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Do you feel overwhelmed with your todo list? Is "creating fulfilling happiness" missing from that list? Everyday Happiness with Katie Jefcoat is here to help you. In 2-minutes a day, over time, you’ll discover how to reduce overwhelm and create lasting happiness through Katie’s signature method of Intentional Margins, happiness science, and musings about life. Start your day with a positive mindset. Many of us can get deep in the feeling of overwhelm. The anxiety of our own ambition can weigh heavily on our thoughts and emotions. We lay down and close our eyes at night and our chest begins to feel heavy. More items on the to-do list than the day before. How will we ever going to get off the hamster wheel of to-dos? When are we going to start living life for more than the hustle? As a recovering lawyer and passion driven entrepreneur, Katie knew something had to change. What she found is that you can have harmony, be intentionally productive and create massive impact, all at the same time - without feeling guilty. So she asked herself a simple question: "How can I get off the hamster wheel and how can I show others how to do the same? She knew she'd had a system for herself, but she’d never put it into defining words. On August 15, 2019, she sat down at her dining room table with her friend Jenna (her business bestie). Post-It notes covering the table. This is where she first defined the concept of Intentional Margins. What are Intentional Margins? INTENTIONAL MARGINS™ (n): A buffer of space and time to create harmony between your to-do’s and your priorities. Now you can get the support you need to manage your overwhelm, one little tip at a time. Regardless of the industry, Everyday Happiness blends inspiration with a pragmatic approach to finding Harmony. You'll be encouraged to throw “balance” out the window for a more achievable approach called harmony. Through Intentional Margins™, you'll be encouraged to develop what harmony means to you, by identifying your priorities at work and at home. Every day, we'll end the podcast help you feel equipped to jump off the hamster wheel of overwhelm and go out there and crush your day. --About the Host-- Katie Jefcoat is a community curator, speaker, author and motivator who supports ambitious women (and a few good men) move from feeling hectic to harmonious. As a recovering trial lawyer, she knows first hand what it feels like to have a demanding job. As an entrepreneur with a passion that lights her hair on fire and a busy family she’s in the thick of it with you. Many people strive for balance and think overwhelm is just a part of life. Sadly, the hustle culture and our never-ending to-do list is creating a life where our priorities are getting the leftover scraps of time. Katie introduces people to what she calls - Intentional Margins™ - a kind of life in which they reduce randomness, create harmony between their to-dos and their priorities and intentionally enjoy the meaningful parts of life - without feeling guilty. Without exposure to a different way, we remain stuck on the hamster wheel of to-dos and never find the “balance” we yearn for. Katie works diligently to expose her community to different ways of doing things, because she fundamentally believes we deserve to make time for our priorities. We deserve to live a life of harmony. And it’s within our control to create it. Katie curates a smorgasbord of content related to managing your calendar, handling overwhelm, setting boundaries, reducing randomness, saying no, self-care, the power of your choices, and more in her Intentional Margins™ Membership Community -- which she calls the coziest virtual coffee shop (on Facebook). Connect and learn more at www.katiejefcoat.com.
Episodes
Sunday Jul 25, 2021
Sunday Jul 25, 2021
INTENTIONAL MARGINS® is a filter to identify what matters most, your priorities, and figure out how to make time for them. So that, you can look back at the week, and have a win, recognizing that you did live in your priorities and you are in fact creating a fulfilling life.
Transcript:
Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.
I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and today we are talking about my concept INTENTIONAL MARGINS®.
Yesterday, you looked at your calendar and wrote down all the have-tos. The commute, the meetings, the kids activities, the dentist, all the things you have to do.
The rest, is your margin. And the big question is how do we make the absolute most of our time so that we create a fulfilling life in our Intentional Margins®. What I’ve found, is that when we aren’t intentional, we look back, over the day and wonder, what did I do that was in MY priorities. I felt so busy all day.
Days become weeks, weeks to months, months to years and pretty soon we’re checking the todo list, but we’re on auto-pilot.
