The Everyday Awesome Project
The Everyday Awesome Podcast is your mega dose of multivitamins for building your mental muscles, physical body and an empowered life. Your hosts Polly and Sam are on your dream team; lifelong coaches in business, health & fitness and human potential. They are on fire to ignite change in the lives they touch.
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The Everyday Awesome Project
68: Creating Your Day with Coach Polly
Coach Polly solo here! Wondering if you ever feel like your days are 'happening TO you' rather than being created BY you? That's what living in "default mode" feels like—a reactive state where we're at the mercy of our monkey minds, external demands, and fluctuating energy levels. STOP THIS!
In this deeply personal episode, Coach Polly shares a transformative practice I've recently adopted called "Creating Your Day." This simple 15-minute morning ritual has completely shifted how I show up in the world, helping me move from reactive to creative living. Drawing from wisdom gained through Landmark Education, I walk through the exact process that allows you to intentionally design each day rather than surrendering to default patterns.
The beauty of this practice lies in its simplicity. By clearing your mental space and choosing three power words that align with your energy and intentions, you set a powerful rudder for your day's journey. Whether you're facing a low-energy day (try "grounded, present, open"), need to conquer your to-do list ("powerful, resourceful, completion"), or are navigating challenges ("bold, dynamic, at ease"), these carefully selected words become touchstones that keep you centered and intentional.
Our days are precious—each one a non-renewable resource in the limited time we have. Those who've experienced loss understand this truth profoundly. This practice honors that preciousness by ensuring we don't waste our days on autopilot. Try it for two weeks with accountability partners who are equally committed to intentional living, and you might find yourself thinking, "I'm never not doing this again."
Have you tried intentionally creating your days? I'd love to hear your experience with this practice and how it transforms your daily life. Remember: how your life feels is more important than how it looks, and every day is your opportunity to find your awesome.
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hey, superstars, welcome back polly here, and no, sam pruitt. This is a solo episode I wanted to bring you because mr matthew pruitt is out having some adventures. So I thought I would bring you something that I've been practicing lately, that I was introduced by my peeps in my landmark education world and it's called creating your day. Creating your day. That just sounds yummy, doesn't it? Like what is that? How do we do it? I mean, you can imagine, you know it's a little bit like you're cooking something up, you're creating something. You're. You know, I don't know, I've had this visual lately of like putting a piece of clay on, like a spinning wheel, and you just get to create, you know, whatever it is that you want that day. Like you put the clay on and you go, what am I gonna create today? Right, and you get your hands in it and you start molding it and adjusting it. Right, and I find that you know why do we do this Like when I got out of this from practicing it for the last week with my coach and my team is, you know, there's a thing called default that our brain goes into and I don't know about you, but I wake up in the morning and the default brain is like thinking about yesterday, thinking about you know who out in the future, whether it's doldrums, whether it's fears, whatever, right.
Polly Mertens:And if we don't get that monkey mind in check, if we don't like put some focus, put some I think about, like train tracks, like I want this train going in the direction that I want for the destination of my day, right, and like what I want to be and who I want to be in the world. Oh, default is a little bit all over the place. It can go into fears and go into anxiety. It can go into I don't feel like it today, right? So creating your day is reminding us, reminding me, reminding you like this you hear, samantha, and I talk about this a lot. It's like man. There are only so many days, so many nights, so many trips you know summer so many opportunities to be who we want to be in the world, and every day is so precious. If you have any experience of losing a loved one or people and you know fighting things in their life, they may not make it out right. These days of this life are so precious, so let's use this opportunity, use every day as a creation, an opportunity to be who we want, right, don't fall into default.
