Working from anywhere, living "the dream" & staying on top of your healthy routines

Want to travel and experience life to the fullest and still maintain your health and fitness routines? Does this "work from anywhere" lifestyle seem ideal in theory, but just isn't working out in the way you hoped because everything just feels (and tastes lol!) like vacation? Learn the best hacks to help you maximize travel, work from anywhere and still get shit done and maintain your health and fitness.

Episodes mentioned:
- Using Light (Sunlight, Blue Light & Red Light) to Optimize Health | Huberman Lab Podcast #68
- Master Your Morning Self Love & Sweat THE PODCAST Episode #56

Timestamps to help you navigate this episode:
(0:00) Intro

(1:05) "Living the dream"

(2:22) Working from anywhere, get shit done & stay fit

(3:56) Home office - yay or nay?

(6:48) Intention and flexibility

(12:25) Honoring the struggle

(14:52) 3 versions/variations of myself

(18:48) Circadian rhythm and your sleep wake cycle

(23:50) 3M Formula for morning routines

(26:38) Working out with what you have where you are

(31:24) Eating healthy while traveling

Transcript

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Lunden Souza: [00:00:00] Welcome to Self Love and Sweat. The podcast, the place where you'll get inspired to live your life unapologetically, embrace your perfect imperfections, break down barriers and do what sets your soul on fire. I'm your host, Lunden Souza. Hey, friend, it's me. Lunden. 

[00:00:22] Souza Online Lifestyle Transformation Coach. I help people all over the world just like you who know they are meant for more. Get their mind right and their body tight and go from crazy busy to crazy happy. And hey, if it's our first time meeting, welcome. So happy to have you. And if you've been with us for a while, it's so great that you're here too. I'm really excited to share this episode of the Self Love and Sweat podcast with you. Hello. Hello. Welcome back to the podcast. Today we're talking about a very cool, important, powerful topic, one that if it's for you, you'll know it's for you. And if it's not, maybe you'll get a little bit out of it if you just are interested and want to tune in anyway. But this is what I am all about and this is what I've been working on in my life for the last, I would say like 13 years, really being able to work from anywhere in the world, visit my family whenever I want and still make maximum impact with my God given purpose. That has been my wife for the last six, seven years. And I'm actually in the process of digging deeper in that y and changing it just a little bit because I feel like I am actually living in the why I created, which is so amazing.

Lunden Souza: [00:01:57] It's such a great feeling to be able to look back and be like, Yeah, I stood up and protected this why? And went after it for the last seven years and now I finally feel like I have. I got exactly why I started right. And so now I'm kind of like, Oh, I want to deepen that a little bit more. But my Y has always been to be able to work from anywhere in the world, like I said. And so today what I want to talk about is being able to work from anywhere and still get your stuff done that needs to be done. So being able to make that shift and work from anywhere, whether it's at home, whether it's a staycation, Airbnb, whether you decided to live three months abroad or whatever, really being able to get there, set up, get your stuff done, and then still maintain healthy and fit habits and routines because if you want to live that lifestyle, it can't be constant smorgasbord, especially if you want to stay fit and healthy and in your flow. So that's what we're going to be talking about today specifically, is being able to work from anywhere, still get your stuff done and still feel like you are continuing with your workout routine. Continue to eat meals that fuel you and help you feel good and not have it be so disconnected like work or vacation.

Lunden Souza: [00:03:16] It's like work nation and it kind of flows together. So this has been something that's always been on my heart. I've wanted this lifestyle for a very long time. I have prayed for it, meditated on it, really imagined it, did whatever I could to cultivate and create that. And that was well before COVID. But then COVID came and a lot of people had the opportunity to work from home or work from anywhere. And even today, I know a lot of people are still in that hybrid zone, or maybe some of you are like, Hey, I loved that. And I went after that remote working environment and I only work for a remote and I can work from anywhere like that's super, super cool, super, super cool too. Like, wherever you're at is great. Even if you're like, you know, COVID forced me to work from home and now I am and I don't really enjoy it. Hopefully some of these tips will be valuable for you. In fact, I know that if you really kind of open your mind and open your heart, you'll find something that's valuable in this episode. And if you are like, Yes, I want to be able to work from anywhere. I want to be super productive. I want to experience life, I want to experience other places. I still want to stay fit and healthy.

Lunden Souza: [00:04:22] I still want to get stuff done right, because this can be sometimes challenging. You know, working from anywhere is like sexy in theory, but it's not so sexy when you feel lack of motivation or you feel like you're procrastinating or you feel like you're out of flow or you don't have your specific tools and the things that make you feel good and that you need available, right? So it's really cool to do this work and if you're listening and you're like, Oh my gosh, this is so for me, take some notes, write some things down, either in a note on your phone or on a notebook. This is really going to be heavy detail stuff because this is also something I'm going through in my life at the moment and I feel like I've really grasped grasp it. And then I also had some conversations about this topic over the last couple of weeks. I just feel like it's really prominent in my life navigating that space. And then also I'm hearing from other people that they're kind of struggling that in that space too. So it's been cool to have some of those conversations too. So like I said, working from anywhere can be sexy in theory, but trust me, it's so much sexier when you feel like you can go from one place to another or switch your hats quickly and effectively and take that time to strategize what does being productive, getting stuff done, and being fit and healthy look like when I'm here, when I'm here, when I'm here and not feeling like it has to be cookie cutter the same everywhere, right? So maybe that's a light bulb moment for you where you're like, Oh yeah, trying to make this lifestyle work over here.

