​I was a long-time corporate sort of person, and a witch from birth one; of the biggest problems I've always had is balancing my logistical, mathematical, accounting side with my creative, pay attention to the universe because it's going to lead you someplace great, and try to relax side.  If life is always about learning this is one of the main things that I am still working on.
 
I often use whiteboards to work out my thought processes. At the present moment I only have two, one is for small drawings of how I want my life to look.  Everything from next week to 10 years from now. The other board is my, get it done, make the lists, make sure you're not missing anything, remember when you paid that bill and put it in the books, etc board.  
 
White boards are a great asset to witches. We spend a lot of time trying to stay in the present to allow our focus and our will to flow naturally.  White boards are temporary, just like the moment we are living in.  Whether you're a verbal person or a list person or a calendar person, a white board lets you do your own thing. Every two to three weeks for the “work” board, I take a photo of my whiteboard and email it to myself for my records.
 
I light my desktop candle if it wasn't already going from this morning's coffee routine.
 
Once my corporate brain has been assured that my paper trail is secure, I let the witch do her thing. For this I use moon water. I dampen a cloth and slowly wipe away the last 14 to 28 days of strain, stress, mundane things that are now in the past and don't need to be thought of right now. Knowing that the information is stored and available when I need to make those records or be that adult but for right now, I'm cleansing my board and erasing the past so that only the future is involved.  Being in the moment and setting my intents for prosperity and low stress growth.
 
I slowly repeat -
 
I wipe away last month's strain and prepare my mind for future gains.
With this water charged by the moon I refresh my life and welcome my boon.
Clean and bright we start fresh today, doing the plans and start making the way.
 

I truly enjoy doing a 28 day cycle from New Moon to New Moon. What I mean by that is at the beginning of the year for Yule I set an intention to live a "more aware of the universe" type life.  I'm a water baby anyways, so aligning myself with planetary moon phases and paying more attention to solar situations, this sits very easily and well with my science brain.

As part of being more connected I decided that on New Moon I would have a ritual and set intentions, make tweeks to my path, for the next 28 days, till the next new moon.  Overall this has gone very pretty well.  Some things have worked out, some things have been left behind. In general 28 days is about the right time frame for me to create new habits, try and change mental outlooks, or just get myself out of rut.
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I've been very busy but looking forward to tonight.  I finally got to sit and reflect and write out my three things for the next 28 days.  No big ceremony, too tired, but that doesn't mean I didn't stop, sit, light my desk candle, and do the thing.

If you want to connect, and be present, you have to do the thing; even when you don't want to.

I'm Glad I did the thing :)  I will sleep well.  It doesn't have to be a production, it just has to BE.  

The strange light is my plant light.  You can find the New Moon Meditation under "Ritual"

In my quest to live a more magical life, I try and incorporate something into my day that's directly related to my craft.  Today, I'm oiling my wand.  The wand was a gift from the river that cuts through my land in the mountains.  It was given to me the first day I was there.  I didn't carve or it change it any way.  It naturally fits perfectly into my hand.  I'm not a wand user, but someday I will figure out this amazing gift. 
I use walnut oil, a favorite among wood workers.  Never goes rancid and hardens as it ages.  The root sucks it up like crazy.  

​We all want to connect to nature in our way, but sometimes, it's way tougher than others.  I used to have over 50 indoor plants, but with my life the way it is now, with traveling half the year; it's impossible to keep indoor plants without moving them around every two weeks.  One of the solutions that might work for you, is a terrarium.  
There are 100's of videos on the basics of how to make a self-sustaining terrarium, it's cheap and easy and it's a great outlet for creativity.   This one cost me about $15 and I made it in under 2 hours.  It's about 3 weeks old here.   I found the jar at a thrift store for $5, stones and plants from the backyard, $10 in active charcoal, soil and some things I had around the house.  You can decorate any way you want, You just fill the water up to the dirt level and put on the top.  This one is fancy, as I have added springtails to it.  These are tiny little bugs that just LOVE algie and keep the jars clean and tidy.  As the plants die off the springtails eat the rotting vegetation.  You can purchase spring tails off the internet for less than $20 and feed them active dry yeast till you need them.  The perfect pet, you can forget about them for a month and they will be just fine.  

