Happy Sunday folks! I've had a lovely evening consisting of Line of Duty, an online book club chat, a Harry Potter quiz and Neapolitan ice cream. Not too shabby at all. I took the above photo today when I went a bit on a candle rampage. Does it feel inception looking at it?
The Week
I finished the SEO work I've been doing piecemeal for weeks on Julz Obsessions. None of my photos had alt text so going through 300 posts and adding it was pretty laborious. I did love re-meeting old me as I went back in time though.
This week I wrote my first article for Quite Literary, a new online magazine called 'Books to Read in Your Early Twenties'. Give it a read and let me know what you think. Writing is exactly what I want to be doing more of in the months and years to come so I feel like this is the first step of a fabulous journey.
It looks like we're finally going to start coming out of lockdown. Is it just me or has everyone else lost all sense of time? It's as if we've been like this for 2 years, but also 2 minutes. While I'm very much looking forward to doing things like going to my fave restaurants, seeing my friends and family, going to the pub and shopping when we can, I also think I'll emerge on the other side changed. It's like the reset button has been pushed on my life and I can see clearly what's important, what I want, what I should be doing more of and less of.
In other news, my friend gave me her old fitbit and I'm obsessed! I feel so Julz Bond: so gizmo. I'm fascinated by my heart rate and have a big sense of achievement reaching milestones. Oh my days... is this what gives me thrills now?!
Finally, I'm going back to work next week for a bit. I'm looking forward to feeling productive and getting my head into it.
The Science of Well-Being
It's Week 7 of my Yale online course and the focus has shifted from content-led lectures to putting 'rewirements' into practice. Basically we pick one of the things we've learned improves happiness and implement it into our lives. I've chosen to keep a daily gratitude journal.
Scientific studies say that situational support improves chances of forming a habit. This means rather than relying solely on 'will power' which is really ineffective, you set up your environment in a way which makes the behaviour super easy to complete. I've got a sheet on my wall to tick off my progress (which reminds me of Supernanny's behavioural charts), a reminder on my phone every evening and I keep the journal next to my bed so it's handy for completing before I go to sleep. So far it's working! I'll certainly be using this strategy to implement more positive behaviours in future if I stick with it.
Quick-fire Favourites
- Music: As I mentioned last week in The Sunday Post #17, I've been listening to Avicii on repeat. My fave song this week is What Would I Change It To. Only negative is that Spotify thinks I'm a total bampot and gives me tragic rave tunes in my recommended playlist. Gotta roll with the punches and take the bad with the good, am I right?
- Street Art: It was 100% worth getting soaked on my walk on Friday to come across this beautiful rainbow.
- Tweet of the week:
- Food: for the first few weeks of lockdown my local Chinese takeaway closed and honestly, that's when I thought my life was hitting the fan. It's since reopened and I appreciate it so much. Saturday nights are 10/10 delish.
- Book: I read The Perfect Wife by JP Delaney in a matter of hours. Absolutely ace. Extremely thought-provoking and spookily close to reality.
- Wellbeing: oldie but goldie, my Himalayan salt lamp. When I got this I remember reading up on all the benefits which I think included improved sleep, improved breathing, improved mood, etc. At that time I convinced all my friends to get one (honestly, I should be on commission). It's warm glow is comforting and homely.
- Podcast: as well as the faves I wrote about in My Top 5 Podcast Recommendations, I've been enjoying Vicky Pattison's The Secret To Surviving Life in Lockdown. It makes for really easy listening and is funny too. It's also just nice to get an insight into the ups and downs of her life and the life of her various guests. Speaking of Vicky Pattison - have you seen the evening feasts she posts on insta? I am so jel!
- Gavin and Stacey Quote of the Week:
- People who inspire me rn: While going through old blog posts this week, it was nice to remember a time when I was obsessed with Caroline Flack, Cheryl Cole and Lauren Conrad. I tend to find people who are doing really cool things in a field I'm interested in and appreciate everything they do. Right now it's Joe Wicks, Katy Bellotte, Dolly Alderton and Muchelle B. Totally random bunch.
It's supposed to be good weather tomorrow which I'm very much looking forward to.
Hope you all have a good week!
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