little resolutions

i'm so glad you're here!

new years resolutions are bullshit if we’re being honest. i’m not even trying to be all charlie brown debby downer everything has capitalistic motivations but truly what common resolution is not fueled by you buying a little Thing to go with it like a yoga mat or a journal or tiny organizational cubes. i’ve been trying to figure out what one habit i can take into the new year that is realistic and y’all its hard. my big ones were i wanted to read more and be on my phone less ok perfect well the libby app is on your phone so. like just right out of the gate it was bad just so immediately bad. this weeks little newsletter will try and breakdown the most common resolutions and how to realistically implement them in your life so you don’t abandon them by valentines day.

less screen time

whenever i see someone say this is their resolution i see it as one of two things either you are trying to be less of an ipad baby or you just are trying to process less information which is completely fair we all need to know Less about each other. if you are trying to avoid your ipad baby i really would just suggest using screen time limits on your phone like don’t get all up in arms I”M DELETING ALL THE APPS cut to just uploading them back the next day be realistic use the time limits like you get an hour of tiktok or an hour of twitter whatever your poison is slowly ease yourself out of it give yourself a fighting chance. if you simply are wanting to have less informational word vomit thrown at you i’m going to be very precious about this and tell you i started subscribing to print magazines again. did it start because ateez did a gq cover maybe but that’s not the point- the point is i got into the habit of seeking out better sources of information and only the information i wanted. i don’t need to see every horrifying incident as it plays out and yes that is privileged but the next four years are going to be a marathon not a sprint so again just give yourself a fighting chance and start figuring out what magazines and newspapers you want to support. having a physical item to interact with also brings us to our next item-

read more

every year i see people post their goodreads goals “i’m going to read 50 books!” love the energy incredible if you are a habitual reader but if you are trying to bring reading more into your routines that 0 to 60 mentality is not your friend. in the past i have found the most success with the quarter method and just trying to get through 4 books a year like yes its a low bar but then if you read more its great and if you read 4 its still great. i highly suggest using indie bookstore finder to find local businesses near you to support as well as getting a library card because even if you are not sold on the physical book situation you can add a library cad to your libby account and read books through there so you’re not dropping bands on a hobby you might not see through to april. that’s honestly the key to these sweeping statements- to just find little in’s to dip your toe in.

exercise more

this one is always immediately followed by new year new me like you’re going to have some magical transformation and if you already are making those steps live your dreams but this resolution to me always has a few underlying baby resolutions. option one is maybe you just want to get out more like you are so up into work you just need to touch some grass and that’s such an easy fix where you can start easing a walk into your routine like on sunday’s we go for a walk and then upgrades to twice a week to every day just keep getting yourself outside more. another baby resolution i can see is just i feel gross and that has a couple options that can be less daunting than joining a gym january 1st with the population of your whole town- it can look like finding a yoga or pilates class near you or even just full jane fonda finding a good workout youtuber to start doing in your living room like i love following a yoga video when i get home to officially transition from work to home and feel less gross. finding a good class can also lead to our last item-

socializing more

it is so freaking hard to make friends as an adult its actually rude. once you don’t have school to find friends easily anymore i feel like the easiest way to start is to find little communities. that can look like joining a yoga class or finding an art studio nearby to learn how to paint or throw pottery like just finding those little huddles of people so its not yelling into the abyss of 50,000 people BE MY FRIEND just give yourself a chance and do that with maybe 15 people. you can find friends at work too a little trauma bond- when i first started teaching i felt so much pressure to immediately make a full group of friends like this is where i work so clearly this is it lets find 10 friends. absolutely not. once my mom told me “you’ll probably take away one friend from each job” it felt way less intense like you don’t need to make every interaction magical stop being weird just make one or two good friends. and that goes for a lot of these communities too you don’t need to be the bell of the pottery ball you can just make one friend and that’s fine.

the summary of resolutions is yes you can make a sweeping statement about how you’re going to be this magical perfect version of yourself but eventually you do need to put in that work so make the first steps easy.

---

smallies

🎶 rosé from blackpink released her solo album, rosie this month after already dropping the single apt- it is so freaking good. it’s very early taylor swift with the flow and is 100% being bought to listen to on my next long drive.

🧋during breaks from school is like the only time i get to make fun coffees at home so i made this gingerbread syrup and this spiced cranberry syrup for my morning lattes they’re so good.

✨ this year i have started doing what the kids call “dumps” on instagram more like posting less in the moment and just doing a “and that’s what you missed on glee” at the end and i saw a girl on tiktok do a year recap for her instagram by doing little collages for each month- i super recommend it was a really nice way to go through all your little moments of the year !