Monday, 6/7/21: Talking about notes from April and May and a quote for June
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: From my weekend, I am thankful for the sunny summer weather, a new restaurant I tried on Saturday, and the book I picked up at the library.
TODAY: I have a new journal arriving today and I’m really excited to spend time setting it up.
INTENTION: My intention this week is to write out a work to-do list and spend time prioritizing it in advance of each day. Hoping it helps me focus during working hours.
Okay, your turn! And if you want to share your three steps, I am all ears. 🙂
Meaningful Musings: Notes from April and May
As one of the items on my 21 in 2021 List, I’ve committed to writing a quick recap at the end of each month to better remember all the little things that happen. I didn’t send out a recap at the end of April, so I had fun jogging my memory of what happened two months ago and combining it with some of my highlights from May.
Sharing my notes below in case this idea sounds interesting to you. I’m loving how the exercise helps me reflect on what’s just happened and set the tone for the new month. 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!
10 Notes from April and May:
- I got vaccinated!! I got my first dose on April 1 and my second toward the end of the month. For such a big step forward, the whole process was over so fast (my Uber rides were longer than my actual appointments!). I’m so thankful and so relieved!
- I also got to see friends who I haven’t seen since 2019. It felt so good, especially because the opportunity to see these girls came right in the middle of feeling like I was in a rut. Countless times while I was with these friends, I thought to myself, “wow, I really feel like ‘me’ again.” Reminder of how powerful relationships are! So happy we can start safely seeing people again.
- May is graduation season and I happily got to celebrate my brother and a few friends. Graduations are such a hopeful, celebratory occasion. Super proud of the graduates in my life!
- For my birthday week in April, I got my nails painted varying shades of pink and it made me ridiculously happy. This “joyful manicure” idea (getting your nails painted something other than just one solid color) is on my summer fun list since I’ll still be working from home this summer and want to take advantage of the fact that I don’t need “professional” nails just yet. 🙂
- I purchased, framed and hung art in my apartment in April. FINALLY! This August will mark three years of me living in my apartment, but I’m so hesitant when it comes to things like decorating decisions. However, when I saw the print that’s now on my wall (thanks to my friend Emily for sending it to me!), I knew I liked it more than anything else I had seen. It was reasonably priced, so I went against my cautious instincts and purchased, framed and hung the print in quick succession because I knew I would be happy after it was done. And I was!
- I wrote about this last week, but I also purchased a new desk and I’m loving my new and improved at-home work setup. Only took 15 months of remote work for me to finally invest in an actual desk, but now that I have it, I can’t imagine working without it!
- Chicago’s April and May weather this year did not feel as rainy as normal. But I also recognize I’m writing this statement with my “Chicago summer glasses” on (AKA the tendency for Chicago residents to forget about all the treacherous months once wonderful summer strikes).
- Speaking of weather, to me, one of the best things about temps warming up is getting to wear something OTHER THAN JEANS! By the end of winter/spring, I’m ready to throw out my jeans in favor of flowy dresses and skirts. Personally, I’m so glad the midi-length style of dress is “in ” right now because they are just so comfortable and easy to wear. Here’s a few that I have my eye on right now: one, two, three, four.
- For most of April I was in a reading rut, but thanks to the following books, I found my reading stride again in May. Favorites from May include Most Likely (YA), The Last Thing He Told Me (thriller/mystery) and Drop the Ball (nonfiction).
- I set a new personal running distance record in May! On what would have been my grandma’s 85th birthday, I ran 8.5 miles. I like to think she gave me a bit of help with accomplishing that. 🙂
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:
- June’s quote + free phone background! “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” – Maya Angelou I wanted a way to display this quote as reminder, so I made a background for my phone and am sharing it here today in case you like it as well. To download it, view this email on your phone, click on the link, click and hold on the photo to save the image and then scale it accordingly to your phone’s wallpaper.
- Enjoyed this article about “designing your summer.” In the article, author Gretchen Rubin writes about why she takes the time to “design” her summer each year. It’s very similar to the “summer fun list” idea I wrote about a few weeks ago. Even though the glorious, sun-drenched summer months have the same number of days as the rest of the year, they somehow feel shorter. September rolls around and we end up asking ourselves, “where did the time go?” To prevent this feeling, Gretchen recommends intentionally thinking about what experiences you want from the next 3 months, so you can make plans to do such things. As she writes, when every day is the same, time shortens and blurs. But by contrast, when we have many new experiences, time slows down and feels rich. A summer that feels slow and rich sounds pretty good to me.
- I read this book last week and it had an interesting twist! A Special Place for Women by Laura Hankin is the story of a women-only club in New York City. Only the most important women receive an invitation. That is until a daring young reporter attempts to join for an article she’s working on and discovers the bewitching members might be more powerful than she ever imagined. The writing is whip smart and captured my attention instantly, even if some parts were a bit out there.
- Speaking of books, I enjoyed looking through this summer reading list from The Atlantic for inspiration of titles to add to my summer reading list. With categories like “wonder about the universe,” “high drama” and “smart observations about life,” they have something for everyone.
- Have any ways to make home decorating/“home-care” lighter and brighter? As shared last week, all month I’ll be collecting anonymous tips, tricks or favorite resources to be shared in the newsletter on the last Monday in June. If you are so inclined to share, feel free to submit anonymously here. Can’t wait to hear from you!
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
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