Monday, 5/23/22: Talking about a summer fun list and rosé wine recs
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: I’m thankful for a fun Friday night with friends streaming Harry’s House (SO GOOD), downtime, and that the sun was out yesterday.
TODAY: I ordered a new planner (wanted something to use for weekly planning) and it arrives today in the mail. I’m most excited to set it up!
INTENTION: I’m taking some time off at the end of this week, so my intention is to prepare for that a bit each day.
Okay, your turn! And if you want to share your three steps, I am all ears. 🙂
Meaningful Musings: Summer Fun List
Wow – this coming weekend is Memorial Day Weekend. I can’t believe it!
Like many, I consider MDW the unofficial start of summer. I was thinking about summers of years past and realized just how many of my memories from growing up are tied to the season…
The first time I spent the summer in Sharon (PA) with grandma.
The summer my two cousins were born (one day apart!).
The summer I had my driver’s license and could drive to the beach with my friends.
The summer my mom and our best friends road tripped to NYC from PA on a whim.
The summer my dad took my brothers, grandmother and me to Hilton Head.
The summer I did my first semester at UF.
With the exception of holidays, it doesn’t feel like there’s another season that’s as comparable in terms of memory making. And it makes sense: memories form when we experience something novel or intense and, especially in our younger years, summer = a big break in routine (school’s out!).
In my stage of life right now, I still love summer (hello, weather that I wait all year for!), but I no longer have that noticeable, built-in change in routine. Work continues on as normal. I’m staying put in Chicago (at least for the most part). On the whole, my day-to-day won’t look dramatically different just because it’s summer.
But I don’t want summer to come and go without seizing the opportunity to experience some of the things I love most about the season.
So, I’m repeating an activity I did last year and making a “summer fun list!”
The idea comes from author Laura Vanderkam. She suggests spending time thinking about the things you want to do that make summer feel like, well, summer. You compile a list of these things as way of remembering and encouraging yourself to actually do them over the next couple months. The hope is that when Labor Day Weekend rolls around, instead of thinking “where did the time go?,” you reflect on all your new summer memories.
For me, I want this year’s summer to be a time of a more relaxed routine, more connection, and lots of time outside. With this in mind, I compiled my summer fun list below and am sharing this morning in hopes it encourages you to make one for yourself. I hope reflecting on past summer memories and making a list for this year brightens your Monday today, like it did mine.
Summer 2022 Fun List:
- Make a summer reading list. I did this last year and it was really fun. A nice homage to the good ol’ summer reading list from school years. Last year I read “beach reads” and celeb memoirs exclusively during the summer months, and I still need to pick what I want to do this year. I might do books by a certain author or all from the same time period… or fun, fluffy beach reads again 😉
- Do a big adventure and small adventure weekly (+ write them down!). This idea also comes from Laura Vanderkam. She suggests planning adventures (subjectively big & small) to make days/weeks stand out from any other time. As she writes, “The point is to make something you’re already doing slightly more memorable, or to see how it might already be memorable as you think about it intentionally. When we decide that something is an official ‘little adventure’ we treat it more seriously. We put a little more thought into it, and as we think of it as an adventure, we notice more.” Summer feels like a perfect time to give this a test (a lot of things on this list could be big or small adventures)! And I’m planning to write them all down to have to reference at the end of the season.
- Intentionally change up my daily routine. For the first time in my professional life, I’ll have a “Summer Friday” schedule (office closes at 1 PM on Fridays) starting this week through Labor Day. I’m SO excited. How do I want to use this newfound time?!
- Listen to the live music in the park at least twice.
- Plan a progressive dinner party. I want to go for appetizers at one place, the main dish at another and finish somewhere delicious for dessert. Bonus points if one – or all – of the places are outside.
- Go to a Cubs game. And eat a hotdog. Quintessential summer activity.
- At least once a month, end my Sunday evening walk with ice cream. Let’s be honest, it will probably be more than once a month 🙂
- Walk 50,000 steps in one day. Have to offset the ice cream somehow.
- Road trip somewhere fun outside Chicago.
- Volunteer with three different organizations. I have two organizations on my radar, but want to find a third before summer is over.
What would you put on your summer fun list?
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:
- I finished Cloud Cuckoo Land! Finally. Wow, this was the longest book I’ve read in a while. I don’t do great with long books, and I have to say, this one was a bit too long for me. However! It was beautifully written and had an amazing message. The last 200 pages were captivating and I’m still thinking about certain parts of the plot.
- Speaking of books, loved the book recs in this interview with author Emma Straub. And loved seeing her colorful, book-filled Brooklyn home! Emma’s newest book – This Time Tomorrow – came out last week and I’m looking forward to reading it.
- Looking for items to add to your summer fun list? Check out this list of warm-weather hobbies. Love the idea of starting a new hobby in the summer!
- Some important summer research: favorite rosé wines? A glass of rosé on a warm summer afternoon paired with friends, pizza, salad or something from the grill? I can’t think of anything better!! I do think rosé can be hit or miss, so I’m always asking around for new recs: let me know if you have a favorite. Here are my current go-tos for a crisp, *dry* one (can’t do sweet): on the high end… AIX or Summer Water (best name ever). More budget-friendly brands… Minimalista or La Vielle Ferme (lovingly referred to as “chicken wine” by a friend and me because of the label, ha!). All four taste like summer in a sip!
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