Self Care Sunday

Happy Easter everyone! And welcome to my first Self Care Sunday post.

I just graduated with a degree in social work and every one of my professors over the last few years spent at least one class sessions talking about the importance of self care. This is especially vital for those of us in the helping professions but everyone and anyone can benefit from taking better care of themselves and putting themselves first every once in awhile!

Through these posts I plan on exploring various ways to treat and love yourself but today we will start with an easy task!

Make a list of 5 things you can treat yourself to for $5 or less! 

I know I frequently feel like the answer to my problems is shopping. However, this is rarely the case and when I stress shop I end up with a bad case of buyers remorse...Making the stress even worse! So having a game plan and deciding on a few ways to treat yourself without breaking the bank can really make a big difference. Write it on a sticky note. Keep it in your purse. Program it into your phone. Just make sure you see it and can easily reference it when you feel that urge to stress shop.

A few of my ideas: 

1. A new paperback or Kindle deal book
2. Five uplifting songs off of iTunes
3. A Starbucks pick-me-up
4. A cute card to send to a distant friend (or to journal on and stick in my notebook)
5. Relaxing bubble bath and/or lotion 

March Book Review

Click the title to go to the Amazon page for each book!

The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld 
This was a decent YA novel but in my opinion not nearly as good as The Hunger Games or Divergent. The whole world is built around the concept of creating perfect, beautiful people. Tally, the main character, gets involved in a rebel group and comes to see the inner-beauty in the ugly people but she still dreams of being beautiful herself. I am not entirely sure what lessons she learned. It was an entertaining read but after reading the "sneak peek" of the second book I decided against continuing the series.

Sister by Rosamund Lupton 
This book is the story of a woman trying to solve the mystery of her sisters disappearance. It was a huge page turner as Beatrice considers various suspects and explores concepts such as genetic trails in infants. Soon the police discover the Tess committed suicide but Bee refuses to believe this. There are so many itty bitty clues leading to the ending, but you will never see it coming! It ends with just the right balance between open-ended and hopeful.

Angelfall by Susan Ee 
I bought this one because it was on a special deal on Amazon, although I was a little uncertain about it after reading the reviews. Some people described it as morbid while others said it gave them nightmares. It was certainly a bleak, post-apocalyptic world but it was an interesting take on an otherwise worn out idea. The end of the world in this story was brought about by the rapture; the Angel Gabriel sent with an army of Angels to destroy mankind and all their evil. It is definitely a different way to look at Heaven/Hell, Good/Evil, etc. I do not really see this book as a dig at any particular faith, but more an exploration of the concept of God and faith in general.

The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak 
This is a phenomenal book. Let me start by saying that I am fascinated by the history and culture of World War Two in general. I love the complete contrasts you see during that time; pure evil and hatred against simple innocence. The idea of people going along with horrible ideas based of of one man's words and then people who still do the right thing, despite their entire community and culture telling them to do something else. This book, which is narrated by death, explores both of these world: those of simple people and how their actions fit into the larger structure of hugely important events. You will fall in love with Liesel and all the amazing people she encounters.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan 
This was a strange book but worth the read! Its a mystery, love story and history all tied into one. It took me awhile to get into it, there was at times too much focus on the tiny details of typography and bookmaking, but it was all necessary to really get into this world. It was fun to think about the possibility (and honestly likelihood) of underground societies dedicated to old books.  I adored the ending as well and the idea that even the smallest acts can have the biggest impact on the future.

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin 
I have a love/hate relationship with this book. To be honest, I did not particularly enjoy the memoir part of this book. At times it seemed a bit heavy handed and contradictory; my life is so wonderful and I am so blessed and lucky versus I am making no progress this is the worst idea ever. I got a bit annoyed reading those two general ideas over and over again. But there were so small details that really added depth, like talking about her husbands illness. I loved the overall concept of this book though and the map she provides for individuals looking to add more happiness and contentment to their own lives. If you are feeling a little lost I would highly suggest this book.

Journaling, Goal-Setting and Planning

I have been keeping journals since my 13th birthday when my mom bought me a cute spiral-bound notebook. Almost ten years later I am still going strong and my journaling is constantly evolving. However, as I get older keeping a journal becomes increasingly confusing.

I want to set goals in so many areas of my life. I want to make plans for my future and for tomorrow. I want to remember these small moments of my life, as well as all the big events. I want to record quotes I love, books I am reading and so many other little details of my life.

