I love this post. So inspiring how you took the short notice cancellation of your training. When one is well prepared it can be tempting to be disappointed or even annoyed at a cancellation. I am also one of those people who find it hard to keep a balance between being too organised and very disorganised.
My goal for the coming weekend is a good clean out after - sorting out training papers that I no longer need or anything else I should no longer keep. I accumulate things quite quickly. So that's also my belated New Lunar year plan.
And goal two, but at least as important, to arrange visit to parents abroad soon.
Addition/PS: I love visiting authors' houses.. Orchard House looks beautiful!! That would be on my possible things to do if I visited America I think. This last week I've been to Keats House / Wentworth Place in London, it's a very small museum and run by the local council and volunteers. A lovely place and Hampstead Heath right next door.
Thank you, Jesse, for this post. Something I just realized is even though there's so much I want to accomplish each day, I really can only get one or two things done from my list. And if I can finally let it sink in that this is how it is, I won't be disappointed. It's funny though... after all these years, I still think I'm going to get more done, and I rarely do.
I'm new here but very much enjoying your Substack! What a wonderful reframing of your weekend! I have to admit: I love a time gift, but it can be difficult to know what to do with it. You're modeling a lovely way of thinking about it! Also: I just love this Orchard House schedule! Though I'm a Little Women fan, I'd never seen or heard of this--what a delight! As someone who loves a list and structure, it's really fun to see (and look at that beautiful handwriting--at least I think it must be handwriting). Thanks again!
I love this! Recently, I wrote a post called "It's a Snow Day" all about an unexpected gift of time and how I used it. Like you, I feel most comfortable with structure to my day and I am glad to hear another woman proclaiming the impact of house-cleaning. Creating order and beauty in my environment enhances everything I do in it. After my morning routines (journaling, yoga, meditation, and breakfast), I go to my desk where I check emails and write until lunch (time varies) and then in the afternoon, I run errands or finish home projects, go for a walk and connect socially. In this way, my day has a flow and I can reserve decision-making for how I will do things not what I will do. Stucture frees me!
Thank you, Jesse, for this post. This weekend, like many weekends, my wife and I followed a lovely routine. The cats urge us to get up and feed them. I make coffee, and we have a leisurely morning. After lunch, we go to the YMCA. My wife swims. I am doing my new exercise routine, part of a new program that asks us to log our food and exercises. We then come home and take an afternoon nap, my favorite part of the weekend. :)
Hi Jesse, I wanted to get back to you about your previous post about formulating things in present tense: it has worked wonders for me! Thank you so much for sharing that. Since I've been doing it, I've been able to do much more things that I wanted to do in the day. Things that I don't enjoy doing, that are chores, are done right away, not postponed indefinitely. I'm tackling things like I rarely do. It's deeply satisfying. I'v been talkig about your method to my partner, my parents, my niece, so glad was I, so elated was I feeling that I was able to do all those things. Thanks again!
Ohhh woww, this is so great!!! This really makes me so happy, it's the best feedback. Also, isn't it so incredible how it works?? It continues to amaze me. Thank you so so much for sharing!!
Well, the weekend has come and gone and I'm only reading this on Monday, 1 p.m. in France. I hope you had a wonderful weekend and were able to clean your appartment as you wanted! I've noted that, since the 2 lockdowns of 2020 in France, I don't cling to regret for things being canceled as much. I seem to have integrated that, at any moment, since that I was looking forward to might not happen as planned. It's oky, I can be sad because of it for a moment, then I plan something else. Or I rest. But I don't linger and cultivate regret and bitterness at the cancelation. Also, since having a baby, I'm training myself to accept that things might be difficult for parrt of the day, but it doesn't mean that "the whole day is ruined". The other day, for example, I went for a walk. It was sunny and my baby was supposed to nap the whole time. Instead, she woke up after 15 inutes and cried for 30 more... I was tense, stressed and disappointed. I headed back home and decided that we were going to leave that behind and that we could still have a nice time. And we did. It's good to let go.
