Try This Influencer's Color-Coded Calendar Hack For More Energy

In Chill Chat, Bustle sits down with celebrities and influencers to talk about all things wellness, from daily routines to hacks for getting a good night’s sleep. Here, Sami Clarke Barnett discusses her favorite wellness rituals from grounding in nature to a color-coded energy calendar.

No one is popping Sami Clarke Barnett’s bubble — literally. “Every morning, I draw an energetic circle around me that acts as a boomerang. If something isn’t meant for me, it bounces right off,” the wellness influencer tells me over Zoom from Los Angeles.

The model-turned-founder began her fitness career by sharing at-home workouts on YouTube. In 2021, she co-founded the platform FORM — which includes guides to movement and meditation, as well as an athleisure line — alongside entrepreneur Sami Bernstein Spalter. FORM’s first-ever New York pop-up takes place on May 15 - 17.

The two Samis also co-host the Dear Media podcast Transform, which features top wellness gurus as guests (hi, Jay Shetty). “Being able to have important conversations in long-form, versus what you’re able to do in an Instagram caption or story, really fuels me,” Clarke Barnett says. “It’s like my own therapy when I go to record a podcast.”

She has nearly a million followers across Instagram and TikTok, where she posts about mindfulness, self-love, and style. Ahead, Clarke Barnett shares a calendar hack to protect her energy, a journaling tip, and the reason she always wipes her feet before bed.

What do you do first thing in the morning?

It is so important for me to actually say something good about myself when I first open my eyes, while my mind is racing. I try to just be an observer of my thoughts rather than let them take over me. So I'll say like, “I’m worthy by just being me. Today is going to be such an incredible day. I am so loved.” Whatever I feel like I need in that moment. I just need to ground myself in that truth.

After that, I will get up, drink my glass of water, and take my supplement.

What about at night?

I always wipe my feet before bed. There's something ritualistic about it, thanking them for everything that they've done in the day.

Any tips for getting into a regular wellness practice?

I would set check-ins for yourself throughout the day with alarms on your phone. Mine goes off at 11:30 a.m. and it's hand over heart, hand over belly, and just taking two big deep breaths.

I love a morning routine because it always changes. What I’m doing now isn’t the same as a year ago.

What supplements do you take?

Always Seed’s probiotic. I also have been taking Ritual’s Stress Relief to help with my cortisol levels.

Do you have a meditation practice?

I love the Gabby Bernstein app, and I also started doing this thing I call “Daily Glimmers.”

When I wake up, my mind jumps to survival mode. So right now, I’m training my brain and body to understand what joy feels like, and what the sensation of goodness feels like. I take a journal and write something I’m grateful for or a “glimmer” from the day before, and I will try to feel what that moment felt like.

Sometimes, gratitude practices can be very automatic, and by making it a sensory experience, I am present.

What does your personal workout routine look like?

It changes depending on the day of the week. For example, Mondays are usually the busiest with meetings so I work out in the afternoon. I do a 30-minute session from the app, which right now are the booty ones. I’m obsessed.

How do you manage your time?

I put everything in my Google Calendar, and I color-code it based on energy. If the time block is labeled in red, that means it’s an event that I know will consume a lot more of my energy. So what is the rest of my day looking like? Do I have so many things going on that I'm not going to be able to show up for that event in a really centered place? We need to move some things then.

I need to be the director of my life. Throughout the day, I want to show up to the best of my ability.

How do you unwind after a long day?

It’s laptop shut at 5:30 p.m. I drive to Rainbow Acres and pick up ingredients to cook dinner that night, and I really set the scene: candles, no overhead lights, and I’ll change the music to something more zen. I’m signaling to my nervous system that it’s time to slow down.

I love to sip on Poppi in a wine glass — right now I’m into the Cream Soda flavor — and snack on olives while I cook. This would be a dream night in.

What mantra do you live by?

I am one in 400 trillion. I am not here by mistake. I am a miracle.