You feel behind because no one has ever taught you how to organize your life in a way that actually works for a woman who has many different roles. Being a full-time working woman, wife, and mom is still a fairly new concept in the grand scheme of American history. So if you find yourself with a 9 to 5 or full-time business owner, a side hustle, a family, and wellness goals, you’re in good company.

What I see over and over again when I start working with ambitious women is this: they know how to make a rough plan. I say rough because it’s usually a long to-do list, not a strategic, prioritized system that manages their tasks and calendar in the best way. They know how to push through when they have to but you were shown and taught how to hustle.

But sustainable consistency? A system that actually holds everything together over time? That’s where they fall short. They’re missing a proven framework.

So today I’m walking you through the exact approach I teach my clients to help them make time for all of it. Family, wellness, business, career, and self. Without burning out, waking up at 4am (unless you want to) or sacrificing the personal life you’ve worked hard to build.

Start with your three core routines

Most women have something that resembles a routine. We wake up around the same time. We go through the same general motions. But there’s a difference between habits that just happen and a routine that is intentionally designed. That difference is structure, and structure is what creates a smooth rhythm for your week. The three routines that hold everything together are a morning routine, a daytime or work routine, and a night routine. These are not just nice to have. They are the scaffolding your entire week is built on.

Your morning routine

If you are a mom, this part is especially for you. You need two things: a personal morning routine and a family morning routine. Yes, that means getting up before your kids if at all possible. Even 15 minutes of uninterrupted time before the day starts in reactive mode will change everything.

For me, that looks like meditation, journaling, my daily devotional, stretching, and listening to an audiobook while I get ready. By the time my son is up and we start our family morning, I have already filled myself up. I am not running on empty before 8am.

Your version will look different. But I want you to write it out intentionally. Take what is already working and add in what you actually want. Movement. Gratitude. Something that grounds you before the noise starts. That is your morning.

Your daytime or work routine

Inside your work day, there is more room for structure than you probably realize. Think about how you want each part of the day to flow. How do you want your mornings at work to start? What does lunch look like? When do you do your most focused work versus your meetings and admin?

The goal is not to rigidly schedule every minute. The goal is to give each part of your day a theme so that when things come up, you know exactly where they belong. Think of it like a puzzle. All of these tasks and responsibilities are pieces. Your calendar places all the important tasks together. A structured day gives them a place to go.

And before your work day ends, do a wrap-up. Look at what happened. What went well, what needs to shift, and how you want to set tomorrow up for success. That five minutes of reflection will save you hours over time.

Your night routine

Your night routine is the reverse of your morning. Start with your family. Dinner together, homework, connection time, whatever that looks like in your home. Then once kids are down, you get time that belongs to you.

I know a lot of moms feel like they do not get a moment to themselves until midnight. That needs to change. Getting your kids on an earlier sleep schedule is possible. It takes maybe a week to reset, and then it holds. I have seen it happen in my own home. Personally I love resources like Taking Cara Babies and Moms On Call for building solid schedules for children.

Once you have that window at night, use it intentionally. Sometimes that means working on your business for an hour or two. Sometimes it means calling a friend, watching something you love, or actually doing something fun. I promise you, building joy into your evenings is not a luxury. It is what keeps you going. Ambitious women cannot live for the weekend. We need something at the end of each day that makes us feel like ourselves.

Turn your goals into actual projects

Here is where a lot of ambitious women lose momentum. They have goals. Really good, really intentional goals. But goals without a system behind them are just wishes.

I want you to start thinking about your goals as projects. A project has clear steps, a process, a way to track progress. It is not just “grow my business.” It is “launch my next offer by March 15th by posting weekly content on Instagram and YouTube and booking two sales calls a week.”

When I first started coaching in 2020 and 2021, I had clients come to me who were getting 20 or 30 things done in a day and still feeling unfulfilled. When I went through their task lists and held them up against their goals, the disconnect was obvious. They were busy, but they were not building toward anything that actually mattered to them. That is a painful place to be.

Do not let that be you. Write your goals out specifically. Then do a brain dump of everything you think needs to happen to get there. Organize it into steps. See how the first month goes. Audit it. Adjust. Keep moving.

A goal only works when it has a project behind it with clear tasks attached. And I am not saying you need to have every single step mapped out. We have to give God His glory and trust that the path will unfold as we walk it. But you do need a process you can follow and a way to track whether it is working.

Use the schedule to win framework

This is the backbone of everything. The schedule to win framework is the number one thing that helps my clients plan their weeks effectively, and I have watched it help people quit their jobs, hit their first 10K months, start businesses, write books, and finally build the wellness routines they had been putting off for years.

Here is how it works.

Step one is reflection. Every single week, sit down with yourself and review how the week went. What went well? What fell short? This matters more than people realize. When you reinforce what went well, you train your brain to repeat it. What does not get measured does not get changed.

Step two is your brain dump. Get everything out of your head. Personal tasks, business ideas, self-care, fun things, all of it. Nothing is too small or too big. Clear the mental clutter so you can actually see what you are working with.

Step three is alignment. Look at what you just brain dumped and ask yourself honestly: does this match what I am actually trying to build? If you are doing a lot but not moving toward your real goals, that is your answer. Align your daily actions with your actual intentions.

Step four is prioritization. Think through what is important and urgent. What will move the needle, what is tied to a deadline, what is truly meaningful work versus what is just busyness in disguise?

Step five is scheduling. But here is what most productivity advice gets wrong: you cannot just schedule around your hours. You have to schedule around your energy. If 9pm is when your brain shuts off, do not put your most demanding work there. Stack your creative and high-focus tasks when you are sharpest, and protect that time like it matters. Because it does.

And plan around your season. A new mom does not have the same capacity as someone with a toddler in school. Tax season looks different than the end of the year. These are not surprises. They are seasons you can plan ahead for, if you treat your life with the same intentionality a well-run corporation uses to plan its quarters.

Self-discipline is the highest form of self-love. And building systems that support you? That is you choosing yourself. I break this down in so much depth and show you exactly how to implement systems and frameworks like the Scheduling To Win method into your life in my course, The Peaceful Productivity System.

The post How to Make Time for Everything That Matters appeared first on The Fire Inside.

Your time is being stolen. Sometimes by other people. But a lot of the time? By your phone, your tabs, and your constant need for stimulation. Yes, other people can absolutely steal your time. But a lot of us are also out here treating everyone else’s emergencies like they’re our own urgent priorities, dropping everything the second someone needs something. That’s a boundaries conversation for another day.

What we’re talking about today is the time you’re losing to yourself. The scrolling. The tab switching. The notifications. The inability to just sit still for 10 minutes without reaching for your phone. If that hit a little too close to home, keep reading.

We live in a world where it is so easy to be doing a thousand things at once. A ping here, a notification there, a tab you forgot you had open. And if you’re an ambitious woman juggling a 9 to 5, a business, and a personal life, distractions don’t just slow you down. They drain your energy, your confidence, and your belief that you can actually do everything you want to do.

