Thursday Press #125: sorry for calling you out
[28 MAR 2024] Lifestyle Edition Vol. 023
Sunlight at 7 p.m., patio season, daffodils, eagle-watching, a return of Monday soccer league…
There are lots of things to appreciate about spring.
But there are also a lot of things that make me want to pull a groundhog & go back in my cozy hole for several weeks…
Tax season, pollen, mosquitos, never knowing what to wear because the weather is so weird and I'm not quite ready to make the transition to shorts yet because once I do I won't go back and I can't take this hot-and-cold, back-and-forth nonsense any more!!!
Phew, thanks for letting me get that off my chest, bestie.
Whether you're welcoming spring (and summer) with open arms or you feel like you get reverse seasonal affective disorder when the heat and humidity starts coming out, I support you.
I might sneeze on you (bc pollen), but I still support & love you.
And because I support & love you, I'm going to share some of my favorite things from the past month 😘
WHAT I'M LEARNING
You can have all the right pieces, but if you don't put them together, you'll never finish the puzzle.
I've been working with my therapist for weeks on trying to establish a better sleep & bedtime routine. Every week something else seems to get in the way.
Trivia night ran long, so I missed my bed time.
I ignored my bedtime alarms and stayed up scrolling on Threads for wayyyy too long.
Even after implementing scheduled “down time” to lock me out of every app except my audiobook (to fall asleep to), I still ignored it.
So this is what I told my therapist last Monday:
“I've done all the external things I can to support my goals. Now I just need to actually do it.”
Translation: No more specific sleep homework, there's nothing more to troubleshoot or try, I just have to actually do the things.
The same is true for any sort of system or goal in your life. Particularly when we talk about project management or task organization.
Everyone has their favorite tool and swears that THIS is the thing that's going to change your life.
But more often than not, setting up a new tool is just a way of procrastinating actually doing the things that need to get done.
(sorry to call you out so hard on a Thursday, but it needs to be said.)
Despite this, I still spent 2 hours yesterday finally setting up my Notion dashboard.
My intention with Notion isn't to organize my entire life or track my client work there. It's mostly to track my mood and have a universal place to store recs, content ideas, and other random thoughts throughout the day.
I'm not going to tell you to use Notion. Use whatever you want. But if you've been flirting with the Notion world for ages, I'd recommend this video to get you started!
WHAT I'M LOVING
Favorite Book: SOS I'm in the middle of a DEEP reading slump. Pls send any recommendations of books that absolutely HOOKED you.
Before the slump hit though, I did finish this five-star read: The Honeys by Ryan La Sala. To quote my Goodreads review:
“Holy FUCK this was good. I had no clue what to expect, and this was my first YA read in a while, so it took a bit to get into it. But it was incredible. I feel like I don't even know how to review it without giving spoilers, but I loved it.”
Culty vibes, queer representation, horror-light, & maybe some magical realism? If it piques your interest, give it a go.
Favorite Watch: We are finally. FINALLY. watching the Lord of the Rings movies. It's slow going — setting aside 4 hours to watch the extended edition is kinda tricky — but I'll be glad to finally check it off the list.
Favorite Desk Tunes: I've got three focus playlists and three bop albums for ya this month. Ready?
To Focus:
To Jam:
Favorite Follow: Can we agree to make this season a soft spring? Taking care of ourselves? Doing what we need to without the shoulds, shame, or self-hatred?
I love productivity & self-improvement culture, but it's hard to find the right creators in that space that match the vibe I want. That make me feel better about myself, not worse. Here are a few that fit the bill:
@spacetimeproductivity (and its co-founders:)
@marisajo (of bare minimum monday fame!)
Favorite Posts:
Favorite Coffee Order: I might have gotten bullied on TikTok for posting about it, but I did really like the lavender latte from Starbucks. I recommend balancing it out with a pump or two of vanilla if you don't like a strong lavender flavor!
And of course, here's this month's favorite cat picture:
Here's your homework —
While I'm knee-deep in website rewrites and product refreshes, send me your best book rec. Literally any genre, I'm open.
I'll also start a list so we can all get some recommendations from each other! Sound like a plan?