What completely bores you?

My answer to this question would be different if COVID-19 never happened. But we live with the cards that have been played. I cannot for the life of me find online meetings interesting. On average there’s about five minutes of valuable information and the rest is mind-numbingly dull. The cliches about online meetings are so true. There’s always someone with absurd background noise, someone who has a lag in audio or video, and someone who can’t figure out how to turn the mute on and off.

Pre-COVID I would have probably said in-person meetings. Very few meetings need to be in-person in my mind. Most can be accomplished with a phone call or an email. I understand the value of a face-to-face interaction however and I think my introvert is showing with this one. 

Plus I hate how much time is wasted in the anticipation of a meeting. I’m never the person who can just look at the clock and be like, “Oh! Meeting in two minutes better hop on.” I’m constantly aware of how much time I have left before a call and waste that time while worrying that I’ll be late. I’m never late to meetings, but in my mind there is always a first time for anything…it’s even worse when 99% of meetings are completely dull. Praise the ability to not use your camera and/or mute yourself. So much of my other work gets done during meetings that should have just been an email.

This post is part of a 31 day writing prompts series I’m doing. Find all the prompts in this blog post.

What have you been putting off doing? Why?

Our basement has always been a dumping ground. The place where we store old memories, extra furniture, half finished projects, and abandoned hobbies. As just two people in a house that could easily have three times as many people living in it, we have way too much space. 

I live firmly in the world of out-of-site, out-of-mind. It vanishes into the depths of our home never to resurface again. At the start of COIVD-19 Alex and I cleaned out the cement, storage section of our basement. Although that room finally got organized, all of the items we wanted to donate, give to friends, and just get out of our lives now firmly sits in our main living area. From one mess to another. 

One of our biggest weaknesses as a married couple is our inability to fully finish a project. A nearly organized garage left not quite finished so it feels ok to let things pile up. Now a basement with boxes to donate and items to sell just sits because there’s no REAL reason to get it out of the house besides finishing the task. No one is visiting. No one is unkowingly pressuring us to not be pieces of garbage.

So there’s the tea. Someone who prides herself on an organized planner and schedule can’t for the life of her keep her basement the same way. And you know what, I’m cool with it.

This post is part of a 31 day writing prompts series I’m doing. Find all the prompts in this blog post.

With August just around the corner let’s kick it off with 31 different writing prompts to keep you journaling through the entire month. Whether you tackle a few at a time or space it out daily, I’d love to hear your progress or thoughts on them as you go along!

1. What have you been putting off doing? Why?
2. What completely bores you?
3. Write a letter to your mom. Tell her something you’ve always wanted to say, but haven’t.
4. If you could permanently ban a word from use, which one and why?
5. Begin a story with the phrase, “And it was in that moment I knew I wouldn’t get to finish my piece of cake.
6. Take the title of the last song you listened to and make it your post title. Write for a minimum of 10 minutes.
7. What do you know about your family’s history and culture?
8. What is your earliest memory about?
9. What would you tell your younger self about if you could go back in time?
10. What are five hobbies you’d love to get into doing, but haven’t? Why haven’t you?
11. What’s one story that your family always tells?
12. If you could have the perfect date with yourself, what would you do?
13. What’s one thing about your family dynamics that you want to change?
14. What was the best birthday present you have ever received?
15. When was the last time you cried?
16. Describe your favorite color without ever saying the name.
17. What are some of your favorite characteristics of your closest friends?
18. Write about what it would be to live a day in the life of a whale.
19. Write about how you met your best friend or significant other.
20. You’re in charge of creating a new museum exhibit. What will you do?
21. Pretend space travel is commonplace and describe an average day in your life.
22. What’s your favorite childhood memory?
23. Three of your dad’s favorite things?
24. Begin a story with the phrase, “I wouldn’t have gotten away with it too if it hadn’t been for…”
25. What career would you pursue if you started everything over?
26. Create a story that includes tacos, flamingos, and a very large cat
27. If you were to have a “lame” superpower, what would it be and why?
28. Describe what it’s like to eat your favorite food with as much detail as possible.
29. If you were from the future, how would you warn yourself about this year?
30. If you had a spirit animal that followed you around, what would it be and why?
31. What was it like writing the previous 30 prompts?

Creative outlets have always held a position of high standing in my mind, but now more than ever they shouldn’t be overlooked. With so many unkowns and the days changing drastically from one to the other, it’s important to root yourself in activities and hobbies that allow you to express yourself. They don’t have to be complicated and you don’t have to be wildly talented creatively to do them. These are the five simple things I do every day to keep the creativity flowing.

Take a Daily Photo

Whip out your cell phone and snap a picture every day. It doesn’t have to be good, artsy, or shareable. Just take a picture of something that documents the day for you. Even after just one week you’ll be surprised at how many little things you’ve accomplished. Sure you aren’t going on crazy adventures like you might have in the past, but the little activities and moments do still add up.

Brain Dump

Now I wish there was a less gross term for this…anyone have anything better they call it? There’s so much value in getting everything out of your head and onto paper. Things as simple as clean the litter box can clog up your brain and stress you out by trying to remember it all. Getting it down on paper takes away the stress and you won’t have that gnawing feeling like you’re forgetting something.

Gratitude

Sure it’s hard to be grateful all the time and I’m the first to admit that lately it doesn’t feel like there’s that much to be grateful for. Try to take a moment every day to write down something you’re grateful for, even if it’s as small as getting through another day. Over time these small gestures of gratitude will help you get through the tough days even if you may not realize it right away. 