So let’s talk about how to eliminate distractions for real. Not through willpower. Not through becoming some productivity robot. But by retraining your mind, setting up your environment, and repairing your relationship with boredom.

First, let’s reframe what focusing actually is

A lot of people treat focus like a personality trait. Either you have it or you don’t. You’re focused or you’re scattered. That’s it.

But that’s not how it works. Focus is a skill. And when you start treating it like one, everything changes.

I went on a whole journey around this a few years ago. I read everything I could get my hands on. (If you want a starting point, Cal Newport’s “Deep Work” is one of the best.) What I learned is that we are massively underestimating how much we are actually capable of focusing, especially when we’re being fed stats about goldfish having longer attention spans than us. I decided I wasn’t going to take that in as my truth. I was going to learn the skill instead.

Here’s what’s wild: when you are truly focused, you can get done in 30 minutes what would have taken you two to three hours while distracted. That’s not an exaggeration. That’s just what deep focus does.

And multitasking? It’s not real. What you’re actually doing is context switching, bouncing your attention from one thing to the next and back again. And every single time you do that, research shows it takes about 23 minutes to fully refocus. You do the math on how much time that’s costing you every single day.

#1: Use timers

Timers are one of my absolute favorite tools for focus. They create a time constraint that keeps you aware and on task. Especially if you have ADHD, timers can be a game changer because they fight time blindness, that feeling where you lose track of how long something is actually taking.

I’m a big fan of the Pomodoro method: 25 minutes of focused work, 5-minute break, repeat. Over 2 million people use this approach, and the research behind it is solid. Personally, I like longer sprints closer to two hours because that’s what fits my working style. You have to figure out what works for yours.

You can use a physical timer, an app like Sunsama or Toggl, or even your phone. The point is to commit to one thing for the duration and let the timer hold you accountable.

#2: Close your tabs

I know this seems small. But it can make a big impact. Having 10, 15, 20 tabs open is one of the fastest ways to stay perpetually distracted. Every tab is a little whisper of “oh yeah, I was going to read that” or “I never finished that email.”

Keep one or two tabs open. If you’re someone who needs to save things, use a tool like Get Toby or just bookmark them. But stop working with a browser full of open loops. Minimalism in your workspace equals minimalism in your mental noise.

#3: Clean up your environment

Clutter leads to a cluttered mind. I promise you this is true. You cannot tell me someone has a chaotic home environment and also feels totally calm and organized inside. It doesn’t work that way.

Your desk surface matters. Your lighting matters. What’s playing in the background matters. I used to have specific playlists for specific types of work. I got really into binaural beats for deep focus sessions, and there’s actual science behind how they affect your brain. Brain FM has some great options if you want to explore that.

Think about what makes you feel energized and comfortable: a plant, a candle, a blanket at your desk (yes, I had a blanket at my corporate desk and I still have one at my home office). I also have a walking pad. Set the ambiance. Make work a place you actually want to be.

#4: Set boundaries with digital distractions

Turn off notifications. Use app blockers if you need them. But here’s what I really want you to hear: if you can only stay off your phone when the app is deleted or blocked, that’s pointing to an addiction. And the goal isn’t just to block the app. The goal is to break the cycle.

What helped me was awareness first. I set up an automation on my iPhone so that every time I opened a social media app, a 30-minute timer started automatically. It got annoying fast, and that was kind of the point. I started seeing exactly how quickly that time disappeared.

I also started doing digital detoxes. One day a week, no social media. Sometimes no phone at all. Standing in the grocery line without scrolling. Going for walks without headphones. Just being present in my own life.

Social media is literally engineered to keep you on it. I worked in social media professionally for a long time and I know exactly how those platforms are designed to pull you in. Knowing that helped me stop giving them my time unconsciously and start choosing when and why I showed up there.

And if email is your weakness, try this: stop just checking email to check it. Every time you open your inbox, do something. Delete, respond, organize, take action. And set specific times during your day to be in there, not every 10 minutes.

The thing nobody talks about: getting comfortable with boredom

Your inability to focus is directly tied to how comfortable you are with boredom. We live in a world where we never have to be bored. Any quiet moment and we’re already reaching for our phone. But boredom is actually where a lot of the good stuff lives. The thinking. The creativity. The peace.

When I started meditating more consistently, I noticed something: I became a better focused person. That’s not a coincidence. Meditation is literally practicing focus. You’re not trying to think about nothing. You’re learning how to bring your attention back to your breath, to the present moment, over and over again. That muscle translates directly into your work.

Go to the bathroom without your phone. Recent studies confirm that spending over 5 minutes on the toilet significantly increases the risk of developing hemorrhoids. Take a shower without a YouTube video playing. Sit in a doctor’s office with your head up. It feels weird at first because we’re so conditioned to always be consuming. But give yourself space to just be.

Give yourself 90 days

Focus is simple to understand and genuinely hard to practice at first. But the more you do it, the more natural it becomes. I have seen it happen again and again with clients. One woman cut her screen time by 50% in just a few months and the shift in what she was able to accomplish was huge.

Pick one thing from this post today. Just one. Try it out, track how it’s working, and build from there. You are more capable of focusing than you think. You just have to practice it like the skill it is.

Want support eliminating distractions and focusing?

If you’re ready to stop feeling overwhelmed and unorganized and want to use your time with intention, I’d love to connect. Book a consultation here and let’s talk about how to get you there 10x faster.

The post How to Eliminate Distractions and Focus appeared first on The Fire Inside.

Let me tell you something you NEED to hear

You are already consistent. I know that might be hard to receive if you feel like you keep falling off, keep starting over, keep telling yourself that this time will be different. But hear me out. You are consistent at scrolling in bed when you should be sleeping. Consistent at doubting yourself right before you’re about to do something brave. Consistent at saying yes to everyone else before you say yes to yourself. Whatever it is, you are doing something on repeat.

And all that tells me is this: if you can be consistent at the things you do not want to be doing, you absolutely can become consistent at the things you do. You just have to decide to redirect it. That’s it. That’s the secret.

But here’s the part most people skip, and it’s the reason the strategies never stick: before you can build consistent behavior, you have to build a new identity.

You can’t out-strategy an identity that doesn’t match

This is something I go deep on with every single one of my clients. You can have the best planner, the beautiful color-coded calendar, all the tools. But if you still see yourself as someone who struggles with consistency, that is exactly what you will keep experiencing. Because we always act in alignment with who we believe we are.

Think about it this way. If you keep saying “I want to start working out,” you will always be someone who is trying to start. But the moment you shift to “I am a person who moves her body,” everything changes. The way you plan your week changes. How you respond when life gets busy changes. The way you talk about yourself changes. You are no longer chasing a habit. You are just living out who you already are.

