Monday, 1/30/23: Talking about planning for February

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 full weekend of seeing a couple of friends/out-of-town visitors, time to catch up on sleep and this book (loving listening to it)! 

TODAY: Today, I’m most excited to make a cozy soup recipe for dinner. 

INTENTION: My intention is to plan out *one treat* to enjoy daily (strategy for getting through the freezing temps this week!).  

Okay, your turn! And if you want to share your three steps, I am all ears. 🙂

Meaningful Musings: February Planning and Goals

This Wednesday is February 1! It always feels like a feat getting through the first month of the year, right? 

January can be a LONG month and I’m always excited to see the calendars turn to February. Sometimes it feels like a welcome release of the New Year’s pressure, and some years, I need all of January to re-acclimate and settle down after the holidays. February 1 can always be your January 1. 

This year, I’m falling somewhere between the two. I’m looking forward to appreciating the ordinary and routine of the February, while also enjoying some of the fun of this month.  

As I write this, I’m cozied up in my new favorite bar + study space while the snow falls peacefully outside (it’s been snowing for days; the city is covered in pretty layer of white snow!!). While winter can be hard, moments like this remind me of some of the beauty of the season. It’s one of the reasons I love monthly planning and goal setting so much. It encourages me to live in the season I’m in now and be more intentional with my time. 

Sharing my three planning questions I asked myself below and goals for February, in case you’re interested. If you are looking for an activity to do this week, I highly recommend taking a few moments to think about what you need from your February.

Reflecting ahead of February:

What do I love about the month of February?

• Still feels like the beginning of the year! 2023 is still getting started, but there isn’t the pressure of it being the FIRST month of the year. 
• Love the annual February festivities: Super Bowl Sunday, Valentine’s Day (all the pink, red and sweets please) and Presidents Day Weekend.

Anything big happening this February?

• Two first-time experiences!! It will be my first time going to a Butler basketball game and first time visiting Charleston. So excited for both 🙂
• I also have friends visiting Chicago early next month for St. Patrick’s Day, so while not something that’s happening in February, there is some prep I want to do this month. 
• Lent also starts at the end of February this year.

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

• Organized, but also relaxed and refreshed. I have a nice mix of downtime here in Chicago – when I’m hoping to do some decluttering and such – but also really excited to have a long weekend trip to somewhere warm and sunny on the horizon. 

Goals for February 2023:

• Dedicate a weekend to cleaning out my apartment. Wanted to get to this in January, but didn’t. So, rolling over to February! 
• Enjoy the trip to Charleston! I want to anticipate the trip (by planning), savor it as it happens and find a way to recall happy memories to really eke out the most enjoyment. 
• Start a Thursday afternoon ritual. I wrote about this last week, but I came across a statement that stopped me in my tracks: Wednesday is not the middle of the week, Thursday afternoon is. As simple as it sounds, it felt pretty groundbreaking to me. I want to start some kind of ritual that helps me register on Thursday afternoon that I’m only halfway through the week. 
• Have fun with my fiction reading! What better month than February to read some rom-com type of books? I have The Reunion on my shelf and am planning to take Emily Henry’s Book Lovers on my trip to Charleston. 
• Make my plan for Lent, reconnecting with what the season means to me. 
• Dedicate an afternoon to prepping for my friends’ visit. Want to plan and prepare now, so that when the weekend arrives, I am ready to enjoy 🙂 

What are you looking forward to in February? 

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 love when Adam Grant shares his list of new releases that are on his radar. Adding a bunch of these books to my to-be-read list!
• I finished Jenny Blake’s book Free Time last week, and it was one of my favorite nonfiction books I’ve read in a while. While it was written predominantly for small business owners, I still got a lot out of it about working smarter and more enjoyably, not harder. She even gave me my new favorite saying: “Each time you repeat a task, take a step toward automating.” 
• Can you even with this mug?! I just ordered the white one and hope it arrives before Valentine’s Day 🙂 
• Ha… sounds about right for winter – especially this week with temps in the single digits here in Chicago! Brr!! 

Picture of the Week

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