1- New Q4 rituals working so far:
- Wednesday night Pilates. So far, I’ve done this twice, and both times it was lovely. I am able to pick A up from gymnastics at 8:45 and even get a little bonus post-Pilates window to either get work done (this past Wednesday I used the time to reach Inbox Zero) or read/relax. This particular class also happens to be very . . . chatty / social, interestingly. And into books! Maybe I will make some friends.
- Thursday AM leg day IN THE GYM. With our newly established Complete Division of Labor in the mornings, this is now possible. Went yesterday and loved it! I also made it there Monday, and my current goal is 3 workouts in the gym (4 strength sessions total; I can do shoulders/triceps/chest just fine at home).
- Friday blogging/Sbux before clinic. Our nanny drives Friday. COULD I theoretically make the school dropoff work, driving all the way across town and probably being slightly late for my first patient? Yes. But DO I NEED TO? No. It is reasonable to have her drive once/week. (If you can’t tell, I am writing this to convince myself, because I have really unnecessary guilty feelings about it).
2- Q4 rituals that are a work in progress: Evenings have kind of sucked this week, and that’s on me. Every single night this week I’ve found some sort of rabbit hole to get sucked into (yesterday: Jenny Simpson). This is going to be a focus for me next week.
3- Activity-free Friday nights are in jeopardy. Oh nooooo! But yes. A may be switching into a dance class that is only offered Friday night at 7 pm, requiring a 7 pm drop-off / 8 pm pickup. NOW – there is once again a Pilates possibility that would allow me to ‘use’ that time, but I’m not necessarily up for Pilates on a Friday night, you know? We *may* be able to carpool which would make this reasonable; I would propose total ownership of each week vs splitting the 2 drives.
4- Q4 habit I am loving: I started making an album playlist each week, pulling from selections on NPR’s New Music Friday, and then playing that playlist on repeat in the car. I LOVE IT! This week’s selections included Phoebe Bridgers and a band that is new to me called hovvdy (yes that’s how it’s spelled, but pronounced “howdy”). This feels like a fun balance between new music AND getting to know full albums which is something I really enjoy.
The New Music Friday (NPR) episodes drop weekly and it feels like a treat to find out what will make my Official Playlist for the week for the coming 7 days.
5- Best Laid Plans was translated into Slovakian!! How cool is that!? I think there is also a Spanish version and so far, that’s it. No world takeover . . . yet.
If you haven’t read it yet, now is a great time to pick it up — you’ll have plenty of time to get your planning rhythms going strong before 2027!
4 Comments
Totally reasonable for nanny to do 1 drive/week! I also struggle with feeling guilty about our nanny doing things when I *could.*
RIGHT? And yet I feel like this is primarily a woman only problem . . .
I am so excited to re-read Best Laid Plans. Last year I read it between Christmas and New Year’s. This year, I feel like mid-fall is calling my name in terms of timing. In fact, I am literally going to go to my planner this second and slot in: re-read BLP for mid-October.
Slovakian is… random! But I loved Slovakia, so YAY!
aww thank you Elisabeth!! That makes me so happy!