Planning becomes a kind of self-care.
– Brandi Bonica
On this episode of the Plan Simple Meals Podcast, I’m really excited to talk with Brandi Bonica about her experience with the FLOW Planner and FLOW 365. A lot of the people in FLOW 365 are entrepreneurs of one sort or another, but Brandi is a nurse, saving people throughout the day. I love seeing how the FLOW process resonated with her and had all kinds of ripples in her life.
Brandi’s FLOW Situation
I have two little girls. One is just turning six and and four and a half. My main job, other than mothering, is being a critical care nurse. I work part time at a hospital, which is wonderful because I can save my career but also be home to raise my children. But, finding balance in that is hard as well so that’s why I leaned towards Mia’s FLOW 365.
Key Tool: Putting Your Planning Together
While Brandi has always been a planner, she had ideas in lots of places, and it was hard for her to see the big picture. FLOW 365 helped her because it looks at the whole day, the whole month, the whole 90 days in one book. It allowed her to refocus her goals, thoughts, and tasks. She says, “I was a little skeptical about leaving my old planner behind but now I look back and now this is my new bible.”
And it wasn’t just the plan, it was the journaling in the same space too, “It forced me to ask those questions or to refocus my attention on things that are important to me, but I’ve never been one to journal in the past so that was really great to have that all in one place.”
Key Tool: Finding Your Rhythm
“I was really able to look at my home-life balance and really make it predictable, make it automatic, so I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel every week…. I could spend my energy doing other things instead of constantly thinking about meal planning or shopping or planning for the kids.”
FLOW Changes
Food: I participated in a couple of weeks of making some freezer meals and putting them away so I would have a lighter load during dinner times or meal times. It started during the holidays, but I continue to use that little tool throughout the rest of the months, just based upon what my life was going to look like. If I know I have a really crazy couple of weeks coming up where I’m traveling or my husband is traveling or just late nights, I can pull one of those out at anytime. So I have made it kind of part of my weekly process is to look at a new recipe or reinvent an old one but to put one freezer meal away a week.
Lifestyle: Instead of trying to do all the things during the holidays, Brandi chose to be purposefully present, purposefully planning things that are important to us and just letting go of things that aren’t.
OM: Planning becomes a kind of self-care.
Work: Shifting to focusing more on work and tasks and how to time-block those things so they aren’t interfering with my home and personal life.
We also talk about:
- Having more mental space for goals
- The power of working with a group of women from different places and walks of life, all looking for more flow
- Choosing a word for a 90-day cycle to set an intention or guide you
- How tools that get you through a busy period like the holidays can benefit you throughout the year
- How saying no, also allows you to say yes
- Freezer meals and moving meals forward throughout the day
BIO
Brandi Bonica is a critical care nurse and the mom of two young children. She found a community and a new process to bring great ease to her life through the FLOW planner and FLOW 365.
LINKS
Doable Changes from this episode:
- CHOOSE A 90-DAY WORD. Some people choose a word of the year, but here, we like to think in 90-day seasons. Choose a word (or phrase like Brandi’s purposefully present) to guide you throughout the next 90 days. As you are planning or trying to make decisions about what to do or not do, lean into your word as a guide.
- MAKE FREEZER MEALS. Set aside a few hours to prep a bunch of freezer meals. The time spent now will serve you later when life feels hectic. You’ll be able to have a healthy meal, even when you are very busy. And you’ll appreciate yourself for taking care of you and your family. The podcast with Angela Litzinger has lots of ideas to get you started.
- PRACTICE SAYING NO. Decide how you want to feel and what you really want to do. Say no to everything else. Brandi noted that it was hard, sometimes, but it left room to say yes to things that were really important to her. Practice saying no to things, even if they sound fun or you have friends going, if they don’t serve you and your family.
