lifestyle and culture

At the beginning of 2022, I set a goal of landing a new job. I liked my current job well enough, but I had been feeling somewhat disengaged and I knew I wanted to pivot my skill set into a different industry. I had a list of what I was looking for: a remote position in the tech industry in content and/or editorial, a team to lead that was supportive and hardworking, and creative freedom to try new things, all with a lovely six-figure salary to match. Should be an easy find, right?
In fact, when I first wrote out that list of criteria in my brand-new 2022 planner under the “Goals” section (a yearly ritual I highly recommend), I literally laughed out loud when I read it back to myself. It was a far cry from where I was starting from in more ways than one. Furthermore, I had absolutely no idea how I was going to make it happen. I spent the rest of the day stressing out about the fact that I had set a completely unrealistic goal and was already doomed to fail.
The universe happened to be looking out for me the next day though, and my friend invited me to join her in Gabby Bernstein’s 21-day manifesting challenge. I’ve always been very openminded when it comes to things in the spiritual and wellness world, so I signed up and logged onto the platform for Day 1. I had always heard a lot about manifesting your dream life, but this was the first time I was going to actively try to create something I wanted and I was a bit nervous about looking like a fool if it didn’t work. However, the course walked me through a series of steps and mental exercises that felt more like fun than work. There were some key steps I learned to successful manifesting that are important to keep in mind as you work toward attracting your goals.

Get Crystal Clear on What you Want
The first step of the challenge was about getting crystal clear on what I wanted to manifest so I’d know when an opportunity presented itself to help me achieve my goal. This was fairly easy for me, as I already knew what I wanted, but writing it down and then creating a vision board around it forced me to really narrow down what I wanted and keep it top of mind. I printed out one copy of my vision board (#oldschool) and put it above my home office desk, and then I made a digital copy to set as my phone background so I could see it every time I picked up my phone (which we all know is way too often).

Source: cottonbro | Pexels

Spend Time Visualizing
The next step of the course was all about visualizing. As a self-proclaimed chronic daydreamer, this was the fun part for me. For 21 days, I spent 10 minutes each morning and night thinking about how finding the perfect role would make me feel once I had accomplished it. I learned how important it was to focus and identify the emotions I was experiencing while visualizing, as this helps your mind get used to those feelings and rewires your brain to seek out more opportunities to give you those feelings. While it might sound a bit “woo woo,” there is a lot of science to back up visualizing and positive brain modification, something that kept me going even when I wasn’t yet seeing results.

Let Go of the “How”
Now, this was easily the hardest part of the process. After the first week, the course finally addressed the question I was wrestling with from the minute I set my goal: “But how will this happen?” When we set a lofty goal that is a far stretch from where we are presently, our minds immediately go to how we can (or can’t) accomplish our goals, looking for tangible next steps to help us feel in control.
Whether you are trying to manifest a new role like I was or are looking to find the perfect partner or achieve any other goal, it can be incredibly difficult to just “trust” that it will happen when the time is right. The course advised that anytime I found myself stressing about how my goal would happen, I should focus on a few positive affirmations to reframe my thinking. Some of the ones that I loved were “I have complete faith that everything I desire is coming to me at the right time” and “If not this, something better.” That last one was especially helpful when I found myself worrying about missed opportunities (like roles I applied to that I thought would be perfect for me yet never got a call back for).

Take Aligned Action
Toward the end of the course, I was feeling positive and hopeful but also couldn’t get rid of this nagging feeling that my dream role wasn’t just going to come knocking on my front door—I needed to do something to make it happen. I was worried that manifesting meant just sitting back and meditating, but for the final seven days, I learned about the importance of taking aligned action, something my Type-A self was thrilled to hear.
Aligned action is essentially taking the necessary steps to achieve something while also maintaining the positive, relaxed mindset that comes from knowing that you will find the right opportunity when it’s ready for you. Easier said than done, I know. For me, this looked like continuing to practice my affirmations daily, spending time visualizing, and reviewing my vision board often while also networking, touching up my LinkedIn and resume, and applying to jobs that seemed like the right fit. Instead of doing these things with an energy of “Why the heck won’t anyone call me back?!” (my previous default mentality), I shifted my thinking to be along the lines of “OK, that one clearly wasn’t the best fit for me, but I’m confident something better will come along soon.”
Changing my thinking really gave me more motivation to keep going and also prevented the stress of hunting for a new role from impacting my personal life or the job I already had.

