Monday, 11/2/20: Talking about an October recap and positive, mindless content
Happy Monday!
It’s a new week, which means it’s time for your next Monday motivation newsletter. Read on below for some steps to a happier Monday, a short story and a roundup of positive thoughts to get your week started.
Three Steps to a Happier Monday
Each newsletter starts with three prompts to inspire gratitude and simple intention setting. Take a moment and jot down answers to these three questions. To give an example, I share my answers below.
Step 1: What are three things I appreciated from the weekend?
Step 2: What is one thing I can be excited about today?
Step 3: What is my intention for this week?
GRATITUDE: From my weekend, I am thankful for the beautiful weather on Saturday, time to prepare for a busy week (used these tips) and connecting with friends on Friday and Saturday!
TODAY: I am most excited about spending time outside on my run this morning (yay for the sun rising earlier!).
INTENTION: My intention this week is to stay calm when handling whatever may pop up this week at work.
Okay, your turn! And if you want to share your three steps, I am all ears. 🙂
Lesson of the Week: October’s 10 Things
Happy November! At the beginning of last month, I wrote a “monthly recap” after taking time to make a list of 10 memorable things (big and small) that happened in the previous month. I enjoyed that experience so much that I did the exercise again over the weekend and was happily reminded of some of the fun moments that happened in October.
Sharing my list below of the 10 random things that stood out to me this month in hopes that you might make your own to catalog your October. If you do, I would love to hear about it!
10 Things – October Edition:
- Chicago’s weather in October is amazing. I have an embarrassing amount of pictures on my phone of trees with leaves changing colors and gorgeous sunrises/sunsets. Fall is such a magical and fleeting season here in Chicago!
- The Halloween decorations in Lincoln Park brought me joy. Speaking of the magic of fall in Chicago, one of my favorite activities this month was walking through Lincoln Park (my favorite neighborhood) and looking at all the brownstones decked out for Halloween. Loved the festivity!
- I bought a new lamp for my at-home work station. I was so happy to have that extra hour of sleep yesterday, but I know that also means that the sun will start setting BEFORE 5 p.m. here in Chicago. In anticipation of this (and after being inspired by this article), I bought a new lamp to add some extra light to my work station in my apartment.
- I took days off work even though I didn’t have any planned trips or visitors. This concept would have seemed crazy to me last year, but I have to say, there is something really nice about completely covering off at work, turning off the Outlook notifications for a day or so and disconnecting from work. If you are also lucky enough to be able to take time off work, I highly recommend taking a day for yourself even if you have nothing big planned!
- Loved the Monet and Chicago exhibit at the Art Institute. I spent one of my days off work by going to the Art Institute for the first time to see the special Monet exhibit. It was amazing! The exhibit is here until Jan. 18, so if you are in the area, I highly recommend checking it out.
- Enjoyed feeling the hustle and bustle of downtown. I also spent a late afternoon off work in the city running a few errands and ending with a glass of wine along the river. Even though so much has changed, I was still happy to feel the inherent electricity that comes from being downtown.
- My favorite book I read this month was Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving by Celeste Headlee. After hearing Celeste on a podcast interview (which I talked about here), this book was calling my name. A quote from the book that intrigued me came from Philosopher Andrew Taggart. He says, “We adopt the illusion that personal productivity is itself the end of suffering, or is itself happiness, when in actuality, the aim of personal productivity is to enable the work society to continue… The truth is that we are its tools.”
- Proud of myself for completing two running-related items on my 20 in 2020 List! Like I wrote about last week, I am counting my participation in a virtual relay marathon toward my goals of “participating in a running group” and “running a 5k race.”
- Thankful for some one-one-one time with friends. Whether is was a fun dinner, casual wine night or phone conversation, I’m thankful for the quality time I had this month with friends near and far.
- And finally, I was so relieved to finally cast my vote early. PSA if you haven’t already – please vote tomorrow!! Our participation is so important.
On My Monday Radar
This week is definitely a week filled with anxiousness for many of us. I thought today I would focus this section on content that is positive, mindless and distracting, in case that’s what you need this morning. Here is a roundup of a few positive things on my radar:
- You need to watch this take on the ABCs. My co-worker sent me this video and I guarantee you that you can’t watch this and NOT smile. This dad and son duo are amazing!
- Did you see Adele’s Bachelor SNL skit? As a Bachelor/Bachelorette fan myself, I thought this skit was hilarious. Adele did great and at many times during the skit, I didn’t want her to stop singing!
- A Laguna Beach reunion! If you watched Laguna Beach on MTV back in the day, you need to watch this reunion video with season one cast members (Stephen, LC, Kristin and more!!). It was too fun to watch them all reunite and catch up.
- Very into these cozy cardigan tops for working at home. I purchased the black version of this top when it was on sale recently and am loving it. It’s perfect for those days when I want to be comfortable, but still want to look pulled together on video calls. I like that you can wear them on their own as a blouse or as a traditional cardigan with a top underneath. If you like them too, I would recommend you watch for them to go on sale!
That’s all for today! I hope you found something in today’s newsletter that sparked motivation, made you smile or inspired a positive Monday thought. Don’t underestimate the power of starting small… a fulfilling week starts with just one fulfilling day. You’ve got this!
Let’s make it a great Monday!
Megan
Want to receive a note like this to your inbox every Monday at 6 AM EST? Sign up here! If you don’t receive the email, please check your spam or junk folder.
Have feedback, thoughts or a question you want addressed in an upcoming newsletter? Drop an anonymous note to my mailbox here!