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Hello, you boldly unbounded soul ✨

Today at a glance:

• Mindful Meanderings — redesigning remote work life for calm success
• Inquiry of the Week — better align your day with your body's needs
• A day in the Life — how Rachel has designed her life for thriving

As a former tech startup leader turned solopreneur, I've learned that how we show up in life is how we show up in work.

Recently, I've been pondering: How can we design our days to cultivate calm, creativity, and peak performance?

See, I'm not a big of the either-or way of thinking. I'm more of an and kind of girl.

What I do know is that in the startup scene, it's easy to lose ourselves in the constant hustle with looming deadlines and dwindling runways. Sound familiar?

But what if we could redesign our routines to prioritize our wellbeing without sacrificing success?

It starts with the understanding everything is interconnected. And it revolves around a holistic lifestyle. Building remote companies, coaching, and refining my lifestyle design have revealed three truths:

• Remote work offers the freedom and flexibility to design a thriving life without compromising your career. I've witnessed this among hundreds of clients, leaders, and coworkers. It creates happier, more productive, and higher-trust teams.
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• Remote workplace design is the key to nurturing an equitable culture that inspires people to achieve extraordinary results (and love doing it). I've learned how to build people-centric, remote startups from scratch and scale them with intention so teams can holistically thrive and hit business goals.
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• Self-leadership (and development) is often neglected, yet it’s arguably the most important skill you can have. Research shows self-leadership is an opportunity to redesign how you live and lead to support your team’s, and your own, wellbeing. It improves company performance, too.

So what's it like being a founder—currently a solopreneur—of a remote company? Is it the same as leading at remote companies, or do I just sit at the beach all day? 😉

Well, today you're in for a special type of post—a peek into how I've redesigned my day to prioritize my nervous system, overcome mental blocks, and make meaningful progress as a boot-strapped, one-person team.

the story of boldly unbounded​
​ — how i went solopreneur

If you don’t know my story yet, here’s a quick recap. In 2015, I made the bold decision to change my career from international education to operations in a globally distributed EdTech startup.

In 2017, I made another bold decision. Pick up my life in San Francisco and move to my soul place—Spain.

No job. No plans. Just life.

I started my first coaching business and then started leading the People & Culture function at remote companies. Then in August 2023, I made my most recent bold decision: to start my own remote company.

What started as a side project, quickly turned to full-time work when the tech bubble burst. Little did I know, that this leap of faith would catapult me into the work I had been dreaming of for years.

the morning ritual ​
​ — for focus and alignment

My morning is sacred. It's all about mind, body, and soul awareness. It has been for years—as a founder and leader at remote companies.

I start with the body—a run along the beach, stretching, strength training, or yoga for 45 to 60 minutes. Movement helps me get out of my mind and into the body. To check in with my energy level and underlying emotions related to my hormonal cycle and circadian rhythm.

Then, I move to the mind with a 10-15 minute, seated or walking mindfulness practice. It allows me to become more aware of physical sensations, emotions, and thoughts. I bring what I observe into the next step, moving to the soul.

The soul is where I connect deeply with my Higher Self.

The one that is in alignment with who I really am.

My truth.

My intuition.

It’s where I take ownership of the life I create. I journal gratitude and goals, read them aloud, and visualize them as if they already happened.

Why visualize?

Visualization relates to cognitive behavioral theory and research shows visualization strengthens focus, improves goal achievement, boosts creativity, and cultivates wellbeing and self-confidence. Visualization has become a popular practice for high-performing athletes and CEOs.

Overall, the morning ritual creates my baseline for the day, so I can:

• Offer self-compassion throughout the day. Being a founder or leader is hard.
• Confirm what I can achieve in the workday based on my energy and focus levels.
• Honor my personal needs to prevent burnout.

The outcome?

I practice sustainable work habits that foster productivity, flow, and enjoyment.

Work should be fulfilling (and fun)!

focus work
​ — aligned with energy levels

Speaking of work habits—I love, love, love mindful productivity topics! I've been obsessed for years because hours worked do not mean high-impact results.

I focus on energy management instead of time management, scheduling focus work during my highest energy levels linked to my monthly hormonal cycle and daily circadian rhythm, paired with mindful productivity frameworks.

But first, let's not forget my very real love for (or maybe addiction to) espresso. And the fact I live in Europe, where morning coffee is sacred.

I do daily planning at a neighborhood coffee shop, after taking 5-10 minutes to have a meaningful connection with my “coffee community,” the baristas, neighbors, and fellow coffee aficionados. I cherish this part of my day because living abroad can be incredibly lonely. If you’ve been living abroad for a while, you might understand the feeling of no longer having one home.