Lunden Souza: [00:05:50] But there'll be some areas we'll go over today that you can hone in on and put some intention on no matter where you might be. Right. You can go through these as kind of like a checklist if you want to. So if you want to explore and travel and work from. Anywhere and do long weekend getaways and still feel like you're lining it up and knocking it down, doing your work, working it out in working out and working in. When it comes to our workouts and then also like our mindset and all the tools that are really important for us to have and be able to take with us anywhere. The two things that we really need, like really the two key theme words for this episode I would say are intention and flexibility. It isn't just like, okay, yeah, I want to work from anywhere and I get to be my own boss and life is grand and just everything's going to work out perfect. When I want to work here for this weekend or I want to work from this coffee shop, or I'm at this hotel or I've, you know, whatever, like.

Lunden Souza: [00:06:48] We need intervention and flexibility. We need to be able to hone in. Make. You know, I really make that transition quick, make the distraction less, make the downtime less. And that's really what I want to share with you today. So sorry if I lost my train of thought for a second. I do have notes here up on the computer and I also have some notes here in front of me on paper. So if you're watching this video, you'll see me glance kind of to the side or down from time to time because yeah, it's kind of funny, you know, for most podcast episodes, I'll take some notes or make some bullet points, but I really feel like most topics that I talk about on the podcast fitness, health, wellness mindset, a lot of those things I really can talk about clearly and concisely and cohesively, and I feel like it really flows, or at least I hope it does. If you're listening and you're like, it does not flow, let me know. But I think for the most part I can. And for this particular topic, as I was planning it out, I'm like, Oh, there's a lot of moving parts to this and there's a lot of clarity. I want to make sure that I have. And so I actually have a ton of notes here on the computer and on paper more than I normally would have.

Lunden Souza: [00:07:58] And I actually spent a couple of days just like taking notes, thinking about this topic, leaving myself audio and voice notes to kind of listen back to. So that way I can really make sure that everything I share today is super valuable and really, really clear and helpful in your life. Just as just as it's been in my life and the lives of my clients too, because I have a lot of clients that work from anywhere or are even retired and want to still maximize their time and maximize what they're doing to make an impact. So let's go into OC. So next here on my notes I have about the conversation I recently had with a friend. So one of our neighbors here where I live in Southern California, my cousin actually works for him and so my cousin was visiting. So I went up to my neighbor's house and we were just all hanging out, talking about health and fitness and wellness and just kind of like I just feel like, yeah, I'd like to think that people are talking about fitness, health and wellness regularly, but I find that that's a common theme of conversation and topic. When I'm in the room, people will ask questions and that the topic generally goes in that direction. And so we were talking about how at their house in Southern California, which is where we are now, we were hanging out there and then a few weeks ago we were in North Carolina, which is where I've been splitting my time.

Lunden Souza: [00:09:19] My boyfriend lives in North Carolina, so I've been doing like three weeks in California, three weeks in North Carolina, and going back and forth. And one time I happened to be in North Carolina about a month ago or three weeks ago, and this neighbor and his family, they were there, too. And I work with one of his daughters one on one periodically when I'm in when I'm in town and we can work together in person. And so they happen to be in North Carolina in the same town where I was. And so I picked her up for the day and we went to brunch and just kind of like hung out. And then when I came back to their hotel, I was talking with them a little bit and they were in the lobby. They had all their computers set up and all the tables kind of pushed together with their paperwork and all of this, like very much real life awesome family who yeah, they run a business where they can run it from anywhere. Sometimes they have to travel to go different places to be present for that. But for the most part, it's like, Whoa, cool. Seeing people just like me setting up shop, kind of on vacation doing they're doing their wedding family thing and then still making time to check in. You open up the laptop, do the work and get stuff done because that's the lifestyle that they live and kind of choose to live too.

Lunden Souza: [00:10:27] And so we were talking about that in California. We were like, Oh yeah, I just saw you in North Carolina. Now we're in another state in California. That's cool. And like we're just kind of talking about the yeah, just kind of like the irony. Like who would have thought that we would be in two different states? And so we were also talking to about the hotel. He's like, Yeah, I didn't really like that hotel we stayed at. I didn't feel like there was any good food nearby. Their gym wasn't that good, and I was like, Oh yeah, next time you come, if you ever come, this is the hotel to stay at. This is the hotel that has like the great beds, the one that has the great gym. There's a peloton in that gym, too, because he and I both really liked the peloton and I know that. And so it was really a moment where he was saying, like, Yeah, I travel. Like I can travel. I want to experience and travel and see new places with my family. In theory, I should be able to because I can work from anywhere and like set up shop from anywhere. But he was struggling because he's like, Oh, I just always lose my flow when it comes to fitness. I'm like eating everything because I don't know where, like the healthy and good places to go are or, you know, I'm not working out because the gym is not what I'm used to having.

Lunden Souza: [00:11:29] And so basically it was a struggle of like, I like things to be the way they are so I can stay in flow. But then you could tell there was still a little bit of struggle because it's like, Yeah, I kind of want to travel, I kind of want to go places like I don't want to be homebound just because I want my health and fitness and wellness routines to stay perfect, right? So yeah, it was just a cool conversation and it was like kind of in the middle of me and it is actually happened in the middle of me really finding that ground in both. California and North Carolina, which is where I've been splitting my time. I've been doing like three weeks on California. Three weeks in North Carolina. I also have plans to spend about a month in Mexico at the end of the year and about a month in Costa Rica at the beginning of the year. And so my lifestyle is very much by choice, but also sometimes with a little like a little struggle, I would say is by choice. You know, I want to be nomadic. I want to be able to work from anywhere and kind of set that up. And sometimes I found myself, especially recently going from California to North Carolina, feeling a little bit of a struggle because I was like, okay, my habits and my routines and all the things I'm used to in California are not working in North Carolina.