The same goes for your business. Not “I’m trying to be more consistent with my content.” But “I am someone who shows up for her audience.” Not “I need to get my mornings together.” But “I am a person who protects her mornings.” The identity has to come first. The behavior follows.

And I want you to make it so unacceptable in your mind not to show up, that showing up becomes the only option. Just like you would never walk into a bank and rob it because you have trained yourself that the consequences are not something you are willing to live with. That is the level of commitment I want you to have toward the goals and habits that matter most to you. When not following through feels like committing a crime against your own life, that is when real change happens.

Why consistency creates safety

Consistency eases and regulates your nervous system. Especially if you grew up in chaos, I bet you crave order, control, and some level of predictability. Once you are operating from a new identity, the consistency that follows creates something deeper than results. It creates safety. And safety is the foundation of every healthy relationship, including the one you have with yourself.

For your kids, safety looks like predictable routines. Bedtime showing up the same way every night. A morning rhythm they can count on. Children do not need perfect parents. They need present, consistent ones. The repetition itself is the reassurance. Every time you show up the same way, you are telling them: the world is stable, you are loved, I am here.

For your clients and your work, safety looks like you doing what you said you would do. Posting when you said you would post. Delivering what you promised. Showing up even when it would be easier not to. I have had so many clients tell me the reason they decided to invest was because they watched me show up consistently long before they ever reached out. They were not watching for perfection. They were watching for reliability. That is what builds trust.

And for yourself, consistency is how you start trusting you again. Every single time you follow through on something you said you would do, even something small, you are boosting your self-respect. You are telling yourself: I am someone who does what she says. Over time, that identity gets stronger. And a woman who trusts herself is unstoppable.

Stop relying on willpower. Build a system instead.

Here is something I say all the time: willpower is like motivation. It comes, it goes. You feel it one day and you do not feel it the next. If your consistency depends on how you feel, you are going to fall off. Every time. Because feelings are not facts, and they are not permanent. An emotion lasts 45 seconds. The only reason it lasts longer than that is because you choose to keep feeding it. You have more control over your mind than you think.

What actually keeps you consistent when the feelings are not there is a system. A system is just your process for doing the thing. It is what removes the decision-making so that you show up even on the days you do not want to. When you have your week planned, you are not deciding whether to show up. You are just following the plan you designed.

And I want you to make it easy. This is not about suffering more or pushing harder. Discipline is not punishment. Self-discipline is the highest form of self-love.

I had a client who wanted to start reading more but kept saying she could never find the time. We put her book on her pillow. Every night she got into bed, saw the book, and read. She went from not reading at all to finishing two books a month. I had another client who wanted to stretch every morning. We put her yoga mat right outside her bedroom door. She walks out, sees the mat, and stretches. The goal is to reduce the friction toward the thing you want to do and increase the friction toward the thing you do not.

Stop making your goals hard to reach. Set up your environment to make it easy to be the person you have already decided you are.

Consistency does not mean perfect. It means more often than not.

I also want to be really clear about something because I think a lot of women are holding themselves to an impossible standard and then quitting when they cannot meet it. Consistency does not require 100%. It requires more often than not. Some days you show up at 5%. Some days you show up at 80%. The goal is that you show up. Even if your morning routine goes from an hour down to five minutes on a hard day, you still did the routine. You can check it off. That is how you train yourself to be consistent. You make it non-negotiable, and then you make it flexible enough to actually survive your real life.

And here is why accountability changes everything: with it, you are 95% more likely to follow through. Without it, you are sitting at about 12%. That gap is not small. That is the difference between the life you want and the life you keep putting off. Whether that accountability comes from a coach, a community, a friend, or a habit tracker you check every single day, find what keeps you honest and lean on that.

A note for the season you’re in

I am writing this in the thick of womanhood, as I have been calling this season of my life. Pregnant with baby number two, raising a toddler, running a business, and learning all over again how to show up consistently when my capacity looks nothing like it used to. My consistency right now full of so much grace. But it is still there.

I still show up for my clients, protect time with my son, and do the top priorities in my business every week that keeps it moving forward. That is enough for this season.

You do not have to be at full capacity to be consistent. You just have to keep showing up in whatever way you actually can right now. And on the days the actions are small, keep telling yourself who you are anyway.

Because how we spend our time is how we spend our life. And I want you spending yours doing the things you are passionate about, in alignment with who you are becoming, creating safety for every person who counts on you, starting with yourself.

Your action item: write your “I am” statement. Who are you becoming? Not who you want to be someday. Who you are right now. And if you are ready for the systems and accountability to make it real, book a call and let’s get to work.

The post Consistency creates safety appeared first on The Fire Inside.

Imagine having 10 extra hours back in your week. What would you do with that time? Finally launch that side hustle? Spend more quality time with your family? Or just… breathe?

If you’re an ambitious woman trying to do all the things, build a career or business, show up for your family, and still have something left for yourself, this is for you. I’m going to walk you through a realistic, week-by-week roadmap to help you reclaim 10 or more hours every single week.

By the end of this post, you’ll know exactly where those hours are hiding and how to get them back.

The Moment I Realized I Was Wasting Time Without Knowing It

Before I became a master at time management, I was stuck in the same exhausting cycle every single day. Wake up, rush to get ready, run to the train, squeeze in breakfast somewhere between my walk and my commute, work all day, go straight to the gym, think about dinner on the way, make dinner, eat, work on my side-hustle, sleep, repeat.

And in the middle of all of that, I was constantly complaining about not having enough time to grow my side hustle, deepen my relationships, or take better care of my health.

The truth? I had plenty of time. I just had limiting beliefs that were blocking me from seeing it.

I had convinced myself: “This is just how life is. I have to hustle. I don’t have the time.” And those thoughts created feelings of overwhelm, stress, and anxiety that kept me stuck.

The shift came when I stopped accepting those thoughts as facts and started asking better questions. Because when you change your thoughts, your possibilities expand. I know some people roll their eyes at that, but it is simply the truth.

Week 1: Audit Your Time Before You Try to Fix It

This is always the most eye-opening exercise for every single one of my clients, and it’s where we’re starting.

For one full week, I want you to track what you do in 30-minute increments. Don’t wait for Monday. Start today, right now, and do it for the next seven days.

You can track it two ways:

•  Pen and paper: write out what you’re doing every 30 minutes

•  Digital tools like Toggl or Sunsama: use a timer so you get exact data

The results will shock you. You’ll discover you thought you scrolled for 20 minutes but it was actually 3 hours. You’ll see how often you’re giving your time away to other people’s priorities. You’ll notice patterns in your energy, productivity, and where your hours actually go.

This awareness is the foundation for everything else. You cannot fix what you don’t measure.

Week 2: Eliminate What’s Draining Your Energy

Now that you know where your time is actually going, it’s time to ask yourself one powerful question:

“How can I cut or delegate tasks that don’t align with my priorities right now?”

Don’t rush past that. Sit with it. If your first answer is “I don’t know,” pause. Because the second thought is usually the honest one.