Lacking a sense of true belonging.

A universal human need we all have.

Why does it matter? Having human connection—a community—is critical to your wellbeing. You can actually co-regulate your nervous system by connecting with other calm people.

So, how do you connect?

How does it make you feel?

How do you want your community to feel?

Okay, back to planning. My philosophy is to focus on impact first. Before diving into focus work, I review the # 1 priority for the day, related tasks, coaching sessions, and other operational to-dos.

Then, I make my way to my nature-inspired coworking (check it out below!) and get into flow state using binaural beats. Writing articles and social posts, working on projects for remote companies, or strategic planning and program design.

When I look up, it's lunchtime. I bike home to eat with Chinmay (my husband). We reserve an hour for each other. To eat. To Connect. To rest or take a short walk on the Rambla de Poblenou.

This break helps reduce context switching and creates a natural break in the day to recover any accrued physiological stress before coaching and meetings.

the afternoon ritual​
​ — for connection

Coaching is all about holding safe space at the right energetic frequency (beyond coaching skills) for clients so they can experience meaningful breakthroughs.

I set aside 30 minutes post-lunch to move into a coaching mindset. It includes:

• Rereading past coaching sessions' notes for the day's clients,
• Clearing, calming, and centering the mind to be fully present with my clients, and
• Reconnecting with myself and the energetic space I want to hold them.

This ritual flows into 2-3 private coaching sessions from my home office, followed by learning, analytics tasks, and an end-of-workday wrap-up on the terrace.

the evening ritual​
​ — for body, mind, and soul

If your mind is anything like mine, it's hard to disconnect from work. I love the work I do, and I'm ambitious. I want to make an impact through my career.

This love-ambition combination can lead to stellar work, but it can also lead to overworking.

Lying awake at 3AM thinking about how to solve the latest challenge. Sound familiar?

The antidote?

Carve out 30-60 minutes to disconnect, relax, and recharge. Even if the only thing I want to do is sit on the couch and watch a TV series, I still do it. I leave my phone at home and get out of the apartment.

Some days, I go to the beach, take off my shoes, and walk barefoot in the sand. It's a simple way to physically ground myself—moving back into the body instead of living in my mind.

Other days, I may do something that I love just for fun. Surf skate. Snorkeling. Gaming. Gardening. Hanging with friends. Something that invites play into my day.

After returning home, I like to give the apartment a chill vibe.

Opening the windows for fresh air.

Dimming the lights.

Diffusing essential oils.

Listening to music—right now I’m into Spotify’s Background Blues playlist—while I cook dinner.

Another mindfulness practice where I can be fully present, and curious without judgment.

These small details can transform a space into a sanctuary for relaxation and rejuvenation.

After dinner, I start my bedtime routine. Can be an episode or two of TV, followed by playing with Raymond 🐈, getting ready for bed, and reading fiction.

Before I fall asleep, I do a 3-minute body scan and self-compassion practice.

It's the perfect way to end the day and clear out any residual stress, self-judgment, and difficult emotions so that tomorrow can start fresh.

design your lifestyle​
​ — for thriving

You might have noticed that lifestyle design is all about returning to the body, mind, and soul.

It creates consistent access to your higher self.

To align with your values, listen to your inner guidance, and act in integrity with yourself.

It contributes to a healthy body. A healthy mind. To higher life satisfaction. To self-leadership.

And the good news? It's always available to you.

All you need is to design your lifestyle to unlock it. It’s a gradual process that takes time to find what works.

But it's always there waiting for you.

So, how can you start? Start with designing simple lifestyle experiments. Here are four tips to help you experiment with lifestyle design:

• Start small. Don't try to change your entire day or life at once. Pick one thing and when you've integrated it, move to the next one.
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• Use design thinking frameworks. They help explore new, radical ideas you normally would never think of. This is where the magic lies.
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• Develop hypotheses. How do you expect the experiment to affect your life? Your leadership? Write down your hypothesis, and as you experiment, record what you learn.
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• Take time to listen to yourself. Lifestyle change isn't how about measuring numbers (though it can help at times). It's about learning to listen to yourself. What is your body telling you? Your emotions? Your thought patterns? Take time to interpret and reflect on them.
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• Experiment and PLAY A LOT. One of the best ways to find out what works for you is to find out what doesn't. It’s not about getting something perfect. It’s a gradual process and each experiment will offer clarity.

You’ll see that lifestyle design creates ripples throughout various aspects of your life. It’s a beautiful process that elevates all aspects of your work and life.

If you’re embarking on this journey and you're feeling stuck, DM me.

Until next week,

Make calm your cornerstone.