Your Next, Best Step

Episode 094: The Procrastination Loop You’ve Never Questioned

That task you have been avoiding for three weeks? You have been calling yourself lazy. The research says you are reading the situation wrong. Procrastination is not a discipline problem. It is an emotion regulation problem. The thing you are avoiding is not the task itself. It is the feeling the task brings up. Boredom. Inadequacy. Resentment. Fear that you will get it wrong. Your brain steers you toward something easier, and the task sits on your list while you wonder what is wrong with you. In this episode, we walk through what neuroscience has discovered about why you cannot start, the one question that changes the entire conversation, and a simple two-minute move that gives your brain new evidence. You'll leave with: - A reframe that ends the lazy/undisciplined story you have been telling yourself - The specific question to ask before you label yourself again - A research-backed micro-move that breaks the loop without willpower SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHT: Proverbs 13:4 (NIV) Research note: This episode references the work of Dr. Timothy Pychyl at Carleton University, along with neuroimaging research on emotion regulation and a randomized controlled trial published in Frontiers in Psychology. Ready for your next step? FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download): YourNextBestStep.com  [https://YourNextBestStep.com] Weekly encouragement + practical tips: YouTube @CoachJanetJ [https://www.youtube.com/@CoachJanetJ] Instagram: @janetjjaecks [https://www.instagram.com/janetjjaecks/ ] If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.   One small step. One day at a time.

BONUS: Grief Does Not Pause for Potato Salad (YNBS 093)

That wave of sadness at the barbecue? Researchers have a name for it. And it means your brain is doing exactly what it is supposed to do.  If Memorial Day means more to you than the unofficial start of summer, the latest full episode (093) is for you: "The Grief That Shows Up at Barbecues: Memorial Day and the Losses No One Sees" Ready for your next step? FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download): YourNextBestStep.com  [https://YourNextBestStep.com] Weekly encouragement + practical tips: YouTube @CoachJanetJ [https://www.youtube.com/@CoachJanetJ] Instagram: @janetjjaecks [https://www.instagram.com/janetjjaecks/ ] If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.   One small step. One day at a time.

Episode 093: The Grief That Shows Up at Barbecues: Memorial Day and the Losses No One Sees

Memorial Day weekend is coming. And for some women, the hardest part of the long weekend is carrying the name of someone who will not be at the barbecue, the parade, or the family reunion. If Memorial Day means more to you than the unofficial start of summer, this episode is yours. In this episode, we walk through what modern grief research calls "continuing bonds" - and why the healthiest response to loss is the opposite of "just move on." You will walk away with: * A deeper understanding of why grief intensifies on holidays — and why that wave of sadness at the picnic table is a normal, healthy response * The research-backed reason why talking about the person you lost is one of the best things you can do for your own wellbeing * A simple way to honor someone this Memorial Day weekend that costs nothing and takes less than a minute SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHT: "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." John 15:13 (NIV) Research note: This episode references continuing bonds theory (Klass, Silverman & Nickman, 1996), Worden's four tasks of mourning, and the National Cancer Institute's bereavement research on grief bursts during holidays. Ready for your next step? FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download): YourNextBestStep.com  [https://YourNextBestStep.com] Weekly encouragement + practical tips: YouTube @CoachJanetJ [https://www.youtube.com/@CoachJanetJ] Instagram: @janetjjaecks [https://www.instagram.com/janetjjaecks/ ] If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.   One small step. One day at a time.

BONUS: Your Bedtime Keeps Moving (YNBS 092)

Have you noticed your bedtime creeping later? The extended daylight is delaying your melatonin - and a 2024 study found that irregular sleep timing is linked to significantly higher mortality risk. One small correction can make a real difference.  Join us for the latest full episode exploring why "Sleep Is Not a Luxury: Why Your Body Needs a Bedtime (Yes, Even Yours)" (Ep 092) Ready for your next step? FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download): YourNextBestStep.com  [https://YourNextBestStep.com] Weekly encouragement + practical tips: YouTube @CoachJanetJ [https://www.youtube.com/@CoachJanetJ] Instagram: @janetjjaecks [https://www.instagram.com/janetjjaecks/ ] If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.   One small step. One day at a time.

Episode 092: Sleep Is Not a Luxury: Why Your Body Needs a Bedtime (Yes, Even Yours)

You are getting seven or eight hours of sleep. So why do you still feel exhausted? New research points to something most of us have never considered: when you sleep matters as much - or more - than how long you sleep. A 2024 study from Monash University found that people with the most irregular sleep timing had up to 48 percent higher risk of dying from any cause — regardless of total sleep hours. And right now, in late May, the longer evenings are shifting your schedule without you even choosing it. In this episode, we walk through what the research actually found, why summer daylight is the sneakiest disruptor of your sleep rhythm, and the one adjustment that gives your body clock something steady to hold onto.  In this episode, you will: * Understand why sleep consistency may protect your health more than sleep duration * Discover how summer daylight silently disrupts your circadian rhythm * Learn a stewardship perspective on rest that reframes how you think about bedtime SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHT: “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat — for he grants sleep to those he loves.” Psalm 127:2 (NIV)  Research note: Windred et al. (2024), published in the journal Sleep. Prospective cohort study of nearly 61,000 adults using accelerometer data. Sleep regularity was a stronger predictor of all-cause mortality than sleep duration. Ready for your next step? FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download): YourNextBestStep.com  [https://YourNextBestStep.com] Weekly encouragement + practical tips: YouTube @CoachJanetJ [https://www.youtube.com/@CoachJanetJ] Instagram: @janetjjaecks [https://www.instagram.com/janetjjaecks/ ] If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.   One small step. One day at a time.