Monday, 12/26/22: Talking about a 23 in 2023 List
Happy Monday!
And a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope that however you celebrated and spent time this weekend, it was exactly what you needed.
It’s still a new week (and the last one of 2022 at that!!), 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 that I was home for Christmas with my family, the Florida sun and a cozy, relaxed Christmas celebration.
TODAY: I’m most excited to start one of my favorite weeks of the year – the “hush week” between Christmas and New Years. I’m off work this week and looking forward to doing some organizing, planning and dreaming before 2023.
INTENTION: My intention this week is to get ready for 2023!
Okay, your turn! And if you want to share your three steps, I am all ears. 🙂
Meaningful Musings: 23 in 2023 List
Last week I looked back on my 22 in 22 list and this week it’s time to look forward to 2023.
This ‘in-between’ week is one of my favorite times of year. Things are still *mostly* shutdown and there is an accepted “anything goes” mentality in the air. Dessert after breakfast is considered normal. Workouts are delayed in favor of one more cup of coffee and one more chapter of your cozy novel. You have to stop and ask yourself what day it is because you cannot decide if it’s Monday? Or Tuesday? Or even maybe Thursday?! And even if you are working, it is hopefully a quieter and shorter week than normal.
I love using this time to relax and also prepare to welcome the new year next week. In the absence of my typical day-to-day, I usually find myself with some extra mind space and motivation to think about the year ahead, how I want to approach it and what I want to do.
It can be daunting to figure out where to start though – which is why I’m so drawn to the idea of annual bucket lists (and why I’ve done one in 2020, 2021 and 2022). Pondering on 23 things I want to do in 2023 – big and small; easy and challenging – doesn’t feel as intimating as stating a New Year’s resolution or intention. As Gretchen Rubin (who I originally got the idea from) writes, “somehow, this approach makes it more pleasant to think about what we want for the new year—it feels more hopeful and helpful.”
Creating your own 23 in 2023 list could be a perfect activity to do during this delicious slowdown week. Sharing mine below in case you are curious and would love to hear if you decide to make one for yourself!
Here’s to 2023!
My 23 in 2023 List:
- Send New Year’s cards!
- Get my eyes checked
- Read 40 books
- Try Corepower Yoga
- Get espresso cups to use with my Nespresso
- Visit EUROPE for the first time!!
- Limit the amount of time I spend mindlessly on my phone
- Add something new to the newsletter 😉
- Visit my company’s NYC office
- Save for Christmas shopping in advance
- Go on a trip with Matt!
- Run my first half marathon (!!)
- Call family members at least once a week
- Invest in buying a new iPad or personal computer
- Visit San Antonio to meet my friend’s baby
- Start wearing a mouth guard at night
- Hit a personal savings goal
- Make a list of 100 dreams
- Find a good card game for two players
- Go to the Northwestern-Penn State game with my parents!
- Track the clothes I wear to figure out cost-per-wear
- Participate in the packing of brown bag lunches with Old St. Pat’s at least once
- Try doing a weekly “Schultz hour”
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 read this book last week and just loved it! A festive, heart-warming read that would be perfect if you are looking to extend the Christmas magic a bit.
- A few articles I found interesting as I made my 23 in 2023 list: How Many Clothes Should We Own, Exactly? (Vogue) and How to Create a Healthy Relationship With Social Media (Shondaland). Enjoyed reading both.
- Need something to watch this week? Check out this list of the best documentaries of 2022. I love documentaries, but of this list, I’ve only seen the Abercrombie & Fitch one! Definitely adding a few to my “to-watch” list.
- This illustration of “minor holidays” made me laugh :). While it’s not necessarily pie for me, I definitely need to declare a ‘last day’ of eating allll the sweets at alll times of day, ha.
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