Monday, 1/9/23: Talking about a December recap and quick phone calls

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 my long run on Saturday, time with my parents and Sunday night dinner and games. 

TODAY: I’m most excited to have some dedicated time to work this morning before meetings begin. 

INTENTION: My intention this week is a repeat from last week – give myself grace as I ease back into a routine. 

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

Meaningful Musings: December recap 

One of the things I want to carry forward from 2022 in 2023 is a focus on monthly goals, memories and progress.

Writing monthly “recaps” has become one of my favorite ways to remember the little things that happen over the course of the month. And breaking down some of the intentions I have for 2023 into monthly goals feels like a more manageable way to make progress on things I hope to do this year. 

Today, I’m sharing notes from December and next week I’ll be back with my January goals. 

Even though we are already into January, it felt nice to take a beat and reflect back on December, which is always a packed month. Sharing some of my highlights below that I hope to remember.

Notes from December 2022:

• The holiday season has come and gone, but I’m feeling good about how I leaned into things and really experienced it. I think listening to Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year: A Little Book of Festive Joy really helped me define what’s so special about the holidays to me, personally. Doing that helped me determine what to make time for (and what to skip!) and pushed me to be really present during those favorite things. I’m planning on listening to the book again next December!
• At the beginning of December, Matt and I did a holiday staycation and it was SO FUN! I absolutely love downtown Chicago at Christmastime, but since I’m usually heading down to Florida the week before Christmas, I sometimes worry that I’m not taking full advantage of the magic just a few miles outside my door. I’m so glad we had a whole day and night dedicated to walking around downtown to take in the lights, decorated storefronts, busy sidewalks, eat a festive dinner and, of course, see the big Christmas tree in Grant Park. Doing it at the beginning of the month was a perfect way to kickoff the holiday season.
• I landed in Orlando the Saturday before Christmas Eve, and the next day, my mom and I went to an adorable town about 30 minutes away from us (Mount Dora). It was ALL decked out for the holidays. It had been a while since I’d been there, but I’m hoping this becomes an annual tradition too. 🙂 
• I cherish that week in between Christmas and New Year’s where the whole world seems to slow down a bit. I didn’t work those in-between days and enjoyed using the time to rest and to plan for 2023. One of my favorite things I did? I scheduled an email to myself of holiday reminders (what worked/what not to forget next year/what I enjoyed). I wanted to document everything while it was fresh in my mind, but I won’t see the the note again until it appears in my inbox at the beginning of October! (Yes, I realize this might be a little much, but it made me happy, haha)
• In December, I also took my first PELOTON RIDE! Matt recently moved his brother’s bike into his apartment and I’m quite enjoying being able to try it out. With no need to go outside to get a great workout, this will be a gamechanger for cold winter weather! If you are a Peloton devotee – tell me… which instructors should I take? What classes your favorites? Any tips for making it easy to buckle your shoes in?!

Do you have any monthly check-in rituals? Would love to hear about it! 

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:  

• It’s been amazing spending time in sunny Florida, but now I’m back to winter in Midwest. Finding inspiration for how to embrace this cozy time of year with this article: 6 small ways to make a home feel cozy. 
• Oh I loved perusing these work-from-home spaces. Getting to work in a ‘library room’ surrounded by books is definitely a dream of mine. One day! 
• One of my items on my 23 in 23 list is to ‘limit the amount of the time I spend mindlessly on my phone.’ Planning to use some of these tips to help me do that! 
• The secret power of the 8-minute phone call. I love this idea!!!!

Picture of the Week