The Kat Files

Jumpstart July was such a success for me that I decided to challenge myself again in August. Therefore, throughout the entire month of August, I will be giving myself a personal alignment to enhance my overall well-being. I want to build on current habits, add in a couple of new habits, and clear the decks in my reading life.

Build On Current Habits

As I strive to meet my daily water goal of 64 ounces, avoid the culprits causing my inflammation (dairy, gluten, sugar), and walk each morning for at least 30 minutes, I want to challenge myself to…

• drink a glass of water before eating lunch
• consume NO added sugar except 1/2 tsp of sugar in morning coffee, 1 tbsp of honey in afternoon tea, and sweet treats at celebratory occasions throughout the month (English Tea Room, Andrew’s birthday, Addison’s birthday (great-niece), wedding anniversary)
• increase distance on some of the days I walk, and integrate speed intervals on the other days I walk (dependent on the day’s schedule)

Add New Habits

• incorporate grounding (practice of connecting one’s body to the Earth’s surface) into my daily routine

• keep a JOY List inside of a One-Sentence Journal created by Gretchen Rubin (in lieu of a traditional journal)

I have to thank my friend and accountability partner Liz for the Joy List idea. I bought this journal a couple of years ago, so I am thrilled to finally have a use for it. So, today I wrote two sentences because August 1st is Andrew’s birthday, and I spotted two cute armadillos on my morning walk. Talk about a joyspotting moment, watching those armadillos waddling from one yard to the next and heading to the wooded area behind the house on that property (probably off to bed after a wild night of foraging for insects).

Clear the Decks

Help! I am behind on my book reviews on Goodreads, and I cannot get caught up. I have NO idea why I am compelled to write lengthy book reviews on Goodreads for every book I read; however, I feel compelled, and I REALLY need to remedy this situation. I want to transfer all of the books that I have read and are hanging out on my “currently reading” shelf to my “read” shelf. At this moment, I have 40 book reviews to write. Liz told me during our 25 for 2025 meeting in June to just transfer the books and start fresh. It is not like I am taking a break from reading any time soon. And, it is not like I have always written reviews for every book I have read since I joined Goodreads in 2012.

So, I have decided that I am using August to catch up on those book reviews. If I do not finish the book reviews by August 31st, I will assign the remaining books that have been read a star rating and transfer them to the “read” shelf. That way the decks will be cleared by the first of September, and my Goodreads data will be up-to-date.

This is my August Alignment Challenge in a nutshell, dear reader. I plan to update you periodically throughout the month since I will be monitoring everything I want to accomplish in August as well as continuing my readalong of Atomic Habits by James Clear. I am excited to see where I will be at the end of this month. Dear reader, what are your plans for August? Happiness!

“I think in life, if you continue to challenge yourself, you can pride yourself in what you continuously accomplish.” ~ J.R. Martinez