Journal/Write

Whether you’re writing a letter to a friend or journaling about your feelings in a notebook, put pen to paper. It takes you away from a computer or social media and has you focus on your personal, individual thoughts. You don’t have to write anything prolific. Hell most of the time my journal is filled with me complaining about stupid things and work. Just like writing out a list of everything clouding up your head, journaling helps to get all those pent up emotions out. And there sure is a lot to be emotional about these days…

Read

When our local library opened up I couldn’t place holds on books fast enough. After hours a day in video meetings and staring at a computer screen, I’m so excited to turn it all off just to read for a while. Plus books are well known for letting the reader escape into other worlds. It’s probably the best form of travel anyone can do right now.

It’s simple. You don’t have to be a brilliant painter or have some crazy creative talent in order to be creative on a daily basis. These five simple acts give me clarity during days that feel like they’re just constantly repeating themselves. We could all use that right about now…

When I was younger choosing which books to read was easy. I’d consult my list of books that Rory Gilmore would read (there was a legit list of all the books she read in the series) and pick something from there. Years later and I’ve completed that entire list and needed a new source of book recommendations. I’ve found a system that works and is completely free. If, like me, you just can’t afford new books at the breakneck rate you read.

Compile Your List

Goodreads is an obvious choice if you just want to browse some of their fantastic lists and recommendations. I don’t even have an account and just click around. I’ve found Book of the Month to be a great resource for fresh, newly-released options every month. If you’re someone who likes to purchase their books, I definitely recommend signing up for their service. But I find that just looking at what books they’ve sent out in the past and reading their descriptions does the trick. You aren’t able to read the descriptions unless you make an account, but I’ll just look them up online to see what the story is about.

As I’m going through Goodreads and Book of the Month Club I write down all of the various books that have peaked my interest on a page in my planner. There’s really no system to it. Just titles and authors. If you purchase your books, you could do this in an Amazon list or on paper as a shopping list for your local bookstore. Libraries usually have a section on their portals where you can make lists as well. But I’m a pen to paper person through and through.

If someone mentions a book online or in person that they’ve enjoyed reading, I’ll write it down on a scrap of paper or make a mental note to read a description about it. Then, if it interests me, I’ll ask to borrow the book or add it to my “to read” list.

Place Holds at Your Library

I’ll use my library’s online portal to place holds on the books I’ve written down in the first step. Most of the time the books recommended by the Book of the Month Club are either not purchased by the library yet or have long waits. I’ll place a hold on them anyway and add myself to the wait list. I don’t particularly mind because the Goodreads selections tend to fill in those gaps. Plus it’s kind of fun not knowing exactly what books will come when. I’ll check how many people are in line ahead of me as I add the books into the system. I won’t have more than two or three in there that don’t have wait times. That way I’m not swimming in books and they trickle in. I get a text message when they’re ready at my library and go do curbside pickup.

Document Your Progress

If you read a book and don’t write it down, did you even read it? I mean duh, you still read it, but there’s something so satisfying about documenting which books you’ve read. I use these Build Your Own Bookshelf stickers in the back of my planner and write on the sticker spines when I finish a book. There’s nothing that inspires you to keep reading than seeing some empty books in need of titles.

I’d love to hear how you find book recommendations!

We tried our first food delivery program as soon as it became clear that quarantine was going to be more than just a couple week thing. We gave Shipt a go after hearing good things from friends in our neighborhood. We used it about 3-4 times before cancelling our subscription. Here’s why.

1. It costs more. There’s of course a subscription fee which I don’t have a problem with, but it feels like all of the products available just cost more. Plus you have to make an order worth it size wise or you’ll have to pay a delivery fee.

2. There are less options. I’m sure it’s impossible to have every single product available on the app that’s in the store, but Alex and I like our options. We like looking at all of the cereal or hot sauce available and picking what suits us in the moment. It’s impossible to do that when you don’t even know what the options are.

3. You don’t know if something is on sale. The app will tell you if a product is discounted, but you aren’t able to really compare prices like you can when you’re in store. It’s easy to see that the store brand is cheaper than the on sale name brand and to make a choice from that. 

4. It’s difficult to schedule delivery which I’m sure is due to higher usage since most people are trying to avoid going out whenever possible. But it also felt weird to have to organize and adjust your day to wait for groceries. This definitely wasn’t a deal breaker for us, but with the other things it just didn’t feel worth it.

5. It’s harder to use reusable bags because someone is delivering your groceries for you. I’m not sure how delivery companies would solve this, but it’s super important to me to use reusable bags. 

6. Substitutions aren’t great. If something is out of stock at the store your shopper will try and substitute something else for you. This could just be me, but I like to know exactly what’s all available if I have to make a different selection than the one originally planned. When you’re at the store yourself it’s just a quick look around to see other options. But when someone is shopping for you, it’s texts back and forth and the feeling that you’re wasting their time on what type of ice cream to get.

Grocery delivery services just feel like an unnecessary luxury for where Alex and I are at in our lives right now. We’re more than capable to put on our masks and head to the store ourselves. We’ll leave these services available for other people who need them more. Plus I’m sure when I have a baby at home and a mountain of work to get done, it’ll seem a whole lot more appealing. Until then, it’s back to regular old grocery shopping for us…or what normal looks like these days anyway…