Here’s what to look for:

•  Unnecessary meetings you don’t need to attend

•  Administrative tasks you could automate with AI or tools like Zapier

•  Multitasking that actually makes you less effective

•  Saying yes to things out of obligation or guilt, rather than intention

And let’s talk about delegation. I promise you there is always something you can delegate. Whether that’s to a spouse, your kids, a co-worker, a cleaning service, a meal prep service, or even AI. The question is whether you’re willing to let go of it.

Before I started delegating administrative tasks, I was spending 5 to 10 hours a week on work that didn’t need my hands on it. That’s time I could never get back. Don’t make the same mistake.

Week 3: Build Systems That Actually Work for Your Life

This is where the magic happens. In week three, you’re going to create systems around all the things you do on a regular basis and then plug them into your weekly plan.

Write out the actual steps for each recurring task in your life. Meal prepping, cleaning, managing your business, workouts, content creation, all of it. Get granular. If it’s meal prep, that means: choose recipes, build the grocery list, order or shop, decide when you’re cutting vegetables, when you’re cooking, when everything goes in the fridge.

Once it’s written out, put it in your weekly calendar. Pick a planning system, whether that’s Asana, ClickUp, Sunsama, Tick Tick, or a physical planner, and commit to one, maybe two places max. Not five notebooks, not Post-its everywhere. One system.

If you don’t plan your week, you’re living by other people’s priorities.

And here’s something I don’t share everywhere. There is almost always at least 1 to 2 hours in the morning, 1 to 2 hours in the evening, and at least 30 minutes to an hour in the afternoon that most people can reclaim. And when I say reclaim, I mean use those hours for what you want. That’s potentially 5 hours a day. Five hours times seven days? You just found 35 hours in a week.

I had clients who started saving 4 hours every single day just from learning to batch tasks and plan around their natural rhythms. When you stop treating recurring tasks like surprises and start treating them like scheduled appointments, everything shifts.

Week 4: Protect Your Time With Stronger Boundaries

You’ve audited, eliminated, delegated, and systemized. Now it’s time to protect what you’ve built.

Boundaries aren’t just about saying no. They’re about communicating clearly when you’re available and when you’re not. Let your team, your family, and your friends know your windows. Put your phone on silent during deep focus time. Create a no-interruption zone when you need it.

I had a client who thought she needed to be available to her team 24/7. She genuinely believed they couldn’t function without her. But here’s the thing. If you’re always answering, they’ll always ask. You’re not actually helping them grow. Let them figure it out. That’s how you lead and reclaim your time at the same time.

Also in week four: schedule deep focus blocks. Even 30 minutes of uninterrupted, single-task focus will outperform hours of scattered busy work. Set a timer. Work on one thing. Tap in.

Whether it’s body doubling, an accountability partner, or just a good timer, protect your time like it’s your most valuable resource. Because it is.

The Real Reason Women Stay Stuck in “Busy Mode”

Most coaches skip this part. But before any strategy can work, you need solid time management as your foundation. Especially as an entrepreneur, no one teaches you how to manage your day without a boss. No one teaches you how to follow through without external accountability. That’s why so many women get into business and feel like they’re drowning.

The good news? These are all learnable skills. And once you have them, everything else, the growth, the revenue, the consistency, becomes possible.

What Becomes Possible When You Reclaim Your Time

Here’s what my clients have accomplished in just 90 days after reclaiming 10+ hours a week:

•  Written a full book

•  Made their first five figures in business

•  Landed a new job, actually two job offers, within two weeks

•  Earned promotions at work

•  Lost 20+ pounds and kept it off

•  Finally implemented a consistent wellness routine

•  Achieved more in 90 days than they had in the previous 3 years

That’s what’s on the other side of this work. Not perfection, possibility.

Your Next Step

Here’s your four-week plan in a nutshell:

Week 1: Audit your time, track everything in 30-minute increments

Week 2: Eliminate and delegate what doesn’t serve your priorities

Week 3: Build systems and get your week planned out

Week 4: Protect your time with boundaries and deep focus blocks

Follow this week by week. Don’t rush it. The goal isn’t to overhaul your life overnight. It’s to make sustainable shifts that compound over time.

And if you want accountability and a proven system to make this work the first time, I’d love to support you. Book a call and let’s figure out if working together makes sense.

You have more time than you think. You just have to decide to take it back.

The post How to Reclaim 10+ Hours Every Week appeared first on The Fire Inside.

If that’s you, I want you to know you’re not failing. You’re just in the thick of it. The thick of womanhood I’ve been calling it lately. I’m in it with you too sis.

Your Nervous System Is Not Broken, It’s Overwhelmed

There’s a reason everything feels like too much. You are doing too much, not because you’re weak, but because the load is genuinely heavy. Being postpartum, raising little ones, managing a household, and trying to show up for your business is not a small thing. It was never a small thing. We just got really good at pretending it was manageable before we admitted it wasn’t.

Your nervous system is responding exactly the way it’s supposed to when it’s carrying more than it was designed to carry alone. That’s not a character flaw. That’s biology.

The Mentor You’re Looking For Might Not Look Like What You Think

A lot of moms in business reach a point where they just want someone to tell them they’re doing the right things. That the time they’re spending actually matters. Or they want someone to tell them exactly what to do as if there’s one magic strategy to grow their business. I get it, I’ve wanted that too.

But here’s what I’ve learned: mentorship isn’t always a formal relationship with someone who has it all figured out. Sometimes it’s a community of women who are a few steps ahead and willing to be honest. Or a coach who helps you get out of your own head. Sometimes it’s a therapist who helps you realize the reason you can’t focus on your business is because you haven’t processed everything else you’re carrying.

Don’t wait for the perfect mentor to show up before you give yourself permission to keep going. Seek help from people who are figuring it out and have success doing so.

What Actually Helps When Your Capacity Is Low

I’m not going to give you a productivity hack. What I will tell you is what has helped me survive seasons where I had very little to give:

Protect your one thing. On the hardest days, identify the one thing that moves the needle in your business and only do that. Not five things. One. Done is better than perfect and something is better than nothing. For me the one thing is usually sales related.

Stop performing productivity. Busy is not the same as effective. When your energy is limited, the worst thing you can do is spend it looking productive instead of actually being productive. Audit where your time is really going and use those insights to create a better more optimal schedule. This is exactly what I help my clients do.

Ask for help. This one is personal for me. I tend to figure things out on my own until I absolutely cannot anymore. But I’ve learned to ask for support sooner rather than later. Whether that’s help at home, outsourcing in your business, or just leaning on your friends and family. What that looked like for me was flying my mom in to help babysit for a couple months, asking my niece or friends to watch my son a couple hours so I can do something for myself or go on a date night. Hiring a home cleaner because I do not have the capacity to clean this three story house right now. Buying easy to make frozen meals for when I don’t have the energy to meal prep. Or diving up home and childcare tasks more with my husband.

