Hello, friends! Today I’m excited to share an interview that I did with a new friend of mine, Ana from Move Your Mountains. Ana is a fellow lover of all things books, productivity, and personal development so we immediately hit it off! Plus, she works remotely too! I also did an interview on her website which you can check out here.
In today’s post, I share what I learned in my interview with Ana around her jump to remote work life and her thoughts on success, productivity, and much more.
What was the biggest mental hurdle you had to overcome when you decided to work remotely? What gave you the courage to take the path less traveled?
I was raised in a family where success meant you were either a doctor, a lawyer, or an accountant. I was shown that money mattered more than fulfillment, and that striving to make an impact or find meaningful work was a waste of time.
The biggest mental hurdle for me was coming to terms with the fact that working from home was no less legitimate than working in an office. I had to change a lot of negative thought patterns in my head that kept telling me I was ‘giving it all up’ and going to amount to nothing. It sounds silly now that I’ve been working remotely for a year, but at the time it seemed like such a risky choice to make, given what I was hearing from the people around me.
In the end, I gained courage in knowing that my happiness was my own business, and nobody else’s, and I wasn’t going to be happy or successful if I didn’t find my own path. I started to surround myself with media that showed happy and successful people bypassing the traditional 9-5 office job, and it made it less scary. Reading books and listening to podcasts of other people who have chased their dreams has been very beneficial!
In the back of my mind I just kept thinking, I am going to regret the things I didn’t do in life.
Let’s be real, we don’t often hear about the turmoil someone faces when making a choice to change their life. We only ever hear “I made the leap and I haven’t looked back since” so it can be very scary when you’re there in the in-between.
Ultimately, a Time Ferriss quote helped me make the jump:
“Don’t evaluate only the potential downside of action. It is equally important to measure the atrocious cost of inaction. If you don’t pursue those things that excite you, where will you be in 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years? How will you feel having allowed circumstance to impose itself upon you and having allowed 10 more years of your finite life to pass doing what you know will not fulfill you? If you telescope out 10 years and know with 100% certainty that it is a path of disappointment and regret, and if we define risk as “the likelihood of an irreversible negative outcome,” inaction is the greatest risk of all.” ~ Tim Ferriss
What have been your favorite aspects of ditching the office?
It all comes down to having more control over my day.
I am able to decorate my work space in a way that inspires me, so I genuinely enjoy myself when I am working. Twinkle lights and essential oil diffusers are so much more gratifying than beige cubicle walls and olive green carpet.
I am able to take my dog for a walk every day at lunch, or play 5 minutes of tug of war when I need to clear the mental fog.
I am comfortable wearing clothing that I love (mostly leggings and plaid shirts) and not having to spend so much time and money on my appearance.
I am so much more on top of my household chores. I can throw in a load of laundry in between meetings, marinate some chicken, or vacuum the stairs. I don’t often get the time to do this, but it is nice to have the option if something really does need done. And if my kiddos are sick, there is no hassle in keeping them home to rest.
I can stay focused for so much longer since people don’t come by to interrupt.
All in all, the biggest reason I love working from home is the feeling I have when I am living in accordance with my values. It makes me proud to live from a place of intentionality and to have the courage to pursue what’s right for me. Working from home is just one step in that direction, but it is a big one that ultimately gave me the faith I needed to believe in myself and my ability to make things happen in my life.
What has been the biggest challenge that you didn’t anticipate at first?
I have always been an introvert, so I didn’t foresee loneliness becoming a problem, but that hit me hard. I miss that human connection you get when you see people repeatedly over time and get to learn about their lives. Now, I have to be much more intentional about making phone calls, scheduling lunches, and spending evenings with friends, but it is hard when you haven’t built the habit. It was a lesson learned the hard way!
How did the people around you respond to your decision? How did you manage all of the ‘unsolicited advice?’
It was a tough choice to make because almost everyone around me said don’t do it. I’m a people pleaser and a perfectionist at heart, so going against the grain was never my forte. However, I just kept coming back to my WHY.
- Why do I want to work remotely?
- Why do I want to chase this dream?
Getting more time with my family and working for a company that shared my values was more important to me than climbing some corporate ladder just to appease my parents/Facebook friends.
I managed the unsolicited advice through many walks in the woods by myself, thinking through what mattered to me and what didn’t. I went through an entire journal in the few months it took me to make this decision, which was my most helpful tool for self reflection and for working through the nonsense to get to the root of my feelings. I also had a good support network between my husband and my best friend who eased the pressure by reminding me that no matter what choice I made, it would all work out in the end. I’d still have the people around me that mattered the most. All these things help me work through any big decision, and jumping from corporate ladder to remote work was definitely a big one for me at the start of my personal development journey.