Lunden Souza: [00:12:38] From the timing of what I'm going to do to what I'm actually going to do to where I'm going to do it. And I just found a little bit of angst in my body and a little bit of discomfort because I just love being able to have my habits and routines. And so it didn't take me long to realize I was really taking like all the things I would do in California and trying to, like, cookie cutter stamp them into North Carolina. And that was not going to work. And I was going to need to break it down a bit by bit and be like, okay, what are the key things that are super, super important? The non-negotiables that you would love to have everywhere you are, no matter where you're working from, no matter what that looks like, and how can you adapt that and change it and make it work more for North Carolina and then make it work more for California and then also have a system that works kind of anywhere. Right. And so that's really what I've been working on over the last I would say, you know, I started going to North Carolina regularly about ten months ago. And so I would say, you know, the first few months, it was just more fun.

Lunden Souza: [00:13:37] It felt like vacation, you know, all that good stuff. But then when it really was like, okay, I'm going to spend half my time in California and half my time in North Carolina. Yeah, work needs to be done. Workouts need to be done. It's not just like fun party, you know? It is fun. It is so much fun being in North Carolina. I love my life. I love that I really am the owner of my time and can do a lot of the things that I want to do and like work still needs to be done right in both locations. So it was like after like some of the stuff started to simmer and die down. It was like, okay, yeah, I really need to find my flow habits and routines that exist here and that also exists here. So I think the best way to provide value in this episode is to share exactly step by step what I've really done and the clarity I've sought and kind of go through my own personal life and experience and share that with you. And then if anything comes up, you know, my DMS are always open. You can hit me up @lifelikelunden on Instagram. I'm always there, like, let me know if anything comes up for you or if there was an aha moment or thought something stood out to you, or if there's something else you would add that would be helpful.

Lunden Souza: [00:14:40] Or if there's a better way that you think I could provide more value on this topic. If you have even further questions, let me know. Okay. So one of the things that I got really clear about is there's kind of like three versions of Lunden when it comes to this particular topic. When I'm in California, I like to spend about 4 to 6 days at my parent's house so I can get a lot of love and time with my family and my niece and be there to hang out with her and go swimming and do all these fun things and also babysit her. She's four. Give my parents and my brother a little bit of a break and just be there to be a part of her life. So that's my parents house. And then I have I'm in Southern California as well, so my parents live in central California. The geography is not important, but California is pretty big. So it's about a five hour drives difference. And when I'm in Southern California, yeah, I'm here with the family that I live with who is really like an extended family of me, even though we're not blood. The woman who owns the house, she's more like a sister to me. I freaking adore her. So when I'm here in this place in Southern California, it's all about getting work done, being productive, getting stuff done ahead, and then also being able to be there for her and help.

Lunden Souza: [00:15:52] Like yesterday we cleaned out the fridge, got stuff ready for their new RV that they bought for a camping trip, went grocery shopping, cleaned out some stuff. I just like being supportive in her life like that and she's a great person. I love spending time with her and we do stuff like that. When I come back, we'll all be like, Hey, I don't have any calls today. I blocked out today. Like, What do we need to get done? Let's crush it. So that's another version, let's say. And then of course, when I'm in North Carolina, I'm with my boyfriend. I'm not just doing things on my own. I do spend a lot of time alone. I actually really enjoy it. And he and I both enjoy that time. So it's cool that we have a relationship where we can have both, but when I'm with him, I want to be with him and I want to be present. But I also still want to get stuff done. I still want to work out, I still want to have healthy nutrition and a lot of other things. So I started looking at them in three separate categories kind of, and really saying like, okay, you know, when I'm at my parent's house, I know there's like a few non-negotiables, right? Like I said, Family First and VIP clients first, VIP one. On one client's first.

Lunden Souza: [00:16:58] So I don't do any podcast recordings when I'm at my parent's house, I don't do any other extra calls or meetings that are not necessary. I'm not available to anything or anyone outside of my one on one clients and my family, and that's really important. I also don't really go anywhere when I'm at my parent's house, I stay there and if friends want to come visit or family, I'm just like, Hey, come on over, come on over. I just want to be at family's house and I don't want to be traveling a lot or driving a lot or going place to place, house to house to visit everyone. Everyone knows they can come and visit me. And then in Southern California, like I said, it's very much being more productive, getting things done ahead. I have access to a lot of great spaces here that I can film, like, you know, podcast stuff. I have a very quiet space up here. I can also do a lot of great things in the backyard. There's great places to hike. Also, when I'm in Southern California. Yeah, I'll talk about that a little bit more, what my workouts are like. And then, like I said in North Carolina, I just want to be able to check in with me and check in with my boyfriend and spend good time together. I also have a really great friend from college that lives about an hour from us in North Carolina.

Lunden Souza: [00:18:04] He lives in South Carolina and we hang out a ton. So I love to be there spending time with him too. So I really had to in the midst of the frustration and feeling like, Oh my gosh, I'm all over the place. I don't like I want to be present and I want to do this. So in the midst of all of that, I really had to get clear and be like, okay, is it possible that there's three different variations of your working from anywhere, getting stuff done and still being healthy and fit? Like can't what that looks like look different in each one of those places. And I asked myself that I'm like, Huh, yeah, I guess it could. Right? So I'm going to go through bit by bit a little of what that looks like for me and what points are important to think about no matter where you are. The first one, circadian rhythm. So that's going to be when you go to sleep and when you wake up, when you go to sleep and when you wake up, ideally it's like going to sleep as it starts to get dark and waking up as the light, as the sun comes up and there's a very natural circadian rhythm with the moon in the sun that happens, you know, where we are on Earth. And it's important to think about sleep and think about when am I going to go to sleep and when I'm going to wake up and have some intention in that.

