What I'm Into (and how my February habit went)
At the end of each month, I'm writing a post about what I've been reading, watching, and listening to, and I'm also including updates on the goals I set for myself each month.
I'm a little late with this month's, as its already March 5th. Whoops.
What I Read
Secrets from the Eating Lab
At first, I wasn't sure what to think about this book, because the beginning chapters made me think the author thought there was no point in trying to eat well. But as I read further, I started to see that her point is that diets have been scientifically proven to be ineffective at helping people get healthy, especially when you look at long-term results.
And the second half of the book gets into strategies for sustainable healthy changes, which will not magically help you lose 50 pounds in two weeks, but which will help you get to a healthy weight for your particular body.
For the Love
This is from Jen Hatmaker, and I really liked it. She's really entertaining and down to earth, and I thought her words about giving ourselves grace (and giving that same grace to others) were very wise.
This is a fun read, as evidenced by the fact that I got through it in just a few days.
Breaking Busy
I kept seeing this book pop up all over blogs that I read, and since my library doesn't have it, I actually bought a copy.
(notable, because I usually just read what my library carries!)
While this book was ok, I just wasn't all that wowed by it. I'm not sure if the writing style didn't click for me, or if the author's personality didn't click with me or what. It wasn't bad..it just didn't keep me anxious to read the next chapter like For the Love did. And the information it contained wasn't all that earth-shattering for me either.
Definitely not a re-read for me.
A Jane Austen Education
I picked this up on a whim from a library display. I didn't really dig it at first (so much analyzing of books that have just been fun reads for me!), but I grew to like it more as I kept reading.
I don't think I'll ever think as hard about novels as the author does, but he did open my eyes to some things in Austen's books that I hadn't seen before.
What I watched
Um, nothing.
I sat here for a minute or two thinking about it just to be sure, and yeah, I think the truth is that I didn't watch anything at all.
What I'm listening to
I'm afraid this is about the same as last month. We're still playing lots of Adele around the house, and I'm still catching up on the Fizzle indie business podcast when I'm in the car.
I'm nearly caught up, though, so I did add Anne Bogel's What Should I Read Next? podcast into my library, so I'll catch up on that this month, I think.
I'm also listening to a few tracks from the newest Indelible Grace album. I rarely like a whole Indelible Grace album (a little too folksy for me), but I usually like a track or two pretty well. On this album, I like 1) Come Ye Souls, 2) Speak, I Pray Thee Gentle Jesus, and 3) Thou Are My Life.
Goal Updates
My February goal was to do four stretches every day.
This, I discovered, was a little bit optimistic. While it's fairly easy to work this into my daily routine during the week, it was really hard for me to remember to stretch on the weekends!
So, I'm going to modify my goal and say that I'd like to stretch 5 days a week. That's still way more than I was stretching before, and it's a more manageable goal.
I'm using a free printable goal calendar from Craft Street Design to track my progress in March (when you visit the site, you should see a pop-up offering the freebie with email signup).
It's got handy-dandy circles to fill in each day, and I think seeing the page on my wall will really help me remember.
My continuing January goal was to cook with each of my kids once during the month. I didn't do quite as well with this, but I got ¾ cooking a meal, which is more than I was doing in 2015.
And March is a new month, so I get to try again!
March Goal
For the new month, my goal is to do time-tracking and actually stick with it for a month. I've done some time-tracking here and there before, but I always fall off the wagon about 3-4 days in.
So, this month, I'd like to time-track my weekdays and I plan to do that in 15 minute increments. I've tried doing it before in half hour or hour segments, and my life is just WAY too fragmented for that.
I'm often lucky to spend 15 minutes on a particular task, let alone an hour.
The great thing about time-tracking is that I find it to be a sort of self-correcting process. When I write down how I spend my time, I tend to spend it better.
(It works like writing down the money you spend. Or the food you eat.)
Here's a productive (and tracked!) month.
I really enjoy when you do these goal setting post. I look forward to the 15 minute intervals of time tracking. I would be off track before lunch time. I can't even figure how you can figure this list out. Can't wait. I also love how you couldn't think of a single thing you watched on TV. That is impressive. I would love if you used my blog for book suggestions sometimes. You run circles around me. . worthybookjourney.com
I have found time-tracking to be enormously helpful to me. There were certain household chores that I didn't like very much and would procrastinate about doing every. single. day! When I started keeping track of how much time it actually took me to do each task I realized that most of them only took a few minutes, which in turn, added up to less than one hour a day. Now I make a list everyday of those ten or so tasks and I love seeing how quickly I can cross them off! Kitty litter, for example, used to be done at the very end of the day and I despised it, but when I saw that it took less than five minutes, I was really motivated to get it off my list for the day. Now I know just how much can be accomplished in fifteen minutes and I am so much more productive. I am quite sure I first read about this on your blog so thank you for the inspiration.