INTENTIONAL MARGINS® is a filter to identify what matters most, your priorities, and figure out how to make time for them. So that, you can look back at the week, and have a win, recognizing that you did live in your priorities and you are in fact creating a fulfilling life.
For a lot of us, it’s just about awareness. When we, for a split second, turn off auto-pilot.
Now, if you think that’s not you - you don’t actually have a moment for your priorities, I invite you to think about how much margin you might have. Those pockets of time. And what are some priorities that you would like to focus on during that time? It could be 15 minutes here and there or an hour or two in the evening.
Tomorrow we’ll talk about creating Intentional Margins® using the IMPACT Method. In the meantime, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram
Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness
Links: https://bossladybio.com/everydayhappiness/
Saturday Jul 24, 2021
Saturday Jul 24, 2021
Do you ever feel like you are running on that hamster wheel of todos and afraid to jump off for fear that everything will crumble? That’s why you need Intentional Margins®.
Transcript:
Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.
I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and today we are talking about my concept INTENTIONAL MARGINS®.
INTENTIONAL MARGINS® is finding the buffer of space and time to create harmony between our todos and our priorities.
Do you ever feel like you are running on that hamster wheel of todos and afraid to jump off for fear that everything will crumble? You’re overwhelmed and can’t see the vision and all you want is some clarity. Yeah, me too! Or at least that was me, before I started getting super consistent with my Margins. The space and time in the day, that wasn’t a crisis or a “have to”.
Now, you might be thinking, I don’t have any margin, I go non-stop all day.
But let’s unpack this over the next few episodes. If you look at your calendar you might have some commute time to work or running kids to and from. You might have an appointment or an important conference call or meeting. Perhaps, you have a job, like my sister, who is a nurse, and she’s working 9-5ish and there is no break. She’s basically on, all day.
Whatever that looks like for you. I encourage you to take a traditional week and put all of that in your calendar. Then, put in the sleep. If you're an overachiever, put in the calendar the dinner making and cleaning up time too.
Tomorrow we’ll talk about what’s left on that calendar. In the meantime, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram
Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness
Links: https://bossladybio.com/everydayhappiness/
Friday Jul 23, 2021
Friday Jul 23, 2021
This exercise allowed me to prioritize my todos, thoughts and ideas and decide what needed my attention now.
Transcript:
Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), hap piness science, and musings about life.
I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and today, my happiness was found in the not todo list. Ever feel like you are on the hamster wheel of todos? Yeah, me too. As much as I am super intentional about living in my Intentional Margins®, putting my priorities first, and saying no to the things that don’t directly align with my North Star. It’s so easy to get caught up in the churn.
This is what I did to try to regain some control, maybe it will help you too.
I made a list -- of everything on my mind.
What I found was my todo list was also a list of thoughts and ideas.
I asked myself, what was really a task that I needed to do?
Was there anything I could delegate?
And, finally, what could I delete or postpone for another time?
This exercise allowed me to prioritize my todos, thoughts and ideas and decide what needed my attention now.
Next, I added those todos to my calendar for the week, so some tasks I started on today and others, I had on my calendar for 3 days from now. It really did make things so much more manageable. And, I’ve got to say, I’m happier. I’m calmer. I feel more in control of creating my fulfilling day, which makes me so happy.
So, maybe this trick will help you too. Let me know. @everydayhappinesswithkatie
Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness
Links: https://bossladybio.com/everydayhappiness/
Thursday Jul 22, 2021
Thursday Jul 22, 2021
I wonder if we are trying so hard to check the boxes that we are forgetting about living in our priorities, which create our fulfilling lives. That is why I created the concept Intentional Margins® - as a filter, a reminder, that we get to be intentional and prioritize what matters most.
Transcript:
Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.
I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I’ve been pondering this idea lately, wondering if we can be truly productive, live in harmony, create fulfilling lives where we live in our priorities and not feel guilty about the time we spend doing what we want instead of checking the box on someone else's priorities.
What I found is that if we try to make every day harmonious, those 24 glorious hours. We’re missing the point. It’s too hard. When we look at a week, we can see more harmony. Some days are just busier than others. And that’s ok.
