EP 115: The Fun 3-Step Method for Effortless Energy

Ever wonder how some people stay energized and are so productive all day? Imagine feeling fully charged and focused without reaching for another coffee.

This episode reveals a powerful, 3-step system designed to give you the right TYPE of energy for each activity. And this is better for your brain and wellness, too!

We’re going beyond time management into something even more impactful: energy management.

Discover how aligning your natural energy rhythms with your tasks can leave you feeling recharged, even on your busiest days.

With this fun 3-step method, you’ll learn:

• How to match the right tasks to your energy peaks

• Easy ways to identify and create the type of energy you need in the moment

• Why strategic social breaks can boost productivity like nothing else

Ready for effortless energy? Hit play to learn how to work smarter, feel better, and power through your day without burning out!

Here’s the Focus at Will music-for-your-brain resource I promised to share.

EP 105: Maximize Your Endorphins to Boost Your Mood and Performance

What if you could flip the switch to tap into peak performance, with a few simple actions? Releasing endorphins is a key component to mental clarity, control your appetite, and build both muscle and your brain. You don't even have to get a "runner's high" to get these benefits. Found out how in this fun episode.

EP 104: Stress Less, Lead Better - Unlock the Power of Oxytocin

To buffer your stress and create high-performing collaborative teams, you need the power of oxytocin.

In this episode you'll discover how to unlock it in yourself and in those around you.

Some actions are things you do anyway ... simply learn how to do them with a bit of intention or a twist to get the most out of them. Then watch you and your team's performance soar.

Here’s the episode (41) I mentioned on meditation

EP 103: Decision-Making Mastery - Dopamine, Serotonin, and The Last Samurai

To stay at the top your game, you need great decision-making, mental well-being, relationships, brain function, and motivation to stay strong. In this episode discover the role that dopamine and serotonin play in these critical areas.

And, more important, easy lifestyle choices to improve and balance your happy hormones. Including insights, on strengthening dopamine, from the movie The Last Samurai.

98: Unlocking Lavender - Proven Benefits for Your Body and Mind

The solutions for your work and life and often at your fingertips. Lavender is one of those easy-to-reach answers. In this episode, learn how lavender heals minor wounds, calms your nervous system, helps you sleep, aids your digestion, and even how it improves positive interations + decreases aggression in your workplace. 100% science-backed tips.

As promised in the episode, here are the compounds in lavender that can reach peak plasma levels in 19 minutes when you apply lavender on your skin: linalool and linalyl acetate.

Here are the additional resources I mention:
Fast and Easy Ways to Keep Your Energy Up

19 Ways to Use Lavender

97: Is Your Workplace Stressing You Out + What to Do

Is your workplace culture stressful because you need to change how you work?

Or is your employer simply a bad fit (or worse, a toxic culture) -- and you need to change where you work?

Wendy Taylor, a career coach with over 20 years of helping individuals and teams create healthy work cultures, joins me to dive deep into these two questions. Plus, because she has conducted over 12,000 interviews, she shares her secrets on what NOT to ask in an interview to determine a company's culture. Of course, Wendy graciously shares what questions will show you whether a potential place will be stressful -- or a great fit. All the while making you look like a rock-star.

If you feel stressed at work, this episode is full of helpful insights.

96: The Healthy Entrepreneur's Playbook - Tips for a Balanced Life

Wondering how you can have it all and do it all? Erika Biddix joins me to share her Aught Model of Success. Through some telling-on-ourselves stories and her years of hard-won experience, you'll learn how to grow your business, support your well-being and enjoy your life.

For her Aught Model of Success framework head here.

To reach out to Erika, head here.

95: Top 10 Tips for Your Wellness at Work

Want some unusual ways to amp-up your wellness at work? Here are just 3 of the 10 you'll hear in this fun episode. (By the way - ALL 10 have been shown to improve both your wellness and your team's productivity.)

• Interesting choices like -- putting up pictures of nature (even the crazy photo from your last beach trip) 

• Serious steps like -- getting a support system outside of work

• Funny things like -- asking job candidates if they have a favorite joke to share (yes, I know a company that does this)

Here is the episode I mentioned, on Sleep and Work .
Want to dive deeper into handling your workplace stress? Here are some great episodes for you.
Master Your Stress

What a Real Gratitude Practice Looks Like

EP 93: Your Mindful Eating Guide to Pool Parties and Picnics

In this summer's-coming episode, explore how mindful eating helps you enjoy your pool parties and picnics more. Plus ideas of how to tune into self-compassion and self-awareness to manage cravings and handle it when post-party thoughts are "Oh, I ate too much ice cream" or "I'm frustrated with Aunt So-and-So". You'll head to your summer parties better prepared for food pushers and food police. You'll relax and enjoy yourself more. And you'll eat better - including all of the summertime treats.

Here’s how to learn to eat with the Powerful Plate I mentioned.

EP 91: Tough Conversations - How to Prepare and Stay Calm

When was the last time you faced a difficult discussion with a co-worker?
Or found yourself in the middle of a complex conversation at home --
or simply deciding whose turn it is to clean the kitchen?

You can navigate these tough talks with calm and clarity. 

I'm excited to introduce you to Nicole Dupuis, a seasoned Productivity + Leadership Coach.  For years she's been helping people find clarity in communication. 

In this week's podcast episode, I sat down with Nicole, to uncover the secrets to master difficult conversations. Here's a sneak peek of what we covered:

🔍 Getting clear on what's really going on during a tough talk.
💆‍♂️ Techniques to keep your stress levels low when faced with unexpected confrontations.
🌱 Recognizing if the conversation was actually constructive.

