TWDTM

This month marks the three year anniversary of my things we’ll do this month lists. I don’t know if it’s that or if it’s a combination including the New Moon from yesterday, but I feel a deep need to recommit to it, not just making a list and then forgetting about it. If I take it back to its roots, the idea behind the whole exercise was a grasp at slowing time down, putting focus on the things that nourish us instead of busting our asses all week long to just coast through an entire weekend without doing anything meaningful. It’s mindfulness, really, and I need a good dose of that just now.

THINGS WE’LL DO THIS MONTH: August 2019

Goal setting is fun. It’s great motivation to sit down and hash out the things we want to do and fantasize about the roads that will take us there. When we talk about goals, we talk about money and career and real estate and competition, but we rarely talk about good, old-fashioned leisure. What I’ve found is that having some fun and light-hearted goals is a nice way to interrupt the monotony and drudgery of obligation. Month to month, I will publish a list of things I would like to do during the month ahead. Of course, this list doesn’t take the place of all of my standard goals related to health, wellness, money and spirituality, but I reserve the right to, in some cases, blur the lines.

• Go swimming in the ocean – I’ve been dreaming about this and when I close my eyes I can feel the current

• Ride our bikes ????

• Have a picnic
• Get a spray tan
• Start Christmas shopping – I know, I know, but I always leave it until the end and then never get to enjoy it because I’m so wound up about it
• Organize fall travel
• Instagram August – this one is for Hillary and I don’t really know what it means, but basically the idea is to give Instagram a real shot
• Plan a getaway in September
• Plan a celebratory dinner (the celebration is a secret at the moment)

I have to admit that I’m a little bit horrified that it’s already the beginning of July. Two days in, in fact.

I know I’ve mentioned this a few times already, but one thing I’m really trying to work on is making time matter. I know I can’t slow down the clock, but I feel like being more mindful might help give the illusion that I’m getting more out of it.

This is an idea I’ve been playing with for at least three years already. I know because it was at the root of my things we’ll do this month posts. August will mark the beginning of my fourth year of creating these lists. If I’m honest, it worked at first, but some of my best months were the first months. Here’s the first one ever.

THINGS WE’LL DO THIS MONTH: July 2019

Goal setting is fun. It’s great motivation to sit down and hash out the things we want to do and fantasize about the roads that will take us there. When we talk about goals, we talk about money and career and real estate and competition, but we rarely talk about good, old-fashioned leisure. What I’ve found is that having some fun and light-hearted goals is a nice way to interrupt the monotony and drudgery of obligation. Month to month, I will publish a list of things I would like to do during the month ahead. Of course, this list doesn’t take the place of all of my standard goals related to health, wellness, money and spirituality, but I reserve the right to, in some cases, blur the lines.

Here’s what’s on the line this month.

• Go to the beach
• Create a vision board
• Take a hike
• Plan and prepare for trip to Toronto
• Ride our bikes
• Have a picnic
• Get a (damn) haircut (already)
• Pick berries
• Go to Ladner Market
• Plan fall running events
• Clean out our office
• Do more yoga and meditation
• Start a gratitude journal

What have you got going on this month?

I didn’t get to bed until nearly three hours into June and then I woke up another three hours later, totally wired. I was dehydrated, exhausted and still completely exhilarated from last night. Sure, part of that was the race to the ferry and, essentially, our second victory of the night. But I was also still riding the high of a huge comeback win in Victoria that was the whole reason we were over there in the first place.

I’ve been involved in lacrosse for eleven years (in addition to being a spectator and fan since I was a kid.) I’ve worked with teams who’ve played up to and through national championships, I’ve worked on the organizational side of national championships and last night was one of my favourite and most fun games in all that time.

We’re a 2-0 team that was largely left out of the conversation leading up to the season. We were facing one of the most prolific teams in our league who, despite being 0-2 going into the game were welcoming back their sharp shooters and dressing the most complete lineup they have to date in 2019. (Our league is plagued by delayed arrival of two groups of players: those who are away at university and those who are otherwise occupied playing for a championships with their professional box teams.)

Despite being shut out (3-0) in the first period, the team rallied back after the first break and brought the score to within one (5-4) by the second intermission. In the third period, they banded together and sealed the deal, giving them the taste of the shut out and winning 8-5. It was glorious.