Fanny, thank you so much for sharing this perspective. I love how you said, ' I'm training myself to accept that things might be difficult for parrt of the day, but it doesn't mean that "the whole day is ruined."' It's such an important reminder, how the day is multi faceted in the way we feel and the experiences we have. Sometimes we simplify it too much and say something was a 'bad day,' forgetting about all the different moments or hours that were lovely. It was calming to read your response and I wanted to read more! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for answering, I'm glad my comment resonnated with you. A few years ago, I did daily meditations with a Lakota tarot card deck (The Lakota Sweat Lodge Cards, by Archie Fire Lame Deer). One of my favorite cards was "Hanwi", the Moon: "We cannot sustain one mood, one way of perceiving, on action only, throughout our lives or even throughout our day". And I've felt, since then, that trying to sustain one's mood artificially, or to recriminate if my good mood fades, is like a violence. When you feel good, elated, you have to know deep down that it's temporary. And it's not sad, it's just who we are as humans. It doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to feel good: we can cultivate a life where we try to find joy. But even so, we may, and WILL experience sadness, disorientation, disappointment, anger, etc. And it actually feels better to accept it and work with it.
Hi Jesse! Thanks so much for this post. I, too, am a dedicated daily To-Do lister. I also have just been gifted some time. :) I had tickets tonight to see a play, The Odyssey, at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, MA but it just got cancelled due to technical issues.. On Friday night I was looking forward to seeing the performance of Piaf: the Show about Edith Piaf and that was postponed too! At first I was disappointed by both of these, and somewhat annoyed, but I realized I received lots of hours back this weekend. Tonight I will instead devote the time to continuing my work of judging a photography contest. The deadline was tonight and I was feeling a bit stressed that I wouldn't finish in time, but now I have the gifted time! Speaking of Bronson Alcott, I am now reading a wonderful novel called Finding Margaret Fuller, it chronicles her amazing friendships with Emerson, Thoreau, the Alcotts, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, among others. It is so beautifully written and I just can't wait to read it every night, such a wonderful escape from everything going on. Margaret is so inspiring. I think you would love it! Enjoy the rest of the day, there's nothing like a freshly cleaned home! :)
Ohhh wow, this is a wonderful update! How did it go with progress on the photography judging?? I will definitely look for the book, that sounds really nice :) Thank you so so much!!! Missing Concord always. <3
Hi Jesse! I am happy to report that the gifted time motivated me to finish the judging on time. :) Tonight all the jurors met and we decided on the winners. The show will be in Brooklyn again in June at Photoville festival. Big events in Concord coming up in April for 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Oh no! Sorry about the sinus infection, I have the same reaction to dust. Take good care! Saline mist helps.
I caught the cleaning bug, but not the one I wanted!! I breathed in some dust while cleaning and gave myself an exhausting sort of sinus infection that is really bumming me out!! :D A good reminder to take precaution and wear a mask or bandana!! I learned my lesson.
It does me some good to see this because I, too, have to make a plan and write everything down in order to get anything done. However, the days almost NEVER go according to plan- but without the plan- nothing happens!
A good book on the subject: Daily Rituals- How Artists Work by Mason Currey. It looks at the daily routines of many different individual artists, writers, scientists, etc.
I so love seeing Louisa May's (& her sister's) schedule on your Unexpected Extra Time!post:I brought this with me when I moved to Paris in 1984 & had it framed & since then have broken the glass & poured candle wax on it but I love it anyway:not being grumpy("unquestioning obedience"), this slogan to live by in there is the hardest for me to
live up to..I have to admit.I am not sure to WHOM I am obedient.........maybe my inner Bronson Alcott is subject to change...........currently in New England enjoying the unexpected extra time
in the quiet of this snowstorm next to Wedge Pond where the geese are freaking out.
I was going to go the gym to work out, however something else came up. I had to stay home and rest because I was sore from my workout on Friday. I had to rest until I wasn't sore anymore. I also had to fill my medicine for the next two weeks.
I love this post. So inspiring how you took the short notice cancellation of your training. When one is well prepared it can be tempting to be disappointed or even annoyed at a cancellation. I am also one of those people who find it hard to keep a balance between being too organised and very disorganised.
My goal for the coming weekend is a good clean out after - sorting out training papers that I no longer need or anything else I should no longer keep. I accumulate things quite quickly. So that's also my belated New Lunar year plan.