I’ve also leveraged AI more like Claude to make simple business tasks easier. Use my Sunsama task management system to never lose track or forget tasks I want to complete.

Give yourself a real season, not just a day off. One nap isn’t going to fix burnout. If you’re running on empty, something needs to structurally change, even temporarily. What can you pause? Simplify? What were you doing out of obligation rather than strategy? Personally, I’ve accepted that 2026 will be mainly focused on family and self-care for me, so I won’t be stressing other aspects of life as much because of my capacity. But I will still be coaching clients in my Overwhelmed To Organized Program, working the backend of my husband’s business, and creating blog content and audio only podcast episodes for The Fire Inside Podcast until I go on mat leave.

You Don’t Have to Earn Rest

This might be the thing I’m still learning the most. Rest is not a reward for finishing everything on your list because that list is never finished. Rest is part of the work. It’s what makes the work sustainable.

The season you’re in right now is not the end of your story. It’s not even the end of your business story. It’s just a chapter — and chapters end.

You’re going to come out of this with more clarity, more empathy for your clients, and more proof that you are exactly the kind of woman who does hard things and keeps going anyway.

That’s not mediocre. That’s remarkable.

If you’re a mom in business who’s feeling overwhelmed and stretched thin, I’d love to support you. Click here for a consultation.

The post What Nobody Tells You About Building a Business While Raising Kids appeared first on The Fire Inside.

Before video content was the hottest thing on the block, I loved blogging. As someone who processes her thoughts through writing and literally journals every day to keep herself sane, I miss blogging. Since I’ve upgraded my site, I decided to also start writing on my blog again. Mostly because these past few months I haven’t had the energy to create my video podcast episodes. Just admitting that makes me feel so mediocre. And if you know me, I aspire to be nothing close to average in any capacity. Some may roll their eyes at that but people who get it, will get what I mean.

Right after Thanksgiving, I found out I was expecting baby #2! I honestly knew it just by how different my body was feeling, but I still waited a couple weeks to take a test. When I finally took one and it said “Pregnant” in what felt like just a couple of seconds, I was shocked. I don’t know if anyone who’s seen a positive test doesn’t feel that way, even if it’s what you want and have been hoping for. It’s still just a wild moment of oh my goodness, there’s a human growing in my body. After the initial shock wore off, I started doing my happy dance and felt excited to be growing our family, as well as prepared to grow baby #2, thinking it should be pretty smooth like my first pregnancy.

Boy, was I WRONG. Around week 7, the nausea and pure exhaustion hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt like I had nothing to give to my toddler, let alone take care of myself or my household and oh yeah run my business. My capacity which already took a dip when I became a mother, took a dip even deeper as a pregnant mom with a toddler. I was happy to get even one productive thing done a day. I cried much more than I’d like to admit.

Pregnant, Exhausted & Trying to Run a Business With a Toddler

Let’s be real, I still cry about something more often than I’d like to admit. I blame the pregnancy hormones. But despite all the challenges, I’m very proud of the 3rd annual retreat my husband and I hosted. As well as the improvements we’ve made in his day trading coaching business. I’m also learning to be proud of the small things that keep me and my family afloat during this season.

I feel like I’m in a pruning season like God truly wants to see what I’m made of. These past few months have felt like a lot of things I’ve wanted have repeatedly not happened while exactly what I didn’t want did. That’s been extremely hard to accept and process. Because it feels like why even have any hopes but that’s exactly what faith is. Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

I’m grateful for the few opportunities to speak that I’ve said yes to on the days I felt pretty good. I’m grateful for the clients I still get to serve and help reclaim their time and achieve their goals. They don’t even understand how much helping them is healing the parts of me that aren’t able to achieve in the ways I aspire to these days. I’m grateful for my son and husband who give me a reason to smile every day. I’m grateful to be growing our family, even if what I wanted for 2026 was completely different than what I’m living.

Grieving the Year I Envisioned (And the People I’ve Lost)

Transparently, that’s been the HARDEST part of this whole year so far. The grief… The grief of my loved ones who I miss daily. Over the past few years, my uncle, aunt, father, grandmother, grandfather, and brother have all passed. The grief of the goals I had for my wellness after birthing my first child in 2024 then breastfeeding for a year, and especially my business, which was having massive growth and has since slowed down in this new season of womanhood. I had a full vision for what this year was supposed to look like. Content, clients, revenue, all of it mapped out and ready to execute before mat leave. And my body just said no. I often felt lonely because does anyone I know really relate to what I’m going through.

On top of that, finding out I’m having another boy when I had genuinely envisioned a daughter hit different than I expected. I felt like my intuition had failed me and I started questioning myself and my gut feelings on everything. I know it’s not that deep but for some reason it felt that deep for me. And I’ve had to sit with the fact that I’ve needed more support than I’m used to asking for. As someone who tends to just figure it out, admitting that has been challenging. Having to accept this part of womanhood that feels limiting in certain aspects but abundant in others. I say womanhood and not motherhood because I don’t think motherhood encompasses all that I’m shedding and becoming as a woman in general.

What’s Keeping Me Going

These past few months have been tough, physically, mentally, and emotionally. However, spiritually I feel strong. I’ve been studying the Proverbs 31 woman a lot and feeling very connected to what she possesses. The irony is my therapist has been suggesting I become stronger spiritually and of course when I’m forced to, it’s because physically, mentally, and emotionally I’m going through it!! LOL

I don’t really have a conclusion to this post. I’m just sharing my thoughts on my life right now. I have faith things will feel and get better. Honestly, they have already as I’m finding my rhythm again and enjoying slowing down and soaking up all the moments with my son before he becomes a big brother. I have excitement about meeting my baby soon and getting to raise another amazing young man.

Oh and if you’re reading this, you’re truly in the know for real. No fancy announcement, no big reveal. Just me and my creative outlet. Maternity pictures will be coming to your newsfeed in the coming months though, so stay tuned!

If you aren’t already a Fire Insider, feel free to join the community here to be the first to know about new exclusive content: https://thefireinsidesade.kit.com/f48266c3e3

The post In The Thick Of Womanhood appeared first on The Fire Inside.

Utilizing the right productivity tools, you can streamline your workflow, enhance your organization, and achieve a better work-life balance. As a Time Management Coach deeply invested in optimizing both my personal and professional life, I’ve discovered a few tools that have become invaluable assets in my daily routine, as well as many of my clients.

Here are some of my favorite productivity tools that help me stay on top of my game:

OneLeaf: Nurturing Wellness and Mindfulness

OneLeaf is a revolutionary mindfulness and meditation app that seamlessly integrates into your daily routine. It offers a range of guided meditation sessions, breathing exercises, and mindfulness practices designed to reduce stress, increase focus, and promote overall well-being. Whether you’re a seasoned meditator or just starting out on your mindfulness journey, OneLeaf provides personalized recommendations tailored to your preferences.

