Lessons from Jake: Get Comfortable.

I cringed a little bit when I walked into the living room today to find Jake’s butt plopped right on top of my decorative pillow. Apparently he believes in function over fashion.

Which brings me to the realization that these days, I often do too.

In recent years, and especially since leaving the corporate world this past spring, I’ve found that I'm abandoning my stilettos and flimsy fancy tops for flats, flip flops, and long, comfy cardigans.

Here, a few ideas to incorporate a bit more comfort into your daily routine.

Bring a sweatshirt (or sweater, or blazer, or whatever strikes your fancy and provides warmth).

When I was little, every time I left the house, my mom reminded me, “honey, don’t forget to bring a sweatshirt.” It didn’t matter if it was 90 degrees or 14 degrees below zero, but she always encouraged me to bring an additional layer.

Of course, I always thought she was crazy and refused to listen as the all-knowing 12-year old I was, but after countless evenings of shivering through dinner in a cold restaurant, about 15 years later, I realized she was right.

In my experience, it’s very difficult to enjoy a social function or participate in a meeting while shivering, shaking, and/or losing feeling in your toes due to excessive air conditioning.

Because we are a country of people who love air conditioning and because I am a person who is always cold, I now take my mom’s advice and always bring an extra layer – even when it’s 90 degrees.

Add something cozy to your office space.

Many corporate offices are cold, gray, and lacking any sign that human beings actually occupy the space for a significant portion of the day. If it sounds like I’m describing your office, consider bringing a little life of your own. Here are a few of my favorite ways to do so:

• A candle. The soft glow of a candle brings a bit of tranquility to even the most stressful days. Consider something unscented – a bit of fragrance in a small office goes a long way.

• A plant.  Plants bring a bit of color, a bit of cheer, and a lot of life to our working environment. Plus, many studies have shown that working near a plant may reduce headaches, fatigue, and sore throats. For a bit of good karma to go along with your health benefits, consider picking up a plant for you and your cube neighbor.

• A splash of color. I’m a big fan of yellow and orange. Try out a few different splashes of color in your office or cubicle to see which has the most positive effect. 

• A lamp. I wrote earlier about my obsession with calming lighting. Corporate work places are often the worst offenders when it comes to bright, cold, and generally terrible lighting. BYOL with a colorful lamp and a low wattage bulb.

Have Something Comfortable to Come Home To.

In college, a dear friend of mine would immediately walk in the door and change into her “sweats.” This was her affectionate name for her extremely baggy and perfectly comfortable sweat pants that she loved to wear for low-key evenings at home.

My favorite way to get comfortable on warm, sunny days is to immediately go outside and soak up the remaining daylight. During the winter, it’s a hot bath with candles and lavender bath salts.

Greeting yourself at the door with something comfortable is a great way to settle into a relaxing evening. Here are some other ideas.

• Throw something in the crock-pot before you head out the door in the morning; a delicious smell and magically-prepared (well almost) dinner await you upon your return.

• Identify your own version of "sweats." This is your single most comfortable, wonderful article of clothing that you love changing into when you walk in the door.

• Keep fresh flowers or a plant in the house. They greet you from the kitchen table with a bit of life, color, and cheer, and it’s easy to find inexpensive bouquets at places like Trader Joe’s for under $5.

Only Wear Stuff that Feels Good.

This year, I implemented a new approach for figuring out what gets tossed in the giveaway pile. I had always asked myself the question “do I like this?” and “do I wear this?” This spring, I added a new question to the mix, “do I feel good wearing this?”

I painstakingly went through each item in my closet and imagined what it physically felt like when I had it on. Itchy fabric, weird material, a length or style that had me tugging/readjusting/repositioning at any time while wearing = into the giveaway pile it went. This was a little heartbreaking at first, as several Anthropologie sweaters are now hanging on the racks at St. Vinnie’s, but I’ve since recovered from the experience and learned a few lessons about considering my purchases more carefully in the first place. 