And goal two, but at least as important, to arrange visit to parents abroad soon.
Addition/PS: I love visiting authors' houses.. Orchard House looks beautiful!! That would be on my possible things to do if I visited America I think. This last week I've been to Keats House / Wentworth Place in London, it's a very small museum and run by the local council and volunteers. A lovely place and Hampstead Heath right next door.
https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/attractions-museums-entertainment/keats-house
https://keatsfoundation.com/keats-house-hampstead/
Thank you, Jesse, for this post. Something I just realized is even though there's so much I want to accomplish each day, I really can only get one or two things done from my list. And if I can finally let it sink in that this is how it is, I won't be disappointed. It's funny though... after all these years, I still think I'm going to get more done, and I rarely do.
I'm new here but very much enjoying your Substack! What a wonderful reframing of your weekend! I have to admit: I love a time gift, but it can be difficult to know what to do with it. You're modeling a lovely way of thinking about it! Also: I just love this Orchard House schedule! Though I'm a Little Women fan, I'd never seen or heard of this--what a delight! As someone who loves a list and structure, it's really fun to see (and look at that beautiful handwriting--at least I think it must be handwriting). Thanks again!
great! best: "Okay, change of plans!!" - delicious - I know that..!
Yes Jesse , i read you. When we rearrange or renew and clean our homes , our vital energy flows more purely . 🥰❤️
I love this! Recently, I wrote a post called "It's a Snow Day" all about an unexpected gift of time and how I used it. Like you, I feel most comfortable with structure to my day and I am glad to hear another woman proclaiming the impact of house-cleaning. Creating order and beauty in my environment enhances everything I do in it. After my morning routines (journaling, yoga, meditation, and breakfast), I go to my desk where I check emails and write until lunch (time varies) and then in the afternoon, I run errands or finish home projects, go for a walk and connect socially. In this way, my day has a flow and I can reserve decision-making for how I will do things not what I will do. Stucture frees me!
Hope your mom is doing well.
Thank you, Jesse, for this post. This weekend, like many weekends, my wife and I followed a lovely routine. The cats urge us to get up and feed them. I make coffee, and we have a leisurely morning. After lunch, we go to the YMCA. My wife swims. I am doing my new exercise routine, part of a new program that asks us to log our food and exercises. We then come home and take an afternoon nap, my favorite part of the weekend. :)
Hi Jesse, I wanted to get back to you about your previous post about formulating things in present tense: it has worked wonders for me! Thank you so much for sharing that. Since I've been doing it, I've been able to do much more things that I wanted to do in the day. Things that I don't enjoy doing, that are chores, are done right away, not postponed indefinitely. I'm tackling things like I rarely do. It's deeply satisfying. I'v been talkig about your method to my partner, my parents, my niece, so glad was I, so elated was I feeling that I was able to do all those things. Thanks again!
Ohhh woww, this is so great!!! This really makes me so happy, it's the best feedback. Also, isn't it so incredible how it works?? It continues to amaze me. Thank you so so much for sharing!!
So simple, yet so efficient! Instead of only thinking about doing the things, just doing them.
Well, the weekend has come and gone and I'm only reading this on Monday, 1 p.m. in France. I hope you had a wonderful weekend and were able to clean your appartment as you wanted! I've noted that, since the 2 lockdowns of 2020 in France, I don't cling to regret for things being canceled as much. I seem to have integrated that, at any moment, since that I was looking forward to might not happen as planned. It's oky, I can be sad because of it for a moment, then I plan something else. Or I rest. But I don't linger and cultivate regret and bitterness at the cancelation. Also, since having a baby, I'm training myself to accept that things might be difficult for parrt of the day, but it doesn't mean that "the whole day is ruined". The other day, for example, I went for a walk. It was sunny and my baby was supposed to nap the whole time. Instead, she woke up after 15 inutes and cried for 30 more... I was tense, stressed and disappointed. I headed back home and decided that we were going to leave that behind and that we could still have a nice time. And we did. It's good to let go.
