Refreshing 2021: Final quarter life and routine shake-up
Napoli Italy - one of the places I visited during August that inspired this little life shake-up.
I feel like I've been in the Northern Hemisphere long enough for September to have that fresh, new year feeling to it. Summer is ending (has ended, or never came - as was the case in Germany this year), the leaves are starting to change colour, and everyone is back to school or work after holidays. It’s time to buckle down and get that last bit of ‘stuff’ done for the year. To go back and revisit neglected goals made in January and start to do something about them.
This year, the fresh start feeling is even more prominent than most years. Last year was a complete doozy of a year thanks to the pandemic and having a baby. This year (2021) also took a while to warm up - it initially seemed like it would be a repeat doozy (just with an older baby). But then lockdown finally ended, I got vaccinated, and all of a sudden everything was open again and travel was finally back on the cards. So, we travelled - all throughout August while the Kindergarten was closed and we had our four year old at home. And it was great! But, about halfway through our travels I started to get excited about all the things I was going to do from September, when I was back at home and back to my normal life (well, normal life with the addition of some improvements and changes). So, here's a glimpse of my new September to December goals, plans, and routines.
I guess this is a bit more of a personal 'get a look into my life' kind of post. I enjoy reading these kinds of pieces - I hope you do too, and that it inspires you to shake some things up in your own life.
Creativity
One major thing that is happening is that I'm embarking on the 12-week creativity course as outlined in The Artist's Way (actually, by the time this is published it will be around halfway through). I'm not just doing this by myself, but in collaboration with Dani and Claudia from Sincerely, Spain and as part of a bigger accountability group. I think this is just the right grounding structure to keep me in check during this continuing transitional period: I'm switching careers, we're preparing to move back to Australia early next year; I feel like nothing is certain at the moment and I literally have no idea what my life will look like this time next year.
My favourite quote from The Artist’s Way.
I'm hoping that going on this creativity journey will not only help with my writing, but also allow me some time for introspection and to determine what I really want out of my life at this point in time.
But, it does mean a slight shift to my routine to make room for it. I have to do the morning pages, which I've started doing first thing when I wake up. This leaves less time for non-fiction reading and memoir work, which is what I have been doing every morning for about a year now. I also need to find time to do each week’s tasks (which I'll probably do during the day throughout the week), and the weekly Artist date. But this is why doing it as part of an accountability group is so helpful - I'll be supported along the way and be able to draw on other people's enthusiasm and ideas.
As part of this change to my early morning routine, I've also decided to stop reading The Daily Stoic for the time being. I really enjoy it, but I didn't take it away with me on holiday, and, since returning home, I couldn't really get back into it. I think the timing is off - perhaps reading it at a different time of the day would be better. But, at the moment, I just simply don't feel like it - so that's paused for the time being.
Exercise
I normally do one exercise session a day - 15 to 30 minutes (you can read all about the mostly free exercise resources I use in this post). It's not a whole lot, but it's enough that I feel fit. This won't really change that much, except that I'd like to up the intensity a little bit. I'd also like to include some kettlebell swing sets throughout the day, and some yoga on the weekends (which somehow, often doesn't happen - I think I need to be more intentional about it).
Food
Travelling to Italy and Hungary during August reminded me about the joy and fun of really good food. I feel we've gotten into a little bit of a rut with our eating habits - often having the same 3-4 dishes on rotation. I want to include a bit more variety in what we're eating, to try to enjoy cooking again (my husband currently does most of the cooking, but I want to do a little more), and to enjoy the seasonal foods that are now available. I'm looking forward to the cooling temperatures, and enjoying things like soups, pies, and hearty slow-cooked meats. I also want to make sure we’re including more vegetables in our diets - I think the soups will help with that!
One of the best breakfasts I’ve ever eaten (in Pecs, Hungary).
Minimising/simplifying + preparing to pack up
Our current plan is to move back to Australia early next year. While we do live fairly minimally and I have decluttered numerous times over the almost six years we've lived in Germany, we've still managed to accumulate a lot of 'stuff'. Some of this is because of the kids (they attract so much stuff - especially when you consider gifts and clothes - it feels like it’s constantly multiplying). But we're always bringing new things into our home, even though I've attempted to be more intentional about what we (I) bring in by doing a low-buy year. You can read more about that over on Instagram: this post and this one.
