Let’s embrace the utterly boring
Oh, hi friends!
You know what I’m looking for in January?
The deep flow state that can come from doing the same thing at the same time every day.
Basically, I want to be boring.
I want to know what I’m doing, when I’m doing it, and how it’s going to get done.
Maybe you can achieve this with a meticulously plotted hour-by-hour schedule, or stripping your schedule of priorities.
(Or maybe you’re having a year of yes and abundance and new opportunities, in which case “boring” might not be your bag.)
But it’s good to track back from your goals.
I want boring because I want a slow and steady accumulation of new pages, new songs, new stories. The best and fastest way to do that is to be as boring as possible. Because the only way to create pages, songs, and stories is to simply write them.
So boring doesn’t have to be bad. And it doesn’t have to be forever. Maybe it can even be your best friend.
Today’s illustration is by the talented Sonaksha, who I met through this newsletter! Follow her on Instagram or check out more of her work here.
“I am a writer. Imagining what someone would say or do comes to me as naturally as breathing.”
― Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking
I’ve had many conversations with people that go something like this:
But what am I even good at? What do I like? WHAT WHY WHO.
I imagine Joan might ask them (and me), “What comes to you as naturally as breathing?”
Photo by Josh Gordon on Unsplash
Let's. Get. Physical.
My friend Danielle Friedman is writing a book about the history of women's exercise culture, to be published by Putnam. Its working title is Let's Get Physical: How Workout Culture Transformed Women and Reshaped the World, and it will tell the untold story of "how we evolved from a country where sweating was considered unladylike to one where, for many of us, heart-pumping workouts are now a way of life." Danielle is hoping to interview women in their 60s and older about how and when they discovered exercise, and how being active has helped them move through the world with greater ease, joy, and strength. If you or someone you know is interested in speaking with Danielle, email her at daniellefriedman18@gmail.com. She thanks you in advance!
PS — If you’re new here, hi! I’m Kara Cutruzzula — I’m a writer in New York and I send this newsletter every weekday around 7:30 am ET.
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Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara