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May’s Happiness Habit, plus what I’m trying in June

In 2019, I’m trying one new habit per month that A) promise to increase my happiness levels and B) costs little to nothing.

In May, my goal was to read a chapter a day, and I think I exceeded that.

Maid memoir

I finished seven books in May, actually!

Four of them (Vinegar Girl, Dept. of Speculation, The Watsons Go to Birmingham, and The House on Mango Street) were pretty short, though, so this sounds more impressive than it is.

I added links and short reviews of all the books on my 2019 Reads page.

But here I’ll just say that my two favorites from this month were non-fiction, which is not surprising for me!

I loved Maid, a memoir about a young single mom trying to survive.

Maid book review

And I also really, really liked Atomic Habits, which was kind of like a much more practical, applicable version of The Power of Habit.

Atomic Habits review

June Happiness Challenge

I am very good at buckling down and getting work done.

And I’m great at being responsible and diligent.

But sometimes (ok, a lot of times), I’m not that good at doing fun, not-productive things.

So in June, I’m going to try doing something fun every day.

And at the beginning of July, I’ll let you know how that went for me.

(Just to prove the truth of what I just said: this challenge feels a little more daunting to me than, say, a challenge to do a home improvement task every day!)

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In case you missed my earlier posts in this series:

In January, I used my phone less.

Definitely will keep doing this.

In February, I tried a gratitude journal.

This was not a keeper of a habit for me. One month was enough!

In March, I did a photo-a-day challenge.

Keeper habit!

In April, I went outside every day.

This is a keeper, except that summer is coming and I hate sweating so I will probably mostly be outside if I am swimming. 😉

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Sherrie

Sunday 2nd of June 2019

Just checked out "Maid" and "Atomic Habits" from the library. Looking forward to reading these, I also checked out "Blue Zone's Solution". It's about area that have the longest living people. They eat healthy and do healthy things. I am out to read this book and discover some heathy foods for my husband and I

Deidre

Friday 31st of May 2019

This is a good challenge for me as I've had a lot on my plate for a long time but now things are easing a little I want to get a fun habit going - so tomorrow I'm going to the movies with a friend & I've started arranging meeting up with different friends for a cuppa once a week like I used to - I also keep thinking of some paper crafts I've wanted to do for ages so I'm gonna start that this weekend

Kristen

Friday 31st of May 2019

Woohoo! I hope your month is full of fun.

Luann

Friday 31st of May 2019

I'm working on my summer bucket list and put a few just "fun" things on it. Are you posting a summer bucket list this year ?? I always find inspiration in yours :)

Kristen

Friday 31st of May 2019

Yep, I definitely am going to. We're at the tail end of school now, so I need to get a list going!

Brandi

Friday 31st of May 2019

Love your Happiness project! After a painful breakup last year I made it a priority to give myself something to look forward to every day. It could be something simple like spending my lunch break at the park or starting a new book. It was an effort at first and now I just do it out of habit. Have fun with it!

Heidi Louise

Thursday 30th of May 2019

Does spontaneity enter into this? Might that be a criteria for defining fun?

Kristen

Friday 31st of May 2019

I am generally Very Bad at being spontaneous, due to my propensity to plan.

But I'm hoping that some inspiration will strike me here and there, and I hope I will remember to say yes to that spur of the moment inspiration.

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