November 2021 goals

This month, I’m trying something new – assigning an Admin, Analog, and Connect day each week. (Side note: I find it fascinating that I can think so much about household and life management and STILL come up with new ideas I want to try. It kind of feels like I should already have thought of them all, ha!)

You may remember that I use a simple Word doc for my perpetual to do list. This system works well for me, but when I stumble in how I spend my time, it’s usually because there are too many loud, competing priorities and I can’t decide which one to work on, so I work on none. And, I find it hard to switch from one type of task to another – specifically, as lazy as it sounds, once I’ve sat down on the sofa in the evening, it’s hard to get up and do anything else :)

So this is what I’m going to try: on Sunday of each week, I’ll look ahead at our schedule and choose an Admin, an Analog, and a Connect day. (Fridays and Saturdays cannot be assigned, and I should really say I’ll assign an evening, because these boundaries are for the hours between the kids’ bedtime and mine.)

On Admin days, I’ll plow through management tasks – think: placing online orders, booking travel and appointments, updating the budget, or email upkeep.

On Analog days, I’ll do non-computer things, like house repairs or projects, tidying or cleaning, making a new letterboard, arranging a new mantel, writing thank you notes, painting my toenails, working on Halloween costumes or my Advent calendar, reading a magazine or book, and if all else fails… going to bed early (what a concept!).

On Connect days, my schedule will remain open and available for connection with John. We might watch a show or movie, play a game, go for a walk, or just chat. This day was a compromise born out of the fact that I have a dozen pRoJeCtS going on at any one time and he mostly just wants to hang out with me in the evenings, ha. It’s not that we won’t connect on other days, just that this day will be specifically set aside to do so!

There’s more I could say, but I want to try it first! Will most definitely report back if it’s a success :) Here’s to another month of exploration, examining what’s not working, and trying new things.

I have been getting more “dressed” some days and capturing a few shots to share with you in a future post! Is this fun? Wearing my beloved Nap dress + jean jacket + everyday pearl and gold earrings + navy flats.

On my calendar this month:
— Making a family gratitude poster. Even though people have been doing these for years, it’s new for our family! Shep and I cut out a bunch of leaves and I put them in a little bowl in the center of our table with a glue stick and marker so it’s easy to each fill one out at dinner every night. Two thumbs up so far!
— Sharing gift guides! I have been thinking so much about gifting this year, not in the least because it already feels like we have everything we could ever want, and am excited to share some of these thoughts – and gift ideas, yes! – soon.
— Clearing the decks. This is a favorite part of my November holiday prep, and it’s always a breath of fresh air!

What I’m loving right now (media edition!):
— Speaking of a breath of fresh air, Bari Weiss’s podcast Honestly definitely qualifies. The description: “The most interesting conversations in American life now happen in private. This show is bringing them out of the closet. Stories no one else is telling and conversations with the most fascinating people in the country, every week from former New York Times and Wall Street Journal journalist Bari Weiss.” I find this to be an interesting, serious, and engaging listen every week. You will surely not agree with everything you hear, but Bari and her guests will leave you thinking (and wanting to continue the conversation with a friend!).
— Another podcast rec: John and I listened to two episodes of the Live No Lies mini podcast by John Mark Comer (with David Brooks and Jon Tyson) on our drive home from Black Mountain, and they were fantastic and filled with wisdom. Even if you don’t consider yourself a Christian, I HIGHLY recommend the David Brooks episode.
— The new season of the Great British Baking Show is an utter delight. The contestants are just perfectly-pitched and so quintessential GBBS. This is cozy fall and post-partum content at its apex.

You can see all the things I’ve loved in my goal posts over the years right here!

What I read in October:
— The Dearly Beloved | Finished it, loved it as much as I thought I would. In fact, I loved it so much I sent copies to two friends who I thought would also enjoy it.
— Ignore It! | John likes to tease me that all of the non-fiction books I read could be half as long. I strongly disagree in most cases, but in this one, yes, it probably could have been a tidy PDF or at least fewer than 100 pages. I was hoping she would address two specific issues we’re dealing with, and she didn’t really, but it’s still a worthwhile read if you’re dealing with annoying behaviors in your kids.

A little update on my 2021 reading list: it’s trucking along! So far, I’ve read 14 of the 24 books on the list. It doesn’t seem like I’ll get to all of them before the end of the year, but I hope to finish 7-8 more before December 31st! Next up: Next up: Self Portrait in Black and White and Nobody Will Tell You This But Me.

Revisiting my October goals:
Complete the backing for our Advent calendar (The embroidery is *almost* complete – I actually ran out of floss, so Purl is sending me a bit more!)
Create our Halloween costumes (Yes! Loved them!)
Listen to an upcoming sermon series for a church we’re exploring (We listened to the first of six on our drive home from the mountains! There have been three so far, so this is a partial completion.)
Plan and enjoy our Black Mountain trip (Yes! It was really, really wonderful. We had perfect weather and truly so much fun together! Recap coming soon!)
Re-introduce our evening Peloton stretch sessions (This was largely a fail, ha. Exercise of any sort is just not a top priority right now!)
Find that lumbar pillow (Done! I chose this one.)

As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2021 goals!

November goals:
— Complete the backing for our Advent calendar: finish embroidering the numbers, sew the pockets, sew the tree
— Finish the sermon series
— Make gift plans for all the people and execute as much as possible
— Edit Sheptember
— Embroider shirts for I, J, M, C, and T
— Do my November holiday prep (including designing and ordering our Christmas newsletter and card and making a spiritual formation plan for me and the kids)
— Begin my 2022 PowerSheets

Let’s discuss: have you tried anything new with household/life management lately? I’d love to hear!

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