As a newly self-employed retired high school teacher and empty nester solo mom, I have a lot of freedom in my schedule and a lot of breathing room. So one might think I have no stress. I’m finding myself overwhelmed with decision fatigue, though, because I do have the luxury of planning my days very differently from when I was in the frenetic energy of teaching and parenting. I am working on building a business and publishing more writing but even knowing what to prioritize has been difficult. By the evening, I usually feel like I’ve over analyzed and ran my self in circles so the idea of creating an interesting dinner for myself isn’t appealing. After getting stuck in a dinner rut of either sautéed chicken breasts and spinach salad or eggs and fruit for months, I decided to go back to a meal subscription service. I’ve been using Green Chef the last two weeks and it actually feels so much better, despite having to spend half an hour cooking and then cleaning all the pans and prep items. I don’t love all of the bags and boxes that I need to add to my (hopefully!) recycling bins, but know I’m eating a wider variety of herbs and greens, so I’m sure my gut is happier, and while it is a little more expensive than my previous dinners and their minimum order basically covers all of my dinners for the week, it’s a relief knowing I don’t have to make more decisions at the end of the day (weekly meal planning has never been a consistent thing for me!).
I love this. Sometimes the lists just seem to pile up and lately I’ve just been trying to do *one* thing everyday on the list that I’ve been putting off, even if it’s small. And it’s a huge game changer. So spot on
You always seem to write an article that is relevant at just the right time. My kid just graduated from college and brought home All The Stuff. In the few hours we had to pack, everything has been thrown in big, black garbage bags and it's overwhelmed the house. I'm the one who suffers most from disarray so the clutter everywhere has been driving me mental. I'm realizing that as unfair and frustrating as it is, I'm going to have to be the person to spearhead sorting through all this. I'm going to follow your advice, "one bag at a time".
I’m going to invite women to a free pop-up writing workshop on July 10th. I haven’t hosted any of these in a while and I’d like to do it again. I want to connect more women to the power of writing and to each other. Even though it’s only 10 days away, I’d like to go for it and see who’s interested.
I'm in a tussle with my health insurer and Medicare over coverage of the only medication available for my particular heart disease, a $23,000 a month medication. Today I was so frustrated I sent an email to my cardiologist that read, "I have no more bandwidth. I'm leaving for vacation Sunday without this drug. I'll die a little over two weeks. Perhaps your assistant can straighten out this mess when she returns from vacation. I can't."
Reading your post I decided to put in a last ditch effort tomorrow to work through the bureaucratic mess that is healthcare in the US. But... I'm only dedicating 30 minutes to the cause. That's all I can do.
June is finally over, and we are now in this new month, with heat and more heat to come. I try to prepare what news to share on my blogs and have them prepped before each new month. I knew that my husband would be on vacation soon, as this spurred me on to finish such projects, and we both ended the month with catching a cold; he first, then I. I have a sore throat with unstoppable coughing at times. We're on vacation at home with this cold, and I am tired; yet, I did manage to get all of my posting done and set to drop off when the time is right; I mean, they were scheduled as I wore myself to the ground in getting them done. I even managed to complete a book that may never see print because of all the pictures it entails. I have a cold with no remedy in sight; we did buy cough syrups, but not helping. Does anyone care? What little that I do online is never enough or good enough, yet I am pestered and that is how I caught this cold, from Market Basket but I cannot prove this, the weather was a drizzle of rain and cold for that Saturday, and yes, my husband had the cold before I did; so I must have gotten it from him, likely. Okay, I don't ever make sense.
Mrs ACB, You did what you said you were going to do, and you showed up for yourself! You got those posts written and scheduled!!! Can you imagine if you were trying to get all that done while you feel so awful with that cold??? I so admire your discipline, so many of us strive for that! Your brain cells have worked so hard, and pause is so energizing. Can you seize joy by just noticing something beautiful or funny ? I bet your cold will feel so much less awful in the presence of ease, beauty or humor. Sending you healing vibes!
