I love these lists and I love when I can just drop it in the comments casually instead of making a whole other post. Yay!
Stopping: Snooze button on week days. Literally just told my husband he needs to physically drag me from the bed when he leaves for work or my whole morning is chaos.
Starting: Adult ballet lessons!!! I am VERY NERVOUS but omg so excited. I danced for 10+ years growing up and I can't wait to get back into it.
Continuing: Building good budgeting behaviors. I've realized that this is literal skill building that I'm giving myself a whole year to reach competency in, instead of thinking the next spreadsheet/workbook will be the one that magically *snaps* my finances into place.
It took me a year during pandemic lockdowns to finally get my finances on track and feeling like I was managing everything well without restricting myself (which always ends in "lashing out", aka really unnecessary spending), and then I had a kid and no income for a year and whoooosh 🫠😅 feels like I am chasing a ghost trying to get back on top of it!
I feel this completely! I also had a baby two years ago and that really, uh, lit a fire under my ass. Currently I'm following The Budget Mom's method in her workbook because she does daily videos of tracking her expenses and all of the cyclical admin tasks that my executive dysfunction could never keep up with. I'm seeing incremental progress and finding ways to tweak things to my real life!
Omg so jealous of the Scotland trip! My mom and I took our 6th trip there in April - it’s my favorite place in the world!
Stopping: my Starbucks croissant habit. It’s not that good and I want to start eating a healthier breakfast.
Starting: going for a walk at least three times a week - either during lunch or when I get home from work. We walked sooo much in Scotland and I miss how it made me feel!
Continuing: also limiting my social media. I’ve already deleted X (over a year ago) and just let go of TikTok.
Stopping: answering work emails while I'm on summer break! My OOO is going up next week. :D
Starting: I've been rock climbing gym curious for a while now, so I'm going to rope in a few friends (pun extremely intended) and check out the one in my city.
Continuing: I've been hosting a free weekly call for aspiring novelists, and it has been the absolute joy of my life this spring, so we will continue into the summer!
Yes! I second the mouth taping. I was so skeptical but it really changed things for me. Also I found I had to give up caffeine completely and it really did wonders. The sleep is worth it!
I keep hearing the suggestion to take quiet walks but I don't think they will work for me. I get stuck when I can't journal out a thought then I ruminate until I've turned it to dust. I am fascinated to hear you can write a blog post like this and keep it in your head!
On the sleeping... maybe it's caffeine but maybe it's that you are not made for the 8 hour night. Try a 6 hour night and a 30 minute midday nap instead.
Somebody Somewhere is one of my favorite shows and I'm sad it's been canceled. One of the things I appreciate is the accurate and fair representation of midwesterners, not to mention the landscape. Her parents' farm isn't some highly idealized Hollywood version - it looks like a real working farm.
And honestly, with a few different decisions, my life would look very similar to Sam's. Including the gay male best friend. I love her with all my heart but it also makes me extremely grateful for what i have.
It is SUCH a good show! I, too, really appreciate the realistic portrayal of Midwesterners. And it’s SO GOOD for my brain to see realistic-looking faces and houses! I also loved how they didn’t make the whole thing about her losing weight or finding romantic love. I know I’ll be re-watching it for years to come!
Things I’m going to start this summer: strategically micro dosing my sun exposure so I can gradually build a base tan safely instead of waiting to burn and peel, eating more plants, less meat and daily early morning Pilates before my kids wake up
Things I plan to continue: intermittent fasting for gut health and writing my Substack newsletter 😊
I think of you every time I watch Somebody Somewhere - did you do a Chef-inspired meal? You’re right, I cry most every episode!
I like reading these lists too, so here’s mine:
I’m going to start going to yoga more too! I recently purchased a package deal from a local studio and we just committed to a 9-day yoga adventure to Peru for next year, so need to get back to that.
I’m going to keep going to my gym class that has become a habit and has helped me slowly and sustainably shed 40 pounds of fat (!!!!!) over the past 18 months.
I’m going to stop … have to think about this one … snacking on junk food for dinner and instead be more intentional about cooking food from the freezer. I got a little carried away with food storage in case of Apocalypse and now we are preparing to go away for an extended time this summer and the chances of a power outage due to a monsoon storm are WAY higher than suddenly not being able to feed ourselves… at least over the next few months. :P
Not listening to anything while you walk is blissful! The podcast or audiobook always seems like the more interesting choice in the moment, but allowing your brain to wander is so much better.
I love these lists and I love when I can just drop it in the comments casually instead of making a whole other post. Yay!
Stopping: Snooze button on week days. Literally just told my husband he needs to physically drag me from the bed when he leaves for work or my whole morning is chaos.
Starting: Adult ballet lessons!!! I am VERY NERVOUS but omg so excited. I danced for 10+ years growing up and I can't wait to get back into it.
Continuing: Building good budgeting behaviors. I've realized that this is literal skill building that I'm giving myself a whole year to reach competency in, instead of thinking the next spreadsheet/workbook will be the one that magically *snaps* my finances into place.
