Thanks for listening to Episode 38 of The Take Action Toolkit.

• You feel like you're constantly juggling competing priorities and struggling to keep on top of everything.

• You want to make time for the things that matter to you, but find that life keeps getting in the way.

• You rely on motivation and good intentions to follow through, but struggle to maintain consistency.

• You want to feel more organised and less overwhelmed without turning your life into one big productivity project.

• You're curious about how small systems can help you make meaningful changes to your everyday life.

• How becoming a mum changed my priorities and made me think differently about managing my time and energy.

• The bare minimum system I created during the newborn stage to help me manage feelings of overwhelm.

• What systems and guardrails actually are, and how they can help keep you on track.

• The bowling alley analogy: seeing your goals as the pins and your systems as the guardrails that stop you falling into the ditch.

• How to identify what's getting in the way of your goals and create small systems to address those obstacles.

• The five steps to creating systems that actually work.

• The difference between creating helpful systems and using productivity planning as a form of procrastination.

• How systems can help you maintain consistency, protect your priorities and make life more manageable, even when things don't go to plan.

Stay connected:

Follow me on Instagram @sarahlovecoaching

After more than a year away from the podcast, I'm back! In this episode, I'm sharing a little life update, some lessons from the past 15 months, and why becoming a mum has completely changed the way I think about purpose, productivity and success.

I'll also be sharing some of my biggest takeaways from reading Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People — particularly the idea that we need to decide what matters most before deciding how to spend our time.

Because productivity isn't about getting more done. It's about making sure that what we're doing contributes to the life we actually want to create.

In this episode, we explore:

• Finding purpose through life changes: How motherhood has reshaped my values, goals and definition of success.

• What Stephen Covey taught me about purpose: Why Begin with the End in Mind and Put First Things First are such powerful principles for intentional living.

• Purpose before productivity: Why we need to get clear on what matters before diving into goals, plans and to-do lists.

• Creating systems that support your life: How reducing decision fatigue can free up time and mental energy for the things that matter.

• Redefining success: Why I'm rethinking the way I approach my business and letting go of strategies that no longer feel aligned.

• Enjoying the process, not just the outcome: Moving away from the idea that we'll finally be happy when we reach the next milestone.

• The power of 21-day blocks: How I'm combining positive psychology and practical action to become more intentional, present and fulfilled.

If you organised your life around what matters most to you, what would you do differently?

You don't need to have your entire life figured out. But taking the time to reflect on your values and priorities can help you make choices that feel more aligned with the person you want to be.

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People — Stephen R. Covey

• The 75 Hard challenge

• Positive psychology and coaching psychology

• The Eisenhower Matrix

Thanks for joining me for my first episode back! I'm so glad to be here again, and I can't wait to share more about positive psychology, taking action on the things that matter and creating a life that feels like your own.

Follow along for more from Take Action Toolkit, and keep an eye out for my upcoming work on combining inner work and practical systems in 21-day blocks.

Stay connected:

Follow me on Instagram @sarahlovecoaching

Thanks for listening to Episode 36 of The Take Action Toolkit.

The Take Action Toolkit 4 Week Group Coaching Program is OPEN!!! Sign up here: https://stan.store/sarahlovecoaching/p/the-take-action-toolkit

• You find yourself thinking “I’ll be happy when…” and struggle to feel content right now.
• You’ve achieved goals or milestones but the satisfaction never seems to last.
• You’re curious about how to feel more grounded and present in your everyday life.
• You want a simple positive psychology tool to help you enjoy the moment more deeply.

• Living abroad and being addicted to travel, to now being happy in my daily life
• The trap of “when, then” thinking
• A personal turning point that shifted everything
• The benefits of savouring
• 3 simple tools to help you savour more

Research and theories mentioned:

3 Good Things:

Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress. American Psychologist, 60, 410–421. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.60.5.410

The benefits of developing an increased savouring ability:

Camgoz, S. M. (2014). The role of savoring in work–family conflict. Social Behavior and Personality, 42, 177–188. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2014.42.2.177

Bryant, F. B., & Veroff, J. (2007). Savoring: A new model of positive experience. Erlbaum Associates.

Bryant, F. B. (2003). Savoring Beliefs Inventory (SBI): A scale for measuring beliefs about savouring. Journal of Mental Health, 12, 175–196. https://doi.org/10.1080/0963823031000103489

Smith, J. L., & Hollinger-Smith, L. (2015). Savoring, resilience, and psychological well-being in older adults. Aging & Mental Health, 19(3), 192–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2014.986647

Eisner, L. R., Johnson, S. L., & Carver, C. S. (2009). Positive affect regulation in anxiety disorders. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23(5), 645–649. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2009.02.001

Quoidbach, J., Wood, A., & Hansenne, M. (2009). Back to the future: The effect of daily practice of mental time travel into the future on happiness and anxiety. Journal of Positive Psychology, 4, 349–355. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760902992365

Stay connected:

Follow me on Instagram @sarahlovecoaching