When I saw this reel from @jenlatch on Instagram a few months back, she really hooked me with the first one: “That thing that you’ve been putting off for two weeks is going to take you 15 minutes. Go do it. It’ll take 15 minutes.”
Struggling with Procrastination
This is a piece of advice that I certainly needed to hear at 19, or maybe even earlier. I’m the girl who only cleans when company is coming over, or when cleaning seems more appealing than another task that I want to avoid. Nah, I’m making it sound worse than it is, but the truth is that the LONG list of things to do gets overwhelming most of the time, and often, I don’t know where to begin. It was especially awful during college and grad school. Since I was mostly learning about things that at the time seemed worthless to me, a never ending stream of “busy work” that was just a means to an end, the diploma, I would put assignments off until the very last minute, often getting zero sleep before having to work all day the next day as an elementary school teacher and then attend class in the evening to submit the assignment I had just finished.
Now at 37, I would say I’ve definitely become more motivated and productive, however I need special strategies to keep me that way or else I fall back into old, unproductive habits. I sit here writing this at the end of May in 2024. It has almost been one year since I quit teaching elementary school full-time. I’ve scaled it back to have more time for myself this year, so I’ve just been substitute teaching, and wow wow wow, so much has changed.
Back when I was still a rookie teacher, I remember the first time I was thrown to the sharks and put in a 1st grade classroom with zero experience teaching kids that young. Your classroom management skills need to be totally on point to manage a room full of 6-year-olds who can’t read yet. I learned really quick how important routines were to keep things under control. The kids needed to be able to predict what was going to happen next throughout the whole day or else it would be total chaos and I would leave feeling even more drained than if things were running smoothly. (Teachers are pretty much always drained, in my experience).
The Morning Walk Routine
Turns out, the inner child in me needs this same structure to be my most productive self. Now that I don’t have a full-time job creating a routine for me, it’s up to me to create a structure for myself so that I can stay focused on my goals. This has been a learning experience within itself, especially since my part-time job, substitute teaching, is an on-call position.
Some of my goals this year have been:
- Get in to a regular strength building workout routine on my own so that I can cut costs and stop paying for an expensive gym membership to motivate me.
- Learn how to earn money online or through investment so that teaching is a choice, not a necessity to survive.
- Start meal prepping so that I can spend less time on preparing meals throughout the week.
All three of these goals have required a commitment to routines in order to keep the flame burning. I am still working on the commitment part of that, but I know now, without a doubt, that I get much more accomplished if I force myself to follow routines (with breaks incorporated of course!).
One way I’ve made progress with these goals this year is by incorporating a little advice from a friend into my mornings. I used to struggle with waking up early. Probably because I was an overworked teacher who felt like my school administration was bleeding me dry in terms of energy. I was so spent every single day when I came home, that my fitness became a pretty low priority. I certainly wasn’t making any progress towards meeting any new fitness goals, even with an expensive gym membership. A friend mentioned a habit he learned from an Andrew Huberman Podcast Episode:
which was going for a walk outside first thing in the morning before doing anything else. Andrew Huberman states that one of the reasons he takes this walk first thing in the morning, is not for exercise, but to “quiet or reduce the amount of neural activity in the amygdala. The amygdala is part of the network in the brain that generates feelings of fear and threat and anxiety” (Andrew Huberman). So essentially, by taking a walk each morning before starting our day, we can reduce anxiety and promote a focused, alert, nonreactive state of mind.
This new habit has really helped me become more productive, especially when it comes to working out. Every morning, the first thing I do is drink some water, put my walking shoes on and head out the door for a walk around the block. Sometimes I take the long way (about 1.5 kilometers) and other days I take the short way, a quick 5 minute walk right by my apartment building. Taking a walk helps me start really waking up before the coffee has even graced my senses. Not only that, it helps me start my day with gratitude. Usually I’m one of the first people out and about in my neighborhood. I live in a big city, so it’s really nice to experience the quiet streets, the birds chirping, and either the moon and stars if I’m up before 5:30 or the pink and orange sky if my walk happens around 6am. After my walk, I come inside, make some coffee and lemon water and enjoy some time reading on the balcony before I head up to the fitness center on the roof to do my FREE Thenx workout. Doing at least 4 Thenx workouts per week, making sure to target a specific region of the body in each workout has really changed the game for me. I can see and feel the changes in my body. I’m stronger, my posture is better, and I’m getting deep, dreamless sleep.
After working out, I try to sit down and make a personal and work to-do list in my passion planner. Thank you to my husband for gifting me one of these. The daily schedule part of the planner helps me to prioritize what tasks need to be done throughout the day and when. I also love how this planner offers inspiring quotes for each week. It keeps reminding me about what's important.
Now, I’m making myself sound like MS. ORGANIZED over here, but believe me, it’s an on-going struggle. I still have plenty of lazy days where nothing productive happens at all, and guess what, those are the days when I abandon the routine. Often I don’t get even half of the things done that I planned for the day, so another lesson I’m learning right now is to just do one thing at a time. Just do one thing at a time, and really be present in whatever thing you’re doing. This is where the joy comes in. I’m not beating myself up anymore over unproductive days, just reminding myself to be present in whatever moment I’m in is the most important thing. (Which is why I need to delete my socials from my phone again, but I’ll write more on that another time.)