I love that you're taking adult ballet lessons!!
It took me a year during pandemic lockdowns to finally get my finances on track and feeling like I was managing everything well without restricting myself (which always ends in "lashing out", aka really unnecessary spending), and then I had a kid and no income for a year and whoooosh 🫠😅 feels like I am chasing a ghost trying to get back on top of it!
I feel this completely! I also had a baby two years ago and that really, uh, lit a fire under my ass. Currently I'm following The Budget Mom's method in her workbook because she does daily videos of tracking her expenses and all of the cyclical admin tasks that my executive dysfunction could never keep up with. I'm seeing incremental progress and finding ways to tweak things to my real life!
Omg so jealous of the Scotland trip! My mom and I took our 6th trip there in April - it’s my favorite place in the world!
Stopping: my Starbucks croissant habit. It’s not that good and I want to start eating a healthier breakfast.
Starting: going for a walk at least three times a week - either during lunch or when I get home from work. We walked sooo much in Scotland and I miss how it made me feel!
Continuing: also limiting my social media. I’ve already deleted X (over a year ago) and just let go of TikTok.
These are great!!
Stopping: answering work emails while I'm on summer break! My OOO is going up next week. :D
Starting: I've been rock climbing gym curious for a while now, so I'm going to rope in a few friends (pun extremely intended) and check out the one in my city.
Continuing: I've been hosting a free weekly call for aspiring novelists, and it has been the absolute joy of my life this spring, so we will continue into the summer!
I love these! I dabbled in rock climbing in my 20s and it’s so fun!
Also, Sarah, have you tried mouth taping at night? I started doing that for my sleep hygiene a few years ago, and I definitely notice a difference.
Oh, interesting! I haven’t tried it yet!
Yes! I second the mouth taping. I was so skeptical but it really changed things for me. Also I found I had to give up caffeine completely and it really did wonders. The sleep is worth it!
I keep hearing the suggestion to take quiet walks but I don't think they will work for me. I get stuck when I can't journal out a thought then I ruminate until I've turned it to dust. I am fascinated to hear you can write a blog post like this and keep it in your head!
On the sleeping... maybe it's caffeine but maybe it's that you are not made for the 8 hour night. Try a 6 hour night and a 30 minute midday nap instead.
Somebody Somewhere is one of my favorite shows and I'm sad it's been canceled. One of the things I appreciate is the accurate and fair representation of midwesterners, not to mention the landscape. Her parents' farm isn't some highly idealized Hollywood version - it looks like a real working farm.
And honestly, with a few different decisions, my life would look very similar to Sam's. Including the gay male best friend. I love her with all my heart but it also makes me extremely grateful for what i have.
It is SUCH a good show! I, too, really appreciate the realistic portrayal of Midwesterners. And it’s SO GOOD for my brain to see realistic-looking faces and houses! I also loved how they didn’t make the whole thing about her losing weight or finding romantic love. I know I’ll be re-watching it for years to come!
Stopping: DoorDashing everything- I want to go more community based!
Starting: (also!) yoga classes- I got a gift certificate for my bday in January and still haven’t used it!
Continuing: limiting my social media access - because it gets dark out there after a while!
I love these!! Let's hold each other accountantable yoga buddy!
Yes, let’s! I actually just went and signed up for a class, finally, as soon as I posted that comment!
My husband laughed about this, but I put “get into cottage cheese” as one of my summer goals, so this fake caprese might be where I start!! 😄
Yes! It’s so easy and good!
Things I’m going to start this summer: strategically micro dosing my sun exposure so I can gradually build a base tan safely instead of waiting to burn and peel, eating more plants, less meat and daily early morning Pilates before my kids wake up
Things I plan to continue: intermittent fasting for gut health and writing my Substack newsletter 😊
I think of you every time I watch Somebody Somewhere - did you do a Chef-inspired meal? You’re right, I cry most every episode!
I like reading these lists too, so here’s mine:
I’m going to start going to yoga more too! I recently purchased a package deal from a local studio and we just committed to a 9-day yoga adventure to Peru for next year, so need to get back to that.
I’m going to keep going to my gym class that has become a habit and has helped me slowly and sustainably shed 40 pounds of fat (!!!!!) over the past 18 months.
I’m going to stop … have to think about this one … snacking on junk food for dinner and instead be more intentional about cooking food from the freezer. I got a little carried away with food storage in case of Apocalypse and now we are preparing to go away for an extended time this summer and the chances of a power outage due to a monsoon storm are WAY higher than suddenly not being able to feed ourselves… at least over the next few months. :P
40 pounds - that's incredible!! And have so much fun in Peru! (Also, I can't believe we didn't think to have a Chef-inspired meal 🤦)
Ooooh can you link your “accidental bookkeeper” client? The link above gave me an error and I def want to have her on my podcast!
Oh yes! https://substack.com/@accidentalaccountant/posts Shea is GREAT!
Not listening to anything while you walk is blissful! The podcast or audiobook always seems like the more interesting choice in the moment, but allowing your brain to wander is so much better.