Fanny, thank you so much for sharing this perspective. I love how you said, ' I'm training myself to accept that things might be difficult for parrt of the day, but it doesn't mean that "the whole day is ruined."' It's such an important reminder, how the day is multi faceted in the way we feel and the experiences we have. Sometimes we simplify it too much and say something was a 'bad day,' forgetting about all the different moments or hours that were lovely. It was calming to read your response and I wanted to read more! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for answering, I'm glad my comment resonnated with you. A few years ago, I did daily meditations with a Lakota tarot card deck (The Lakota Sweat Lodge Cards, by Archie Fire Lame Deer). One of my favorite cards was "Hanwi", the Moon: "We cannot sustain one mood, one way of perceiving, on action only, throughout our lives or even throughout our day". And I've felt, since then, that trying to sustain one's mood artificially, or to recriminate if my good mood fades, is like a violence. When you feel good, elated, you have to know deep down that it's temporary. And it's not sad, it's just who we are as humans. It doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to feel good: we can cultivate a life where we try to find joy. But even so, we may, and WILL experience sadness, disorientation, disappointment, anger, etc. And it actually feels better to accept it and work with it.
Hi Jesse! Thanks so much for this post. I, too, am a dedicated daily To-Do lister. I also have just been gifted some time. :) I had tickets tonight to see a play, The Odyssey, at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, MA but it just got cancelled due to technical issues.. On Friday night I was looking forward to seeing the performance of Piaf: the Show about Edith Piaf and that was postponed too! At first I was disappointed by both of these, and somewhat annoyed, but I realized I received lots of hours back this weekend. Tonight I will instead devote the time to continuing my work of judging a photography contest. The deadline was tonight and I was feeling a bit stressed that I wouldn't finish in time, but now I have the gifted time! Speaking of Bronson Alcott, I am now reading a wonderful novel called Finding Margaret Fuller, it chronicles her amazing friendships with Emerson, Thoreau, the Alcotts, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, among others. It is so beautifully written and I just can't wait to read it every night, such a wonderful escape from everything going on. Margaret is so inspiring. I think you would love it! Enjoy the rest of the day, there's nothing like a freshly cleaned home! :)
Ohhh wow, this is a wonderful update! How did it go with progress on the photography judging?? I will definitely look for the book, that sounds really nice :) Thank you so so much!!! Missing Concord always. <3
Hi Jesse! I am happy to report that the gifted time motivated me to finish the judging on time. :) Tonight all the jurors met and we decided on the winners. The show will be in Brooklyn again in June at Photoville festival. Big events in Concord coming up in April for 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Oh no! Sorry about the sinus infection, I have the same reaction to dust. Take good care! Saline mist helps.
thanks for reauthentication bugs ...love your conceptual outlook on time. davpi3.14
I hope you caught the cleaning bug. It only happens a few times a year.
I caught the cleaning bug, but not the one I wanted!! I breathed in some dust while cleaning and gave myself an exhausting sort of sinus infection that is really bumming me out!! :D A good reminder to take precaution and wear a mask or bandana!! I learned my lesson.
It does me some good to see this because I, too, have to make a plan and write everything down in order to get anything done. However, the days almost NEVER go according to plan- but without the plan- nothing happens!
A good book on the subject: Daily Rituals- How Artists Work by Mason Currey. It looks at the daily routines of many different individual artists, writers, scientists, etc.
Ahh, so funny, I recommended the same book to someone on another comment! We're thinking in sync! :D
Dear Jesse:
I so love seeing Louisa May's (& her sister's) schedule on your Unexpected Extra Time!post:I brought this with me when I moved to Paris in 1984 & had it framed & since then have broken the glass & poured candle wax on it but I love it anyway:not being grumpy("unquestioning obedience"), this slogan to live by in there is the hardest for me to
live up to..I have to admit.I am not sure to WHOM I am obedient.........maybe my inner Bronson Alcott is subject to change...........currently in New England enjoying the unexpected extra time
in the quiet of this snowstorm next to Wedge Pond where the geese are freaking out.
Maybe the geese have the same need to bitch as I!
I was going to go the gym to work out, however something else came up. I had to stay home and rest because I was sore from my workout on Friday. I had to rest until I wasn't sore anymore. I also had to fill my medicine for the next two weeks.
How are you feeling today? This is motivating, I need to go to the gym, too! I keep writing it in my planner and not going, haha. :D