What are your biggest tips for staying motivated and productive when you manage your own time?
By far, time blocking. It is easy to let tasks expand when you set your own deadlines and choose your own projects. Time blocking my day has allowed me to achieve so much in the same number of hours that I could spend sorting through email. I took a 40 hour work week and turned it into a 20 hour work week, while increasing my pay per hour, all by employing the time management strategies and getting crystal clear on my priorities. I love slaying a day of work way more than letting it drag on.
To stay motivated, I set work goals for each month. This ensures that I am always working on something valuable, that contributes to a bigger vision, and not getting caught in the weeds. I also keep a very natural routine, so that I don’t have to use willpower to make decisions and can maximize productivity at my peak performance times.
What does an average workday look like for you?
5-6:30am: I wake up and get 1.5 hours of personal development time in before the kids get up. I exercise for 30 minutes, I read, I meditate, and I journal.
8-10am: Once I get the kids to daycare/school, I start work. I do my most difficult tasks first and spend this time on work that takes up a lot of mental energy. For me this means mapping out processes, analyzing data, facilitating sessions, or creating training content.
10-11:30am: I keep open for meetings, but if none pop up I do more focused work.
11:30-12:30pm: I always go for a hike or a run with my dog, and eat my lunch. Spinach salad every day for the past 6 months and I’m still not tired of it.
12:30-1:30pm: I use for work that requires less brain power (emails, project updates, and other mundane tasks)
1:30-2:00pm: I finish up any unfinished business and plan out my work for the next day, so that when I walk in in the morning I know exactly what my most important tasks are, and I can use my most productive time wisely.
After 2:00: I am done my day job, and I get to pick my little guy up from the bus stop. We spend our afternoons together digging in dirt, reading books, and exploding science experiments in the kitchen. In the evening I spend time with my husband and my daughter and we build family memories.
After the kids crash, I spend 1-2 hours working on my own blog and life coaching business: Move Your Mountains.
I always shut off any screens 30 minutes before bed and spend time journaling or reading.
9:00pm is lights out, every night. I’m basically an 80 year old lady, and you WILL find me in bed at 9 on a Friday night.
What have you learned about happiness since you began your personal development journey?
Happiness is more intentional than we think.
It isn’t about achieving all of the goals and having all of the things.
It’s about choosing to be happy no matter what and living from a place of gratitude.
Striving to reach your full potential is a natural contributor to happiness, but pretending that you can’t be happy until you have it all is a waste of the life you’ve been given.
The biggest change I’ve made is consciously monitoring my thoughts and embracing positivity. I have a very low tolerance for negativity, in my own mind and from the people I surround myself with. Cutting out the negative self talk and distancing myself from those who can’t help but put a damper on everything has created so much peace and happiness in my day to day life without having to make huge shifts in my external world.
I read in Michael Singer’s The Untethered Soul: “You think that if you change things outside, you will be okay. But the truth is, nobody has ever truly become okay by changing things outside… The only permanent solution to your problems is to go inside and let go of the part of you that seems to have so many problems with reality.”
So true.
How long does it take to become a better version of yourself?
One day.
Personal development is about making small, incremental changes that allow you to show up as a better version of yourself, every single day.
It takes one decision to become a little bit better than you were yesterday.
Maybe today you’re focusing on breathing deeply when you’re stressed and not yelling at your kids. Maybe tomorrow you’ll trying cutting out sugar from your tea. Becoming your best self starts with little changes here and there.
Now, fulfilling your potential and consistently showing up as your BEST self? That takes a lifetime. I don’t think it ever ends, and that is the beauty in it.
What’s been the biggest change you’ve noticed since you began taking personal development seriously?
I am a lot more clear on my purpose in life. I know the things that will bring me happiness and fulfillment, and I am fine with pursuing them regardless of how long they take and what people think of my dream.
Prior to my personal development journey, I ran full steam ahead into the traditional definition of success. I got straight As, I graduated top of my university program, I got a job at a consulting company, got married, bought a house, had 2 kids, got a dog, and …. Spent every day crying in the bathroom at work because I felt like there was more to life than work, chores, and sleeping. I wasn’t pursuing my dream and I wasn’t feeling fulfilled, which led to a lot of sadness, no matter how much I owned and how successful I was.