I was, of course, really proud of them for the victory, but also for how they’re coming together as a group. I liked a lot of what I heard from the guys throughout the day. They’re gelling and they’re becoming a really cohesive group. The veterans are sharing their insights and advice, the younger players are listening and bringing new approaches to the table. It is a lot of fun to be a part of this.

There’s still a long way to go. We’re one sixth of the way through the season so there is still plenty of lacrosse to be played, but I can already tell this is going to be a fun summer.

---

I’d joked with my friend that my weekend was bookended by lacrosse and that, in between, I was hoping to hibernate. She wished me luck. When I woke up at 6:30 and knew that sleep was quite unlikely, I knew that a proper hibernation was not going to happen for me.

---

THINGS WE’LL DO THIS MONTH: June 2019

Goal setting is fun. It’s great motivation to sit down and hash out the things we want to do and fantasize about the roads that will take us there. When we talk about goals, we talk about money and career and real estate and competition, but we rarely talk about good, old-fashioned leisure. What I’ve found is that having some fun and light-hearted goals is a nice way to interrupt the monotony and drudgery of obligation. Month to month, I will publish a list of things I would like to do during the month ahead. Of course, this list doesn’t take the place of all of my standard goals related to health, wellness, money and spirituality, but I reserve the right to, in some cases, blur the lines.

• Slow down
• Plan a Canada Day party
• Shop for a new couch
• Develop a meditation practice
• Get a pedicure
• Do the Seawall
• Visit the Planetarium

Yes, a couple of those are repeats and yes, slow down is extremely vague, but I’ve started to show a glimpse of self-awareness and here’s what I’ve learned. The work I’m doing in lacrosse right now, while so fun and engaging and just all around delightful, is also contrary to my introverted nature. I get home from any old game and the symptoms I’ve mentioned above (basically burnout) are always there. I’ve found myself so wired this past week that it’s been interrupting my sleep. That isn’t a total complaint because I’m finding it quite invigorating, but it is a huge challenge related to balance. I need to counteract all the action with some chill. That’s what the goal of slowing down is all about.

What does June have in store for you? Or, better, what do you have in store for it?

Well, April was another utter failure at hitting my goals. That isn’t to say we didn’t enjoy the month and the emerging sunny weather – we most certainly did. It just means that the things I’d planned didn’t actually materialize. And so it goes. April felt like a lull while we waited to move on to true spring.

THINGS WE’LL DO THIS MONTH: May 2019

Goal setting is fun. It’s great motivation to sit down and hash out the things we want to do and fantasize about the roads that will take us there. When we talk about goals, we talk about money and career and real estate and competition, but we rarely talk about good, old-fashioned leisure. What I’ve found is that having some fun and light-hearted goals is a nice way to interrupt the monotony and drudgery of obligation. Month to month, I will publish a list of things I would like to do during the month ahead. Of course, this list doesn’t take the place of all of my standard goals related to health, wellness, money and spirituality, but I reserve the right to, in some cases, blur the lines.

• Bake a cake for Mother’s Day
• Prepare for summer gardening: decide what to plant, start seeds, refresh soil in balcony pots, transplant seedlings
• Create more blackout poetry
• Hit my step goal more days than not
• Create The Worthy Project collage (from episode 50 of Spiritualish podcast) (I carried this over from last month because despite the fact that I didn’t do it, it is really important to me)
• Go hiking
• Do the Seawall
• Make seed balls
• Visit the Planetarium
• Plan family portraits
• Start planning trips to Toronto and Vegas
• Decide whether we can squeeze another trip into the year
• Answer the question: should I do Rock n Rock Seattle?

What do you have planned for the month ahead? What are you looking forward to?

A whole new month! Another fresh start! And I feel ready for exactly that – something new, some change, a shake up. What better time than spring to start again? We’ve been feeling spring out here in the west. It’s been sunny and slowly warming up.

After a couple of months of feeling like life was happening to and around me, I’m more motivated than ever to take the reins and starting making things happen.

THINGS WE’LL DO THIS MONTH: April 2019

Goal setting is fun. It’s great motivation to sit down and hash out the things we want to do and fantasize about the roads that will take us there. When we talk about goals, we talk about money and career and real estate and competition, but we rarely talk about good, old-fashioned leisure. What I’ve found is that having some fun and light-hearted goals is a nice way to interrupt the monotony and drudgery of obligation. Month to month, I will publish a list of things I would like to do during the month ahead. Of course, this list doesn’t take the place of all of my standard goals related to health, wellness, money and spirituality, but I reserve the right to, in some cases, blur the lines.