It's been a while since I've done a really deep declutter though, so I've decided to start working on it now. I've been spending about 10-20 minutes a day focussing on a random area of the apartment (it's usually wherever is closest to where the 1.5 year old is playing), and then I just go through bit by bit. There are easy things to get rid of - like stuff that we haven't been using and that I don't want to pay to transport back to Australia, and then there's harder stuff - like toys that my kids have received as gifts (especially those sent by friends and family in Australia - the postage costs are exorbitant!). I attempt to make quick decisions - if I can't decide, then it either stays, or it goes into quarantine (aka our storage room in the basement). I figure I can keep on revisiting things over time.
It's not the most systematic approach, I know, but I do feel like it's already making a big difference. Things feel lighter and breezier already, and it's only been a couple of weeks of effort. This is part of the reason why I wanted to start tackling this now, long before we actually move - I want to enjoy being in a decluttered and more minimal space. And then I want to take this approach back with me to Australia and be really intentional about how we set up our new home there.
Learning Hungarian
The Parliament building in Budapest, Hungary.
My grandparents are Hungarian, but they moved to Australia in 1956 where they promptly learnt English. By the time I came around they were so fluent that they basically only spoke English with me. When I first came to Europe in 2015 I went and visited my grandpa's family, who still live in Hungary, and ever since then I've really wanted to learn Hungarian (so that I can better communicate with them - most of them don't speak any English). I've been trying on and off over the past 5 years, but have never really gotten any traction. My husband - who loves languages and seems to pick them up really easily - can now speak conversational Hungarian! When we went to Hungary recently, he was doing all the talking, while I could barely manage a relaxed and timely 'köszönöm' (thank you)! So, now I'm determined to learn - for real this time. But, I'm also trying to avoid putting too much pressure on myself (I think that's what has thwarted some of my previous language learning attempts). I'm starting with just 15 minutes a day - simply watching a video in Hungarian and then reading some Hungarian learning books - we'll see how it goes...
Career + Writing
Lately I've been getting a bit of a sick feeling in my stomach when I think about what I actually want to do with my career. If you've been around here a while, you'll know that I'm in the middle of a career pivot, after I stepped away from research science when I had my second son early last year. The thing is: I don't exactly know what I want to do. I know I like writing; I like this life I'm living now. But, eventually it will need to make some money for me to continue in this way. I think the logical (and less pressure-inducing) scenario is to have a part to full-time job with a wage, and then see where my writing takes me on the side. But, I still don't know exactly what I want that full-time job to look like.
Over the next few months I'm going to put my brainstorming and research hats on and have a bit more of a think about what I would like that job to look like, and what is actually available at the moment. I know this is what I need to do and I think that once I do it, that sick feeling in my stomach will disappear.
Money
My husband and I are pretty frugal/minimal people. We really don't spend that much money at all. We live well-within our means and aren't really drawn to expensive things or activities. We've extended this general philosophy toward money with our kids as well - they only get toys (mostly secondhand) for their birthdays and Christmas, and we buy most of their clothes secondhand as well. This has been a really good way to live - even when we were only earning meagre PhD scholarships, we still managed to save, and now that I'm not working, we're still living as we did (and saving a little) with only my husband's PhD salary.
We are really good savers. But, we haven't been good investors. We really want this to change and make our savings work for us. So this is another big thing we want to work on in this final part of the year: setting up some low-risk investments and gearing our savings toward that. The aim would be to work toward financial independence. It may still take a while - because I still want to live now - but I am determined to not have to work until retirement age, and to have the freedom to do what I want with my time.
A couple of resources that have made me realise that financial independence might be achievable for even a ‘regular’ person like me are: the book Money School, which I mention in this blog post, and the Love and Finance blog.
So, there you have it: my routine and plan shake-up for the remainder of 2021. I'll be sure to check-in again at the end of the year and update you on what worked and what I discovered along the way.
What life-shake ups are you planning for the rest of 2021? Leave them in the comments below!
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