Why I love it: OneLeaf has transformed my approach to stress management, boosting confidence and self-care. It’s super easy to naviagte and has a diverse range of self-hynposnis programs so you can become your BEST self. Their personalized experiences were also carefully crafted by their Scientific Board from NYU and Stanford. Self-hypnosis is a focused and absorbed state of attention, where you become more receptive to new ideas. You actually go into a natural hypnotic state every single day.

Try out the app here and let me know what you think!

Sunsama: Harmonizing Personal and Professional Tasks

If you are on my email list or follow me on social media, you’ve seen me rave about Sunsama. It is my absolute favorite TASK MANAGMENT tool. I can’ even remember what my life was like before it. Sunsama is a powerful task management tool that combines your calendar, to-do list, email, and project management system into one cohesive platform. It helps you prioritize tasks, schedule your day effectively, and stay focused on what matters most. With integrations with popular productivity apps like ClickUp, Notion, Monday, Trello, Asana, and Todoist, Sunsama seamlessly centralizes all your tasks and deadlines in one place so you can’t forget anything in your work or personal life!

Why I love it: I created a YouTube video explaining why I love it so much. Sunsama has been a game-changer for me in terms of organizing my daily tasks. By syncing my tasks, project management tools, and calendar events in one place, I can easily see what needs to be done and allocate my time accordingly without burning out. The ability to prioritize tasks based on importance and urgency ensures that I stay productive and on track throughout the day.

Try out the tool here for 30 days and let me know what you think!

Motion: AI Executive Assistant: Streamlining Business Operations

Motion is an AI-powered executive assistant that automates various business tasks, such as scheduling meetings, managing emails, and generating reports. It integrates with popular productivity tools like Google Workspace and Slack, enhancing efficiency and productivity in your life and business. Many of my clients enjoy this app because how how it uses AI to suggest enhancements to your day and keep you organized and prepared.

Why I Love It: As a business owner, time is my most valuable asset, and Motion helps you reclaim it. It automates repetitive tasks, and allows you to focus on high-value activities that drive growth and innovation. Its natural language processing capabilities make interacting with the assistant feel like communicating with a real person, saving you both time and cognitive space.

Try out the tool here and let me know what you think!

Teachable: Empowering Learning and Skill Development

Description: Teachable is an online platform that empowers creators to build and monetize their own online courses. Whether you’re an expert in business, cooking, photography, marketing, or any other field, Teachable provides all the tools you need to create, market, and sell your digital content to a globally.

Why I Love It: Teachable is so simple to setup and they have the best customer service. I had someone from their team walk through the entire process to set up my online course curriculum that I use within my Overwhelmed To Organized Coaching Program. Teachable has allowed me to share my knowledge and expertise with others in a impactful and profitable way. You can also communicate with clients, track client progress, incorporate quizzes yo make sure clients are retaining information, and use it to sell digital downloads.

Try out the platform here and let me know what you think!

Honeybook: Simplifying Business Operations and Client Management

Description: Honeybook is a comprehensive business management platform designed specifically for creative entrepreneurs and small business owners. From client management and project tracking to invoicing and payment processing, Honeybook streamlines every aspect of running a successful business, allowing you to focus on what you do best.

Why I Love It: Honeybook is a lifesaver when it comes to managing business operations. Its automated workflows and customizable templates save you countless hours on administrative tasks, while its seamless payment processing features ensure that you get paid on time for your work.

Try out the tool here and let me know what you think!  Use code “thefireinside” for 50% off.

Investing in the right productivity tools can make a world of difference in managing both your personal and professional life. Whether it’s enhancing your wellness routine, optimizing your workflow, or streamlining your business operations, the tools mentioned above have the potential to transform the way you work and live. Give them a try and experience the difference for yourself!

The post Productivity Tools for Personal and Professional Management appeared first on The Fire Inside.

Even though I thought I was working in my dream career in advertising, I longed to have a personal creative outlet where I could share my personal growth journey, travel adventures, as well as wellness and lifestyle tips. My blog eventually became a great way to make additional income.

My Side Hustle Journey

A year later, I started my second side hustle as an influencer. I discovered that I could get paid on social media to promote things I was already sharing with my friends, so I started working with brands to earn money for my posts. That same year I also started an Amazon FBA product business. I worked with an overseas supplier and developed my Finesse Fitness water bottles. I started this business purely because I wanted another set of income to pay off my student loans. 

As my brand continued to grow online, I then started hosting networking events where I could make some extra money and provide immense value to the speakers and audience. This experience made me realize how much I loved coaching people on how to improve their lives. Eventually I decided to hire a business coach in early 2020. She helped me quit my job and develop my current full-time business as a Time Management Coach in just 5 months.

On September 1st, 2020, my life took some huge turns. I went from having a side hustle to being a full-time Time Management Coach. I officially retired from my corporate advertising job and have been running my business full-time, The Fire Inside, for the last 3 years. I know side hustling may get a bad connotation sometimes like they aren’t real businesses but I’ll always be pro side-hustling because it’s how I began my entrepreneurship journey. I look at side-hustling as the way to build a business part-time as you figure out what lane you want to continue in. I mean look at how many side-hustles I just told you about. I don’t think I would have landed on my successful full-time business without exploring different options.

In this post, I’m sharing 50 side businesses where you can make additional income. My only ask of you is that if you find one of these businesses interesting, you try it right away. Don’t overthink it or let fear cripple you, just start.

1. Freelancer 

This is when you are an independent contractor who provides services for other people. This can include writing, editing, video editing, copywriting, social media management, photography, styling, art design, website building, bookkeeping, etc. As a blogger, I have freelanced my writing on other platforms for a fee. As a marketer, I’ve also helped people with marketing materials as a side hustle that leverages my skills from my day job. Think about what skills you can charge people for and start doing it. We ALL have skills we can charge for. Look at industry standards to discover how to set your price and play around with different packages until you find the one offer that sells the best. Here’s a couple of websites to find projects on:

• Fiverr 
• Upwork 
• Taskrabbit 
• Thumbtack 
• Guru 
• Remote

2. Blogger

Make money writing about something you love. Most bloggers make money through the following methods:

•  Affiliate Programs like Amazon Affiliates, Likeittoknowit, Shopstyle, etc.
• Partnering with brands
• Running ads on their site through platforms like Google AdSense, Mediavine, SheMedia, etc.

3. Start a YouTube channel

Now YouTube can be a long-term play for most people but it doesn’t mean you can’t monetize it. YouTube is a great place to market your services and showcase your lifestyle. If you remain consistent at it and committed to learning how to best use the platform and growing your channel, you will see results over time. Similar to a blog, you can monetize it through Google AdSense, selling your own products or services, and partnering with brands.  If you prefer audio only, consider starting a podcast instead. 

