Notes from March

This essay originally appeared in the Monday morning newsletter on 4/5/21.

As one of the items on my 21 in 2021 List, I’ve committed to writing a quick recap each month to try and remember all the things that happen (the big, the small, the funny, the serious, etc.) over the span of a few weeks. 

This is my third recap this year (you can read previous ones here) and, so far, I’m finding the exercise to be really fun! On the last day of the month, I reference my calendar, scroll through my photos, and jot down a quick list of memories. I love how it helps me reflect on what’s just happened and set the tone for the new month. 

If the idea sounds interesting, I’m sharing my notes from March below and if you have a ritual to mark the end of the month or if you try this idea out, I would love to hear about it!

March’s 10 Notes

1. This month, I kept a notebook by my bed and started writing thoughts down at night, stream of consciousness style. I found that getting those random to-do’s out of my head before bed made falling asleep a quicker and more enjoyable process because I wasn’t laying awake thinking of all the things.
2. Speaking of writing things down, I got back in the habit of writing down three things that are going right at the end of the workday. It’s amazing to me how much this little exercise can shift my mood and perspective.  
3. I was very generously gifted a subscription to The Atlantic and it’s been SO exciting to get a delivery of the print edition each month. Whenever I find a new copy of the paper in my mailbox, I get giddy! 
4. I bought two cookbooks this month – Every Day is Saturday and Simply Julia – and highly recommend both. Both cookbooks make it fun and easy to experiment in the kitchen! So far, my favorite recipes I’ve made from each are braised short ribs (Every Day is Saturday) and white pizza kale (Simply Julia).
5. Inspired by this article, I started meal planning/ordering groceries and cleaning my apartment on Fridays. And WOW what a difference it makes! Not only is it so nice to wake up in a clean apartment on Saturday morning, but doing these tasks on Friday means that I don’t have to spend weekend-time doing them.
6. There’s been a few tastes of summer weather in Chicago and it makes me very excited for the season to come. This past weekend it was in the 60s and sunny, and people were practically dancing in the streets! I always look forward to the months of June, July and August, but this year I (like many, I assume) am especially excited. 
7. Speaking of Chicago weather, I started tracking sunny days on my calendar. What’s always challenging for me about the months of March and April in Chicago is that it’s not uncommon to go an entire week without seeing the sun. And that can really impact your mood. (personally, I would take freezing temperature & sun over mild temperature & overcast skies). So, inspired by one stretch of uncharacteristically sunny weather, I started adding a little drawing of a sun to my calendar to mark the sunny days. I found I loved doing this for two reasons: 1) if I was feeling a bit off or low one day, I would reference my calendar to clue myself in on the last time I saw the sun. More often than not, my dip in mood was correlated with the sun not being out and 2) before I complained about the weather (do you even live in Chicago if your go-to isn’t complaining the weather?), I would check the calendar and remind myself that it feels like the sun hasn’t been out all month, but in the grand scheme of the month as a whole, there were actually more sunny days than not-sunny days. 
8. I visited one of Chicago Public Library’s branches for the first time! I’ve had a library card for years, but I’ve always rented e-books or audiobooks. However, there was a book I wanted to rent in March that was only available via a print edition, so I ended up going to the library closest to me to pick it up. So glad there’s so many different options or renting books! 
9. And on the topic of reading, I recently subscribed to Book of the Month and am loving it. As I wrote about recently, a colleague told me about this subscription and I’m so glad she did! In March, I got the book What’s Mine and Yours and for April, I picked People We Meet on Vacation, which doesn’t even come out to the general public until May! 
10. My calendar is starting to fill up with a few events and plans, and it feels really great. I can’t wait to safely see some people I haven’t seen since pre-2020. Feeling really hopeful about the progress we are making!

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