Your ability to handle these moments doesn't just affect your mood now; it shapes your relationships and your stress levels in the long run.

EP 90: Stress Less Lifestyle - Your Next Step to Inner Calm

Whether you are facing major life stressors or just the day to day grind, you will stress less when you ask yourself the question you'll hear in this episode. Putting together the gratitude, movement, and microbiome (gut health) habits from the last episodes is easy - ok easier - when you ask yourself this question. Then, all working together, you will lower your stress.

EP 89: The Resilient Diet - Eat to Beat Stress

Ever walked into a meeting feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders? I get it. But what if I told you that what you eat could change the game?

Imagine this: You're facing a challenging client issue, tensions are high, and your team's counting on you to lead the way. It's make-or-break time.

My question to you is not about what you should say to your team.

My question is "Are you eating in a way consistently that supports your brain to be calm and positive no matter what?"

In this episode:

• The Power Foods: Discover the delicious ingredients that fuel your brain for calm, focus, and creativity.

• Avoid the Gut Bombs: Say goodbye to the culprits sabotaging your gut-brain harmony.

• Spice It Up: Get savvy with spices that lower inflammation so your gut can heal.

Here are the additional resources I mention:

Fat Facts for Optimal Nutrition

How to love drinking water to energize you

These are the nutrients you need when you are stressed

How to Stop Craving Sugar

EP 88: Taming the Tension - How Your Good Bugs Battle Stress

In this episode, jump into the fascinating world of your stress-gut-brain connection. Discover how stress impacts your gut and your brain ... and visa versa. Explore ground-breaking research on optimizing your gut microbiome. Learn 5 simple pleasures you can do right now that create a profound shift in your feel-good hormones and relaxation hormones.

EP 87: The Power of Gratitude to Lower Your Stress

A couple of nights ago I was having trouble falling asleep. Just as I started worrying "Oh, no. What if I lay here awake for hours?", I remembered a suggestion from my physician.

It's literally a life-changing strategy that helps your sleep, PLUS your relationships, lowers your stress, increases your joy and work satisfaction, and improves your brain health.

You ready for it?
It's gratitude.

In this episode learn the exciting research on how gratitude benefits your body and your brain. And, most important, discover 10 unique gratitude practices that you can test for yourself.

You want to practice gratitude, and the reason you may have struggled to do so is that you have not yet found a version that resonates with you. Look no further. You will discover it in this episode.

EP 82: Your Great Sleep Formula with Bijoy John, MD

Cool things you'll learn about - Dr Bijoy John's formula for great sleep, nidra yoga, how sleep loss impacts your weight, the functions of the brain hurt that sleep deprivation, and women's hormones and sleep. It's a packed episode!

To find Dr. Bijoy John - head to Instagram dr.sleepfix and to your favorite bookseller for his new book Nobody's Sleeping.

EP 78: The Connection Cure - How Relationships Help Your Health

Picture this: You go out with a couple of friends over the weekend and have a ton of fun.

Then on Monday you're at your doc's office. You get a great report and your doc says "Whatever you're doing, keep it up."

Believe it or not, the two are related. In this episode you'll learn the research about how relationships impact your wellness and three creative tools I've found to help you grow and deepen your friendships. The goal may be fun ... the bonus is a healthy body.

Here are the resources I mention in the podcast -
https://www.werenotreallystrangers.com/

https://harveymackay.com/books/

https://www.letsroam.com/adventure_book/scratch_off_family_book

EP 77: Get Your Best Sleep - 3 Pro Tips

If you've been struggling to catch your zzz's, you're not alone.  About 60 million people, just in the U.S., don't get enough sleep.  Either because they stay up late, trying to cram in more activity -- or they go to bed, only to toss and turn.

I used to be one of them, too.

In this episode here's what you will discover ...
- Three easy tips to improve the quantity and quality of your sleep
- Why one bad night's sleep can lead to a streak of sleep-deprived days
- A simple microcommitment you can start TONIGHT for an instant sleep upgrade.

EP 55: Your Stress Stopping Toolkit: 3 Essential Planning Techniques

You've corralled the daily chaos, but you're still feeling overwhelmed.

You think, "It sounded do-able at the time," but now you're "over-committed".

Or you know you have several projects and people depending on you -- and you don't know where to focus first. Everything feels like it needs to be done right now.

Learn three easy essential planning techniques to get you free from stress.

EP 54: Three Mistakes People Make Trying to Get Out of Chaos

Discover how stress impacts your health and Intuitive Eating. Learn the 3 mistakes people make when trying to get out of a stress-filled survival mode. Find your 3 ways to slave the chaos that's causing your stress.

The resources I mentioned:

http://www.thevireolife.com/podcast/2023/2/9/ep-24-move-from-chaos-to-calm-by-mastering-your-stress

http://www.thevireolife.com/podcast/2023/6/7/ep-41-is-short-meditation-better-the-results-are-in

http://www.thevireolife.com/podcast/2023/8/2/ep-49-honor-your-hunger-to-feed-your-soul

EP 42: Sweet Escape - The Links between Stress-Diets-and-Food

How does stress and cortisol impact your craving for pasta, cookies, and other comfort food?

What does science say about whether dieting increases your cortisol?

Do certain foods help you handle stress?

Ultimately - What can you do in your life and food to lower your stress and enjoy your life?

http://www.thevireolife.com/blog/2018/4/18/5-herbs-for-stress-management

http://www.thevireolife.com/blog/2017/1/23/a-new-kind-of-stress-eatingthat-is-actually-beneficial

The DASH Diet to lower blood pressure