44. Simplify Summer Stress: Use the Toss, Tweak, or Treasure Method

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Feeling the shift of summer but still stuck in survival mode?
In this episode of The Nurses’ Break Room with Jenny Lytle, RN, we’re kicking off June with a simple yet powerful summer self-care strategy: the Toss, Tweak, or Treasure Method. Whether your routine has changed or stayed the same, this quick exercise can help you reassess what’s truly serving you—and what needs to go.

🧠 Inside this episode:

• Why summer is the perfect time for a self-care switch-up
• How to do a 10-minute brain dump to uncover hidden energy drains
• Questions to ask yourself to decide whether to toss, tweak, or treasure
• Real-life examples for simplifying chores, routines, and even expectations
• How to protect the habits and moments that truly light you up

💡 Take Action:

• Toss: One thing draining your energy
• Tweak: One routine you can simplify
• Treasure: One moment or habit you’ll protect this week

🎯 Perfect for nurses, caregivers, and busy women who want less stress and more peace—without overhauling everything.

If you're feeling overwhelmed, burned out, or like there’s never enough time, I’ve got something just for you! Head to https://selfcareisntselfish.com to grab your FREE copy of my book, Self-Care Isn’t Selfish: The Compassionate Nurse’s Step-by-Step Guide to Personalized Stress Relief. It’s packed with simple, effective strategies to help you prioritize your needs—without guilt—so you can feel energized, focused, and ready to take on the day. Go to https://selfcareisntselfish.com 

Looking for connection with people who get the stress and self-care struggles of nurses and caregivers? Check out https://thenursesbreakroom.com

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennylytlern/

More ways to connect here: https://linktr.ee/jennylytle

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome back to another episode of the
Nurse's Break Room with JennyLytle RN.
We are right here on the firstMonday of June and I felt like
it was a great time to do a bitof a self-care switch up for the
summer.
Summer is a little different.
Sometimes it's time off andmore time with family and more

(00:22):
time outdoors.
Other times work schedules maybe the same, but maybe there's
more family events or maybeyou've got kids at home that
normally are in school.
Either way, summer just has adifferent feel to it, and so I
thought that we would start thisoff with a quick and easy way

(00:42):
to simplify some things in life,to maybe reduce stress a bit
that way.
So I came upon this tool calledToss, tweak or Treasure, and
it's a great way to look at someof the lists of tasks and
obligations and habits that wehave and figure out what to cut

(01:03):
or delegate or what to keep.
And so you do just a 10 minutebrain dump and come up with the
things that you're doing on aregular basis, and you can use
this for your to-do list andcommitments and habits and even
maybe the people that are aroundand thoughts that take up a lot

(01:25):
of space in your mind.
So what you do is you set atimer for 10 to 15 minutes and
you do a brain dump of thosethings, those current stressors
and habits and responsibilities,and then you go through each
one and you mark them as toss,tweak or treasure and so, for
example, like with the toss,what are the things that that

(01:48):
you want to let go of?
So maybe asking things like isthis draining me more than it's
helping me?
Is this something that reallyis necessary or just something
that I've gotten in the habit ofdoing?
Or maybe that has been expectedof me and would something bad
happen if I didn't do this?
Some examples of that arethings that you volunteer for,

(02:10):
not that you want to do, butjust because you feel guilty, or
the mindless social mediascrolling that is so easy to do,
or getting into different chatswith people, whether it be at
work or at home or via text,that really aren't very
productive and just aren't goinganywhere.

(02:30):
I'm talking about the ones thatdon't bring meaning to your
life or that aren't completelynecessary.
But there's some group chatsthat we just get stuck in and
then we check them and there'snothing really in there for us
in and then we check them andthere's nothing really in there
for us.
Something else to toss is thoseexpectations that we put on
ourselves that maybe don'treally have any reason to be

(02:53):
there.
We hold ourselves to a highstandard and that can be great,
but when it becomes unrealisticor unattainable or just another
should, then maybe it's time tolook at that.
Attainable or just anothershould, then maybe it's time to
look at that.
So, moving on to tweak, whatthings can you make more

(03:13):
manageable?
So are there things on yourlist that you could make simpler
or quicker or maybe make them alittle more enjoyable?
Is it something that you coulddelegate?
Can you add something to it tomake it a little more calming or
motivating?
Something to it to make it alittle more calming or
motivating?
So some examples of that arecutting your meal prep in time.
You can do things like gettingbagged salad or pre chopped
veggies or rotisserie chicken.

(03:35):
I love Sam's Club rotisseriechicken.
It's just, it's a go to in ourhouse and we eat it by itself.
We use it for different mealsthat we're making and it
definitely cuts a huge amount oftime and, honestly, money too.
Maybe there's things that youcan do If you have chores that
you have to do, you can playmusic while you're doing it or

(03:56):
listen to an audio book a bookyou've been wanting to read but
maybe haven't had time to.
I love audio books for my drivetime and my otherwise busy time
, and I know that I probablydon't get as much out of it as I
would if I were sitting downand reading a book, but at the
same time, I don't spend a lotof time sitting down and reading
books right now, so it's a wayto get some of that in.

(04:18):
Maybe you could shorten ameeting or make it something
virtual.
Or, if you're catching up witha friend over the phone, you
could both walk while you'redoing that or meet in person if
it's someone local.
Could you adjust your morningroutine or your bedtime routine
a bit to make them feel morerelaxing or rejuvenating or

(04:42):
invigorating, depending on thetime of day, or rejuvenating or
invigorating, depending on thetime of day.
And last, treasure, what are thethings that bring you joy and
peace and purpose and energy,and those things that are
aligned with your values andwith your goals, and what Are
they?
Things that you want more of inyour life?
So some things for me and maybefor you like, I love starting

(05:07):
my morning with tea and I wasdoing coffee, but I found that
some decaf green tea starts meoff better of a morning when I'm
already naturally perky and Idon't really need that extra
caffeine boost and I just savedmy caffeine for a little bit
later in the day when I coulduse a little pick me up.

(05:28):
But I love that and having mymorning God time when I read
through my devotionals and itjust really it sets me off on
the right foot.
And so figuring out what thatlooks like for you and maybe
it's a midday walk or familytime or just having a little bit

(05:51):
of alone time some time that isjust about you and maybe that's
in nature, maybe that's in yourcar somewhere, but just taking
the time to figure that out andthen making sure that you
protect it because it matters.
So I encourage you to considerworking through this and just
take one small action this weekfor each category and see how

(06:14):
that makes you feel, and I'dlove it if you would share that
with me.
Feel free to just reply to thisif you're listening on
Buzzsprout and you can send atext that way, or you can just
email me at Jenny Lytle, atJenny Lytlecom.
And until next time, remember,self-care isn't selfish.
It's essential if we want tocontinue to care for others and

(06:35):
live our best lives.
Thanks so much and have a greatweek.