I finally got my hands on our gas usage data, thanks to a very patient husband and a helpful customer service representative. With this information, I’ve been able to take a look at how much we’re saving since our attic weatherization work in May 2021. I’m looking for ways to at least reduce our use of this fossil fuel until we’re in the position to eliminate it.
One thing we tend to skip over when organizing our lives is evaluating our actions to see what’s working and what isn’t – which is arguably as important as the planning stage! I had to learn that evaluation wasn’t about beating myself up for not getting everything finished, but rather about recognizing what small steps I took that day to work toward my goals.
When a friend asked me specifics about how I maximize my productivity, I laughed. I also started to plan this blog series to share what has worked well for me as I continue to learn. Your mileage may vary with planners and scheduling apps, but the real path to success appears to be setting goals and continually questioning what does or doesn’t support them.
“Work smarter, not harder” is a bit of a misnomer, as it is frequently interpreted as a call to accomplish existing tasks more efficiently. What we should be doing instead is questioning what our goals are and what the best methods of achieving them are. It’s likely that there is a disconnect between what we spend our time doing and what we’re actually trying to accomplish.
Heading into the new fiscal year at work, and heading out of a particularly hectic spring, I wanted to be more intentional about building some good habits around optimizing my time and defending my boundaries. Fortunately I happened upon several great podcast episodes on a recent drive, starting with the best possible way to become more efficient: thinking about what you’re trying to accomplish.
How much do you know about where your plastic goes after you put it in the recycle bin? Statistically, very little of our plastic gets recycled, but that doesn’t stop us from believing that it will. This persistent perception helps keep the plastic industry growing, despite the negative environmental and health consequences related to the production and degradation of their products.
Gardening is a constant teacher. I’ve pulled garlic mustard out of my yard pretty inconsistently over the years, but now I know better. Garlic mustard is an established, invasive weed in Pennsylvania that can seriously disrupt the lifecycles of native plants and animals. With time and diligence – and maybe a little culinary creativity – I may yet be able to banish it from my yard.
Last month I had the pleasure of attending a drag brunch at a local brewery. The event received some backlash from the local community, which created a lot of media buzz. While the threats ultimately amounted to nothing, that is not always the case. While opposition to the LGBTQ community seems to be on the rise, our actions can play a big role in combating bigotry.
My never-ending battle in the garden continues, this time with an opportunistic, invasive weed that is often the first to take over in the absence of established plants: thistle. There are different kinds of thistle, and it is important to know what you’re dealing with before you take action because, like me, you could be doing the wrong thing and making your job harder.
What should you do if you find a baby fawn? Nothing. I recently learned that this bit of guidance is not common knowledge and therefore decided to create this post in order to share life-saving information as well as adorable photos of some uninvited guests. While exceptions and accidents do happen, it’s usually best to trust that moms in nature know what they’re doing.