March 2023 Intentions

This essay appeared in the Monday morning newsletter on 2/27/23.

I am really excited for today’s newsletter.

February can always be a bit of a mixed bag. The excitement of the new year has dulled a bit, and the cloudy, gray skies and cold temps affect my mood more than I wish they would.

Even with some great happenings last month, I couldn’t shake the winter blues creeping in.

However, when I saw that yesterday’s forecast called for sun and high 40s, my spirits instantly lifted. I took myself to lunch, pulled out my planner and started thinking/dreaming about March.

Giving myself space to process how I was feeling and look ahead to exciting plans was exactly what I needed (plus, a sunny walk to the restaurant and a delicious salad with a side of sweet potato fries ).

If you are feeling similarly, I highly recommend taking some time this week to think about the next month ahead. And in case you’re interested – sharing the planning I asked myself below and intentions for March.

Reflecting ahead of March:

What do I love about the month of March?

• St. Patrick’s Day!! Love this fun holiday and love celebrating in Chicago.
• March Madness! Last year was one of the first years I really participated in/paid attention to March Madness. (Could it have something to do with the fact the guy I was newly dating – and very smitten with – is college basketball obsessed? . But nevertheless, it was a lot of fun!! Looking forward to it this year.
• Besides those two things, there’s honestly not much more I love about March… Here in Chicago, it feels too premature to get excited about spring. Really is just another month of winter. But that’s not going to stop us from still enjoying the month!

Anything unique about March this year?

• My two best friends from college are visiting me for Chicago St. Patrick’s Day!!! I CANNOT wait.
• I also have a few special events to celebrate friends in March, including a wedding shower and trip to Asheville for a bachelorette party. Really looked forward to both.
• There are some changes to my projects at work happening this month, which I am very excited about.
• Like I’ve enjoyed the special times with friends, but also kept some time to myself.

How do I want to feel at the end of March?

• Like I’ve enjoyed the special times with friends, but also kept some time to myself.

March 2023 Intentions

• Pay special attention to mornings. I love mornings. I love waking up early and reveling in the quiet and the calm. There’s something that feels so special about those quiet hours before the emails start coming in, cars start honking outside and daily obligations get rolling. This month, I want to be more intentional about savoring this time – and not always using them to be productive. More slow mornings where I read, dream, write – I love it!  
• Re-commit to my daily pushups, haha. I can do a pushup, but I’m not proud of the form. So, I’m trying to start small and do a pushup a day in 2023. My idea was to match the number of pushups to the month (1 pushup in January; 2 in February, etc.). I was great about this practice in January, but did not keep up with in February. Recommitting in March and doing 3/day!!
• Carve out time to write. Similar to savoring my mornings, I want to be more intentional in March about writing time. Feels necessary with weekends (which usually = my writing time) being booked up with fun events.
• Track sunny days. This is something that I started a few years ago and I’ve found it helps so much. I have a wall calendar in my kitchen and whenever there’s a day when the sun is out, I track it with a little drawing of the sun. I’ve found I love doing this for two reasons: 1) when I’m feeling a bit off or low, I can reference my calendar to clue myself in on the last time I saw the sun. More often than not, my dip in mood correlates with the sun not being out and 2) before I complain about the “sun never being out in March,” I look at the calendar to check myself. A lot of times I can forget that the sun is actually out more than I expect