If we try to squeeze our priorities and our Intentional Margins® into a day, it might feel forced on certain days. I’ve decided to zoom out of the day and take a bigger look at the week. I do this by literally looking at my calendar and identifying time, what gets calendared get done, for my Intentional Margins® - the time when I live in my true priorities.
And, I’ve given myself grace. I encourage the members of my online community to give themselves grace. It is harmony after all. It’s never meant to be perfect.
I wonder if we are trying so hard to check the boxes that we are forgetting about living in our priorities, which create our fulfilling lives. That is why I created the concept Intentional Margins® - as a filter, a reminder, that we get to be intentional and prioritize what matters most.
So what is your intentional margin this week?
Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness
Links: https://bossladybio.com/everydayhappiness/
Wednesday Jul 21, 2021
Wednesday Jul 21, 2021
Will less stuff increase our happiness? Less to clean, less to tidy, less to keep up with, less decisions to make?
Transcript:
Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.
I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and there is this concept that gets so much attention: minimalism. Even the book, The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo has gotten so much attention they made a TV show about it. It got me thinking. Will less stuff bring me more happiness? Now that’s a question that needs pondering. I’m going to chew on this and report back, but what my gut reaction is telling me is YES! Less stuff will make me happier. Less to clean, less to tidy, less to keep up with, less decisions to make -- for example, what to wear?
I’m constantly enticed by consumerism. I love a good Instagram Ad. But my house is not filled with stuff. Could I get rid of more stuff, of course. Would less stuff make me happier? I really think so.
Do you think less stuff would make you happier? Do you have any tips on decluttering. As I process this, I’d love to continue this discussion with you. Just send me a DM on Instagram @everydayhappinesswithkatie
Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness
Links: https://bossladybio.com/everydayhappiness/
Tuesday Jul 20, 2021
Tuesday Jul 20, 2021
We can alter our happiness quota by acting “as if”. You think about the person you want to be. You think about the thoughts you want to entertain. You make it so by acting that way. It’s kind of like, fake it till you make it.
Transcript:
Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.
I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I recently learned that we can alter our happiness quota by acting “as if”. We can change our thoughts and the way we approach things by acting “as if”. This is this scientific principle called the As-If principle. You think about the person you want to be, you think about the thoughts you want to entertain and you make it so by acting that way. It’s kind of like, fake it till you make it.
For happiness, the first step is you start smiling more. One way to make sure you are smiling and releasing those chemicals to the brain that says “oh she’s happy” is to take a pencil, put it lengthwise between your back molars and then smile. This is the big smile that gives you crows feet and also tells your brain, oh, they’re happy.
I invite you to ask yourself, who do I want to be? Use I AM statements.
I AM a patient and caring mother.
I AM an exceptional wife.
I AM a thoughtful friend.
I AM acting as if everything is possible.
I encourage you to write these down every single day to remind yourself of how you are going to show up today.
Share with me your I AM statements over in my direct messages @everydayhappinesswithkatie and if you are inspired, please send me your smile selfie at the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #EverydayHappinessWithKatie
Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness
Links: https://bossladybio.com/everydayhappiness/
Monday Jul 19, 2021
Monday Jul 19, 2021
What I’ve discovered is that even being happy takes some intentional work. I came across an easy 3-step approach that can work for anything you are learning about right now.
Transcript:
Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.
I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and in my quest for understanding happiness on a more scientific level, it became clear that there are 3 steps to this process, and this process can really be for anything that you are obsessed with learning more about. First, to learn & understand it. Second, to apply it to your life. Third, to share it with other people. You literally will get happier, says the science, when you share with others.
Sharing is important because it makes it meta-cognative. Feelings live in the limbic system of the brain, you can’t control it, it’s in the oldest part of your brain. But, when you share it, you move it from the oldest limbic system to the Prefrontal Cortex part of your brain, where you do your conscious thinking, your executive function, then you can manage it.
This is how we change our brain and get better at happiness.