4. Content Creator/Influencer/UGC Creator

Get paid to promote products and services you already love. You can join influencer networks such as Aspire IQ, Activate, Clever, Collectively Inc, Hashtag Paid, Mavrck, Soapbox Influence, Social Native, , etc. or or partner directly with brands by pitching the companies you’re interested in working with. If you already have a following, consider offering a paid membership for exclusive content through Pateron as a side hustle.

5. Professional Caregiver 

If you have free time at night, on the weekends and especially during the day and you love kids, I recommend looking into professional babysitting kids or pets. Websites where you can find jobs:

• Sitter City 
• Rover 

6. Teach English or Tutor People Online:

• VIPKID 
• Chegg Tutors

7. Rent your space on Airbnb or VRBO

8. Complete Online Surveys on sites like:

• Swagbucks
• Inbox Dollars
• Survey Junkie 
• Surveys2Cash

9. Virtual Assistant 

Offer your services to online businesses. You can also look for gigs on sites such as:

• 24/7 Virtual Assistant
• Fancy Hands
• Paragon Planners
• TimeETC
• Vicky Virtual
• Fiverr 
• Upwork

10. Sell your old things on:

• Ebay.com
• Poshmark.com  (I’ve made hundreds of dollars on Poshmark)
• LetGo.com 
• Mercari

11. Open up an online product store on eBay, Amazon, Shopify, Etsy or TikTok Shop

Think about what you’re passionate about selling. What would someone love to buy from you? 

12. Uber/Lyft

If you have a car, you should look into driving for Uber or Lyft in your down time. You can make a couple hundred dollars in just a day. 

13. Deliver food to people on sites like: Shipt, Postmates, GrubHub, Seamless, DoorDash, UberEats or Instacart

14. Amazon Flex

If you have a car, you can deliver packages for Amazon in your down time.

15. Call center representative on Arise or Working Solutions

16. Sell your designs on Amazon, Zazzle, or Teespring

You can just create the design and start drop shipping it on t-shirts, mugs or whatever else you like. 

17. Amazon FBA

Start selling products directly through Fulfillment by Amazon. They’ll pack, ship, and provide customer service for your products. This is how I sold my Finesse Fitness Water Bottles. Found the bottle on Alibaba then shipped them to an Amazon Fulfillment center. 

18. Get cash back for shopping online through sites like Rakuten or Ibotta

19. Written transcriber on sites like Transcribe, GoTranscript or Speakwrite

20. Online juror by signing up on JuryTalk, JuryTest or OnlineVerdict

21. Sell your photography online on Shutterstock, iStockphoto or Getty Images

You don’t need to be a professional photographer, you can sell beautiful shots you took on your iPhone as a side-hustle.

22. Sell your notes for college if you’re in school on Study Soup, Studentvip, or One Class

23. Become a consultant or coach on sites like Coach.me, or start your own consulting or coaching company (Like I did!)

You can literally coach anything. From different types of life coaches to business coaches, fina niche and start marketing your services, your ideal clients are out there.

24. Narrate people’s books into audiobooks on sites like ACX

25. Test websites for others on Usertesting

26. Pick up bartending or catering jobs on Shiftgig

27. Create a digital course on something you’re skillful in and host it on your own site or on sites like:

• Teachable (this is the platform I use for all my courses)
• BitDegree
• Udemy
• Skillshare
• Kajabi
• Thinkific

28. Amazon Mechanical Turk Worker

These workers solve a range of data processing, analysis, and content moderation challenges. Learn more here.

29. Be a tour guide in your city through Show Around

30. Teach anything you are skillful in online through Take Lessons

31. Advertise brands on your car through Carvertise

32. Help people move into their new home on sites like Dolly or Unpakt

33. If you can mount a TV, paint a house or do other household things, look into Amazon Home Services

This is a new and simple way to buy and schedule professional services such as furniture assembly, house cleaning, and plumbing. 

34. Do research for courthouses on sites like IT-Boss Research, JBS Court Research Services or Sunlark

35. Recycle your used smartphones and electronics on Gazelle for cash

36. Manage social media for small businesses

Many small businesses need a social media manager and simply don’t have the time nor the expertise to be posting on social media platforms. Contact local businesses through Instagram or via email, and offer your services for a contracted monthly fee.

37. Answer questions on JustAnswer

This website will pay you for answering questions. If you have skills such as experience in law, medicine, or information technology, you could get paid to help others understand certain topics.

38. Write an e-book

Write it on something you’re knowledgeable on, or write short stories, poetry, how-to guides etc.  Or you can also hire someone to ghost write an e-book for you through a freelance website. Then sell it online on Amazon’s publishing platforms such as CreateSpace and KD. Or you can sell it on Gumroad, WooCommerce, or Shopify.

39. Personal chef

If you’re an amazing chef, you can become a personal chef for people by marketing your services on sites like HireAChef.

40. Get paid to mystery shop on sites such as BestMark, Second to none or Secret Shopper.

If you’ve never heard of mystery shopping, these are people who buy in secret in a physical store or online, and then document their experiences with the retailer.

41. If you’re a master cleaner, you can make extra money cleaning other people’s homes on sites like HouseKeeper or Handy

42. Participate in marketing focus groups on sites like Focus Group or Field Work

Marketing companies are always holding focus groups to study the consumer’s response to products, services and advertisements across a variety of mediums.

43. Get paid to help people get fit

You can train people and get them in shape through personal training. Or get certified in yoga, SoulCycle, or another form of exercise and teach classes. You can also develop workout routines or meal plans for people and market it online.

44. Teach driving lessons to students

If you’re a good driver, you can get licensed as a driving instructor. Then you can provide private lessons through advertising your services both online and offline, or search for part-time driving instructor jobs on Indeed.

45. Sell food/desserts 

If you can cook, start selling your products to people by starting a home-based catering company. Or maybe start a meal prep service for your local area.

46. Affiliate marketer

Get paid a commission for referring customers to companies where they make purchases. For example, I’m an affiliate for my favorite task management tool called Sunsama and my favorite latte brand Clevr (Use code SADEJ15 for 15% off)

47. Start a notary business

48. Sell products at local markets and festivals

49. Offer beauty services

People love to look good, especially for content. Thus, if you’re skilled at doing hair, make-up, lashes, waxing, even styling outfits. Consider offering these services to people. 

50. Create a new business idea that the world hasn’t seen yet

Every business was once someone’s idea. No matter what business/side hustle you decide to start, remember to leverage your talent. skills, and interests because we all have some that we can monetize and positively impact thousands with.

If you desire balance between your work and personal life, so you can pursue and grow your business, lets set up time to connect here.

The post 50 Side Hustle Ideas To Grow Your Income appeared first on The Fire Inside.

Personal development doesn’t happen overnight, it requires lifelong adjustments within your thought processes and actions but once you commit to making these alterations, you’ll experience increased positivity and motivation.

The majority of successful people have created a vision of aspirations they wish to achieve; they’re highly motivated individuals who are exceptionally driven to reach their goals. We previously highlighted a list of amazing speakers in our article ‘Motivational Speakers I Couldn’t Imagine My Life Without’, whose advice has been essential for personal growth. For those who share the same ambitions, we have some tips towards personal development from others who have strived for and achieved success.