• Be more mindful.
• Embrace the moment.
• WrestleMania!
• Host an Easter event
• Unpack summer clothes and store winter clothes
• Start seeds for summer garden indoors
• Practice regular meditation
• Go hiking (I looked back at my TWDTM from April 2017 for this one)
• Hit my step goal every day
• Create The Worthy Project collage (from episode 50 of Spiritualish podcast)
• Tailor eating plan to incorporate anti-inflammation diet with DNA results, test new foods

What projects do you have on the go this month? What are you planning to accomplish?

I’m going to level with you, friends. It’s been a really good day so far. We woke up and it was sunny and beautiful and it feels like a whole new world. I know it’s nothing more than literally just the turn of a calendar page, but March feels good. It feels fresh. It feels prosperous. I got into work and things flowed. Work just kind of came together with minimal effort and that seemed to be a global phenomenon because everyone seemed to be feeling it. I was ready to skip out really early, but I settled on just plain early after an impromptu casual lunch date with my boss. My walk home was GORGEOUS with nothing but blue skies and sunshine. I even noticed my first crocuses of the season. As I mentioned, I’d been contemplating doing the Yoga With Adriene Reset themed calendar of videos so I decided to jump right in and do the video for March 1st – Yoga For Creating Space – right away. On the other side of that 28 minute commitment, I can’t even tell you how much gratitude I am feeling. The words to express how I good I feel – that I did that for myself, that I took to time get grounded and move my body – they don’t even exist. It made me so happy.

Since we have plans tonight, I’m going to spend the next couple of hours with a meditation, my current book and my old cat.

But first, it’s a new month and this feels like the perfect mindset to look ahead.

THINGS WE’LL DO THIS MONTH: March 2019

Goal setting is fun. It’s great motivation to sit down and hash out the things we want to do and fantasize about the roads that will take us there. When we talk about goals, we talk about money and career and real estate and competition, but we rarely talk about good, old-fashioned leisure. What I’ve found is that having some fun and light-hearted goals is a nice way to interrupt the monotony and drudgery of obligation. Month to month, I will publish a list of things I would like to do during the month ahead. Of course, this list doesn’t take the place of all of my standard goals related to health, wellness, money and spirituality, but I reserve the right to, in some cases, blur the lines.

• Celebrate minor holidays: Shrove Tuesday & St Patrick’s Day
• Get a haircut: oh my word, this is dire
• Complete the Yoga With Adriene Reset playlist
• Get back into #100daysofrunning with at least ten runs
• Start tomato seeds

***Edited to add:

• Quit Facebook

Has your March gotten off to a great start, too? What have you got planned for the month ahead?

February is one of my favourite months. I like that it doesn’t have a distinct vibe and it can kind of become whatever you make of it. I also like the candy heart and pink and red everything.

THINGS WE’LL DO THIS MONTH: February 2019

Goal setting is fun. It’s great motivation to sit down and hash out the things we want to do and fantasize about the roads that will take us there. When we talk about goals, we talk about money and career and real estate and competition, but we rarely talk about good, old-fashioned leisure. What I’ve found is that having some fun and light-hearted goals is a nice way to interrupt the monotony and drudgery of obligation. Month to month, I will publish a list of things I would like to do during the month ahead. Of course, this list doesn’t take the place of all of my standard goals related to health, wellness, money and spirituality, but I reserve the right to, in some cases, blur the lines.

• The Wellness Show For the second year in a row, I’m checking this out and this time I’ll have my mom and my aunt in tow!
• Celebrate Chinese New Year. The Year of the Pig is coming up on Tuesday, February 5th and I have a few little crafts to finish up and share. I also have some work to do to get our house tidied up. Tip: now is the time to clean out all the bad luck in time for the new year! But do NOT clean on Tuesday or Wednesday.
• Road trip to Seattle I have a race there – my favourite race! – and I’m excited to get back to one of our favourite neighbourhoods and to see how I perform. I am the most prepared for a race that I probably ever have been and that holds interesting possibilities.
• Valentines Day All of it.
• Vacation A week+ out of the office.
• Houseguest! We’re super excited to have a friend coming for a super exciting, fun-filled weekend long birthday party!

Amid all that, I’m working on continuing my work on slowing down, focusing more intently and being selective.

What’s in store for you this February?