The Castor Oil Pack Routine
Another task I procrastinated over for a long time, was incorporating castor oil packs into my life somehow. It seemed like it would take a lot of time at first with so many steps. I first learned about how to use castor oil packs after researching their creator, Edgar Cayce, the “father of holistic medicine” as you will see him referred to in the caption of this video:
This video inspired the instructions for how to use the Sentre Plus Size Castor Oil Pack Wrap as well as the routine I’ve now created for myself when using the pack. I must say, it took long enough for me to give this practice a try, but now that I’m doing it, I actually look forward to it. It really forces me to slow down and do something meaningful for my physical and mental well-being. Here I’ll just sum up the routine you can see in my videos below. Following this routine is easy to incorporate into any part of my day, whenever I have time. It’s become quick and easy at this point, and the best part of it is laying down and relaxing.
Here are the steps to follow when using the Sentre Castor Oil Pack:
Prepare
- I place the castor oil pack on top of a heating pad and pour about 3 tablespoons of oil as evenly distributed as possible over the cotton center of the pack, avoiding the edges.
- I fold the castor oil pack in half sandwiched into the heating pad to spread the oil a bit more and heat the oil for about 10 minutes.
Wear
- I check to make sure the oil isn’t too hot and then I position the pack over my abdomen.
- I relax with the pack on for an hour or two, doing something that makes me slow down, like reading a good book or taking a nap. Sometimes I sleep with the pack on all night if I put it on really late. If I’m awake with the pack on, I put the heating pad over it while I’m relaxing. It feels so nice!
- When I take the pack off, I fold it, put it in an air-tight storage container and place it in the fridge for next use.
- Repeat until the pack is too saturated with oil or after 6-7 uses. I like to wash it after 6-7 uses because it just feels cleaner to me, but you could use it even more than that if you need to.
Store
After each use I fold the pack so that the oiled parts are only touching themselves, and I place the folded pack into an airtight storage container. This container is stored in the refrigerator until I use it again.
Wash
After reusing the pack about 6 times, I follow these wash instructions:
- While the pack is dry, pour baking soda on the oiled part of the pack and rub it into any part saturated with oil. Let it sit for 15 minutes or longer.
- Brush off the baking soda, maybe into the bathtub or shower to avoid messes. While the pack is still dry, rub degreasing dish soap into any part of the pack saturated with oil. Let it sit for 15 minutes or longer.
- For best possible maintenance of the condition of your pack the way it was when you first purchased it, hand wash the oiled part of the pack, trying not to submerge the plastic velcro hook end of the straps. Hang to dry from the plastic hook end so that all the water drips down to the soft end of the straps. This is because if the plastic hooks are submerged in water, they will start to get bent out of shape, however they will still function perfectly fine, so if you need an easier way to wash, follow step 4:
- After the baking soda and dish soap steps, put the whole pack in the washer and wash on a DELICATE cold cycle. Hang to dry.
When to Use the Pack
Now, I can’t offer advice about frequency of use, because first of all, I’m not a doctor or a scientist, and second of all, from all the research I’ve done it’s obvious that frequency of use depends on the person and the condition they’re trying to heal. What I can say though, is that I’ve really enjoyed using my castor oil pack in the evenings after a long day of work has finished, or on days off in the afternoon when I allow myself a nap. The Sentre Plus-Size Castor Oil Pack is very easy to fall asleep in, so if the goal is to wear it for an hour, taking a nap for an hour with the pack and the heating pad on is heavenly. I instantly pass out with this combination.
Overall, you should investigate different sources to see how castor oil packs have been used for particular diagnoses. I have been following advice from Dr. William A. McGarey in his books: The Edgar Cayce Remedies and The Oil That Heals: A Physician's Successes with Castor Oil Treatments, however some might say this advice is outdated. I have also read lots of advice from modern day naturopathic doctors offering different advice from Dr. McGarey.
In the end, I’ve just experimented with using the pack in different ways. I’ll be writing an entire post later about my experiences with castor oil, but for now I can tell you, I may have started off too strong with my castor oil pack. For the first 3 uses, I slept with it on overnight and then I used it for at least an hour each day after the first 3 days. This may or may not have triggered what is known to be a Herxheimer Reaction. “A Herxheimer Reaction, or die-off, is relatively common when you start implementing therapeutic protocols to address bacterial, fungal, parasitic, and viral infections. Die-off can cause many unpleasant symptoms that make it challenging to stick with a treatment protocol, but these are typically temporary and signal that you're on the right path to healing” (Cloyd).
Though the symptoms I experienced could have been related to other things, such as the fact that I’m a substitute teacher and surrounded by children frequently, I usually have a strong immune system and this would have been the first time the entire school year that I got sick. Coincidentally, after that first week using the castor oil pack, I did experience flu-like symptoms. However they cleared up quickly and I have continued to use the pack, only less frequently, maybe an hour a day 3-4 times per week.
A Work In Progress
There are still many other things I need to incorporate into my daily routine to be more productive and consistently reach the goals listed above, but one thing’s for certain, bringing castor oil packs into my life has really helped me learn how to set aside some time purely for relaxation. This time is for me to rest and do something intentional to help me find balance. This is balance that not only needs to be achieved in my mind, but also in my body. I’m taking this time to balance my hormones, and I can already see noticeable changes that I’m excited to report later in another post.
How about you? What routines help you achieve balance? I look forward to hearing your advice in the comments below as soon as I figure out how to add a comment box to my blog 😄.
Works Cited
Andrew Huberman. “Maximizing Productivity, Physical & Mental Health with Daily Tools.” YouTube, 12 July 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXvDEmo6uS4&ab_channel=AndrewHuberman. Accessed 15 June 2024.
Cloyd, Jaime. “Treating a Herxheimer Reaction with Integrative Medicine.” Rupa Health, 20 Apr. 2023, www.rupahealth.com/post/treating-a-herxheimer-reaction-with-integrative-medicine.