Happy July 1st, dear reader! Today, I am jumpstarting July to shake my life up a bit (in a good way). My life was derailed two years ago due to one personal crisis after another. Unfortunately, I let a few things fall by the wayside, but I am ready and excited to get my life back on track. This month, I want to focus on building good habits and cultivating realistic routines, so I can accomplish the aims on my 25 for 2025 List and restart my hobbies (other than reading) by the end of this year.
I have been wanting to reread Atomic Habits by James Clear, so when my friend Lee mentioned on a recent episode of Saturday Morning Momentum that she was reading it and having a hard time getting into it, I asked her if she wanted me to buddy read it with her, and she said YES. Therefore, I started with the introduction today. We will be reading and discussing it on my Discord if anyone is interested in joining us for the next couple of months.
I have created two lists, one for the habits I want to build and the other for the routines I want to cultivate in July. Some of my habits will be incorporated into my daily routines. I will play around with my routines this month since I want them to be realistic and manageable.
HABITS
- Wake up at 5:00 AM
- Walk at least 30 minutes daily, preferably outside
- Drink more water
- Mindful eating
- Keep a JOY journal
- Write a daily to-do list
- Track book spending
- Declutter/Chores (schedule)
- Creative Time/Aims (schedule)
- Monitor progress (habits/routines)
ROUTINES
- Morning Routine
- Weekly Routine
- Evening Routine
In addition to rereading Atomic Habits, I plan on referring to ideas and strategies suggested in the following books which I would highly recommend to readers who want to work on habits, routines, decluttering, organizing, or making time for creative pursuits and projects.
- The 5AM Club by Robin Sharma
- Tranquility by Tuesday by Laura Vanderkam
- Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin
- Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin
Now that I am putting my July plans out into the world, dear reader, I hope you will help me stay accountable. I plan to update you periodically throughout the month. My friend Kathryn Huggett, who is a health coach, created two accountability trackers for her team that I am using to keep track of my daily walks and water intake. I am using a regular notebook to monitor everything else I will be doing. I am excited to see what I will accomplish this month. Happiness!
“Your jumpstart moment is critical. Start simple but simply start.” ~ Bronkar Lee
Happy New Year’s Day, dear readers! 
WOW! Cher is 73 years old and looks fabulous. Her performance was captivating from beginning to end. Her song choices, the elaborate costumes, the artistic dancers, the detailed set design, as well as the talented musicians and backup singers created a fantastic creative execution. Not being a huge Cher fan, I didn’t really know what to expect. Shelly was the only reason that I went to the concert. She wanted to go, so being the awesome friend that I am and my love of concerts, I said yes when she asked if I would go with her. And, I am so happy I said yes because I was blown away not only by Cher’s performance, but also by her story that she shared with the audience. She has given me a boost of inspiration.
Twenty days have passed since I started my year-long journey of RENEWAL. Until today, it has been slow going, uninspiring, and almost coming to a screeching halt. I have not accomplished anything much regarding my health and fitness goals for this month, and I was having a hard time deciding how to write about it. I’m stuck! Then two occurrences took place earlier today that has prompted me to move forward. The first was watching a brief video that popped up in my Facebook news feed, and the second was an unexpected phone call from someone I adore but had not talked to in quite a while.
The Kat Files 