November and December’s 10 Things

This essay initially appeared in the Monday morning newsletter on 1/4/21.

It’s the first Monday of 2021! Yay!! Just kidding – I wish it was that easy to feel that way. Even as someone who loves a Monday, I’m really having to double down on my motivation this morning. After some luxurious time away from work last week, it’s taking me a minute to get reacclimated with my usual routine. But I’m trying my best to shift my focus from feeling down to appreciating the week I had and being excited about the fresh start in front of me.

Something that helped me immensely was writing my monthly recaps for November and December (had to combine the months since I skipped November last month). As I wrote about last week, my word for 2021 is “memorable” (although I’m debating changing it to “recognize”). With that in mind, I plan to keep these monthly recap exercises going that I started late last year. Here’s how it works: on the last day of the month, I go through my camera roll and reference my calendar to jog my memory of what happened that month. Then, I write a quick list of what I’m grateful for that happened that month. I’ve already enjoyed looking back on the few I’ve drafted so far and I can’t wait to have 12 of them to look back on at the end of this year. 

I thought the timing for sharing in today’s newsletter was perfect because if you are like me and also dragging a bit this morning, doing something similar to reflect on the good times from your holiday season may be just what you need to lift your spirits. Try making a list of your top five memories from this past month or so and display the list somewhere prominent this week (on your fridge, desk, background on your phone, etc.). Whenever you see the list, feel the good feelings that come from reliving a memory. 🙂  

Cheering you on and motivating myself right alongside you! Let’s make this first Monday of the year great! 

November and December’s 10 Things: 

1. I get such a sense of peace from spending time in nature. It feels meditative to me! Whether it was cold runs in Chicago or more comfortable jogs in Florida, I was so thankful to see many sunrises and even a few rainbows these past two months. 
2. Knowing this, I challenged myself to run at least a mile a day from when I arrived home in Florida (mid-November) through the end of the year. And I did it! It wasn’t a fitness goal for me, but rather a way for me to feel like I was fully taking advantage of the Florida climate and being able to run in a relatively isolated location. Plus, I knew I would be walking a lot less in Florida as compared to my ability to walk everywhere in Chicago. I made the goal just a mile because sometimes I would want to do my usual 3 or 4, but on those days when I didn’t feel like running, it was really easy to motivate myself to get outside for just 9 or 10 (and very rarely sometimes 8) minutes for that mile. 
3. The act of giving is such a powerful way to show your love and support. Of course, Christmas gifts that I gave and received come to mind, but I was also incredibly touched by the food, plants, flowers and cards I received from friends after the news of my grandma (love you all). 
4. I was in Chicago when the election was called and I realized what was happening after hearing all this honking and cheering in the street. It was exciting to be part of a historical moment like that. Lots of work ahead of us, but I’ll never forget the feeling of hopefulness that permeated the Chicago air that day.
5. I read some really great books in November in December. For fiction, I loved 28 Summers, Maybe in Another Life and 12 Dates of Christmas and for nonfiction, I loved Shonda Rhimes’ Year of Yes (only $2.99 for the Kindle version right now!). 
6. Peppermint brownies are my new favorite festive dessert. I made brownies from a boxed mix, added two teaspoons of peppermint extract and topped with crushed canes before baking. Delicious!
7. My extended family did a fair amount of Zooms these past two months to “see” each other for the holidays, to celebrate birthdays and tailgate before football games. I know we all have Zoom-fatigue, but I was reminded of how the platform can be really helpful for staying connected. Hope we keep it up in the new year! 
8. I had time off work around the holidays and found a method that helped me savor the time. I wrote down three fun “to-dos” each day. These weren’t productive tasks, but rather fun tasks and memories I wanted to create. When the Sunday Scaries feeling creeped in last night, I referenced my various crossed-out tasks and felt better after remembering all the good that happened this past week. 
9. Loved making my 21 in 2021 list for this year and also absolutely love hearing from others about what’s on their lists. 
10. I wasn’t going to buy a planner this year, but I was in Target the other day and immediately had no self control after seeing the spread of cute, motivating planners and notebooks. This is the one I picked up (loving it so far – there’s even a place for these monthly recaps!) and this one was a close second.

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