Oprah Winfrey – Talk Show Host, TV Producer, Actor & Author

Hugely successful, Oprah Winfrey is very well known for her philanthropic nature having donated millions of dollars to educational causes and beyond. This extends into offering guidance towards a successful future as Insider recounts, in a speech Winfrey delivered to Smith College a few years ago. Winfrey stresses the importance of finding and embracing your uniqueness and actively using your gifts. Alongside focusing on self-discovery, she tells us how crucial prioritizing self-care is on our personal development journeys advising that putting yourself last leaves you with limited motivation and energy left to pursue your goals.

Bret Lockett – Former NFL Player and Founder of High Stakes Training

With a background spanning many industries, a leading business consultant, Bret Lockett has a focus on helping individuals become top performers in life and in business. One of Lockett’s most personal and useful pieces of advice he received and took note of was how to spend the first and last two hours of each day. He states that we need to disconnect and focus solely on ourselves, using our first waking hours to align our goals and channel positivity into our day and the last two preparing for the next day.

Shanthi Flynn – Keynote Speaker

Shanthi Flynn, keynote speaker and co-founder of the ZIS Professional Women’s Network have an impressive resume, boasting many executive corporate positions and a plethora of admirable accolades across her career. Now, as a strategic business consultant managing her own businesses, Flynn extends key career lessons and recently offered advice on how to progress. Most notably, Flynn emphasizes how you need to assess the potential in every opportunity, regardless of how unlikely it appears, and take advantage of every opportunistic moment that may direct you on different courses.

Sir Richard Branson – Entrepreneur

One of the most well-known businessmen and entrepreneurs, Richard Branson has built an impressive empire, despite leaving school at 16 and a few early business mishaps. It’s difficult to believe his roadmap to success and looking into the struggles Branson has encountered Entrepreneur discusses what Branson learned from his failures. One thing he teaches those striving for success is not to be derailed by setbacks. Instead, he encourages people to continue the fight and to remain optimistic and focused on their goals.

There’s a lot we can learn from the successes of others and drawing from their own personal experiences, we can steer ourselves down the most positive paths.

The post 4 Personal Development Tips From Successful Individuals appeared first on The Fire Inside.

Porto is a massive coastal city with plenty of room for outdoor activities. You can go camping in the wilderness, just like we described earlier, but you can also go surfing, boating, hiking, and birdwatching. Porto redefines the great outdoors and gives people a wider selection of things to do. Okay, maybe a traditional camping trip isn’t your thing. Porto still has a wealth of outdoor activities to experience.

Today, we’re going to show you some of our favorite outdoor and camping activities near Porto. We say “near” because we’ll be exiting the city for at least a few of these activities. Suffice it to say that we’ll be traveling a lot. Pack your essential items, then use a Porto luggage storage service to store your extra items.

Photo by Serge Le Strat on Unsplash

Chapel of Souls

Chapel of Souls kind of sounds like a location in a fantasy story, doesn’t it? It sounds more like a Lord of the Rings venue than a church, in our opinion. Turns out, the Chapel of Souls is located in Porto, Portugal. All of those blue and white squares that you see on this building? Those are Azulejos Tiles.

The Chapel of Souls is completely decorated in ornate Azulejos art. You usually have to head indoors to admire paintings of this caliber. However, admiring the Azulejos Tiles at the Chapel of Souls is an outdoor activity.

Campsite Orbitur Rio Alto

There are a lot of great places to set up camp in a city as big as Porto. Most of these places are large parks that are quite popular with the locals. Campsite Orbitur Rio Alto is exactly the sort of venue that we’re talking about.

This campsite has tons of room for outdoor activities. It also offers extremely affordable rates for campers who want to stay in a room. Amenities like on-site restaurants and an outdoor swimming pool make Campsite Orbitur Rio Alto all the more special.

Photo by Shaun Donnelly on Unsplash

Douro River

Some time ago, Porto earned the “City of Bridges” moniker. It’s no secret that several large bridges are sprinkled all throughout the city. Can anyone guess which body of water most of those bridges cross over? If you answered the Douro River, you’re 100% correct!

This massive river is more than 550 miles long. That’s plenty of room to go boating, rafting, rowing, or kayaking. Just make sure to mind your map; the Douro River stretches all the way from Porto to Central Spain!

Jardins do Palácio de Cristal

Our minds always feel so much more clear after we go for a nature walk. Be it a long trek or a short trip, something about nature walks really revitalizes us. The Jardins do Palácio de Cristal is one of our favorite places to go for nature walks in Porto.

The Gardens of the Crystal Palace, as they’re called in English, feature hedge-mazes, flower art, sculptures, and plenty of room for most kinds of outdoor activities. It’s not uncommon to find folks birdwatching here. A garden this magnificent is bound to attract all kinds of birds.

Matosinhos Beach

Matosinhos Beach is probably one of our favorite places to go when we just want to cool off. The sea lapping at your feet. The wind whipping through your hair. There’s nothing like a trip to this beach on a hot summer day.

Matosinhos Beach presents visitors with a wealth of outdoor activities if they’re willing to get creative. You can set up a volleyball game here, or you can just bask in the sun. You can light a bonfire at night, or you can go surfing during the day. The possibilities seem endless at Matosinhos Beach. It really just comes down to personal preference.

Miradouro da Vitória

One of the great things about Porto is that it has natural beauty and man-made beauty. What do we mean by that? Well, the city is full of all kinds of beautiful architecture. Think skyscrapers, houses, and especially bridges. These structures are just a joy to look at. From the right angle, that is.

That’s where Miradouro da Vitória comes in. This streetside viewing center is one of the best places to go to simply admire Porto’s beauty. You can see plenty of famous Porto landmarks from here and you can snap some amazing photos.

Parque Natural do Douro Internacional

We’ve already spent some time fawning over the Douro River, but we’re not quite done yet. It’s only fitting that a river this amazing has a national park. Or an international park, as is the case with Parque Natural do Douro Internacional.

This splendid nature reserve is simply a beauty to behold. It’s also one of the biggest hiking spots in Porto. Winding roads and stunning scenery await at the Parque Natural do Douro Internacional. This place just has a way of bringing out the adventurer in all of us.

Parque das Virtudes

Porto might have a lot of parks, but none of them are exactly alike. Our previous entry was a national park that’s located far away from the center of the city. Parque das Virtudes, on the other hand, is located near the heart of Porto and Douro River.

This park is a favorite picnic spot for many of Porto’s citizens and visitors. It’s also a layered garden that would make the Babylonians blush. Okay, so that reference might not resonate with everyone. But the views and the scenery that you’ll find at Parque das Virtudes certainly will.

The post The Best Guide to Outdoor Activities Near Porto appeared first on The Fire Inside.