Monday, 1/4/21: Talking about a November & December recap and a quote for January
Happy Monday!
And Happy 2021! 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 time to get organized for this week, a catch-up phone call with a friend and learning that one of the books I’m reading is also a movie on Netflix!
TODAY: Tonight is the last night my youngest brother is home before he’s goes back to college, so I am excited to spend time with him after work.
INTENTION: My intention for this week is to focus on settling into a new routine.
Okay, your turn! And if you want to share your three steps, I am all ears. 🙂
Lesson of the Week: November and December’s 10 Things
It’s the first Monday of 2021! Yay!! Just kidding – I wish it was that easy to feel that way. Even as someone who loves a Monday, I’m really having to double down on my motivation this morning. After some luxurious time away from work last week, it’s taking me a minute to get reacclimated with my usual routine. But I’m trying my best to shift my focus from feeling down to appreciating the week I had and being excited about the fresh start in front of me.
Something that helped me immensely was writing my monthly recaps for November and December (had to combine the months since I skipped November last month). As I wrote about last week, my word for 2021 is “memorable” (although I’m debating changing it to “recognize”). With that in mind, I plan to keep these monthly recap exercises going that I started late last year. Here’s how it works: on the last day of the month, I go through my camera roll and reference my calendar to jog my memory of what happened that month. Then, I write a quick list of what I’m grateful for that happened that month. I’ve already enjoyed looking back on the few I’ve drafted so far and I can’t wait to have 12 of them to look back on at the end of this year.
I thought the timing for sharing in today’s newsletter was perfect because if you are like me and also dragging a bit this morning, doing something similar to reflect on the good times from your holiday season may be just what you need to lift your spirits. Try making a list of your top five memories from this past month or so and display the list somewhere prominent this week (on your fridge, desk, background on your phone, etc.). Whenever you see the list, feel the good feelings that come from reliving a memory. 🙂
Cheering you on and motivating myself right alongside you! Let’s make this first Monday of the year great!
November and December’s 10 Things:
- I get such a sense of peace from spending time in nature. It feels meditative to me! Whether it was cold runs in Chicago or more comfortable jogs in Florida, I was so thankful to see many sunrises and even a few rainbows these past two months.
- Knowing this, I challenged myself to run at least a mile a day from when I arrived home in Florida (mid-November) through the end of the year. And I did it! It wasn’t a fitness goal for me, but rather a way for me to feel like I was fully taking advantage of the Florida climate and being able to run in a relatively isolated location. Plus, I knew I would be walking a lot less in Florida as compared to my ability to walk everywhere in Chicago. I made the goal just a mile because sometimes I would want to do my usual 3 or 4, but on those days when I didn’t feel like running, it was really easy to motivate myself to get outside for just 9 or 10 (and very rarely sometimes 8) minutes for that mile.
- The act of giving is such a powerful way to show your love and support. Of course, Christmas gifts that I gave and received come to mind, but I was also incredibly touched by the food, plants, flowers and cards I received from friends after the news of my grandma (love you all).
- I was in Chicago when the election was called and I realized what was happening after hearing all this honking and cheering in the street. It was exciting to be part of a historical moment like that. Lots of work ahead of us, but I’ll never forget the feeling of hopefulness that permeated the Chicago air that day.
- I read some really great books in November in December. For fiction, I loved 28 Summers, Maybe in Another Life and 12 Dates of Christmas and for nonfiction, I loved Shonda Rhimes’ Year of Yes (only $2.99 for the Kindle version right now!).
- Peppermint brownies are my new favorite festive dessert. I made brownies from a boxed mix, added two teaspoons of peppermint extract and topped with crushed canes before baking. Delicious!
- My extended family did a fair amount of Zooms these past two months to “see” each other for the holidays, to celebrate birthdays and tailgate before football games. I know we all have Zoom-fatigue, but I was reminded of how the platform can be really helpful for staying connected. Hope we keep it up in the new year!
- I had time off work around the holidays and found a method that helped me savor the time. I wrote down three fun “to-dos” each day. These weren’t productive tasks, but rather fun tasks and memories I wanted to create. When the Sunday Scaries feeling creeped in last night, I referenced my various crossed-out tasks and felt better after remembering all the good that happened this past week.
- Loved making my 21 in 2021 list for this year and also absolutely love hearing from others about what’s on their lists.
- I wasn’t going to buy a planner this year, but I was in Target the other day and immediately had no self control after seeing the spread of cute, motivating planners and notebooks.This is the one I picked up (loving it so far – there’s even a place for these monthly recaps!) and this one was a close second.
On My Monday Radar
Sometimes we just aren’t ready to jump into our Monday to-do list right away. In case you want some content to procrastinate with, here is a roundup of a few positive things on my radar:
- January’s quote + free phone background! I posted on Instagram that I plan to start picking out a “quote of the month.” I love finding quotes and transcribing them in notebooks, so I thought this could be a fun. January’s quote comes from author Aldous Huxley and reads, “Experience teaches only the teachable.” I wanted a constant reminder of the quote, so I also made a background for my phone! Sharing it here today in case you like it as well. To download it, view this email on your phone, click on the link, click and hold on the photo to save the image and then scale it accordingly to your phone’s wallpaper.
- 100 word-of-the-year ideas for 2021. Do you pick a word for the year? If you do and need inspiration, Morgan Harper Nichols put together a very comprehensive list of great contenders. She also included free phone wallpapers for all of them and posted a fun video on her Instagram where you can take a screenshot and see which word you get! I screenshotted the video three times and got “recognize,” “yes” and “process” – love all three!
- Podcast episode about making 2021 your most powerful year yet. I loved this quick podcast episode with best-selling author Gabrielle Bernstein. In the episode, Gabby offers tips for how to start the New Year in a positive place, get rid of fears and de-stress during this stressful time. I’m a big fan of Gabby and her work, and if you are too, I recommend checking this out!
- Article about how being a good listener is more than just talking less. I’m reading journalist Kate Murphy’s book, You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters, right now and am really enjoying it. In the book, Kate makes the case that listening is not just about letting the other person talk, but rather, it had more to do with how you respond.
- A best purchase of 2020: Everywhere Belt Bag. Completely forgot to include this in last week’s newsletter when I mentioned best purchases of the year, but this bag definitely makes the cut. It is so efficient and functional, stays in place as you move around and fits everything you need. Love mine!
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
Quote of the month:
“Experience teaches only the teachable.”
– Aldous Huxley
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!