Lunden Souza: [00:19:14] If you decide, okay, I'm on vacation, that's not what I mean. I'm talking about like when you go somewhere with the intention to still be productive and still get stuff done. And like sometimes I like to wake up in the morning and I'm like, okay, I want to work from 6 to 11 and then I want to go to the beach all day because I might be working from somewhere where there's the beach or whatever. So getting really clear on that and the circadian rhythm, 8 to 9 hours of sleep is super important for me, no matter where I am at, when I'm in California, at my parent's house or even on my own, I wake up a lot earlier. I wake up probably between four and 530 when I'm in California because my family, like my parents, my immediate family, when I'm staying with them, they all wake up super early. And then when I'm on my own, I like to wake up early. I like to wake up, I like to get stuff done. I like to get the bulk of my work done before, like 1:00 or so. So that way if I want to lay out or if I want to go for another hike or take the dog for a longer walk in the afternoon or run some errands or whatever I can. So for me, it makes much more sense to wake up super early when I'm on my own or I'm around others that wake up super early when I'm in North Carolina.

Lunden Souza: [00:20:20] It's a little bit different because, of course, or I should say it's a little bit different because it's 3 hours ahead from California time. So Eastern time is 3 hours ahead from Pacific Standard Time. So all of my calls and things I would normally do with people in a California time zone is all pushed ahead 3 hours. Right. So in California, normally my first call is around 839 ish, sometimes eight. But when I'm in North Carolina, it's 3 hours later. So it's like at 11 and my boyfriend and I, we wake up at seven. That's just been kind of what we were doing. And at first I was kind of like, Oh my gosh, should I wake up earlier? Should I set an alarm? Is he going to hear it and be annoyed? Like, what's the best way to do it? And then I kind of really had to like reality check myself and be like Lunden, be flexible. You can be flexible and intentional, which is the words that we talked about at the beginning of this podcast. And so for me it was like, okay, yeah, I don't really have anything to do. If I wake up earlier, of course I can find stuff to do. I always can, whether it's breathwork or meditation or foam rolling or computer work.

Lunden Souza: [00:21:23] Like there's always things I know that I can find to do and I'm like, I want to be here with my boyfriend. I'm only here for like three weeks at a time and I want to be able to wake up with him together and not feel like things are in a rush. Because I don't need to be in a rush, like for what you know. So that for me was really powerful because I was having a little bit of yeah, like internal dialogue of yeah, every time you come to North Carolina, Lunden, you're lazy or you're not doing, you know what I mean? Just kind of like this internal dialogue that I found was being like a little bit negative. And I'm like, No, I like it here. I. Love being in North Carolina. It's so beautiful. It's green, it's lush. I feel so amazing. And I want to love it here and I want to enjoy it here. So I'm going to find a way to be flexible and intentional and make and make it work for me. And so that's kind of the circadian rhythm, some things to point out that are really helpful that I learned from the Huberman Lab podcast, which I love. He does so, so many great science backed research based podcast, which I love, and just going outside in the morning, no matter where you are, even if you're outside or even just in front of a window, like I am like first thing in the morning, exposing your eyeballs to sunlight and getting out and like letting your eyes have that is very good for resetting, especially if you're in a different time zone.

Lunden Souza: [00:22:37] Right. Any adjustments and like that, jetlag, things like that can be real. And then also lights off in the evening, like trying not to get any light in your eyes. Like any light. I know we hear blue blockers and all these different types of lights, but the research that he suggests really shows that any light is going to be kind of annoying and detrimental to our sleep and our melatonin production. And so those are rules that I have always I pretty much always go to bed early, you know, between nine and ten, I would say, at the latest. And I'm waking up, like I said, between like four and seven, depending on where I might be. So keeping that in mind, no light in your eyes after ten, I think it's either ten or midnight, but I'm going with ten because I think earlier the better. And then when you wake up in the morning exposing your eyes to sunlight and getting that natural light, so your body's like, Oh, it's daytime, I'm awake. Those are great ways to get in the flow of having that circadian rhythm. The other thing is the morning routine. So the first one is circadian rhythm, like sleep time when those things are really important morning routine.

Lunden Souza: [00:23:39] So that goes with kind of the circadian rhythm and knowing when am I going to wake up in order to get the things done that make me feel the best and that I feel the best? So for those of you that have listened to any previous episodes or heard me talk about morning routines, it's very, very powerful, very important. And I have my three m formula to go from madness to magic in the morning and it's mindset movement and me time and plugging in to all three of those M's for as long as you want to or can or have available. And I noticed too, like in my morning routine in California, I usually wake up and I do some sort of like vigorous exercise because I have a garage gym with people who wake up early available to me. And then I also have a peloton bike that's available to me where it's like I just kind of wake up and that's my routine and that's really how I start and what I do. I also notice that I do more reading of like physical books as part of my morning routine when I'm in North Carolina, because I just yeah, I leave a lot of my physical books there. My boyfriend has a lot of physical books that I'll read through. He has a great library and I just feel like, yeah, that flow and kind of the time I've spent there, I can in my head imagine where my book sits, where I wake up in the morning, where I sit on the couch or I put my feet up and where I read my book.

Lunden Souza: [00:24:52] And that for me is very soothing and it feels great to be a part of my morning routine. So I still have a morning routine and all the locations, but I. I can make them different at my parent's house. Honestly, my morning routine is pretty sure it's like 30 to 45 minutes. If I wake up early enough, my niece usually wakes up pretty early about six or 630. And so yeah, so I just kind of spend more time just checking, checking in with myself, doing a quick 20 or 30 minute morning routine and then tapping into some work and emails and one on one client stuff just in case. So that way, by the time she wakes up, I can have breakfast with her and hang out with her and not be kind of distracted by those types of things. So in my brain, when I'm at my parent's house, it's less relaxing, it's more like, get up and go plug yourself in Lunden. So then you have like the energy, the energy and the power to play with the four year old all day and be involved and kind of be alive and be present and really show up. And so that's what kind of what my morning routine looks like.