Polly Mertens:So why we say why we create our day, why create your day, I say what comes to me is focus and intention. You know, as I said, like the default is just where it's, like you're at the whim of. You know the phone calls and the texts and the emails and the who's showing up and people pulling you in directions, or the kids or the deadlines or whatever, right, and that can really be present when you go into your day. And if that's how you're starting your day, it can feel kind of chaotic. Or it does feel chaotic, right, it feels, you know it drives anxiety. It drives, you know, I don't know if I'm going to make it out of this day alive sometimes, or if you're just having those sluggish, can't get my ass off the couch kind of days. You know it. Just it's demotivating, it's, you know, right, we can't get that energy going. So creating your day is an opportunity to put your hands on the wheel of your life and say where am I taking myself, where am I taking my energy? Where am I? Who am I going to be and create in the world so that, as I hang out with people, interact with people share whatever I'm up to today. Like I have the experience and the people around me have this experience of who I am. So what this looks like is what we did in our team is a morning check-in. Like it's a morning check-in and it's just a set time each morning and it's like jump on a Zoom call, jump on a phone call.
Polly Mertens:Depending on how many people are gonna do this with I would say one to three people is probably a sweet spot, right? So like, maybe you just have one person that you play this game with and, first of all, like who your teammates are, who you play this with. They better be up to something. Like don't just choose. Like the person sleeping next to you or your kids or something like that they might not play full out. Like people that get that. They want to create their day, they get this. They're like yeah, I'm up to something. I don't want to live by default, I want to live deliberately, creating what I'm up to. So find somebody, find a group, whatever it is, maybe have an existing group. Maybe you do this with your team. Maybe you do this with your staff, maybe it's your partner or your spouse or your bestie, whatever. Enroll them in getting up to creating their day and if they're not, find someone else, find another group, right? So I'd say sweet spot one to three people each morning.
Polly Mertens:Maybe you have it as a Zoom, do it as a phone call, whatever you choose, just block it in the calendar. For example, we did it 8.30 to 8.45 for two weeks, right, first part. You get on the phone and this is like chop, chop, chop right, like we don't have time for stories and like what else is going on? There's not a lot of like. Oh, you know, give me an hour of your time. No, this is focused, intentional time. Get in, get out, speak it, have it heard, have it listened, and then, like, take it back with you, like and I promise you you'll get some from your teammates too, or whoever you do this with if they're playing full out, like my teammates so you get in.
Polly Mertens:I would say the first thing just a little piece of advice. If this works for you, we call it clearing. So I was like is there anything you want to clear in your space? Is there something you're bringing to the call? It could be, I'm tired. I didn't make that phone call I was supposed to make yesterday.
Polly Mertens:I have this like pressure from you know, I'm putting some pressure on myself to complete something today, and so I'm like I'm not in this call. I'm in, like what I've got to do after this call I'm not. Now it's like I want to clear all that. I just want to let that all go for the 15 minutes 10 minutes that we're going to be on this phone. I'm just going to push it aside. If I want to pick it up again in 10 to 15 minutes when I get off the call, great, that's my choice. But I would encourage you not to do that, because once you clear it, then it's like gone right.
Polly Mertens:So first step, jump on the call. All right, what are we clearing? And this is just an opportunity to speak into the space, whatever you want to. You know like I'm out of integrity. Yet I'm out of integrity. I didn't make that phone call yesterday that I said I would. Or you know what, I haven't been completing something that I thought I would, or I had a disagreement with someone and I need to call them today and make amends, make some repairs right, or I've been putting off or procrastinating something and it's starting to bug me and I'm feeling angst from it. So I'm going to complete that thing.
Polly Mertens:So just like, whatever is a clearing, get it out, just sort of like, you know, just get to nothing. Get to nothing Like, so it's like whoosh. You sort of like sweep the decks or move it out of your space or just get it off your mind and go. Thank you, mind, hold that, or let it go. Or we're just creating like nothing right now. Boom, you know super fast, not a long story of like, what all is going on, like people on your team, they might love you and appreciate it, but let's be succinct, right, especially if you have four people on the call. So get on. What's there to clear, great, go, go, go. Everybody. Clear, clear, clear, great, start the next round. All right, what are you creating? And like, create it in your body as you're saying it like, like, feel it in your heart or start to.
Polly Mertens:You know, I kind of think of emotions as, um, especially when you're creating them from nothing, um, you, it starts with that thought, right, and so I'll give you a couple of examples. So, um, you know creating, you know how we played it and you can play however you want. You can have one magic word, one magic creation word like this, is it? Or I kind of like the trio, the triad of words. I think that feels good. It's like a little cocktail of words.
