Good habits

When things get busy, most of my good habits start to slide. This happened recently and I found myself I dropping yoga classes in favour of sleep, forgetting to make plans with friends, and getting lazy with meal prep too. Suddenly, I was in the middle of a flat spell and wondering why. Thankfully a trip to Sydney and time with friends snapped me right out of it, and now I'm keen to make sure these five things are part of most weeks:

A good book and time to read

Reading gets my off my phone and out of my head too. Recently I read Educated by Tara Westover (it barely lasted a day!), Heartburn by Nora Ephron (wanted to love it more and was bothered by a coupled of lines), and then something super funny, Calypso by David Sedaris. Currently on reserve at the library, The Farm by Joanne Ramos, Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner. I'd also love to read Sloane Crosley's first book of essays, I Was Told There'd Be Cake.

Good-for-me meals and snacks

When I'm not feeling my greatest, I'm often not eating well either. Sometimes it comes from travelling and eating out non-stop. When that happens, I try to make an extra effort to eat well. The cheat's version is a green smoothie, and then returning to good-for-me staples like oats, leafy greens, roasted veggies, avocado on toast, soups and veggie-filled dinners.

Weekend and after-work plans

I used to crave downtime at home, but lately nothing makes me cheerier than catch ups with friends. My introverted-self is shocked 🙈Lately we've been going to friend's places for mid-week dinners, heading to more art openings, and I've been making an effort to book things ahead of time. Next month we have tickets to see the Adam Goodes doco The Final Quarter, as well a reservation for a cheese, potato salad and sorbet night (!).

Exercise and remembering to go outside

I've just gone back to morning yoga classes and have discovered that it's just the first 15 minutes of the day that are hard - in between the alarm going off and making it out the door. And someone recently joked that the first 15 minutes of any day are hard, no matter what time you get up. And something I can easily forget to do in winter... is to go outside. But lately I've been taking breaks to go for walks, or walking instead of driving whenever I can. The air is super fresh and our new neighbourhood is especially lovely for exploring.

X