Lunden Souza: [00:25:53] So you can choose that three morning routine. It can be whatever you want it to be. In North Carolina, we go on a really long walk in the morning, usually coffee, a little reading, a little silence, and then we'll go on a long walk either either by myself or my boyfriend and I will go together. Sometimes we'll go separately, depending on if we're like listening to an audiobook or working on something or want to listen to something that we find important. Or sometimes we'll be like, Hey, yeah, let's go together. That sounds fun. And we'll go together. So that could be the end for movement. When I'm in North Carolina, where the for movement might be more vigorous when I am in California. So morning routines, super important. The first one, circadian rhythm, super important and they can be different and change. Number three, workout. So working out is going to be important, right? It's not the only tool. We're not building all things with hammers and treating fitness like the end all be all tool for everything. But it's very important. And getting in our workout, no matter where we are, is going to be super important. I can't tell you how much trash I've gotten from people on social media throughout. The years from posting workouts while on vacation. Like I go to Cabo a lot to Mexico, and they have this amazing they have this amazing gym in the resort that we stay out.

Lunden Souza: [00:27:06] So I'll always work out there and I'll make videos and post them and people will be like, What the heck? You're supposed to be on vacation. Like, Why are you working out? No, working out is a powerful component to my life and I will never stop working out. I don't care if I'm on vacation or not. I know what my plan is. I know when my rest days are. I know how to work out from anywhere, whether there's a gym or not. And I'm going to make it happen because it makes me feel freaking good. And so this was one of the things that I had talked about with with the friends of mine and my neighbors about working out is like, och, yes, we know that we need to get a workout. And it's really important. Are we committing to bodyweight training workouts that are on the side of your bed in a hotel room? Because I've done that before and like the most narrow space ever, you know, you can do pushups, plank squats, wall sets, you can do a lot of stuff in a little narrow area of a hotel room. Right. Or it might be no, I want to stay at a hotel that has a good hotel gym. And that's something every time I'm staying at hotels, I'm looking for that. I'm like, okay, what is their hotel gym look like? Is there pictures on Yelp of the hotel gym so I can see it, what's available? And I generally am like, okay, if there's some cardio machines and dumbbells, I'm super happy.

Lunden Souza: [00:28:07] It doesn't need to be. You have a bunch of different machines, but if it does, great. If not, I just want to know that that's available for me. And then also some hotels, the gyms have weird hours, like sometimes they're open 24 hours, sometimes they don't open till seven. And so it's nice just to kind of know that as well. And then outside of vacation mode, let's say when I'm in California or North Carolina, my workouts are different too. And I've kind of just decided over the last few months that my workout routine is going to look like this. When I'm in North Carolina, we train at a CrossFit gym at CrossFit Asheville, and I'm doing a lot of heavier lifting because I have access to a lot of heavier weights that I don't have other places I don't really train at a gym otherwise. So when I'm there, I'm really focusing on lifting heavy, tracking my peers, making note of that progressive overload and just chiming in to what I can with those weights that are available there. And then when I'm back in California, whether I'm here in Southern California or at my parent's house, we have a really great garage gym setup which has a bunch of dumbbells. It has T-Rex, it has Bosu balls and stability balls and things like that.

Lunden Souza: [00:29:12] So I'll jump into more like 20 to 25 minute functional total body trainings. I'm still doing a lot of stuff for our, I should say, still isolating muscle groups here and there. But I'm more doing like two or three full body workouts per week and maybe like one leg day or one added shoulder day or whatever when I am in California, because that's what I have access to. Right? So ask yourself when I'm going to these different places, what do I have access to? Do I need to get down with the get down and do my body weight training in a little spot in my hotel room? Do I want to bring some bands or a T-Rex and other lightweight equipment that can easily travel with me? Do I want to double check that the hotel has the gym that I want? You know, and I don't know if anyone out here like pellets on. I really love Peloton. I have no affiliation with them. I just one of the trainers on there just totally fires me up and I love watching it and sweating with him. He's so great. And so I got really excited when I found out that the Kimpton Hotels have a peloton, so it's cool to stay at the Kimpton Hotels when you can and when we have that available to us, because I know there's going to be a peloton and I can continue to do my peloton workouts there.

Lunden Souza: [00:30:19] So these are things that I know because I want to know them, right? So if you don't want to know them, you don't have to know them. But if you want to be able to work from anywhere, get your stuff done and then still stay fit and healthy and all of that, that's going to be important. So yeah, when it comes to working out, just referring to my notes here really quick is the location, the style of workout, and then instead of feeling like, because this was me, I'm like, Oh, I was making all this progress in Asheville and now I'm going back to California. I don't have access to all these weights. I was like, No, I'm going to start tracking. I'm going to track all the workouts I do in Asheville. Then I'm going to come back. I'm going to come to California, do my thing, use my dumbbells, all that. Then I'm going to go back to Asheville. I'm going to do those workouts again. I'm going to see if I can lift heavier, see if I can do the workouts faster, see if I can rest less, see if I can make progress there. So I started to make it more of like a fun game for me instead of feeling like I was missing out or not making progress, you know? And this kind of three weeks on, three weeks off in terms of the training styles has been really helpful.

