Workbooks for Everyday Life – Find the Right Tool

Here you can find help choosing which of my workbooks for everyday life suits you and your needs right now.

🇸🇪 Read in Swedish Vilket arbetsmaterial passar mig? En vägvisare bland Malix verktyg

Wednesdays are usually library days here at Malix.se. That is when I open the door to one part of the library that has grown through all my years of writing.

The materials are tools for self-reflection, recovery and everyday structure. They are not treatment and do not replace healthcare or professional support.

Today, I want to introduce another part of the library: the workbooks and tools I have created.

The materials have grown from my own life, my education, my experiences and my encounters with other people. Several of them address things I would have needed myself when I was exhausted and struggling.

They are not designed to make us achieve more. They are designed to help us understand ourselves, take care of our energy and make everyday life work a little better.

But which material is right for which need?

When Your Home Feels Overwhelming: Cleaning in Squares

Workbooks for Everyday Life – Which One Is Right for You?

This workbook is currently available in Swedish only.

Cleaning in Squares is a workbook for anyone who wants to get something done without using all their energy at once.

The idea is that we do not have to do everything. We can choose one small part of a larger project and allow that part to be enough.

A square might be:

one part of the kitchen
one room
one drawer or shelf
one raised garden bed
a few flowerpots
one small part of something much larger

Once we have chosen our square, we do one thing at a time. We do not rush through it simply to move on to the next task. We stay with what we are doing and take care of that small area with attention.

Doing one thing at a time can be applied to many parts of life. We do not have to solve our entire lives at once. We can take care of what is in front of us right now and allow everything else to wait.

The square does not only show us where to begin. It also helps us recognise when we have done enough.

The complete Cleaning in Squares workbook is not yet available in English. However, you can read the English introduction, Cleaning the Kitchen When It Is Difficult to Stop Once You Have Started.

When Your Energy Runs Out Between Tasks: Green Time

The Green, Yellow and Red workbook is available in English.

Green time is present in almost all my tools.

Green time is the time when we have an opportunity to settle, breathe and be where we are. It does not necessarily mean sitting alone in complete silence.

Green time can exist in the middle of a celebration if, for a moment, we feel safe and present. It can be found in the greenhouse with our hands in the soil. It can arise while sitting on a rock beside a lake or the sea, while drinking a cup of coffee or during a few minutes when nothing is demanding our attention.

Green time is not always a particular place or activity. It is a moment when we can be where we are and feel that we are all right there.

In the workbook, we explore what green time means to us, where it already exists and how we can create more space for it before our energy is completely gone.

The Green Time material is available in English.

When We Need to Understand Our Energy Levels: Green, Yellow and Red

The Green, Yellow and Red workbook is available in English.

Green, Yellow and Red is a model that can help us recognise where we are right now and what the next part of the day requires.

Yellow time is preparation.

It might include:

packing a bag
eating breakfast
putting things where they belong
gathering what we need
getting ready for the next task

When the yellow time is complete, there may be room for a short moment of green time before we continue.

Red time is when we carry out the task itself. It might be travelling to work, going to school, attending a meeting or doing something else that requires our attention and energy.

After red time, we need to find our way back to green again.

When we use the colours together with Cleaning in Squares, everyday life can become clearer. We receive help preparing, completing what needs to be done and remembering recovery between tasks.

Time then becomes something we care for, rather than something we are constantly trying to catch up with.

When Dreams and Feelings Stay with Us: Dream Reflection with Compassion

This workbook is currently available in Swedish only.

Dream Reflection with Compassion is about approaching our dreams with curiosity and kindness.

It is not dream interpretation, and there is no answer key telling us exactly what a symbol means. Instead, we use the dream as a starting point for reflection.

We can ask ourselves:

What happened in the dream?
What emotions arose?
Where can we feel them in our bodies?
Does anything in the dream remind us of our lives right now?
What compassionate advice could we offer ourselves?

Through reflection, we may sometimes discover something we need to take care of, explore further or perhaps begin to leave behind.

