Staying off the Instagram explore page. This is where my boredom has led me, and it was making me feel unnecessarily overwhelmed. I’d scroll through it at night before bed, and I’ve made a conscious effort to not end up there because I don’t need to see what people spend in a day, what side hustles make you the most money, or like day in the lifes that are clearly staged. I’ve been doing good the last few weeks not clicking on the explore tab and I feel better. I stay in my feed where I can control the content, and if I don’t like what I see anymore, I just unfollow them.

There’s not enough time in the day. I saw a video the other day that broke down the hours of a day into almost a pie-chart looking diagram. It blocked off the time we sleep and time we work and the few hours we actually have before or after to ourselves. I felt seen by the video because during the week, all I feel like I do is sleep and work. I hardly have time for myself, or if I do, it’s just a few hours after work before I go to bed. That’s why I cherish my weekends so much. It’s two days of time to myself where 16+ hours aren’t dedicated to work or other responsibilities. I can just do whatever I want whenever I want on my own time.

An easy way to budget? My paranoia about my finances and budgeting ebbs and flows. I think it’s come back to mind since I created a spreadsheet for Josh and I to use to split expenses now that he’s moved in. I know what my standard condo-related expenses are month to month in addition to variable expenses (like utilities and groceries), but in regards to my credit card, sometimes I’m like why is the bill so much? I’m not spending on frivolous things but things just add up over the month. I want to find an easy way to keep track of my spending that doesn’t get too obsessive or overwhelming. 

Wash your sweatshirts! I’m terrible at this, I’ll admit it. I own a bunch of sweatshirts and hoodies that I mostly just wear at home—or out to run errands—but I’m so bad at remembering to wash them. So I made an effort the other weekend to wash my most worn sweatshirts so that they were just clean and smelled nice. I think it’s something I need to work into my laundry routine on a monthly basis. 

Use the good stuff every day. I’m always hesitant to use the things I treat myself to, like candles or Beekman 1802 lotion. I’d rather just stock up and not use them, or save them for special occasions. But you know what? You don’t have to wait for anything special to come along. Burn the candles, use the lotion, find those little things in life that make you happy every day. You deserve it.