Polly Mertens:So, for example, let's say you're having I'm going to start with like you're having a low energy day. We all have those, right. It's just like it's not. I'm not fired up, I'm not like get after, get shit done, let's go right. I'm kind of, oh, maybe had a rough night's sleep, maybe didn't get enough sleep, maybe I've been banging it out all week.
Polly Mertens:Maybe you know something's weighing on my heart because you know there's there's a lot of people in my life that I'm holding space for, or myself. You know, like, like, whatever, right, and so the energy just isn't. You know it's at a two, three, four, maybe a five, and it's like. So if you're under that like five mark, low energy could be. It's not like I'm going to get through this day like a struggle, but like what would empower you most powerfully with that low energy state? To just move the needle up a little bit. Stay in your day, stay in the game, get complete on what's there to complete today, right, and hopefully, depending on whatever's going on in your life, you can move some things off your plate. So you're not trying to hit a level 10 day with level five energy, because that's just like slogging. But hey, maybe that's what's going on, I don't know. So, for example, low energy today.
Polly Mertens:Let's say, grounded man. I just want to be grounded. How about I want to be present and how about I want to be open. So I'm having a low energy day. I'm going to be grounded. I'm going to be like in my body, present with you know where I'm feeling. I'm going to be present with the people around me. I don't need to be rushing ahead, I don't need to be powering out anything, but I just need to be present, right, like fully in my body, fully in the conversations, fully in the day, and open, like maybe this will pass. Maybe it's just a low energy morning. I haven't had any breakfast or something.
Polly Mertens:Or you know, sometimes Abraham Hicks, one of my favorite teachers, says sometimes you've fallen out of an airplane and don't worry, it'll be over soon. Like where's my parachute? It's like, don't worry, it'll be over soon. And then you reset the next day day. So maybe that's the kind of day that's all you've got. Maybe that's all you got. You got a five in the gas tank, so be it. So how about you start with? I'm going to be grounded, present and open, like openness to life showing up in a good way, open to good people in my life, open to feeling better, open to whatever having my energy improved by the end of the day, open to feeling complete by the end of the day that I did the best I could today. I did the best I could with from where I was, with what I've got right Now, how about if you've got a Samantha calls it GSD day get shit done day?
Polly Mertens:How about if you've got a GSD day that might have a different energy to it, Like what are some power words? What are some like words that would you know, get, get that body moving in that GSD day? How about powerful? I love it. Powerful like conquering the day. So maybe it's powerful.
Polly Mertens:I'm really a fan of the word resourceful. I don't think it's like doesn doesn't like juice me up, but I know the meaning of resourceful is like, no matter what comes my way, like ninja warrior, like I'm going to be resourceful and I'm going to like make pull things out of my hat. I'm going to like boom, boom, that's got to get done, or I'm going to see connections and synchronicities and I'm going to find ways of just like resourcefulness is quite a skill and a talent to acquire. It's like that ninja, like I got stuff going on over here. I'm a surfboard. I can like make the magic happen, get things done in record time.
Polly Mertens:How about completion? Completion is like I got to get a lot of shit done and I want to get it all complete. So like I am completion, like my energy today is completion, stuff is getting done. It's not going into tomorrow. It's not like, oh, how am I going to get all this done? It's like, nope, I am completing stuff. So maybe that's what today is for you.
Polly Mertens:How about some days? We have those hurdles day, we have those hairy ass days, we have those resistance days. It's like I know what's ahead because I look at my schedule and the phone calls or the people or whatever, or the things I got to get up to. There are some hurdles for me. There are some opportunities for growth. There is some. I'm gonna have to be something that takes something from me right. Well, how about bold? How about being bold Like man? This is a hurdle, but I'm gonna be bold in the face of that right.
Polly Mertens:What about like dynamic, like, or just like empowered, like fully empowered, like you know what, or maybe it's something I need to let go. It's like I'm gonna be at ease today was like I'm going to be at ease today, like I'm not going to let these things get in my way. I'm going to move through my day with ease, grace, right, compassion for myself. So what are those words for you? Like, what else comes to mind for you when you think about mmm yummy, creating a day, creating a day for yourself? And it changes Like. For me it's like popcorn, popcorn with your team.
