life Planners Work

Hi! It’s September!

September 1, 2020

No more numbering.

However, I do plan on returning here daily like I did for months on end. This space and you all (readers!) have been such a source of comfort throughout. So thank you!

I’m on call this week. I haven’t been on a true week of call for months, so I am actually quite positive about it. (We will see if this lasts.)

C&G have their first real day of school today! Yesterday was orientation and went well. I am dreading the day that one of them develops a runny nose and we all have to get COVID-tested, but — it’s going to happen.

Hopefully not in the first week.

(But I’m not that optimistic!)

C will be wearing a mask but in G’s toddler room, masks are optional. I will send her in one, but am not terribly optimistic that she will keep it on!

I spent some time yesterday (day off prior to week of call) creating goals lists for Q4 and September. Despite my proselytizing, I haven’t created a quintile-specific list for quite some time because . . .2020. I’m happy to be back to the practice.

A Few of My Q4 (Quintile #4) Goals:

  • Complete LIIFT4. Because why not.
  • FINISH work wardrobe including tailoring
  • Set up 2021 planner. Of course!
  • More tax / estate planning fun (after discussion with our accountant, it turns out the 2020 tax situation isn’t quite as bad as I thought which is good)
  • Various work goals involving curricular and recruitment which is all digital this year!
  • Possible winter trip planning (driving distance and maybe seeing my sister + finally meeting my niece!!!!)
  • Get into comfortable school rhythm
  • Work on growing BLP (including snagging one guest I am striving for!)
  • Attempt to film one planning video (maybe)
  • Watch more shows/movies with Josh

There you have it. I also plan on continuing the habits I have already ingrained fairly firmly in 2020: daily meditation, reading, etc. And yessss I made a separate September list too!

includes some Q4 elements + a few other things I came up with which is how I typically create my monthly lists!

IT’S SEPTEMBER. And I’m going for a run (I know, who am I?!). Happy new month to all.

PS: HOBONICHI STORE IS OPEN! The covers we (we = Annabel + I) are getting are available 9/2 at 11am Japan time which is 10pm tonight! !!!!! WILL I STAY UP?

(Maybe.)

17 Comments

  • Reply Lindsey September 1, 2020 at 7:32 am

    I started listening to BOBW a month or two ago and now I’m getting into your Best Laid Plains podcast also. I’ve always been a planner, but now I feel like I can geek-out about it and there is no shame! Haha! Also, I want to truly thank you for some of the great advice and motivation you’ve given me surrounding goals and reading. I’ve always been into both, but since having a baby I went into survival mode. Now I’m starting to make goals again and putting together reading lists. I’m late to the game, but I discovered the Overdrive app to get FREE kindle books on my phone. LIFE CHANGING! I’ve been putting popular books on hold and actually getting them in a few weeks and meanwhile reading other books I wanted to read, but couldn’t stomach shelling out the cash to buy. Reading on the kindle app on my phone means I actually get to read books again and it has been a huge mood lifter. So, again, thanks to you (and to Laura) for all your motivation and tips about balancing motherhood, work and all the other things that fill a good life. I feel like I’m finally starting to get there…

  • Reply Jessica September 1, 2020 at 7:53 am

    All 4 of my kids started school last week with masks required and some distancing and two of them had fevers yesterday so I am taking them both to be tested. I really don’t want to because the test sounds awful! I told them they could each get a lego set to work on this week since they will be home until the test comes back at least.

    I certainly hope we don’t have to do this very often this year.

    • Reply Jessica September 1, 2020 at 1:12 pm

      My older son did great with the test. My younger son did not, so he will be home for at least 10 days. I don’t think he will ever be willing to take a test, so I guess he will be home for 2 weeks every time he gets sick. Hopefully this will be the only time.

      • Reply KGC September 1, 2020 at 3:21 pm

        In our area (Maryland), some labs do a throat swab! Your younger son might find it more palatable than the nose swab (mine did). No clue how widespread this is, but maybe it’ll continue to be proven to be a reasonable way to test, which will make it easier for kids? I have a feeling they’re going to HAVE to come up with something easier for kids since I predict that is who will need the majority of the testing as we move into fall…

  • Reply CBS September 1, 2020 at 8:21 am

    We made it 2 days of half time care before we had the first illness and Covid test…pretty brutal but luckily because he’s half time, he didn’t miss any nursery days. We’ve just gotten a message from the Chief Medical Officer saying that we should feel comfortable sending our children in with colds, as long as they seem well after there was a 5x increase in testing.

