Months that start on a Thursday are weird. I don't feel like this is a very complete list, and it's very low key. But also, it's December. December is a month for family, friends, and at-home life. We also have guests for 27 of 31 days in December, which is awesome, and definitely keeps the month focused on social and fun.
Family:
- Update kids & family photo albums
- Take kids to see holiday lights somewhere
- Take a family photo
- Bake & decorate cookies
Personal / Social
- Make actual time for goal setting/reflection for 2023 (perhaps BOBW Patreon?)
- 3 times a week is a habit - get exercise 3x a week
- Visit a Christmas Market
- Send out holiday cards
- Plan fun visits with friends for January
- Be more social with my team
- Organize in-person meetings for Office days
House & Life admin*
- Sell the Roomba we never use
- Drop off bags at the charity shop (I am a continual purger)
- Sell current mixing bowl set up and buy better mixer
- Order IKEA cabinet for dining room
- Contest semi-fraudulent Parking Ticket (or continue to contest it - I keep getting fee letters through the door, I keep sending information to them, and I keep getting threatened. I want to give up because it's so frustrating but also I don't want to give up on principal, I don't own these sleaze-balls anything and I don't think it's fair they're taking advantage of people. )
*I know this isn't really a goal and more of a to-do list, but I am writing it down anyways
This isn't a super inspiring goals list but I think the month itself has enough in it without me adding more.
Also, I love my local library. They have an amazing book holds system. The only problem is that I can't really control when books come in... so yesterday I picked up the following:
I should read Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow first as that had the longest wait list. I probably won't read The Power of Habit even though lots of books I've read have mentioned it. But I want to start with Why has Nobody Told Me This Before Because Cal Newport's interview with Yael Schonbrun seemed to cover a lot of ACT theory and although I've ordered Work Parent Thrive I'm not sure when it's going to arrive.
What are you looking forward to reading this month?
Do you make December goals?
The Happiness Trap is my favourite book about ACT. I tried to get into Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before...but I just couldn't.
ReplyDeleteI've read The Power of Habit twice - it's good, but I love Atomic Habits (James Clear) and Better than Before (Gretchen Rubin) even more!
I also find holds can be feast or famine; they all seem to come at once!
Also - 27/31 days seems like a lot of guests. I'd be huddled in the corner of a room crying!!
And your opening sentence really made me laugh: "Months that start on a Thursday are weird." I've never thought about that before!
I have The Happiness Trap on the way. I started Why? but about 40 pages in I feel like I wish I could give this book to 25 year old me.. I'm not sure I'll be able to sustain the 400ish pages. I think I read Better than Before, and I've currently 8th in line for Atomic Habits.
DeleteI already read Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg but I somewhat think he's the person who turned smartphones into brain-crack so while his concepts were interesting I felt like it just highlighted how insidious apps are (because everything he talks about in the book is what he taught to app developers who made the addictive apps).
My mom is visiting untill the 18th, but because she has her own flat she's not really a houseguest. My brother is here for christmas from the 22nd to the 29th, which I'm really looking forward to since I only see him once a year. It's hard when you're far apart from family - when guests rain they pour!
I thought about the Thursday bit because I plan on Fridays and I'm switching to a daily planner for December and had to decide whether to start on Monday the 28th or Monday the 5th! I went with the 5th (so I'm not even using it yet) but the week felt weirdly disjointed to me...
I've tried to get "into" Tiny Habits, but I just...couldn't. I found it repetitive and not as immersive as Atomic Habits? It could just be my own stylistic preferences? Anyhoo...I made it a few chapters in and abandoned it!
DeleteAs for The Happiness Trap, I will say it took me THREE reads of this book to feel like I had a handle on the concepts. What helped me the most was taking notes. It's very accessible and easy to read, but there is a lot of info and the first two times I read it, I had borrowed it from a friend and then the library. The last time, I actually bought my own copy and could take my time/make notes in margins and I typed up TWELVE pages of notes from the book. I found this so, so helpful.
Oh The Glass Hotel!!! I loved this book. Read it twice in two years. But I don't want to oversell it. I'll be interested to hear what you think of the cal newport book. I haven't read him (other than a random article maybe) but I enjoy hearing him on podcasts. I'm glad you're looking forward to your month of guests, family, friends, and fun!
ReplyDeleteI've read a few Cal Newport books, I liked Digital Minimalism a lot, but I recently abandoned A World Without Email. His book "So Good They Can't Ignore You" was also interesting, but it was a little hard to read because it read soooo much like a senior thesis. "I am going to argue this. Now I argue this. Now you have seen what I have argued". He does have interesting points, even if I do often object to his under-acknowledged gender bias.
DeleteI really should put Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow on my reading list. People say such good things about it, but it just doesn't grab me. I'll be interested in knowing what you think about it.
ReplyDeleteI thought The Glass Hotel started slowly, but found it pretty immersive once I got through the first couple of chapters.
Organizing in-person meetings on office days! I love that goal. I was just talking to a colleague yesterday about making it a point to get more people from our group face-to-face more regularly. That's the reason to go into the office!
ReplyDelete