My palms have been sweating the entire time I have been drafting this post. I have this nervous feeling in my stomach that reminds me of the feeling of trying to sleep the night before Disneyland as a kid. Something big is just around the corner. You guys, I have planned a September that is going to knock my socks off.

Okay, let me back up.

I realized that I am at a unique position in my life right now. I have an amazing job that allows me to be flexible about where I am. I do not have any children or a house or any belongings I have to be accountable to. My friends are scattered all around the world and don’t need my proximity for our relationship to be awesome. And I am lucky enough to have an incredible partner who gives me the freedom to fly and do my own thing.

What a perfect time to run away from the world for a month.

I’m dead serious. I am running away – from obligations, from my crazy schedule, from people.

I’m heading up to an Airbnb in a small town outside of Prescott, AZ where I don’t know anyone. I’ve cleared my calendar for the month and I do not have a single social obligation for all of September. Not one.

There are metaphorical tumbleweeds roaming the pages of my bullet journal right now, not a plan in sight!

I cannot even begin to tell you how much that excites me and fills me with panic at the same time. Ever since I knew how to keep a planner (probably 10 years old), I have been filling the pages with obligation after obligation. I am always planning.

In fact, empty spots on my calendar give me a bit of anxiety. I am always fearful that I forgot about something I was supposed to do because it is honestly impossible that I have an entire Sunday afternoon to do nothing. Impossible. 

I cannot fathom what it is going to be like to have an entire month where I can make things up as I go. I’ve never experienced that before. I have filled my life with thousands of obligations and commitments to everyone and their moms.

I’m running away. I am taking the time away for myself to detox, reset, and reflect on how to become a better version of myself.

I will, of course, still be working and running my business, but I have some big goals and I needed this time away to make them happen.

My September Commitment

I am having a lot of fun making and KEEPING promises to myself right now. So, might as well go all in.

Body Detox

To be honest, I have been a little off track with my plant based diet. As in, completely off the wagon (although I still don’t eat meat). My road trip was full of goldfish and oreos and so much candy it would make a dentist faint.

Plus, I have been reading a lot about how much diet impacts mental health. More specifically, how much caffeine and sugar can impact anxiety. Plus, my caffeine addiction has gotten out of control. So, for the month of September, I am giving up:

• All caffeine
• Sugar (minus the 1 g in my protein shake :P)
• Alcohol and drugs
• Dairy and processed foods

I am hoping that the detox will break my coffee habit and improve my anxious tendencies.

Social Detox

As I mentioned earlier, I am well overdue for some me time. Serious me time. I am staying in a place that will keep me purposefully secluded and away from most social situations. Of course, I am a bit nervous about the loneliness that is going to come up for me. However, I truly think the most beautiful growth happens when we are uncomfortable. I look forward to the challenge of loneliness.

I am also pumped about dropping social media. Okay, not entirely. I do understand the importance of my social media accounts for my business and connecting with y’all. So, I am cutting myself back to 15 minutes a day and zero social media on Sundays.

Okay, I do NOT have that kind of self control. So I am using some extra tools to help me restrain myself. I am deleting the apps from my phone entirely. Yikes! Then, I am using the app Freedom  on my computer to block my ability to use social media after my time is up.

With only fifteen minutes, that is enough time to check all of my messages and reply to comments, but that’s all. I won’t have much time for checking in on other people, but that’s what I need right now. A ton of my friends travel and the FOMO can be real sometimes. I don’t need the distraction.

Please note, it may appear that I am on more often throughout the month, but know that I will still be allowing my time for pre-scheduling posts. Plus, I have a lot of robots running things. (Sorry, not sorry) I would highly suggest this for all small business owners!

Work Detox

All jokes aside, I am a recovering workaholic. It sounds like a bragging point, but I am not proud of it. At all. I let my obsession with work keep me from building strong relationships in the past. It nearly killed me trying to get through college. I was working two jobs while going to school and was actually forgetting to eat. Not okay!

As a small business owner who still needs to work full time, I find myself working late into the night and all hours of the weekend. Building a business definitely takes a lot of work and I am not trying to shy away from any of it. However, I do need to take care of myself.

I am establishing healthy boundaries with my work. My laptop will be shut down by 8:00 pm at the very latest each day and I am not allowed to work on Sundays.

Gulp.

Y’all, this is honestly the hardest one. I am absolutely fearful of what I am going to do with all this free time. I have a huge stack of books and I may even watch TV. I may watch movies! Things are getting wild over here!

I know, it is a little funny. Most people are trying to cut back on TV and I am trying hard to encourage myself to enjoy more of it. Really, just more down time. I have got to get better at turning work off and letting my brain relax.

Vision Boards and Affirmations

I am a big advocate of affirmations and mantras. I used to be really good at posting sticky notes around my home or writing notes to myself on my mirror. The constant reminders of my goals or whatever attitude I was trying to embody really helped me.

I have become a bit lax on this lately. So, I am going a bit wild with it.

My bedroom walls are going to be covered with visual posters I can add to for all my big dreams and goals. I will be rewriting my fears. I am plastering papers on the wall with prompts like, “I am successful because ____” so I can add to them throughout the month.

Affirmations and visualization will be front and center in my life. Every. Single. Day.

Please, comment your favorite mantras and affirmations below so I can add them to my colorful September.

Committing to Myself

If you are following me on Instagram, I have been chatting a lot about my desire to get into running. It is not that I actually care to be a runner. I really don’t. But I am committed to breaking down all the lies I say about myself.

For example, I like to proclaim that, “I just can’t run.”

I’m busting that myth wide open and proving myself wrong. I am recommitting to my daily yoga practice and gym schedule. And I will be running. FIVE DAYS A WEEK.

I know that I don’t need to push myself this hard. But again, I am at a time in my life where I have no excuses. I don’t need to be accountable to anyone but myself. I will take full advantage of this opportunity to better myself in any way I can.

So, by the end of September, I will be a runner.

I am committing to myself, to my goals and my dreams. This crazy plan of mine has been entirely crafted by myself, no one else got to have an opinion.

I love my friends and family and this crazy life I live. But I love myself too and I am committed to taking this time for myself. By bettering myself, I can show up to all my future commitments and relationships as my best self.

What’s your commitment?

Listen, I have this crazy opportunity to go above and beyond in the month of September. I know I have some pretty blessed circumstances. However, YOU are just as capable of making a big commitment for the next month.

What do you need to give up? What do you need to take on? Can you make ONE thing the focus for your September, to come out on the other side a better version of who you are right now?

I have friends enjoying “Sober September” in order to cut back on their marijuana usage. Others are committing to scheduling time for themselves once a week. A student of mine is committing to at least one yoga pose a day. That’s it.

Comment your commitment below and cheer each other on. By voicing your commitments to someone else, you are one step closer to following through with it.

I would actually LOVE to cheer you on, but I am not going to be on social media much. Instead, you should email me (taryn@theremotyogi.com) and let me know what you are doing for the month. I promise to personally check in and be a cheerleader for you.

Step up with me this month and let’s aim for a better tomorrow!

You inspire me,