Greetings from Brooklyn. It’s me, Jen Glantz.
I like to set a million little goals for myself, write them all down on an 8x11 sheet of white, and carry it around in my wallet like it’s my MapQuest printout. I need something to show me where I’m going or else I won’t go anywhere.
That’s why I’ve spent hundreds on psychics.
That’s why I have the most expensive ChatGPT plan so I can’t max out my time because I spend so much of it asking: What’s next? What now? Tell me, dear old loyal friend.
That’s why I recently interrupted a catch-up conversation with a neighborhood friend so that I could ask: If you were me, what would you do with your life?
And doing all of that taught me that nobody else can really plan your life for you. duhhhhhhhhh.
They can try, but they don’t know your secrets. They don’t know what you’re hiding from. They don’t know the trauma that turned into an automatic defensive strategy that has you floating through life like you’re stuck in a current, pulling you back and forcing you forward.
Anyyywaaaaaay :)
Goals. Plans. Life!
It’s my job as an unpaid newsletter writer who shows up promptly in your inbox every Monday at 6 a.m. to tell you that half the year is over on Wednesday.
I don’t know a single person who has loved the way they’ve lived the past six months.
It took me six months to do one tiny, easy, small goal on my own life to-do list. Every month I’d try and every month, the weight of it all would tickle my chest, leaving me to burp out: Nah, not now. There’s always next month.
The problem with goals is that 76% of them are easy to do. I can spring clean my whole damn place with a smile on my face and repeat that every month.
But ask me to hire a new accountant already and I’ll write that on my to-do list in invisible ink.
So if you’re a goalie and you’re setting some for the next 6-months of the year, let me tell you the only way you’re going to actually do the really hard, gross things.
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Adam and I took a tennis lesson last week at the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and in between the instructor reminding me which hand goes where on the racket for a backhand and that the ball will not come to me, I actually have to move to get the ball, what a concept that I absolutely cannot seem to motivate myself to do, he would force us to lose our freaking minds whenever we had a good hit.
If the ball simply went over the net, we had to scream wildly obscene things like: Wahooooooooo! Look at that! I’m amazing!
And I was in a little bit of a mood because I’m an Aries who does not like to be told what to do, and I certainly don’t like being told to act happy when I’m trying to act competitive.
But I had no choice.
Not only was this an International Tennis Hall of Fame instructor, but if I did not listen to him there would be consequences. And the consequence was that he would stop the entire lesson and say: Jennnnnnnn.
And very out of breath I would say: Mmmmmhmmmm.
How was that shot?
It was a shot.
You need to celebrate, he would say.
And after the 40th time of me ignoring him say this, and the third time of him stopping everything and making us all huddle and fist bump, my stubborn self just found it easier to do what he wanted rather than get another lecture.
If the ball I hit crossed the net, something that really is not sooo incredibly hard to do, I’d at least go: Yay! Then I graduated to: Woooo. Eventually: Look at that! And finally: I’m the greatest tennis player ever!!!!!
The most super cheesy advice I can give you at the end of the first half of the year is to STFU about all the stuff you didn’t do and start going freaking nuts whenever you do anything.
It’s the biggest motivator to continue. To try again the next day. To push through the slog of it. To keep going.
And when you do anything, even something so little, don’t scrub it off your hands so fast. When I finally put together a list of accountants to call, instead of closing my computer and reaching for a bag of healthy M&Ms, I’m going to wild out a little bit.
It can take literally forever for a big goal to be done. I've got stuff I’m trying to do that I have been working on for ten years. They are nowhere near done. The thought of them make me sink. BUTTTTT when I do little things for that goal and I scream on the top of my lungs: I sent the follow-up email!!!!!
It certainly makes trying a lot more fun.
Wooooahooooo!
Take care of yourself this week (ilysm).
OKAY I need to stop here and remind you about how I wrote an entire post last week about how terrifying mahjong is and how I thought I, Jennifer Sara Glantz, with a lolipop of a brain, could never learn. WELL, this weekend I played two games, and I WON BOTH OF THEM. This is me going nutso futso!!!
We make things so much harder than they have to be.
We do not love the people who turn their backs on us, we want them.
The only reason I’m scared of being alone is because I’m scared of facing the important stuff.
Take care of yourself this week (ilysm).
Ps. Know somebody who would loooove this place? Send them this link and tell them that Monday’s (and life!!!!) don’t have to suck.
On to the goooood stuff!
My friend Amanda gifted me this heatless curl set a few months ago BUT I’ve been too intimidated to try it out…until now!!!!
This Ellie Goulding song since I stumbled upon it last week. It’s such a good bop to turn up on your speakers and shake out your anxiety, excitement, or sadness to. Have you ever forced yourself to dance when you’re blue? Try it. AND THEN try not smiling just a tiny bit.
I am overly obsessed with this Milk glitter stick. The glitter is subtle. After my makeup is finished, I rub it on my eyes, nose, cheeks, and lips. It gives your face a little sparkle without looking like you’re heading to a Vegas nightclub (do people wear glitter to nightclubs???? someone tell meeeeee please).
A boxy white t-shirt that goes with everything
Also at OldNavy is this incredible pink bag that looks way more expensive than it is.
Before bed, instead of scrolling and seeing things on the internet that will keep your eyelids fluttering wayyy past your bedtime, create a closing shift for yourself like you’re cleaning up the coffee shop. I find it tames my anxiety when I get the apartment ready for the next day. I have a list of 5-10 things I do before bed. All of this takes less than 15-minutes total and it makes me feel zen before bed and giddy when I wake up. Here’s my list:
Clear my kitchen counter. Put everything away. Give it a quick wipe down.
Make Gemma’s snack box and fill her water bottle. (I’m always rushing out to do early AM work so getting this done the night before helps me stay on track with my work times).
Pick all the toys off the floor and put them in bins.
Fold all the clean laundry and drop them in the right drawers.
Reset my work bag with snacks, my computer, chargers, pen, etc.
Pluck my outfit for the next day so I don’t waste 15-20 mins figuring that out when I’m groggy.
Grab everything off the floor in my room and shove into a closet :) for now….not everything has to be dealt with ASAP!!!
Clean out the stroller and reset it for the next day with a fresh hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, and park toys.
Start dishwasher and dryer if there’s clothes in the wash that are done.
Write out my to-do list for the AM so that my dreams are not filled with life/work tasks and instead of wild adventures with people I knew from the past…don’t judge me, wtf do you dream about???
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