    I’d be interested to hear about your film / TV plans. We don’t have a huge overlap in tastes but it is so nice to watch something together.

    I got myself a new planner to mark the back to school feeling. Normally I have a bus commute so never use a daily planner but I’m at home for the foreseeable so bought a Zelo planner after I got instagram influenced.

  • Reply Grateful Kae September 1, 2020 at 9:46 am

    Let us know how that run went. 🙂 I feel like no matter how much I workout/ whatever “great” shape I think I’m in from other workouts, it just does NOT seem to translate to running!!

  • Reply Annie September 1, 2020 at 9:53 am

    How do you like the EnerGel Clena?? I bought one in a 7/11 in Japan and liked it so much I now order them from JetPens.

    • Reply Sarah Hart-Unger September 1, 2020 at 10:16 am

      I looove how it writes in the bullet journal!

  • Reply Hanna September 1, 2020 at 9:59 am

    Looks like a great list! Enjoy running and Liift 4. I’m 4 weeks into Liift4 but took last week completely off after getting kind of burnt out. I feel much more motivated and also started looking at loose goals and things I wanted to do before the end of the year, plus ran for the first time since…before Memorial Day I think. I’m not much of a hot weather runner.

  • Reply Laura September 1, 2020 at 10:51 am

    How do you set your monthly goals (ie, decide how many goals for each category and complexity of goal (whether it takes less than an hour or is a multi-step project))? I always set too many goals and then am disappointed I didn’t reach everything I thought I would.

  • Reply Lisa of Lisa's Yarns September 1, 2020 at 11:41 am

    I hope you had a great run! I miss running sooo much. I was just going to get back into running and then I got pregnant and had bleeding issues. So I’ve had to stick with walks during this pregnancy, which is totally fine (also couldn’t run during my last pregnancy as I had the same bleeding issue). I didn’t miss running when it was hot and humid but cooler/dryer air has arrived so this is prime running season in Minnesota. But oh well – it will be waiting for me next spring (I just can’t do winter running in MN – it’s so bitterly cold!).

    I hope C & G stay healthy! Fingers crossed! Our son doesn’t have to wear a mask at school which is a relief because we can’t get him to wear one (he’s 2.5 so below the age they are required here in MN). Overall, I would say we’ve had a really healthy run since he went back in April. But that is a healthier time of year in general. I do dread the fall when colds start to hit and you have to question whether it’s a cold or Covid.

  • Reply Jenn September 1, 2020 at 1:03 pm

    SEPTEMBER!!! I’m a teacher in Ontario currently on my mat leave and I had to go into my classroom to pick up the rest of my things and I didn’t realize how much the sight of spaced out desks, “masks at all times” and one way hallway signage would affect me. It made me sooo sad last week. And we’ve been sleep training our 5 month old which has been HARD. But today is a new month and a fresh start! My husband and I made a Fall bucket list and for the first time I took a page out of your book and made a season-specific TBR and I’m hopeful that this month will be better than the last!!!

  • Reply mel September 1, 2020 at 1:38 pm

    I can’t wait to see which Hobonichi covers you and Annabel are getting!

  • Reply Suzanne D'Cruz September 1, 2020 at 2:47 pm

    Hi Sarah, thank you for stating the obvious in the last podcast….which was ‘ plan to plan….it waa Duhhhh moment for me and the reason I keep falling off my planning horse….Suzanne xo

  • Reply Coco September 1, 2020 at 5:03 pm

    happy Sept! and happy running! I find running is the only workout that gives me mental therapy and good sweat!

  • Reply Lana September 1, 2020 at 7:37 pm

    Thanks for the goal inspiration! I’m curious about the “mindless” and “sing” that appears on the left page – the rest of the sentence isn’t visible in the photo, but I’m wondering if it has something to do with one of my perpetual goals, which is to “curb mindless internet browsing” 🙂

    My 3-year-old is in preschool and had a cold last week. Only sniffles, no cough or other symptoms, so we sent her to school. We live in Northern California and had (still have) terrible air quality due to the wildfires, and for a couple of days we thought that her sniffles were caused by the smoke. Then it became clear that it was just a mild cold, but the preschool was OK with it. Anyway, we’re lucky that she didn’t cough, but I’m sure that it’s a “when, not if” occurrence.

    • Reply Sarah Hart-Unger September 2, 2020 at 6:12 am

      mindless scrolling 🙂 A CONSTANT BATTLE I FIGHT!

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