Polly Mertens:And it's like what am I creating today? What am I creating today? And often I'll just like go into my heart or go into my intuition. Don't go up to the mind for the answers. Don't look for the mind for, like, what you got to be today, because all there's like little monkey things going on. But I go to my heart, drop down in the middle of my body, go into my, my sacral knowing, like, okay, what am I getting up to today? And usually the answers are right there, right there, and then they like, they're like a little effervescence. For me it's like, oh yeah, that's what I'm getting up to. So creating your day daily habit. So I encourage you, now that you know what creating your day looks like, that's it. So 15 minutes, boom.
Polly Mertens:So everybody creates their day and it's like kind of like a high five go get it right and just like, take those words with you. Maybe you want to write them down on a sheet of paper and have them on your computer or in your wallet or in your pocket, or just write them down on your daily. You know your note sheet or something like that. So be it like you've done it right, like so they're with you and maybe you're calling upon them during the day. Maybe you look at that, maybe it's on the top page of your to-do list, or it's on a post-it note on your wall or wherever you are that day, and you just recall.
Polly Mertens:You know, and nine times out of 10, there's a moment in the day where you need to remember one or all of those words because it's going to take something from you. Right, you created those words to help you move through that day, to help you powerfully through that day, to help you enjoy that day, to live the fullest you in that day and maybe that's moments of growth. Maybe it's just, you know, completion, maybe it's like wham, like I kicked ass, maybe you're on fire, or again you have those low energy days. But remember, you know, remind yourself with the placement and you know what we, what we focus on, we get right. So don't just create it in the morning and then it's like what was that? What did I do this morning? No, like, and maybe you remember it and you recall it at the end of the day, like, how, how did I do? How was I with that? Like, was I powerfully living into that? And you can check in with your team and you can text them and say, oh, my God, you know you don't have to do all that part, but the creating your day, that's what I want you to get out of this. So here's how it goes Clear the space, let it go Right. Just a quick round of that.
Polly Mertens:Next is create the day. Got it, and just like a high five, go get it, write it down, remember it, use it throughout the day. However it serves you best. Not very hard, this isn't very hard, this isn't hard stuff, but oh, this is like setting the rudder for your day, right. And if you do this in two weeks, I have a feeling some of you are going to like I'm never not doing this. I'm never not doing this. I'm never not creating my day.
Polly Mertens:Right, talk about a beautiful muscle to create and to like, ritualize, to honor yourself with the discipline of like. I am a creator. My days matter, how I, who I am in the world and how I show up for myself and the people in my life. That's important to me. So you create your day, one step at a time, one day at a time, and if you don't have anybody to play this with, you'd be surprised. There are people that will play with you, so go find them. But if you don't, just do it for yourself, just like, sit with yourself and create your day If nobody's available or your team whatever, create your day.
Polly Mertens:So try it for two weeks, try it for 30 days, see how this habit goes 10, 15 minutes tops Not very hard, but super powerful. So I hope you got something out of this. Please let us know if you did. We'd love to hear from you and let us know if you try this for two weeks, three weeks, three months. How's it going? How does your day shift? How does your energy shift? Who do you show up differently as? How do you reset and remember? Oh yeah, no, I'm not at the will of this thing that's happening this day, this phone call, this tough conversation I've got to have. No, I am empowered, I am a get shit done. I am, I'm getting after it, because it makes a difference how you show up in the world, for you and the people in your life.
Polly Mertens:So I hope you'll take it on creating your day, and the one thing is try it. One thing I just want to remember is like what if you just tried it you listen this far I hope you got something out of it. But don't just get something out of it. Go and practice it. Talk to this, do it for two weeks, do it for a month, see what results you start to get, see how it makes you feel. If you don't like it, then so be it. All right. Beautiful humans, I hope that was helpful for you and we'd love to hear from you. So, as we always say, to remember how your life feels is more important than how it looks, and every day is your opportunity to find your awesome.
