun. Like, let's tap into the power of fall instead of feeling like we're escaping. When we go to TJ Maxx and we see the Halloween decor that's on sale, and you're thinking about next year, and you're like, oh, I'm gonna grab this to decorate for next year, that's fun. But, like, in after that, after you go on that little shopping spree, say, hmm, what else could I do while I'm out? Maybe you Go get a pedicure and work on stories like I told you, I had a client do. Like, do something. Get out. Get out of the house.

Chynell [00:13:16]:

Or get extremely cozy in the house. Enjoy your mortgage, enjoy your rent. This weekend, when is the last time you tried a snack that you've never tried before? Have you been in a rut with your snacks? Maybe you go to Trader Joe's or Home Goods or any of the places where there's, like, those, like, random snacks, find one, try it, and if you like it, then you can say, you know what? This is going to be the snack that I have that I treat myself to every time I do that thing I've been putting off, whatever that thing is for you. Let's incentivize all of the hard work that you've been up to, because guess what? You're your own boss. No one's buying you flowers for boss's day. You got to buy yourself flowers for boss's day. And when is the last time that you bought yourself flowers and put it in your work area? I don't remember the last time I bought some fresh flowers for my podcast studio. So maybe that's something I need to take my own advice on.

Chynell [00:14:22]:

And next week, when I record another episode, maybe I'll have some fresh flowers sitting by my mic just to remind myself that. I don't know. I mean, all the work we do as entrepreneurs is often not really seen in terms of the end result. Like, you don't see the moment your resources passed out and reaches that kid's hands. So we can feel very disconnected from the impact we're making right now. I'm talking to a mic. I can't see your face. Maybe you're smiling.

Chynell [00:14:52]:

Maybe you're rolling your eyes saying, chanel, I am not doing that. I don't know what you're doing. I'm just talking to a mic. It's not very rewarding in that sense, but I'm like, you know what? Maybe if I buy myself flowers, it'll just remind myself that I'm doing something special here. There are so many of you listening. I know it's reaching you. I know I'm probably somewhere really cool with you right now. Am I in your car? Am I on a walk with you? I don't know.

Chynell [00:15:16]:

But I know something fun is happening. I just can't see it. And that's what I'm thinking about you. Like, you don't even realize the amazing things that your to do list creates. The impact that your to do list creates. It's not only a love letter to your future self, but it is the very things that are going to reach the people who need them. So keep that in mind. I mean, it might even be.

Chynell [00:15:44]:

This is going to sound the silliest, but when is the last time you bought yourself a nice bra? When is it? When's the last time you bought some cozy pajamas? Pull up right now. Go on a little shopping spree. Treat yourself of something you can wear the next time you write an email or make an ad or whatever that tedious, annoying task is that you want to create some fun little Just romanticizing it. What? What is it? What do you want to do? You're going to have to tell me what you end up deciding on. This is going to have some juicy DM conversation in our in my Instagram inbox. I just know you're going to tell me what you decided to romanticize and how you're going to romanticize it. The winter arc has begun. It started October 1st, and it goes through the end of December.

Chynell [00:16:38]:

The winter arc, if you haven't heard, is that time when you lock in on the very things that you need to do before the new year. It's a chance to reconnect with what you set out to do January 1st. What did you promise to yourself? I want you to think about that. I want you to think about what you need to romanticize. How can you take yourself on a romantic little productivity date? Think about the different dates you could take yourself on through the remainder of the year or even just in the next two weeks. I can't wait to hear. So make sure you reach out to me at Routine, your dream on Instagram. Let me know what you're going to be up to so that we can connect.

Chynell [00:17:25]:

And thank you so much for listening.