Now, I’ve worked through the part of me that wants to live up to the bar set by society, and I am okay with taking my own approach to happiness. For me, that means spending way more time with my kiddos while they’re little, and building a company that helps other women reach their full potential and live their dream lives.
There’s a certain peace you feel when you’re just doing your own thing, and loving every minute of it.
What are the top habits you’ve built in your life that help you show up the way you want?
First, my morning routine has been a game changer for how I am able to show up throughout the day. Getting up at 5am and working on my physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing has been the biggest contributor to my happiness and success. The days that I forego working out, hiking outside, reading, journaling, and meditating, I am a hot mess.
My brain is all over the place, I’m overwhelmed, and I live in a very reactive space.
When I take the time to focus on me first thing in the morning, I kick ass all day.
I am more focused, more productive, more happy, and more calm. Joining the 5am club is my number one piece of advice for those looking to get more out of life.
Second, healthy eating has allowed me to show up more than I was able to before. A year or two ago, I was sick a couple of days every month. This meant that 24-48 days out of the year, I was not productive, not working toward my goals, and not showing up for my family. Since I switched to a whole foods diet (cutting out refined sugars and processed carbohydrates), I haven’t been sick in months. This means I can do all of the things and feel fantastic.
Lastly, rest. I am a type-A personality, which means I go-go-go and I never stop until I completely burn out. I was going through cycles of giving it my all and then not giving a single ounce, because I wasn’t able to pace myself. Neglecting what my mind and body needed only led me to crash and burn.
Prioritizing rest, and self care, and relaxation allows me to show up as my best self consistently.
What does success mean to you? What have you learned about it since digging into the research?
I’ve been giving this a lot of thought lately, but I’m coming to realize that my definition of success is “the balance of enjoying the present while creating a more abundant future.”
A lot of people either live in the now without trying to fulfill their potential, or they’re always future focused and miss out on the life they currently have.
I believe success is finding that balance where you’re happy with what you have and you’re still reaching for more. If you can achieve that, you’re golden.
What 3 books would you recommend for someone looking to level up their life this year?
I’m on my 18th personal development book this year, so choosing only 3 is so difficult. But, to get started, I would recommend:
Any of Brene Brown’s books, but particularly ‘The Gifts of Imperfection.’ Brene Brown unpacks what it means to be human and how to live authentically. She digs into our hustle for worthiness and encourages us to avoid comparison and focus on enjoying. This is a fantastic book if you feel like you’re caught in the hamster wheel and aren’t measuring up.
Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis is another good one. For anyone who has had a dream lingering in the back of their mind but hasn’t taken the plunge, Rachel helps us let go of our excuses and the fear of not measuring up and take on the world.
Lastly, my all time favorite is Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss. Tim Ferriss takes what he’s learned from interviewing hundreds of world-class performers and deconstructs their tactics, tools, and routines so that you can use them to transform your life. There are so many different pieces of advice in that book that you can really pick and choose what resonates with you. One of the quotes I picked up from that book is: “Have no fear. You’ve got one chance here to do amazing things, and being afraid of being wrong or making a mistake or fumbling is not how you do something of impact. You have to be fearless.” ~ Adam Gazzaley
What advice do you have for putting personal development concepts into practice in daily life?
- Just keep trying new things. Don’t feel like you have to change everything about yourself in one go. Take baby steps in the right direction and then get super excited about tiny, incremental changes. Learn to love the process and love the journey, but don’t focus so much on the ending.
- Get crystal clear on your WHY. Change is so much easier to follow through with if you know why it matters to you. Don’t do things because everyone else is trying them, but instead focus on what is going to bring you joy, happiness, and fulfillment. Everyone is different and knowing what makes you you is the key to your success.
- Surround yourself with people that hold you to your highest standard. Accountability is key in making any kind of change. If you’re making a promise to yourself to start showing up in a certain way, make sure you can share your progress and your struggles with someone who will support you and won’t let you self sabotage.
If I could just say one last thing, I would tell everyone out there that you CAN build a life that you love. There is no reason that you have to be unhappy or unfulfilled.
I know you can achieve amazing things.
You just have to start putting one foot in front of the other.
I’m giving away free life coaching sessions this month, so if you are interested in having a coffee over the phone, I’m here to help you figure out what you want, why you haven’t gotten it yet, and how you’re going to achieve it. If you’re in, send me an email to moveyourmountainstoday@gmail.com
