What’s Saving Your Life Right Now?

My daughter and I were driving around recently, discussing the things that are saving our lives right now. The last 90 days of the year can be an opportunity for restarting, or simply enduring. It’s really our choice. So while I have committed to more exercise, drinking more water, practicing gratitude, giving up (or, maybe easing back on) that one food item I know I should, and carving out more time in my day for passion projects, I know I can rely on the life savers list when I find myself white-knuckling it through to the end of the year. Below are a few of the things that are saving my life this season.

Ellio’s Pizza – I attend a lot of night meetings for work, and I can’t seem to get into the habit of having a nourishing, low carb, kale-based meal at my desk beforehand. My colleague Donna and I made a pact long ago that frozen pizza is a legitimate food group for busy women. Ellio’s is the go-to when I get home starving, and according to the Internet, it is one of the “healthier” frozen pizza options. Of course, you may recall it comes in frozen slabs containing three pieces, yet a “serving” is only two…

A Gym That Thinks for You – Said daughter and I recently joined a gym that thinks for us. We have to sign up for classes, and they are usually full. Anyone who cancels at the last minute is depriving someone else a slot. Since I am an Upholder who leans to Obliger, this level of accountability is just what I need. (If you haven’t taken Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies Quiz check it out! In my informal survey there seem to be a lot of Questioners in our local government field). But back to the list. So at my old gym, I did what I wanted at my own pace. Needless to say, I never really pushed myself very hard. At the new gym, the coach drives the treadmill, rower and strength training routine, and there is NO slacking. It thinks for you.

Podcasts – I am obsessed with podcasts. As an Upholder, I am incapable of doing fewer than two things at once. Like with books on tape audio books, I can listen while walking, running, driving, cooking, and cleaning the attic. Podcasts have the added advantage of being easily digestible in short bursts. I always seem to get something out of podcasts even when they are totally unrelated to my current work or interests. I recently told my husband that I now understand the mechanics of an email drip campaign to grow my on-line revenue. If I had an on-line business, this would be very practical advice. Current favorite podcasts include:

• Happier with Gretchen Rubin
• Rise with Rachel Hollis
• Jill on Money with Jill Schlesinger
• What Should I Read Next with Anne Bogel (the Modern Mrs. Darcy)
• Before Breakfast & Best of Both Worlds with Laura Vanderkam
• The Next Right Thing with Emily P. Freeman
• The Lazy Genius with Kendra Adachi

Family Dinner – I am so fortunate to have both daughters, one son-in-law, a brother and sister-in-law and mother living close enough that we manage to have “family dinner” about three times per month. My husband joins us, as well as another couple we consider family. These are basic and quick affairs, we share (mostly!) the cooking and wine and desert buying, and bask in the connection.

Dinner Club – Both daughters and I share a dinner club with seven other amazing women of all backgrounds and professions. We range in age from 20’s to 50’s, reveling in each other’s accomplishments and commiserating over setbacks. We created the dinner club about two years ago, and meet every other month rotating homes and sometimes restaurants. Many of the members had never met, and yet this group is 100% saving our lives right now.

Checklists – I love a checklist. Especially a book checklist. Along with some friends, my younger daughter and I accepted the Modern Mrs. Darcy’s summer reading challenge, and we live to check off each book we read. We download checklists for starting over, living our best lives, establishing morning routines, you name it. Is there anything more satisfying than completing a task and checking it off?

Cooking While watching Football – The consolation for the end of summer in New England is a magnificent fall. This is the time of year to stay inside on a Sunday afternoon, meal prepping for the week and watching whatever football game is on. When it is cold enough for a fire? Winning.

What about you? What is saving you life right now? Please leave us a comment! And don’t forget to sign up to receive the Very Kate blog in your email.

Let’s practice.