Feeling: Mildly anxious. Frustrated that I have already heard G. (It’s 5:48 and I really want to run this AM).
Craving: A massage/spa day. Ideally as part of a couples’ weekend. Remember massages? (I feel they are a very high risk activity b/c you are indoors in a small space with someone for a long time — so not really worth it yet. Maybe someone out there is doing an outdoor version . . .)
Reading: Greg McKeon’s Essentialism and James McBride’s Deacon King Kong. I’ve heard 9 zillion references to Essentialism and while I’m all for leaning minimalist, I find myself resisting chunks of it (it just feels steeped in privilege to just do what you want and nothing else, and I do not aspire to live the life of the many CEOs that are referenced . . .). DKK is hilarious.
Listening: Enjoyed both By the Book‘s Martha Stewart episode and the Freakonomics interview of John Mackey (CEO of Whole Foods and rather controversial human).
Engaging: Fairly minimally with the unfolding political #(&!@. I’m actually really glad to be on call this week. It has been a welcome distraction.
For lack of a better photo, here’s this week’s planner spread with my I VOTED EARLY sticker for posterity.
9 Comments
I wish we could just get rid of the time change. I would also have the mildly anxious feeling for several days after a change. When my daughter was younger she was an earlier riser and a time change would mean up she would be up by 5 am. She’s 8 now and can play quietly in the house while I do some morning routine (I work early and exercise in the afternoon). When she was little for sure she would have destroyed something or made a huge mess if she was out of sight. I did after awhile just try to embrace being up early with her. And tbh, it has made me more of a morning person and a lot of my best productivity is early morning so I can thank her for that!
Biden wins clearly in PA! The data folks at 538 and the upshot have been tweeting that for a day now. Outstanding votes in PA overwhelmingly D. In this sense, the R controlled house of representatives in PA achieved what it wanted– making it look R initially bc they didn’t allow counties to prepare mail in votes for counting until election day. In this case, being more informed can help with anxiety!
I did not care for Essentialism either… It was raved about by many so I bought it and was disappointed.
I’m also craving a massage. I got a lot of them during my last pregnancy but don’t feel like it’s worth the risk, especially given my immune compromised position… Plus I feel like wearing a mask for a massage would kind of take away from the relaxation. I look forward to getting one some day in the distant future!
You might just have no interest in doing this idea, but my partner and I give each other massages and it’s great! Its obviously not quite as relaxing as going to get a massage, but we get to do it reasonably frequently cause it’s much easier logistically and now that there’s a pandemic, much more feasible overall. And obviously cheaper. All you need is massage oil! If you’ve gotten enough massages, it’s not too hard to remember what they did / watch a youtube video or two and learn. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how quickly my partner improved.
Not saying I would never want a professional massage again, but these are a great stand-in most of the time. I’ll note that this is because we both have shoulder / back / neck tightness which is pretty easy to address as an amateur 🙂
Yeahhh, I went ahead and had a sports massage a couple months ago. BUT I had some pretty bad postpartum back pain and the case count here was acceptable. It was a sports massage-specific facility which somehow made me feel better about this decision and we both wore a mask the entire time–I wore a work-issued surgical mask. Sadly, the current case count is too high for me to comfortably go again. There HAS to be an outdoor massage somewhere near you in FL.
That’s my number one missed activity with COVID…massages! But you’re totally right, too risky right now. I used to do a Restorative Yoga class that included Thai Massage. It was heaven. Sadly, my studio has had to close down permanently as a result of COVID.
I think outdoor services is a great idea. Pedicures and manicures would be fun outside as well! Well, for FL I guess.
I’m in Canada, haha.
i love essentialism both the book and the podcast! it really simplifies decision making. And I also enjoyed the whole food CEO interview in freak economics! sounds like a cool guy. It made me think about conscious leadership a lot yesterday.
I miss massages so much! Especially since I carry stress in my shoulders and this whole year has been stressful. I did splurge on an electronic neck massager and I love it. It’s nice to use for 10-20 min at the end of the night.
My kingdom for a massage! My shoulders just seize up and massage keeps that from becoming unmanageable, but I have not had one since March. Yoga and stretching and rollout out has helped, but I really, REALLY need someone who knows what they are doing to get in there!
I loved Essentialism, but I also think it was written for people who have a lot more control over their work lives than I do who are much higher up on the ladder. (I’d consider myself solidly mid level, and I am not management.) I do have some control, and I used the Essentialism lessons for those parts. I’ve also let a lot of things go that I suspected were just done “just because” and so far it’s working out. It’s been YEARS, so I think I’m safe. 🙂 But yes- the “do just the fun stuff!” is not practical, because some of the most important parts of my job are not enjoyable, but it has to get done anyway, and I currently cannot delegate anything. For real. I am a department of one with a specialized role.
I was not aware there was a podcast- I’ll check it out!