Ways you upped your game in life

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in the District. I make sure that I get out in nature, away from other people, 3-4 times a week. Hiking or biking or kayaking or trail running.

Different strokes -- I would never be content with working out on equipment in the basement. This thread is interesting

You are so very obviously childfree.

I have a young teen and I work 50 hours a week outside the home in a medical field. I just prioritize this nature thing above anything g else "elective" and know all of the rustic spots within 45 minutes of my doorstep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IPL laser treatments make my skin look great and botox twice a year.
MAde some real change to up my wardrobe game.
Started getting a farm delivery box each week, making me cook more vegetables, try new recipes.

What are the real wardrobe changes you made? I need to do this too..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I stopped being flaky and stopped being late.

I started investing in my friendships more. I live overseas and my friends are all scattered around (my closest friends live in NYC, DC, SF, London, and Shanghai) and these long-term friendships are really important to me. I make a point to reach out and see how everyone's doing regularly.

I raised my standard of cleanliness for my home. By keeping the house neater, my mood tends to be better overall and I have more energy (I'm not kidding).

I'm already pretty minimalist, but now I regularly get rid of things rather than doing a big purge. More manageable.

I refuse to engage in drama with anyone, ever.

I stopped being self-deprecating. It's not to say I act like a cocky a**hole, I just started to realize my value and worth and no longer present myself that way.

If I don't feel it, I don't do it. Friendships, undertakings, books, whatever - life is too short.

I like your list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I exercise daily, get biweekly manicures, spend a ton of time taking care of my skin and body, make sure my eyebrows are always groomed, and invest in mid-range nicer clothes and shoes (not high end, but not Old Navy or Loft either).

so where do you shop? Im stuck in a rut and cant find good mid price clothing

[Anonymous]

I'm working on getting my house pulled together. I'm being very intentional about the things I bring in. If I don't love them I won't buy them. That pretty much goes for everything including clothes. I also agree with the person that said they are mindful about eating. I've been working on that as well. I will not eat to be polite and I normally try to save my splurge eating on something well worth it. I try to eat healthier and keep a tidy home. With two small children I found myself stressed often about my house and found myself even more frustrated when guests dropped in. With a tidy home, I'm almost always company ready.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm working on getting my house pulled together. I'm being very intentional about the things I bring in. If I don't love them I won't buy them. That pretty much goes for everything including clothes. I also agree with the person that said they are mindful about eating. I've been working on that as well. I will not eat to be polite and I normally try to save my splurge eating on something well worth it. I try to eat healthier and keep a tidy home. With two small children I found myself stressed often about my house and found myself even more frustrated when guests dropped in. With a tidy home, I'm almost always company ready.

Ditto all of the above. I try to keep it so that I could be guest-ready with only an hour's notice, and not totally ashamed to open the door if someone comes by unannounced.

As for the food, I try to eat-eat only good things, and take "participatory bites" of other things, so that my daughters do see me eating potatoes, ice cream, chips, etc. and won't think of those foods as "bad," just something you enjoy in small amounts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not working every night after the kids go to bed, going to be early (at least 7 hours of sleep in order to get up to workout in the morning). It's hard not to putter around after bedtime but it's worth it.

Curious - how did you reconcile your workload? I wish I could do this, and I do for a stretch of a few days, but then I feel like I'm behind.

It's hard, but I try to be intentional about what I am spending my time on. Do I need to be in a particular meeting during the day or can I skip it to do something else? Do I need to get online at night to get something done, or am I doing it out of habit? I also block the last 30 minutes of my day to "triage" and figure out what needs to get done, what needs to be moved to tomorrow, what I have already done so I have a clean slate the next day. I found that for me, my work at night was not very focused, so if I do need to get work done I set a timer for it and try to do only those thing(s) that need to get done.

[Anonymous]

Awesome thread, OP!

[Anonymous]

Everything goes on my calendar. As soon as I think of something, I calendar it out. So it's not a vague "check tire pressure" or "buy present for nephew's birthday" on some to-do list, it's put it on the calendar in a realistic time frame. If I need to reschedule the time, fine, but it is a block of time that gets moved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I stopped being flaky and stopped being late.

I started investing in my friendships more. I live overseas and my friends are all scattered around (my closest friends live in NYC, DC, SF, London, and Shanghai) and these long-term friendships are really important to me. I make a point to reach out and see how everyone's doing regularly.

I raised my standard of cleanliness for my home. By keeping the house neater, my mood tends to be better overall and I have more energy (I'm not kidding).

I'm already pretty minimalist, but now I regularly get rid of things rather than doing a big purge. More manageable.

I refuse to engage in drama with anyone, ever.

I stopped being self-deprecating. It's not to say I act like a cocky a**hole, I just started to realize my value and worth and no longer present myself that way.

If I don't feel it, I don't do it. Friendships, undertakings, books, whatever - life is too short.

I like your list.

I like it too. This thread is pretty inspiring overall. Thank you, people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I exercise daily, get biweekly manicures, spend a ton of time taking care of my skin and body, make sure my eyebrows are always groomed, and invest in mid-range nicer clothes and shoes (not high end, but not Old Navy or Loft either).

Do you have children and do you also work full time outside the home?

Np and I do all this, have multiple young kids but I SAH. Not sure if that makes it harder or easier.

I am a DP with kids who work full time (40-60 hours), and I do exercise daily (5 days in the gym, and outdoor activities on weekends). But my kids are older, so no need for babysitter.

[Anonymous]

I start a savings goal (via SmartyPig) for Christmas starting in July. Daycare tips/teacher gifts, holiday meal and grocery runs, liquor runs, etc. don't "sneak up" on me.

[Anonymous]

I started doing barre classes on my lunch hour at work. I have small kids at home so exercise before or after work is too hard.

I stopped buying clothes that 'almost' fit. If it doesn't fit absolutely perfectly (and is too expensive to get tailored), I return it. I now have a set of 10 work dresses from Nordstrom Rack, Neiman Last Call etc. that fit really well and that's two weeks of work outfits that I never have to think about. Just throw on dress and jewelry.

I got a robot vacuum and now I don't get annoyed walking on crumbs every day. I run it in the middle of the night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a black thumb city person. Started a garden reno and plant pretty things. Hated it at first, but over couple of years it grew on me so much that it became the best way to relax. It is very peaceful activity and garden forums are so friendly, I enjoy interacting with people there.
I stopped pushing myself to other people standards (read "rat races") and distanced myself from toxic competitive "friendships". I don't need to hear "oh, you renovated your kitchen? I have to top it when I redo mine!"
I choose people who talk to my very heart, whom I click with, and things that make me smile - $$$$ and not at all.
I started running with my faithful partner, my dog, go out with a few but real friends who will take a bullet for me (mutual), and devote more time to my BF.
Life became good.

Which gardening forums do you go to? I'd love to find these

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IPL laser treatments make my skin look great and botox twice a year.
MAde some real change to up my wardrobe game.
Started getting a farm delivery box each week, making me cook more vegetables, try new recipes.

What are the real wardrobe changes you made? I need to do this too..

I just did the studio session at Trunk Club (in chinatown), and a nice woman helped me find clothes! She found things that fit me, and the pricing was all over the place to determine what I was comfortable with. Try it! It's really fun!