Jen's book was shallow and horrible. Can't believe you liked it. Tears.
It's such a sad statement on American Christianity. A book devoid of Scripture is a top selling Christian book. Yeah, there were some funny lines, but it's not a spiritually inspiring book..
Hmm. Maybe I just went into it with different expectations than you did.
I wasn't expecting it to be a deep Christian read by any stretch. I'll read Tim Keller or Jerry Bridges or something if I'm looking for that. Or my Bible. 🙂
I always enjoy seeing what other folks read. I'm a voracious reader and while our tastes differ somewhat, I think you pick some interesting and helpful material.
I wanted to mention that your post a while back about the Gretchen Rubin book _Better Than Before_ was quite meaningful for me because I got to thinking about abstaining from things and how I have a tendency to not be able to do that-- how I just seem to freak out and then binge on whatever is forbidden. So, I got the book from the library and read it. I didn't love the entire book (maybe because I am a rebel and felt like there wasn't much in there to help me with habit formation) but I did learn somethings-- first and foremost that denying myself something is a sure way to make sure I fail. It's become obvious to me since your post and my reading of the book that I have to live my life in a moderate sense. It's made a big difference in my eating.
So, thank you for these posts that talk about what you are reading and watching...I have put my tv in the closet so I am right there with you (cat keeps walking on it and pawing at the screen--I should be reading, writing, and playing games with the family instead of looking at it too!) on not watching anything.
Good luck on the time keeping. I look forward to reading how it goes!
Yeah, I think that book is probably the most helpful if you have the same personality tendencies as Rubin does. More than one review complained about it being heavily focused on that aspect of things, which, I suppose, is to be expected, since she writes a lot about her own personal experiences.
So glad it helped you a bit, though!
Love the goal posts! Time tracking was mentioned on another blog I read; I'd like to try it as I often feel I'm not spending my time wisely. What do you use to track and trigger you to record?
I just used a regular piece of paper, and to help me stick with it, I plan to set a recurring 15 minute alarm on my phone. Hopefully that'll keep me on track!
Oh, man. I *loved* A Jane Austen Education, and I've even pulled excerpts out from it to use in my class. (I'm a high school English teacher.) I'll have to check out your other pics!
Thanks for your review on "A Jane Austen Education" - it has been on my "maybe" list for a while. I recently downloaded "Just Kids" by Patti Smith, about her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe. It's beautiful.
Jen Hatmaker's "Seven" was and is an important book for me. I've read it several times over the past 3 years or so that I've had it. I was disappointed in "For The Love", mostly because it was a re-print of many of her blog and Facebook posts.
Ah, that makes sense...I don't read her blog or follow her on Facebook, so it was all new material to me!
About the first book: I read an article recently about how we have different orientations toward food, and the people who have a "dieting" outlook toward food are more likely to moralize food decisions. Overall, it made it seem like a rather unhealthy way of thinking about food, and rather joyless. On the other hand, those who subscribed to a group identity (the example given was vegetarianism) are more likely to have a positive approach to foods. I found the article fascinating, and your brief synopsis made me think of it. Thanks for sharing the book reviews!
Best wishes with no time tracking. I lose track and focus all the time and did this once. It was fascinating. This month I am recording all my spending in an effort to "seal the leaks."
Hi Kristen,
Thanks for sharing the freebie. I just downloaded and am going to put it to good use. I don't think I've ever commented but I want you to know how much I love your blog. It's helped me so much over the years. Now, it's taken me YEARS to actually digest what you've been saying about the importance of budgeting and living frugally. I'm a slow learner! LOL Although I am vegan, I still glean a lot from your recipes and your shopping and food storage tips. I'm going to try your english muffin recipe for the first time today too.
Btw, I just discovered the YNAB (You Need a Budget) program a couple months ago and it's completely changed how we handle money. I'm just curious if you've ever tried it or if you just come up with your own spreadsheet.
Have a great day, Kristen!
Christie
I am so happy my blog has been helpful to you. That's so encouraging to hear!