What are you totally obsessed with right now?

This is the blog post where I pretend for a hot second that I am being interviewed by the one and only real talk guru Nicole Antoinette. If you have not already discovered her gritty and down-to-business long form podcast called Real Talk Radio, go take a listen! If you're a big enough fangirl/fanboy, then you can support her podcasting endeavors through Patreon (link is on her podcast page).

Just for funsies, I'm answering a conglomeration of the questions that she likes to ask her guests, most of which are pulled from her  "community questions". These questions were dreamed up by her listeners, then hand picked by Nicole to include in her podcasts.

So here is a glimpse of what it would be like if I were on Real Talk Radio!

Q1. What are you totally obsessed with right now?
A1: The 4 hr work week by Tim Ferriss. Although I cannot execute his recommended plan as a grad student (aka indentured servant), I LOVE all his thoughts on effectiveness vs. efficiency, how to manage your work affairs (e.g. do not check e-mail before 11 am), and his guidelines for creating "dreamlines". I'm a total sucker for this kind of book!

Q2: One habit that you would love to break, or one habit that you would love to build?
A2: Right now I'm am trying my best to build a meditation habit. I'm getting help from two different iphone apps, Breathe and Headspace. I'm not sure which one I like better quite yet, so I'll keep using both of them for a while. I'm trying to do a short meditation (3-10 mins) both morning and night.

Q3: What does self care look like for you?
A3: Respecting my bedtime and the time around my bedtime. I am a SUPER light sleeper and have always had sleep issues. When I am intentional about my bedtime habits, I can somewhat improve my sleep.

Q4: Who are your favorite 2-3 people to follow on social media?
A4: Oooo, this is a tough one, but I have some clear favorites! I'm a big fan of instagram,  so I'm going to stick to that platform for this answer. I love @pumpkintheraccoon. If you haven't seen this already, you're welcome. I also love @gymnasticbodies. Damn, the human body can do amazing things! So inspiring.

Q5: When you look ahead at the next couple of months, what are you most excited about?
A5: I suppose I am most excited about prospect of feeling fit and strong again. I've been in such a slump for so long, and I feel like I'm finally taking the actions to dig myself out of the hole. I'm also traveling to the west coast to see my family this summer--excited to see some real mountains!

Q6: What is one thing in your life that is no longer serving you that you need to let go of?
A6: This is a tough one. This answer might fall under the label of habit breaking, but I would say my attachment to my phone. I know I spend >1hr/day doing totally mindless phone browsing. While I love parts of it (e.g. selecting my insta filter), I know that I use it as a crutch at times. So maybe the answer to this is really 'phone time where I am purposefully avoiding something else'.

Q7: Which 2-3 books have had the biggest influence on you?
A7: The book Quiet by Susan Cain is one easy one. I talked about this in a blog post earlier this week. Amazing book. My other top books are Daring Greatly by Brené Brown, which I feel like is cliché to say, but I read it a couple years ago, before all the hype. I also love this book called Meditation by Eknath Easwaran. He does an amazing job explaining the benefits of mediation, how to do it, and he tells great stories along the way. I've read it several times.

Q8: What is your guilty pleasure?
A8: LA CROIX!!! I love the coconut and passion fruit flavors!!!

Q9: What's your favorite thing to give as a gift?
A9: Handmade jewelry. Either from a local studio, Etsy, or made by me.

And that's a wrap! Readers, I would love to read a similar blog post from YOU!