Hi friends, I'm Emily Lay and you're listening to the Simplified Podcast. If you're looking

to simplify your life and organize your home, then you are in the right place. Every week

I invite you to explore practical ways to organize and automate the complicated parts

of life so you can focus on what truly matters most.

It's always an exciting week when I get to launch a new book into the world, and more

than ever, with my new book called Near in the Night, I feel like I've written the book

that I need to hear. I'm a busy person by nature, that's just who I am. I love the feeling

of hard work, of achieving something I've worked to gain. That's the Enneagram 3 and

me, I suppose. So it's taken me a long time to love, and I mean truly love the ritual

of drawing the day to a close. Back in the day, I stay awake late into the night working

on projects and maybe reading a good book if I could fit it in. Even now in the evenings

I like to be a runner who, after crossing the finish line, needs an extra jog around

the track to slow her mind and body. It's tough to come to an abrupt stop after moving

so fast all day. So over the years I've developed a flexible, peaceful evening routine that

tells my brain that it's time to rest and quiet my mind. But even when I've completed

my nighttime ritual and I'm laying in bed with the lights off, sometimes my mind still

races. I worry, I make plans, I rethink things I said or did that day. I bet you think

about that stuff too. I bet you worry about the darker stuff that rolls into your brain

too. Financial worries, aging parents, relationship challenges, that medical concern that keeps

tugging your attention. It's hard to outrun those thoughts and the world gets quiet.

My anxiety often gets the best of me when it's time to slow down. Over the last few years

I found that in order to quiet my mind, it helps if I treat myself as tenderly as I would

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