Lunden Souza: [00:31:15] I feel really good, I feel really strong and yeah, it seems to be working. So keep that in mind. Food the next one, very important, right? No matter where we are, we want to make sure that we are mindful about our food. And what I noticed too is in California, I eat a lot of the same things and I generally prepare it at home. So when I'm in California, I'm in creation mode. I'm, I'm in get shit done mode. I'm like trying to get work ahead and all that. And so usually what I eat, to be honest, is rice, beans and grains. That's what I call it. I do rice of some kind, beans of some kind and saute some greens of some kind. And I eat that a lot. Also eat like. A lot of breakfast foods like saute potatoes and eggs and vegetables and things like that, but it's pretty repetitive and it's mostly at home. I'll do like a Trader Joe's run and kind of get everything that I need for when I'm here. And then I just kind of focus more in on my work and have my nutrition. It still tastes good and everything. It's just like less dynamic, right? I know what I'm going to eat, I know what's available, and I eat it because it's there, not because I'm like craving something or whatever. So that's what I noticed about more in California now in Asheville, it's a foodie's paradise.

Lunden Souza: [00:32:27] The food is so good in Asheville. If you've never been to Asheville, North Carolina, I highly recommend going and I highly recommend trying all the food. It is so, so, so good. And so we like to eat out and it's cool to be back. We'll do like one meal at home that we cook in North Carolina and then we'll usually order takeout. And we, you know, there's some really great Mediterranean places, Indian places, some vegan, a vegan restaurant that has a great black bean burger that I love. So we found food that allows us to enjoy the food of Asheville. It allows us to still eat healthy and be in congruent with how we want to eat and how we want to feel. And then it's nice to have a little bit of convenience and not have to prepare it and just know you can go pick it up or have it delivered or whatever. And so at first, you know, Lunden's brain was like, oh, man, you know, am I messing things up because I'm eating out more than eating at home? And I was like, Well, pay attention. How are you feeling? You know, how is your sleep? How is your energy, how are your workouts? How's your body composition? Are things cool when you're still doing this? And they are and it's great. And it's been a really great experiment for me to not only physically but in my mindset too, to be like, Yeah, Lunden

[00:33:32] , it's cool to have, you know, a like that black bean burger that I love with jalapeno fries, you know? And then the next day I have an awesome Mediterranean salad and then, you know, have some Indian food.

Lunden Souza: [00:33:46] Like when I really looked at the food for what it was and how much I was eating and how I was still feeling great and everything, I'm like, It's no big deal. Like I was making it a big deal because I was trying to have control when really, if I just sat back and paid attention to what I know and what foods I know are great for me, and what's the ingredients in the foods that I know I'm eating, which, you know, is everything that I, I know and coach and teach and everything is to really be able to be in tune for you, right? And not have someone just tell you. So it was like, okay, Lunden, you always coach about how somebody shouldn't just tell you what to do. Now it's time to tune in and really think about, Okay, is this working? And I had to be like, Yeah, it is working because it is working. So I just realized, okay, when I'm in California, I'm just not eating out as much. And some of the restaurants I have access to, I will sometimes every now and then. But the food in Asheville is just way, way, way better, honestly.

Lunden Souza: [00:34:30] So I just would rather save my eating out time to be there. Because yeah, like I said, it's just so much more delicious. So keep that in mind. And then if you're traveling, you know, especially if you're traveling in America or maybe in Europe too, it's like I would always look for. So in America, I'll always look for like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. When I was in Europe, I would look for Aldi or it was Aldi. Yeah, that's a grocery store or like or spa. So like knowing where the grocery stores are, so it's like, okay, if I'm not going to eat out, where can I go get groceries that I at least know? Right. So Trader Joe's, they have them all over the United States, Spar and Lidl and Aldi. Like I said, those ones are really common in Europe and it's like pretty much not the exact same foods, especially if you're going to different countries, but it's like you'll find things that, you know, you can put together to make a meal or have a snack that you feel like is healthy and nutritious. So then it's not like you're eating out all the time, right? So those are things I always do. And then I know if I'm staying here in this hotel or this Airbnb or whatever, what's around there? Where are my healthy options where like the juice and smoothie bars, where like the mom and pop, you know, home owned coffee shops, because usually they'll have good like gluten free vegan fiber, rich muffins or something and those all.

Lunden Souza: [00:35:51] I get excited for those. So I just really am proactive. Instead of being like, Oh, there's nothing good. It's like, okay, remembering, okay, Mediterranean food, great cuisine, right? Indian food, great cuisine. To really have a lot of vegetables, a lot of protein and just all the all the good food groups. Right. So start to think a lot about that. And if that's an area you need to work on dining out, that's a whole component of the strong at Home for Women VIP access program that I run is like teaching people how to have a life and still eat out and still like shop mindfully without feeling like they're constantly like counting macros or need to weigh their chicken breasts at the grocery store or at the at the restaurant or whatever is really learning what to look for so that you can make it happen and not feel like you're missing it. Like like someone else needs to tell you you can make those decisions for yourself. So that's really helpful with food. So make that if it's important to you, make it important to you. Look for the nearest grocery stores, look for the restaurants type and healthy food on Yelp for the location you're going to be in. Look at the menu ahead of time.

Lunden Souza: [00:36:48] Start to think about cuisines that you know and love or things that maybe you make at home that you can maybe find somewhere else or find it. The. Grocery store. That's also why I love Airbnbs. Outside of staying at hotels, because you have the access usually to a bigger fridge, a stove, like other things that you can actually prepare meals and store leftovers and different things that you can't really do at a hotel. And it also just depends, you know, hotels have restaurants and things like that too. And who knows, maybe they have some really great options. But I think that it's helpful if you especially want to stay fit and healthy and on track to have an option to cook at home. And that's why I always love staying at Airbnbs or places that have little kitchenettes or something, or at least a bigger fridge than the little mini fridge that they have at hotels. But if you're just one person, sometimes that works and I've done that plenty of time where I've just gotten a bunch of berries and healthy snacks and different things and kind of Tetris fit into the mini fridge in a hotel. Definitely done that before. It's definitely possible. And you just got to think about it, just got to think about it. And then the last one I talk I want to talk about is more is I think the first four. So the circadian rhythm, the morning routine, our workouts, nutrition, I think that everyone can absolutely find value in this.