Intrigued, but not sure where to start? My friend Vicky put together a sweet flow chart to help guide the process of getting rid of stuff from our closets.

What are your favorite ways to add a bit of comfort into your daily routine?

Lessons from Jake: Sleep is Important.

We’ve heard it many times before – our dogs teach us just as much as we teach them. Usually more.

This week, I’m launching a brand new series on the blog – Lessons from Jake. This series is brought to you by the one and only - my lovable, cuddly, sometimes slobbery, and always hungry dog Jake.

This week’s topic? Rest.

Here’s a photo of Jake – but you can’t see him, since he’s resting. His favorite way to sleep is to wrap himself completely in blankets, so he’s invisible (or so he thinks) to the outside world. His tactics work pretty well; even after several years of this, I still have moments of panic where I convince myself that my dog has vanished into thin air or gotten stuck somewhere in the basement, unable to escape.

Anyway, I talk to a lot of people who would like better sleep – more sleep, an easier time falling asleep, and more of the super restful kind of sleep that leaves us feeling energized and alive when we wake up in the morning. Here are a few tips for getting better sleep. No full-body-blanket-burrito required.

1. Ditch the Electronics Before Bed.

I know, I know, we’ve heard this a million times before – but it’s actually true. As difficult as it might be, wrap up your work emails, ditch the late-night-scrolling-through-Facebook habit, and turn off the TV at least an hour before bed.

I’m just as guilty as the next gal when it comes to reaching for my phone in the moments before bed, so here are a couple new guidelines recently implemented at my house:

The bed is an electronics-free zone. As in, no devices that turn on/off/make sounds of any sorts are allowed on the premises of the queen size mattress. Although I’ve slipped a couple times, I’ve become much more aware of my grab-the-phone-and-see-what’s-happening-in-the-world-late-at-night habit, and nowadays have to physically get up and out of the bed if the urge is so strong that I can’t resist. I’ve found that the effort required to catch up on world news outside of the bed outweighs my desire to know about it, so instead I settle for grabbing a book. The result? I’m reading more, falling asleep faster, and avoiding Miley Cyrus stories sneaking into my Feedly. See, nightmare prevention already.

Work and email are cut off at 8 pm. We’re still figuring out the right time for the cutoff, but the idea is to become much more deliberate about calling it a night (literally) to allow more time before bed  for late night cooking, conversation, and relaxation. 

2. Get in a Routine.

As much as possible, aim to go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time each day, even on the weekends. Increasing evidence is showing that consistent sleep leads to better health.

This can require diligence and a bit of planning, especially on the weekends. Here are some ideas to get into a consistent groove with your sleep:

Choose your weekend activities wisely. We really throw our sleep schedule for a loop after a night of socializing over beverages into the wee hours of the morning. There’s no need to stop seeing friends and having fun, but consider giving up on arriving “fashionably late” and instead enjoying the earlier hours of gatherings with friends.  

Take advantage of the many early-morning offerings of the weekends – the best selection at the farmers market, early morning walks before the rest of the neighborhood is up and about, and beating the brunch crowd at the busiest restaurants in town.

3. Hit the Pavement (or the weight room, or the yoga studio)

Thought it takes a bit of time to see the impact, regular exercise can lead to a dramatic improvement in sleep. The key is consistency and sticking with it over time.

4. Create Your Own Zen.

Make sure both your bedroom and your bedtime routine are conducive to sleeping. To do that:

Get rid of anything in your bedroom that isn’t directly related to sleeping. This might mean relocating things like paperwork, electronics, random items that escaped from your home office, or your abandoned knitting project.

Check your lighting. There’s nothing less relaxing than bright, uninviting lighting. Make sure the bulbs in your bedroom lamps throw soft, low light. Consider fewer lamps and more candles.

Introduce a bit of chamomile and lavender. Research has found both to have calming properties which means they’re great before bed as a cup of tea or in a soothing eye pillow.

What techniques do you use to improve the quality of your sleep? Feel free to share your strategies in the comments!