We can take a moment, think about the feelings we are having, name them and then we can work on and change our thoughts and that can make a huge difference for our happiness.
I’m going to try it the next time I’m feeling less than happy. And in the meantime, I’ll be learning about all the happiness I can and sharing it with you, every single day. Until next time.
Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness
Links: https://bossladybio.com/everydayhappiness/
Sunday Jul 18, 2021
Sunday Jul 18, 2021
Your circumstances and habits play a critical role in defining your happiness. Our habits are where we can make the most change. Are you making deposits into your happiness buckets?
Transcript:
Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.
I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and the research is pretty solid on the fact that 50% of your happiness is genetic. That’s your baseline and you shouldn’t worry about that. Arthus Brooks says then you should think about your circumstances and your habits.
And for circumstances, you shouldn’t get too caught up in those either because the science indicates that the happiness based on circumstances comes and goes, you get over that really quickly, good or bad, because we are so resilient. You get a new job, you are happy for a while, but then you come down. You stub your toe, it hurts for a moment, but then you regain some happiness. You are excited you won the contents, and that fades.
He says, your happiness habits are where you can make the happiness deposits to increase your personal happiness. He says to focus on faith - family - friendships - work. (work part 1) earning your success and (work part 2) serving people.
This has got me thinking. Am I making deposits into my happiness buckets? And, are those really the buckets for me and my happiness? We’ll be exploring this more in this micro-podcast. In the meantime, what do you think of these 4 happiness buckets: faith - family - friendships - work? I’d love to hear your thoughts. You can DM me over at @everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram and Facebook.
Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness
Links: https://bossladybio.com/everydayhappiness/
Saturday Jul 17, 2021
Saturday Jul 17, 2021
The research indicates that consistently practicing gratitude can make you 10-25% happier over 10 weeks. That’s incredible. Today we chat about how we can do just that.
Transcript:
Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.
I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and the number one predictor of happiness is gratitude. Here is one simple way to get that gratitude practice in every day.
- On Sunday, list 5 things you are most grateful for.
- Each night of the week review the list
- Add to the list on the following Sunday
Authur Brooks, a Harvard professor on this subject says you will get 10-25% happier over 10 weeks, according to the science he’s researched, because you will REMEMBER the things that are really important to you. And heck, it can be that the trees are green. Just do something.
Do you keep track of your gratitude? I’m curious if my listeners out there have a gratitude practice and what it is. Send me a DM @everydayhappinesswithkatie If you have a gratitude journal, snap a pic and share with the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram so we can have some inspiration.
Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness
Links: https://bossladybio.com/everydayhappiness/
Friday Jul 16, 2021
Friday Jul 16, 2021
What did we learn in the pandemic that we are not going to return to in the post pandemic recovery year? What did we learn during the pandemic that we’ll keep as we enter the post pandemic recovery year? These are the questions I’m exploring today.
Transcript:
Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.
I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I’ve been deep in my own thoughts about what this next year holds for me and I was thinking, I can’t be alone, so I thought I’d bring this discussion up here, with you.
People are talking about the things they miss and the things they don’t like now, during the pandemic. It seems a bit ho-hum.
We phrase the pre-pandemic times as: things you miss
We phrase the pandemic times as: things you dislike.
Instead, during this post-pandemic recovery year, I invite you to think about 2 questions:
- What are we not going to return to?
I.e. Toxic relationship; busy running kids, overscheduled.
This pandemic jolt has taught us a lot about what we value and what we can live without. Some of my friends and I were talking and we felt like society was a runaway train, we were way too busy. When we had to collectively stop, we noticed families coming together for dinner and game night. We enjoyed meeting neighbors on the driveway, even when it was cold. So the first question is: What are we not going to return to?
The second question is:
- What are we going to keep?
I.e. Weekly game night; reading more books; earlier bedtime;
This is where I think there was some magic in the forced slow down. I had a friend that said she didn’t like being alone and she started reaching out to people who brought her joy and she will continue to surround herself with the right people.
DM me on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and let me know what you are going to keep from this past year.