The first week back after the holiday is always a bit of an ice bath. I was actually somewhat refreshed from my holiday vacation and while not exactly “ready” to go back to real life, I’m at least holding up. I still feel pretty behind – I meant to post earlier this week, my birdfeeders are empty and I haven’t done a good job at keeping up with exercise this week – leaving in the dark, coming home in the dark, tired but pushing forward.

It’s helped that I’ve been working my plan in three main areas this week:
First, it’s Dry January, which always makes me feel healthy and well-rested. It’s also No-Spend January, which means I only spend on necessities or things that I planned for / wrote down on my “approved” list.
Second, I’m making a concerted effort to get up and out the door early and not linger around the house, unwashed and in pajamas, delaying my eventual groaning slog into the office after taking Miss L to school. I’m dropping her off and heading straight in to work, and the office is pretty peaceful until about 9:00. I can get a solid hour-plus of work in before the phone calls, emails, and colleague drop-bys begin. This also capitalizes on my most productive time of day, so it’s a win. Pot Roast helps with this as she views it as her personal job to get Miss L and I up and out the door. She’s not happy until she knows we’re both dressed, packed, and moving in that direction and then, worn out, she retires to bed for a well-deserved nap.
Third, I am using my planner like a champ, meal planning, shopping, and getting things crossed off.

Next week will be easier and every day the sun stays up for a little bit longer. We celebrated Elvis’ birthday this week (Brandon is a big Elvis fan) at our local historic movie theater – the Civic always shows an Elvis film on his birthday and this year it was “King Creole”. The audience is full of regulars who show up year over year, we’re indulgent and affectionate, we laugh gently at the cringy bits and applaud the singing.
I hope if this is your first week back in a post-holiday routine that you are putting one foot in front of the other, managing the stress and tragedy of the world around us right now, and staying healthy and safe.