If we work with our dreams over a longer period, we may also begin to notice changes. Something that once caused intense fear may start to feel softer. We may respond differently or discover a new possibility within the dream.

This does not mean that the dream is telling us the truth. However, it may help us notice how our emotions and reactions are changing.

The complete Dream Reflection with Compassion workbook is not yet available in English.

When We Long for a Deeper Personal Process: Finding Your Way Back to Yourself

Finding Your Way Back to Yourself is a course I created some time ago. It still carries the same important idea: finding our way back to ourselves in the here and now.

It is not about quickly changing our entire lives or pushing ourselves through yet another project. It is more about noticing, in many small moments, where we are within our own lives.

What do I need right now?
What am I longing for?
What is happening in my body?
What do I want to carry forward – and what might I need to begin releasing?

The course can be followed at your own pace: one short text, one reflection or one moment at a time.

👉 See all workbooks, courses and current prices
At present, two of my workbooks are available in English: Green Time and Green, Yellow and Red. The other workbooks and courses are currently available in Swedish only. I hope to translate more of them into English in the future.

When a Workbook Is Not Enough: Online Conversations

Sometimes reading or completing a worksheet is not enough. Sometimes we need to put what is happening into words together with another person.

I offer supportive online conversations through Teams, using a compassion-focused approach.

During the conversations, we can work with stress, anxiety, grief, relationships, parenting, ADHD, self-compassion or personal development.

The workbooks that are relevant to what we are exploring are included at no additional cost. This means they do not have to remain something you read alone. They can become practical working documents that we use together during and between our conversations.

You can read more about how the conversations work on my online conversations page. The first conversation is a free 30-minute meeting during which we can find out whether this form of support feels right for you.

When You Want to Begin for Free

You do not have to buy a complete workbook to begin exploring the Malix tools. There are also free reflection sheets and materials that you can try at your own pace.

You can begin with Getting Started with a Dream Journal, My First Dream Reflection or one of the shorter reflection sheets.

👉 Free materials

Getting Started with a Dream Journal

A free PDF for anyone who wants to begin exploring their dreams with curiosity and compassion.

Download Getting Started with a Dream Journal. This work is currently available in Swedish only.

My First Dream Reflection

A worksheet that helps you pause with a dream and explore the thoughts and emotions it awakens. This work is currently available in Swedish only.

Download My First Dream Reflection.

The Little Reflection Sheet of the Week

A small reflection sheet for a quiet moment of thought in everyday life.

Download The Little Reflection Sheet of the Week. This workbook is currently available in Swedish only.

The free downloadable materials are currently in Swedish unless otherwise stated.

You Do Not Have to Begin with Everything

Not every material will suit everyone, and we do not need to use several tools at once.

Perhaps your home feels overwhelming right now. One small square might be a beginning.

Perhaps you do everything that needs to be done but forget about recovery. Green time might be what you need to explore.

Perhaps you are carrying a dream or an emotion that will not quite leave you. A gentle dream reflection might offer a possible first step.

You do not have to begin with everything.

Begin with what is causing the most difficulty – or with what feels possible right now.

A Reflection for Us

We can pause and ask ourselves:

What is taking the most energy from our everyday lives right now?
Do we need help beginning, stopping or recovering?
Is there one small tool that could make today a little easier?
What feels possible to begin with?

We do not have to fix our entire lives. Sometimes it is enough to notice the next small step and take care of it with attention.

The purpose of these workbooks for everyday life is not to help us achieve more, but to help us use our energy with greater care.

Between the Lines

Between the lines, these materials are not about becoming better at achieving things.

They are about recognising that our energy has value too.

That our time deserves to be cared for.

And that everyday life does not have to be perfect to work a little better.

I hope these workbooks for everyday life can help you find one small and manageable next step.

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If you appreciate my texts and would like to help the blog continue to grow, you are very welcome to buy me a coffee. ☕

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Carina Ikonen Nilsson

Yesterday has already settled into history. Tomorrow is waiting further ahead. But right now – this is where life is happening.

Which Malix Workbook Is Right for You?