Another Year Older
What exactly did young Jewel know about the state of growing up and when did she come to know it?
My birthday is tomorrow so, naturally, I’ve been in a state of deep, unnecessary reflection. I was looking at one of my favorite childhood photos (see above) and laughing at how fed up I looked at such a young age. People have always joked that I was born an old lady. Still, I can’t help but wonder: What exactly did young Jewel know about the state of growing up and when did she come to know it? It appears as though I always knew I was being scammed.
Jewel, circa 1999 (probably): Forget the joys of youth, this is all just a scheme that Todd set up for them to come to me with the bulls**t.
Anyway, I can’t opt out of the scheme of adulting (note: Gen Z apparently hates this term and that upsets me) and neither can you. We might as well have some Prosecco and make the most out of this crazy life! We’re in a state of transition over here so I’m keeping plans to a minimum, but I’m extremely grateful for another year of learning, growing and loving. (And, yes, I’m having my favorite dinner at Aria. Duh.)
I was reading the newsletter of Les from Balanced Black Girl and I love that this week she shared accessible solutions for how she’s currently managing burnout.
With this in mind, I figured I’d share some of the things I’ve done to minimize life’s stressors for myself:
Meal prepping two meals on Sundays keeps me from having to cook another meal (besides breakfast) until around Wednesday. It also cuts back on the chances that I’ll have fast food delivered.
In addition to cooking on Sundays, I usually do a general reset at home at the top of each week that includes cleaning up and planning for the week ahead. I try to carve out time on this day to look at my to do list dump for the week ahead and assign a specific day to complete each task. This + skimming my emails usually takes less than 30 minutes but really helps to decrease my anxiety on Monday mornings.
Unless it’s going to hold up a payment process, I try to carve out time on Thursday mornings to complete admin work for the week. This includes checking in on my professional budget, tracking expenses, following up on overdue invoices and more. I really stay on top of these tasks so this rarely takes more than an hour to complete each week.
Juggling a lot of projects often means I have to make time for a lot of meetings and interviews with sources. To keep up with deadlines, I try to block off a several hours of morning focus/writing time at least two to three times per week. I tend to be much more focused at the top of each day than I am in the afternoons.
Tiny Joys
I took a much-needed day off (mostly) on Monday to give myself some time to just relax and do nothing. My brain has been running NONSTOP recently, but I also want to make sure I’m prioritizing my mental health and preventing burnout as much as possible.
For my birthday, I’ve requested some coloring books and puzzles as gifts and I cannot WAIT to unwind with some mindless cozy hobbies.
Happy Birthday Jewel! Thank you so much for the shoutout.
Happy Birthday!