But how do you balance all of this?

We will start from the top: Goal Setting! This is SO important as it will guide your day-to-day activities, the plans you make and even the things your journal about. But setting goals can be a daunting task. I bought these Lara Casey Power Sheets a few months ago and fell in love with them, but each month I found myself leaving so many squares unchecked. Enter "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin. I loved the idea of focusing on happiness and really zeroing in on one aspect of my life each month. So I made a list of everything I could do to lead a happier more contented life. Then each month I would choose ONE area to focus on break it down into monthly/weekly/daily/weekend goals on my Power Sheets and BAM. So much easier to manager.

Next up is planning. I used to have giant page-a-day planners and I would map out every aspect of my days a week in advance. But as life progressed this became less and less doable. Life gets hectic ya'll! You can't always plan each hour of your day a week in advance. So instead I utilized the monthly calendar spread to keep track of bills, birthdays, events. etc. Then each night I would review my monthly calendar, my Power Sheets, my meal plans (I choose and buy groceries for seven meals each week but don't assign them to certain days) and even my journal to create a to-do list for the following day. This has been working SO much better for me and I find myself being way more relaxed and spontaneous. When I planned my days a week or more in advance I felt like I couldn't get a last minute coffee with a friend because I had other things planned! With this method I can also bring my daily to-do list everywhere I go; slip it in my wallet or clutch, instead of hauling around a large planner.

For my daily to-do lists I'll use just about anything, typically sticky notes or a Project Life journaling card.

So now into my main focus of this post: journaling! I freaking love journals. I love the beautiful, artistic, creative journals you can find examples of on Pinterest. But unfortunately I am not very creative! I've also found it difficult to find examples of how other people incorporate journaling into their daily lives. My journaling method has three parts:

1. Day One: This is an app that I have on my iPhone (I imagine you can get it on other smart phones as well). I used to hate the idea of digital journals but I have found it really handy; you can easily and discreetly jot down your thoughts wherever you are. The other awesome thing about this app is that you can add tags to each entry so you can easily review your past. Currently I have tags for: Sam (marriage), Anxiety, Future, Projects, Food, Friends, Health, Job, Quotes, Books and Movies. Whenever something pops up I quickly jot it down in this app for later review.

2. Paper Journal: I have used multiple journals throughout my life but over the last few years I have fallen in love with Moleskin notebooks. They come in so many different colors! This is where my real journaling comes in. I have my Day One app open as I write to remind me of what has been going on in my life. And I write. About my life, about my fears, about the stress in my life, about the things I am grateful for. This is where I really dig into my life and thoughts. I am about to start a new journal and I think I am going to color code my entries. Something along the lines of: black ink for regular days, pink ink for really happy memories, blue ink for quotes, purple ink for lists, etc. That way I can easily review my journals without any crazy system.

3. Scrapbooks and Notes: I have also been using the Project Life scrapbooking system over the past few years. Each month I print out my favorite pictures from the month and then spend an hour or two with my scrapbook, journals, planners, etc. and scrapbook my absolutely favorite moments! The awesome part of this is that if you use Project Life note cards for your to-do list you can easily add your daily schedule from special days into your scrapbook!

Quick Review: 

1. Goals: Figure out a system of setting goals that works for your life and actually helps you! Don't choose a system that causes you more stress or overwhelms you. 
2. Plan: Find a planner that suits your life style. This may be a paper planner or the calendar on your phone. Whatever you choose, use it to keep track of the things you need to do and make time for the goals and activities you want to do. 
3. Digital Journal: Use this to keep track of the day-to-day moments that you want to remember, advice you've been given, books you want to read, or anything else! You can do this quietly and discreetly wherever you are. You can also tag entries for easy review.
4. Paper Journal: Keep your journal in a safe place and write in it when you feel most comfortable. Use this journal to really dig into your life and your feelings. Analyze what is going on in your life, the progress you are making on your goals and all the best (and worst) moments in your life. 
5. Scrapbooks: For me this is lowest on the totem pole, but equally important. This is the part of your system that will most likely be seen by other people; your family, your children, your great-grand children. Make it special but keep it simple!

I hope this helps someone else out there trying to figure out the best way to balance all the crazy thoughts bouncing around in their heads. One of the main reasons I wrote this post was to really sort out a system for myself and make it easier to follow!