Source: Karolina Grabowska | Pexels

The End Result
Despite my friend achieving her manifesting goal of finding her perfect home within days of finishing the course, my dream role did not perfectly appear in the month of January. It also didn’t appear in February or March, either. I had given myself all of 2022 to achieve this goal so I wasn’t super stressed about it, but I did begin to wonder if I had gone off track with my manifesting. I certainly had doubts that I would ever find the right thing, especially when it seemed impossible at times (a job with a good salary and work-life balance? A myth for sure).
I kept pushing forward and decided to share my job hunt with a friend after we got on the topic of manifesting. A few weeks later, she reached out to put me in touch with someone she knew at a company I was interested in for a coffee chat. Lo and behold, after meeting with this connection twice, she shared with me that she was about to resign from her role in content for another opportunity and asked if I’d be interested in applying to replace her. I went for it (equipped with my revised resume and interview prep work that I had done as part of my aligned action!), and three weeks later, I was the proud owner of an offer letter with ample vacation time, a larger salary than I had dared to dream of when I set my audacious goal, and the opportunity to work from home as often as I wanted. All that, and I had jumped into an industry I had been dying to get into for years. To say that I was thrilled would be an understatement.
If you’re skeptical about manifesting, I totally get it. I was always unclear about how manifesting and ambition paired together, but learning about it in depth helped me realize that manifesting is about an outlook, not just an outcome. By being crystal clear on what I wanted, spending time focusing on it every day, and taking actions from a place of trust and confidence over desperation, I was able to attract the perfect role for me in a way I otherwise wouldn’t have. I’ll definitely be using my newfound manifesting toolkit to help me attract other goals in the future, and I encourage you to give it a try!

The Everygirl’s Guide to Manifestation and Achieving Your Best Life More

My husband and I both worked from home together long before the pandemic sent workers home with their laptops. Did I mention we live in a one-bedroom apartment?
While we were used to having two desks crammed into our living room and respecting each other’s space during the workday, we were both usually in and out most days for in-person meetings and any phone calls that could easily be taken in the bedroom. Once the pandemic hit, we had to adjust to a 40-hour workweek and an unexpected increase in video calls occurring in our main living space.
So how did we adjust? I’m going to share some tried-and-true ways to stay productive when your living room is also your office—which gets a whole lot more challenging when you have two people working there.

Create a Designated—But Cute—Work Space
This part is going to sting a little. I know how tempting it is to move your laptop from your bed to your couch to your kitchen table, all to avoid adding office furniture to your living room. It’s not a cute look, but you deserve a real workspace to turn to every day. My solution to softening the blow was to avoid office-looking accessories. You can buy a beautiful desk and desk chair and finish it off with charming accessories that don’t look like they came from an office supply store. Splurging on a notebook you love to look at or a marble tray to collect pens and paper clips can change how you feel about your work space and can help it blend in when you have friends over for a dinner party.
The reason setting up a work space you love is so important is that it will motivate you to work at your desk more often. Is the bed comfortable? Yes. Is it the best place to get work done? More often than not, no. There are no rules in a home office (it’s your living room, after all!), so create a work space you love to look at and work in.

Source: @mycityapartment

Invest in the Right Supplies
Why did it take me and my husband years to invest in a pair of noise-canceling headphones? No idea. What I do know is that we won’t be going back. We didn’t even need to splurge on two pairs. Whichever one of us isn’t on a call will wear them while the other person takes their calls, and they really do block out enough noise so I’m not distracted by what’s going on in the background. Having a pair of headphones like this also signals to your live-in coworker that you aren’t available to talk.
This pair of headphones from Microsoft does wonders for us and costs half as much as other popular brands (we’re looking at you, Apple).

Set Boundaries
Do you have a roommate who likes to chat when they’re eating lunch and you’re not? Does your neighbor stop by to talk since they know you’re working from home? Does your very helpful mom want to drop off groceries again? When working from your living room, it’s super important to set boundaries. Make it clear to friends and family, whether you live with them or not, that just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you’re available to chat.
It’s also important to remember that you don’t have to remain responsive at all times. You can put your phone in the other room or ignore a non-emergency text or call until you log off at the end of the day.

Communicate Clearly
To make sure we don’t slow each other down during the workday, my husband and I are super communicative regarding when we are available to connect with each other. In the morning, we go over our schedules for the day so we know when to expect the other person to be completely unavailable (like during a meeting). Then, throughout the day, we check in to see if now is a good time to go on a walk or to eat lunch together. If someone is getting chatty and the other person needs to focus, we just let each other know. You can’t get what you don’t ask for! If you live with a roommate, family member, or romantic partner, simply let them know what you need to feel good about your productivity levels.
The same thought process applies with coworkers who can distract you from a distance. It can be tempting to be responsive at all times when working from home to prove you are in fact working, but sometimes, you need to carve out time to focus solely on the task at hand. Don’t be afraid to tell your manager or teammates you’re going to be heads down for two hours and won’t be responding to Slack or emails during that time.

Source: Samson Katt | Pexels

Plan for Breaks
When you work from home, it’s so easy to feel guilty about taking breaks. When I was in an office, I thought nothing of taking a 15-minute break to chat with a coworker. When you’re in an actual office and interacting with coworkers, a break feels more like a normal part of your workday. At home, it can feel like you’re slacking off. And to be fair, it’s really easy to let a quick coffee break turn into a much longer break than intended when you’re at home and there is laundry to do or a cute pup to play with.
Scheduling breaks can help you get over these hangups. Each day when I sit down at my desk, I look at what I need to accomplish that day and when I have meetings that day. Then, I use time blocking to plan out when I will work and when I will take a break. Do I schedule the break down to the minute? No. But I will say that between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m., I am going to clear my inbox, finish writing a blog post, and go on a walk. That way, taking breaks feels like a regularly scheduled part of my day, I know when they need to be completed, and I get to rest, which helps me be more productive throughout the day.

I’ve Worked for Myself for 4 Years—These Are the Tools That Keep Me Productive More