As a newly self-employed retired high school teacher and empty nester solo mom, I have a lot of freedom in my schedule and a lot of breathing room. So one might think I have no stress. I’m finding myself overwhelmed with decision fatigue, though, because I do have the luxury of planning my days very differently from when I was in the frenetic energy of teaching and parenting. I am working on building a business and publishing more writing but even knowing what to prioritize has been difficult. By the evening, I usually feel like I’ve over analyzed and ran my self in circles so the idea of creating an interesting dinner for myself isn’t appealing. After getting stuck in a dinner rut of either sautéed chicken breasts and spinach salad or eggs and fruit for months, I decided to go back to a meal subscription service. I’ve been using Green Chef the last two weeks and it actually feels so much better, despite having to spend half an hour cooking and then cleaning all the pans and prep items. I don’t love all of the bags and boxes that I need to add to my (hopefully!) recycling bins, but know I’m eating a wider variety of herbs and greens, so I’m sure my gut is happier, and while it is a little more expensive than my previous dinners and their minimum order basically covers all of my dinners for the week, it’s a relief knowing I don’t have to make more decisions at the end of the day (weekly meal planning has never been a consistent thing for me!).
I am going to edit my make up drawer. I have been avoiding it for 2 months. Thanks for the nudge!
I love this. Sometimes the lists just seem to pile up and lately I’ve just been trying to do *one* thing everyday on the list that I’ve been putting off, even if it’s small. And it’s a huge game changer. So spot on
You always seem to write an article that is relevant at just the right time. My kid just graduated from college and brought home All The Stuff. In the few hours we had to pack, everything has been thrown in big, black garbage bags and it's overwhelmed the house. I'm the one who suffers most from disarray so the clutter everywhere has been driving me mental. I'm realizing that as unfair and frustrating as it is, I'm going to have to be the person to spearhead sorting through all this. I'm going to follow your advice, "one bag at a time".
I’m going to invite women to a free pop-up writing workshop on July 10th. I haven’t hosted any of these in a while and I’d like to do it again. I want to connect more women to the power of writing and to each other. Even though it’s only 10 days away, I’d like to go for it and see who’s interested.
Thanks- that works!
I'm in a tussle with my health insurer and Medicare over coverage of the only medication available for my particular heart disease, a $23,000 a month medication. Today I was so frustrated I sent an email to my cardiologist that read, "I have no more bandwidth. I'm leaving for vacation Sunday without this drug. I'll die a little over two weeks. Perhaps your assistant can straighten out this mess when she returns from vacation. I can't."
Reading your post I decided to put in a last ditch effort tomorrow to work through the bureaucratic mess that is healthcare in the US. But... I'm only dedicating 30 minutes to the cause. That's all I can do.
June is finally over, and we are now in this new month, with heat and more heat to come. I try to prepare what news to share on my blogs and have them prepped before each new month. I knew that my husband would be on vacation soon, as this spurred me on to finish such projects, and we both ended the month with catching a cold; he first, then I. I have a sore throat with unstoppable coughing at times. We're on vacation at home with this cold, and I am tired; yet, I did manage to get all of my posting done and set to drop off when the time is right; I mean, they were scheduled as I wore myself to the ground in getting them done. I even managed to complete a book that may never see print because of all the pictures it entails. I have a cold with no remedy in sight; we did buy cough syrups, but not helping. Does anyone care? What little that I do online is never enough or good enough, yet I am pestered and that is how I caught this cold, from Market Basket but I cannot prove this, the weather was a drizzle of rain and cold for that Saturday, and yes, my husband had the cold before I did; so I must have gotten it from him, likely. Okay, I don't ever make sense.
Mrs ACB, You did what you said you were going to do, and you showed up for yourself! You got those posts written and scheduled!!! Can you imagine if you were trying to get all that done while you feel so awful with that cold??? I so admire your discipline, so many of us strive for that! Your brain cells have worked so hard, and pause is so energizing. Can you seize joy by just noticing something beautiful or funny ? I bet your cold will feel so much less awful in the presence of ease, beauty or humor. Sending you healing vibes!
You are too kind, and I am so very miserable with this cold, yet, a heartfelt thank you to you always!