Today, we are taking a look back at May 2020. This edition of Foolproof Life Lately includes happy moments, struggles, and favorite books, shows, and classes. Join me as I take a minute to reflect on the month.
Hello friends. How are you doing? But really, how have you been?
Like most of you, our lives are still upside down. I think it is more emotionally than literally as we have not been hit as hard as most other places in the US. Vermont has done relatively well keeping the numbers down and people in our community are very conscious of following the new rules of our current reality.
Still, the thought that there is a long road ahead weighs me down.
While I am no pro in handling these kinds of difficult situations, I decided to take this time to be intentional about everything I do. Below are some of the highlights of May 2020.
My hope in sharing these is to offer you some ideas, and selfishly, keep a track of where I am in life to, perhaps one day, look back and see how life was during these difficult times.
What Is Currently Working?
- Daily walks in silence: I have always enjoyed listening to an audiobook or a podcast during my daily walks. Lately, I am doing it in silence with nothing in my ears. Just me and my thoughts taking the time to let it go.
It felt weird in the beginning, but I feel incredibly charged after an hour of time I spent by myself. - Organizing both physically and digitally: Admittedly, I am not an organized person, but during this time I decided to change that. Or at least, take baby steps in that direction.
I feel like the idea of not having my belongings and mind together is emotionally weighing me down. Here are a few things I am doing:- 10 minute clean up sessions: During the day I set my alarm for 10 minutes and organize something. It could be anything: my desk, bedside table, bathroom counter, etc. I do this twice a day. It adds up and my house looks and feels more organized than ever.
- Digital Organization: Having been a blogger for so many years, I struggled so much with having a way to organize all my photos, video footage, documents, etc. I finally sat down and spent two days in organizing everything and built a system for the backups to happen automatically going forward.
What Is Not Working?
On Friday morning, I spoke to a friend in the morning. She told me about the phone call that she has been waiting for from a job she applied for a week ago.
Then I talk to my aunt and she said that she is waiting for the results of her blood work after her cancer treatment.
Then another person, who told me some other thing that she has been waiting for.
The message was all the same. We all have been in this non-stop waiting mode.
I struggle with this so much. I, too, am always waiting for something to happen to move onto the next thing, feel better, do more, etc.
Sadly, the waiting game never ends and I am always in the same place. I want this to change, but I do not know how.
What I know for sure is that I want a life where I am content with where I am and able to surrender to whatever is happening in my life at that very moment.
What Have I Been Cooking?
For the last few months, I have been diligently working on building a How-To Recipes archive, where I cover the basics of cooking and provide you with recipes with helpful tips and tricks. So there is a lot of going-back-to-basics happening in my kitchen.
I am also loving Amy Chaplin’s new-ish cookbook, Whole Food Cooking Every Day (affiliate link.) It is filled with wholesome recipes that are somewhat advanced, but the flavor profiles are very interesting and unusual.
I also made my Turkish Simit recipe on Instagram and people loved it.
Finally, I am using my Instant pot more and more every day. Currently, I have been creating a lot of recipes made with quinoa and plan on publishing them over the next few weeks.
Favorite Books, Shows, and Classes in May:
Books:
- Superfans – Pat Flynn: As a digital business owner, my income depends on algorithms and algorithm changes. My biggest goal for the year is to change that. Reading this book was a great step in that direction. Pat Flynn outlines the steps to follow to connect with people who care about what I do as well as how I can offer them great value. It is a very helpful book, especially if you are a digital business owner and sick and tired of having your income tied to algorithms.
- Stillness is Key – Ryan Holliday: This is one of those books that gave me a perspective on everything that is currently happening. The kind of perspective that made me feel okay to take more time and find peace in stillness. As it is with all other books of Ryan Holliday, Stillness is Key is packed with great stories of people (celebrities, historical figures, etc) and steps to convince you that there is no other way but to spend more time looking inwards.
Shows:
My husband and I don’t do a lot of binge-watching, but in the last two months, we splurged in a show on Netflix. It is an older show (aired between 2011-2016) called People of Interest.
It is somewhere between a sci-fi, action, and bromance. Both the characters and the storyline are incredibly strong. It kept us on hour toes for all five seasons and made us want to watch more every day.
If you need a show to kill some time, I highly recommend it.
Classes:
I recently signed up for Skillshare. If you are not familiar, it is a website filled with educational videos made by everyday professionals.
I have recently finished Ali Abdaal’s class on Editing on Final Cut Pro.
The classes on Skillshare are short and to the point. I love that I can learn something new from someone who inspires me. Both of these teachers are YouTubers I follow and enjoy.
The best part is that there are so many classes to choose from and I bet you that you can easily find a topic that interests you.
Quote of The Month:
It is a commonplace observation that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.
C. Northcote Parkinson
Also known as Parkinson’s Law, this proverb states that people usually take all the time allotted to accomplish any task.
That is why, unless you give yourself a deadline and stick to it, completing projects (personal or work-related) takes a long time to complete, or worse, never gets done. This is a good read about this subject, if you want to learn more about it.
My goal for June 2020 is to set up a system for myself to get more done by focusing on time management.
Until next month.
Aysegul
