Oh, hi friends!
I was talking to a friend yesterday about ‘lowering the barrier to entry’ for new or old habits. Making it as easy as possible. Do yoga for 5 minutes instead of 50 minutes, that sort of thing.
Because sometimes the difficult part about doing the things we know we should do — and usually want to do — isn’t about the knowing, but about deciding how to integrate it into your life.
But sometimes we’re in periods where lowering the barrier to entry isn’t the best way to move forward. Sometimes you actually want a really difficult or hard-to-hit challenge.
Know where you are and what you need.
That’s the thing.
That’s always the thing.
Back then, I had this tradition of going through all of my in-progress pieces on New Year’s Day, just to see where I was and where I wanted to go, and one year around, let’s say, 2004, I taped this note on to the cover page of the nine millionth draft of “the stupid Lincoln play” as I’d started calling it: “RUN AWAY. DO NOT WORK ON. DO NOT!”
How I love this story from George Saunders’ wonderful newsletter Story Club. Because how often do we forget what we’ve already got in our hands?
After he finally decided to pull the plug on his “stupid Lincoln play,” he had the freedom to later turn it into his book Lincoln in the Bardo.
Projects don’t die; they can live on in a new form.
(Thanks Allison McNearney for sending this to me, and even highlighting the sections she knew I would love — that’s a true friend!)
During my 2022 wind-down, I tried to set right a bunch of things around the house that simply weren’t right. You know the ones. I also gave away a ton of stuff on my local Buy Nothing Facebook group, a lifesaver! So here are my little tips. Your mileage, as they say, may vary.
12 Resolutions for Home Stuff in 2023
Is anything broken, does anything need to be donated or thrown away? Can you do it today?
Look in the refrigerator, cabinets, and spaces your eyes pass over. What doesn’t belong?
Any library books that need returning?
How about any sad plants that need pruning? Or some artificial light?
Does anything need to be mailed? By the way, should you buy stamps?
Any thank-you cards that need sending?
Or any very delayed Christmas presents?
Is a better desk chair in your future?
Any devices need charging?
Can you finally buy that second charger so you’re not moving one around all the time?
Which papers need sorting?
Which corners can be cozier?