Lunden Souza: [00:38:02] And the next two are the last one is very specific to me. So let me know if this is helpful for you. If your lifestyle is like this and you want me to dig deeper into this, this can be helpful. Working ahead or figuring out which work hats you wear. Where does that make sense? So when I'm in Southern California, I'm wearing the podcast hat a lot. I'm wearing the let's get ahead and write a bunch of blog, blog posts, hat a lot. I'm trying to get as much things automated and set up to be done by the time I get to North Carolina, because when I get there, I don't want to be like, Oh, did I remember to upload that? Or Is that scheduled or is this I'd rather just focus on my clients and just focus on those calls and things like that. So that's kind of how I feel when I'm in California, and that's helpful because it allows me to feel like, Oh yeah, I'm getting things done, I'm getting ahead. So then when I am in North Carolina sleeping until seven, spending more time with my boyfriend, more time in conversation, wanting to spend more time outside of just being on my computer. Right. I actually can because I've done that here and that feels really good to it's been interesting learning the how to fulfill the doer in me and then also the relaxer because I know that they both exist.

Lunden Souza: [00:39:18] I just was fulfilled for so long by just the do do do that. I eventually was like, no, take a chill pill. But then I was like, okay, there is some fire in me that I want to use. There is some rocket fire to get shit done inside of me that I want to use. And it's so much more powerful when I take that time to relax. So thinking about that has been really powerful working ahead in Southern California. Very important because like I said, when I go to my parent's house, I don't want to have to focus on a bunch of tattoos outside of the very, very important things. And then, yeah, when I'm in North Carolina, I'm still taking clients, I'm still doing podcasts, I'm still doing videos and things like that. But it's not for a getting ahead process. It's more like, okay, what do I currently have and how can I make it better? Which videos need to be updated here and there, which ones are already working but could be even better? And so that's really where I found myself and I'll kind of finish it this particular point with this maybe you've heard me talk about on a previous episode, if you haven't, it's a really great episode. It's the perceptual positioning episode that I did with Aubrey Pohl, who's my mentor in NLP and basically in perceptual positioning, talks about their three different positions.

Lunden Souza: [00:40:31] There's like the first position, my position, there's be like your self, self oriented, let's call it then their second position, which would be others oriented or the other person's point of view. And then there's the zoomed out version, like the God's eye view, the bird's eye view in perceptual positioning. So I feel like when I'm in California, whether I'm at my parent's house or in Southern California, I'm very much in first and second position. I'm very much in like how I feel, what I need, how I can recharge and really get and execute and have that be done. And then I also feel like I'm very others oriented, wanting to be there for my mom and my dad and my brother and my niece and the family that I live with and really wanting to be in the trenches, helping them get stuff done, just being a part of that world. And so I feel very in tune with me and others. When I go to North Carolina, I feel like I get an opportunity to zoom out where it's like, okay, cool. I had all this time with others. Now I'm with person that I like totally adore and love and love spending time with and can totally relax and just like around. And it gives me an opportunity to zoom up and kind of look down and be like, Okay, cool. What did I get done when I was in California? How can I celebrate that? Did I miss anything? Is there anything I need to learn to be even better prepared for when I go back to California to crush out some other stuff? Right.

Lunden Souza: [00:41:49] So it's much more reflective, it's much more restorative and it's much more like a retreat. I would say where I'm really in the trenches. Really in the trenches when I'm in California. And then I'm really retreating and recovering and doing things a little bit different and slower when I'm in North Carolina. So it's been really cool and really helpful to unlock those different hats. And I share that with you because maybe this makes total sense where you're like, Oh my gosh, I feel like she's talking to me into my life. And maybe that is, but maybe you're like, Okay, my life doesn't exactly look like that, but I can see how what is being shared has been shared today can fit into me crafting what I want my life to look like. And so I want to continue to be able to work from anywhere in the world and just really optimize my time and environment and things like that. And yeah, I want to continue to do that and continue to provide value for that. The last thing that I want to mention, so I'm just going to do a quick recap and then this last point will be really quick because it's important to mention as well the circadian rhythm we talked about, morning routine workout food working ahead.

Lunden Souza: [00:42:58] And then the last one I'll talk about is set up to be remote and to be on the go. You have to know your setup. You need to know how to set it up. You need to have your set up and you need to not forget things in your setup, right? So for me, it's my computer, computer charger, this webcam that I have here that I attach to my computer and my microphone and my phone and my tripod, which I actually have right here. For those of you watching, you can see that, too. So these are literally the things and it's like, I don't want to forget the charging cables. I don't want to forget the plug in cable. I don't want to forget, you know, those important things. So it's really great to know your setup and know what you need if you find yourself like stressed out because you need better lighting, get the lights right. I'm always set up in front of a I'm always set up in front of a natural light. So a window. That's what I have in front of me here for those of you watching the video. But maybe you're set up somewhere where you're like, I want to be able to work from anywhere. But like when I try to do Zoom calls or whatever here at start, get a light setup, get something that can help you do that.

Lunden Souza: [00:43:57] I've seen recently, like all these cool gadgets, you know, Instagram and Facebook, they like target the crap out of us. So I saw one recently that had like a thing that you attach to your laptop and then it pulls out and you have two extra screens. So maybe having more screens or multiple screens is going to be helpful. But invest in your setup. I think that I really ignored that for some time. My ex-boyfriend was always like, You need to get this and this. And I was like, Oh, that's expensive or that's too much or that's too much setup. And then I really realized, no, he was right. I just needed to find the right tools for me and the stuff that I could easily set up, plug in, know how to work, all of that. So that way it really can be okay, what's the wi fi password? And then I can just log in and get stuff done. Also, it's helpful to know your setup on an airplane. And no, I don't know if other airlines do this. I'm sure they do. But I've been flying a lot domestically on Delta and Delta offers wi fi and it's really awesome because then I can get work done on the airplane and I know, okay, as long as I have my earphones and my computer. Right, I don't I can't put a lot of stuff in the airplane.

Lunden Souza: [00:44:56] It's a very different spot. I can get stuff done and have access to wi fi there. So that's like a little deeper. I've done to be like, okay, which airlines? Especially if I'm going to fly four or 5 hours, can I get four or 5 hours of work done, especially uninterrupted? Right. Most people think I'm in a plane, so it's like I'm not expected to respond to emails or do different things. I can really get ahead and write blog postings or write back to client emails or just do different things that I can make. Yeah, I can make that time productive. And I think the faster you can know that and just be like, okay, I just need to set up, I need to be here, I need to be in this front of the thing. I need to have this plugged in. I need to do this the faster you can get set up to do what you need to do. So sometimes I can remember moments where I'm like, Oh, I just feel like everywhere I go the lighting's not great. And then I realize, No, Lunden, you need to just be plant yourself in front of a big window and do that as often as you can, wherever you are. If you have the option, put yourself in front of the big window. Okay, cool. That's what I always do. I always kind of find that set up really quickly.

Lunden Souza: [00:45:55] Put my computer there, get everything all locked and loaded and set up and kind of good to go. So yeah, those are all things to think about. I know I talked about a lot today. This is actually a longer episode than I normally would do, especially for a solo episode. But I just feel like this is so important and this is really our future is really being able to be anywhere, explore everywhere, and still get what we need to get done and still stay fit and healthy and strong and still be intentional with what we're intentional with our habits and routines, no matter where we are, and then being flexible and understanding, hey, it might not work like that here or it might not work like that there, and that's okay. As long as I don't brush it under the rug, as long as I acknowledge it and say like, okay, I need to, you know, I need to work on this. And it took me a while. It took me a few times of going back and forth, back and forth to North Carolina and California to really have some like square offs with myself and kind of be annoyed with the process and find a way and find a solution. Because I really believe we we can find a way and find a solution. And I think to this can be a. Really big challenge for a lot of entrepreneurs. And I know this because people will share it with me.

Lunden Souza: [00:46:59] And I have a lot of friends that are coaches too, and it's just an entrepreneurs as well. And it's like, Yeah, I want to be motivated and productive, but I just have a hard time getting activated. And so that's why in all of my one on one coaching, I coach on the Y and your core values because when you have that, it's not a matter of getting activated or not. It's just like it's a matter of controlling the activation and making sure you do just enough and recover just enough. And you always know why you're doing it and you always know if it's incongruent or not. And that's why the why and the core values are so important. And so, yeah, like I said, this can be challenging for an entrepreneur to feel like you're wearing all the hats and you want to set it up. But I just feel like. If you want this life, if you want. I don't say this life like mine, but I just mean like if you want a life where you can work from anywhere and still feel like you're totally rocking it and really being super productive, it's not really it's not a matter of you not being able to have it and someone else can. It's about taking the time to get super clear and make clear requests for what you want and what it looks like. And that can be really hard to hear, like I said sometimes, but it's totally true.

Lunden Souza: [00:48:08] And it's totally our fault. It's my fault if I find myself in a pit of procrastination and it's up to me to find a way. And so I love to check in and be like, okay. Circadian rhythm, morning, routine workouts, food, you know, am I getting work done ahead or what's the work expectation of where I'm at and what I'm doing and then what's my set up and how can I set it up quickly and effectively and line it up and knock it down? So hopefully that was helpful for you if you have any further questions or a ha moments or you want to continue the conversation. I would love to continue it in the DM's at Life like Lunden on Instagram, or you can hit reply to any of the emails that I send you and let me know kind of what you thought of this episode there. If you're not getting emails from me, maybe it's because you're not on my email list yet. But you could go to lifelikelunden.com/calendar And you can pick up my free monthly mindset and workout calendar that'll add you to my newsletter list and then you'll be able to get weekly newsletters from me on Monday, helping you get your mind right, your body type and love your life. And when you get those newsletters, when you get those newsletters, you can just hit reply.

Lunden Souza: [00:49:12] And when you hit reply, whatever you write, go straight to me directly. And I love to hear those aha moments, those learnings and that growth from the Self Love and Sweat podcast episodes. So don't be shy, slide in my DMS and shoot me a reply to any of those emails and let me know what you thought about this episode, what your life looks like, and maybe the big picture you have in mind for being able to work from anywhere and live this kind of work. Haitian style, if that's what you want, right? It doesn't have to be for everybody. It is my dream life and I know it is the dream life for a lot of people out there. So hopefully you found this helpful. And if you want me to talk more about it and learn more and kind of dive deeper into some of what we talked about today, just let me know, DMS or email. Thank you so much. I appreciate you. Talk to you next time. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Self, Love and Sweat, the podcast. Hey, do me a favor. Wherever you're listening to this podcast, give us a review. This really helps a lot and share this with the friend. I'm only one person and with your help we can really spread the message of self love and sweat and change more lives all around the world. I'm Lunden Souza, reminding you that you deserve a life full of passion, presence and purpose fueled by self, love and sweat. This podcast is a hitspot Austria production.