Monday, 9/13/21: Talking about a fall fun list and podcast recommendations
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 a fun Saturday with friends, being able to sleep in and having time to relax yesterday.
TODAY: I’m most excited about having an open schedule tonight. Need to get organized on some life items!
INTENTION: My intention for this week is to write out a to-do list in advance for each day.
Okay, your turn! And if you want to share your three steps, I am all ears. 🙂
Meaningful Musings: Fall Fun List
Did you know there’s reasoning that actually backs up the fascination so many people have with the season of fall?
Personally, I’m a summer person. It’s my favorite season. BUT I can’t deny the appeal of hot coffee on cold mornings, pumpkin candles, football on the TV, cozy sweaters and new planners. If you live in a place where the weather turns cooler, it really is a great time of year. And even if you live in a place where the weather doesn’t change (hi, Florida! Aka the place I called home for almost 20 years), it’s still a fun time, mostly because of the focus on food, friends and family ahead of the busy holiday season.
Kathryn Lively, a professor of sociology at Dartmouth College, suggests that a big reason why everyone seems to love fall so much is simply because it’s been culturally ingrained in us for as long as we can remember. As she said in this article, “As children, we come to associate fall with going back to school, new school supplies, seeing friends. It’s exciting, for most. We still respond to this pattern that we experienced for 18 years.”
And Dr. Ben-Shahar Tal, author and lecturer at Harvard University, comments in this article that “as far as we know, there’s nothing inherent in autumn that makes it a happier season. However, when people inject meaning into it, then it can become a happier season.” And so it makes sense that many get excited about a time that is associated with things that elicit warm feelings.
For summer this year, I made a summer fun list and had so much fun with the experience! Time passes one way or another, and for me, keeping a list of fun, seasonal things I want to do helps me to 1) actually remember to do these things and 2) feel like I’m really making the most of the season. I don’t stress about completing everything on the list, but my experience with the season is made richer by even just checking one or two things off.
So, since fall is a time with such strong seasonal associations, I decided to make another fun list. The season always seems to speed by in a flash, so I kept the list pretty short, but I’m excited about it! Sharing below in case you’re interested and if you make your own fall fun list, I’d love to hear what is on yours. 🙂
Fall Fun List:
- Fully enjoy football season. This will be a fun one! I’m going to a Notre Dame football game this weekend, a UF football game the following weekend (first one as an alum), and my first Bears game in October. Excited for all the football watching, but more than that, looking forward to the fun times with friends and family that will ensue because of it.
- Drink pumpkin beer with my parents when they visit Chicago in October. Need to either find a brand to purchase or somewhere that serves some. Chicago peeps, any recommendations?!
- Curate a fall capsule wardrobe. Fall clothes are so fun (the plaid! The sweaters!), but like I mentioned last week, I just feel like I don’t even know where to shop or what to shop for. I want to spend some time thinking about what kinds of outfits I need based on my schedule for the next couple of months, and then when I transition over my closet to cold-weather clothes, I can make a list of things to look for when shopping. Hoping to limit the impulse/stress buys 🙂
- Bake a fall dessert and cook a fall-themed dinner at least once. Open to any recipe suggestions if you have a favorite pumpkin or fall sweet treat! I made this savory dinner a few falls ago and can’t wait to recreate.
- Go on a long, leisurely “leaf-peeping” run. Once the leaves start to change colors and the air is crisp, I want to go on a run where my focus is on taking them all in before they fall off 🙂
- Start Cheese Board Sunday! This idea may sound cheesy, but I’m excited to try it out. Work-wise, fall is definitely going to be busy, and I’m anticipating Sundays will involve mixed emotions as I get excited about the week ahead and feel restless about just how much needs to get done. So in an effort to add a little joy to my Sundays, I’m going to make fun cheese boards for dinner on Sunday. Not only will this eliminate a decision (no need to figure out what’s for dinner on Sundays!), but I’m also looking forward to experimenting with new-to-me cheeses, accoutrements and fall flavors.
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:
- Something that I might have to add to the above list… fall home décor! I don’t want to go overboard, but I loved browsing Target’s website this weekend to see the seasonal offerings. I’m still spending a lot of time in my apartment (WFH life!), so I think I could justify a few small touches of fall for something new 🙂
- Loved listening to this podcast about morning routines with Liz Plosser. Liz is the Editor-in-Chief of Women’s Health, and one of my favorite Instagram follows for all things morning, running and balancing work & home life. She just had a new book come out – Own Your Morning: Reset Your A.M. Routine To Unlock Your Potential– and I need to get my hands on a copy!
- Speaking of podcasts… here’s an article with podcast suggestions for every mood. Appreciated how this article broke down its suggestions because sometimes you might be in the mood to be informed and other times you might just want to be entertained.
- This book looks interesting! The Long Game How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World. The books comes out later this month, but I am intrigued by the idea of reorienting ourselves to see the big picture so we “can tap into the power of small changes that, made today, will have an enormous and disproportionate impact on our future success.” Love a focus on small shifts and changes!
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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