We often see posts that say things like, I have been away from my practice for many years, and I want to come back to it or I feel stuck like I can't progress what do I do? The answer to this question is pretty easy, you don't do things by thinking about them, you do things by actually doing them. 
So let's make that a practical thing, how exactly do I start the doing? You ask yourself the first question which is what is it you miss or what is it that you want to change? If the answer is I just feel stuck, or i just want to be more in touch or get back to my practice, very easy solution. On the new moon do something different for 28 days; new moon to new moon.  Doesn’t have to be exactly new moon, but in the time frame it really the best time to start.  Energy is low, and it’s a good time to start new things so they can build up slowly.   It doesn't matter what it is it you choose to do, doesn't matter how long it takes you to do it or where it's located or when you do it, just change one thing that you do for yourself every day for 28 days. I have listed just a couple of thoughts of things you can change in an instant for 28 days.
 
Change something you wear every day. For example, if you wear the same set of earrings every day, for the next 28 days change them out daily. This is something you must look at yourself, think about and do.  It’s how the world sees you. Can easily go with shoes if you have enough, or belts, anything you Adorn yourself with.
 
Instead of drinking your cup of coffee while watching the news drink your cup of coffee sitting looking out a window, or if you're able to outside. Take the five, Enjoy the moment.
 
If food is just something you shove in your mouth or pick up through a window, maybe going to the grocery store and planning out a small treat for yourself each night would be the perfect thing. It stops you from just grabbing and makes you think about and appreciate each day not only the forethought but the yumminess and the ability to sit and enjoy a treat.
 
Feel disconnected from your practice? Practice! If you are a nature person, take a walk in the park, if you are a water person find a place to stick your feet in water and go there, religious? Visit a religious place even if it's not your religion, it's still a mind moment in a religious location. Want to reconnect with your own power, get a candle,  light the candle, sit for 5 minutes every day. After 28 days I promise you, you will reconnect with something inside of yourself and probably be doing it 10 or 15 minutes maybe even have added a paper and pad to jot notes down.
 
Used to be very creative and now it's just blah? Get a pad and paper and draw the same thing for 28 days. Doesn't matter what it is make it something easy at first like a head or a flower or anything it doesn't matter. And draw it every single day. You can draw doing different things in different positions or you can draw literally the same exact thing every single day. Again, once you start carving that Groove in your brain for creativity you will get very bored with that single thing, but you'll be amazed at what you've added to it.
 
After 28 days at the next new moon reassesses.  Do something else, try something else do something different but you've got to do something to change, its human nature or physiology depending on which way you look at it.

As I assume most witches do, I try to live a magical life.  I make my tea with intent to calm or uplift, I shower with visualizations of washing away the day or uplifting and soaking my body with liquid joy in the morning.  One of the main things I started to do about a decade ago was write out a meditation for Yule.  I would write it over the 12 days and it serves as my compass, my overview direction for the year.  I revisit it once or twice a month just to read it over and remember my overview of the path for the year.

I write the Yule blessing by starting with a goals for the year.  I assign each goal to it’s appropriate element and then write the ritual around each element. When the times get confusing, like now when retrograde is making everything harsh and pointy sharp; BUT with intent.  Making way for the project I have been working on, building towards.  When times get harsh during the year I realign myself in with my Yule Blessing.  I remind myself of the import things.

This year, I have a very heavy push to collect, nurture and grow myself some of the things I love to consume and eat.  I am also launching a business.  As eating relates to my health, which isn’t great and should be my number one priority, I dedicated the North / earth and growth to not only my goal of eating well and enjoyably when things start to get scarce, but to remind myself that all things come in their own time, at their own pace.  Often, my time limits are not the universes, this goes for all things we sow, not just plants, but ideas, businesses, families, relationships.  All things in time and all things with their purpose. 
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Now that the moon has started to show it’s light again, it’s time to start nurturing what we have sowed.  In my specific case today, the coffee been plants are repotted, along with the Cinnamon tree. The worms are feed and re-bedded and all the plants got worm poo water today.  Roses are trimmed and flowers are repotted into the lizard garden.  Bay tree is moved and vines are redone.  The vanilla bean is orcharding like they do.  Baby bananas and papaya have grown 5 times larger in two months.  Tomorrow the Cocoa bean tree will get it’s new big boy home. 
I did it all without music, just listening to the birds and the plants.  Take time to settle and regroup, enjoy the moments between the accomplishments.  Find your groove and work it into your magic.  It’s always been one in the same, you just have to find a way to ritualize it so that your brain connects it.