Last week, my Mindful Monday focus was all about gearing up for summer break – getting those camps and classes on the calendar and making it through the last week of end-of-year school picnics and parties. Now that’s all done, and I’m ready to just kick back, put my feet up and enjoy. My personal challenge for this week’s Mindful Monday challenge? Do less and enjoy life more.
Who: Me, but the whole family will be along for the ride.
What: Relax and have fun!
Why: The other day I asked “are you the same girl you used to be?” and was struck by how many of you feel like you’re less spontaneous, creative, and fun than you were pre-kids. I can relate. While I don’t want to return to the careless girl I was as a teen, I would like to reclaim a bit of my younger self’s carefree spirit. Planning an easy-going first week of summer seems like a good start.
How: I’m keeping my calendar light. Putting my to-do list in a drawer. Planning long blocks of time to sit in the backyard and watch birds, blow bubbles or just read under a tree. We’ve got a family excursion planned to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum tomorrow, but we’ll also make sure to set aside time for the hotel pool. This week’s all about clearing my head and kicking off summer vacation in relaxed style. Anyone care to join me?
Did you participate in last week’s Mindful Monday? How did it go? What’s your intention for this week’s challenge?
I skipped last week’s mindful Monday after I failed to make any headway on my previous one. I realized that my goal was not something I could reasonably do on my own but I needed to get my husband on board with. This weekend, we finally started to make it happen:
Who: Me and my hubby
What: Wash all the dishes and wipe down the counters after cooking (the goal being a clean kitchen at all times)
How: We just have to do it, clean after cooking, religiously
Why: Because if we don’t have to clean before we start cooking, I think we’ll enjoy cooking more and do it more consistently. Also, I think it will make us happier not having all that dirt looking at us all the time.
The only caveat here is that it’s quite a lot of work and I hope it will turn out to be better in the long run, but if this winds up being just a Becky project, then it will not work out. I was up late cleaning last night, and I can’t sacrifice sleep very often for anything non-essential.
Given that we’re set to close on the house this week, I’ll just be happy if I can keep my cool. That said, we’ve gone on road trips the last two weekends and have really enjoyed the time together as a family and it would be nice to try to keep some of that spirit of fun alive in between checking off items from our very lengthy to-do list.
Can I start this challenge next Monday? I’m set to finish an e-bk this week…but only if I crack down and work my tail off this week. 😉
I’m with you Megan. I need to decompress after last week’s hectic schedule. I do however, want to get us off to a good start by setting a nice summer routine around here — most importantly, adjusting to the summer heat (we live in TX and it’s high 90s every day already) and getting our indoor activity (and my sanity-saving exercise) in early. For us this means out the door for a walk by 7 or 7:30, and then after we get home spend the next couple hours playing in the back yard. I have managed to do this for the last half-week, so I think if I can make it through another week, it will become habitual for us.
I had to take a break last week for personal reasons…so maybe that was my challenge last week: to take care of me. But I’m back to focusing on the two that I haven’t been able to tackle:
1) Clean/organize desk/house for at least 15 minutes most days
2) Study Spanish at least 15 minutes most days
I’m making some headway on them but before I add something else to my challenge I want to make these two more of a habit.
I love your goal Meagan. I am trying to do the same thing. I have noticed that so many of my friends (myself included at times) are so bogged down with errands and other “to-do” items that we aren’t taking time to relax and enjoy life. Most of us are stay-at-home-moms who don’t work or have VERY flexible work schedules and it sometimes it seems like meeting for coffee is a chore at times. Sure, I progbably let the clutter over-take the house, but I’ll take a few hours today while the kids hopefully occupy themselves or play with friends, to get it under control and them get back to taking the kids swimming, playing golf and doing other things I enjoy.