Hi friends! Thank YOU for coming back to join me for your Weekly Dose of TLC!
As always, I will be focusing on 3 good things for the week in this single post – everything Teacher-Life-Coach is all about:
T: The teacher in me…
L: Life hacks, good finds, and general fun
C: Motivation and inspiration
So, with that, let’s get started with this week’s Dose of TLC!
T – Let’s Celebrate!
The teacher in me always loved celebrations in the classroom. We would celebrate the big things – birthdays, seasons, good test scores – and we would celebrate small things – finishing a hard lesson, completing a read aloud, Fridays. It didn’t matter what we celebrated as long as we did and as long as we did it together.
Fast forward from a third grade mindset to our lives today. How often do we focus on the celebrations rather than the should(s), could(s), and must(s)? Our to-do lists sometimes seem daunting, and the only thing we can think about is getting through it. But, what if we shifted that mindset?
Enter: a celebration list, a list where we can focus on and write down all the things we have accomplished – you know, a reverse to-do list in a way. A celebration list can be done at the end of each day or week or month – or whenever you need to feel a little less overwhelmed by everything that needs to get done.
Do all the items on your celebration list have to be big items? Absolutely not. Just as our third grade class celebrated big and small things, so should you. Did you make it to the gym today, this week, this month? Write it down. Did you try a new recipe? Write it down. Did you finish a book? You guessed it – write it down. With this, you can shift your energy into a sense of gratitude and fulfillment.
Looking for a fun place to keep track? I’ve got you covered. Click on the link below to download your free Weekly Celebration List printable.
L – So Many Books, So Little Time
On the regular, I am asked for book recommendations because my friends and colleagues know I LOVE reading, and bookstores are often at the top of my list for when I need a day to let my mind wander. I mean, after all, it’s one reason why I jumped at the chance to become my school’s librarian/media specialist. Surrounded by books all day?? Sign me up!
Now, because I read a ton it is sometimes hard to keep all the books straight in my head. Did I like the storyline? Were the characters relatable? Would I tell a friend about it? So, I would always browse while at the bookstore for a reading journal to keep track of my literary adventures. All the journals were great, but I found that I liked parts of different books and none were exactly what I wanted.
That’s when I took matters into my own hands and created one that had everything I needed…and now it has been published, which leaves me over the moon excited!
There is a place to log in 100 books, track/color your progress as you finish each one, AND write 100 book reviews (title/author/genre/date started and finished/book in one sentence/rating/favorite quote/thoughts) – all in a compact size that fits in your bag.
This was something I wanted to share with my readers because it made me feel accomplished as a reader and creator. If you’re interested in checking it out, you can click on the link below the picture.
So Many Books, So Little Time: A Journal for My Bookish Thoughts: https://amzn.to/4j78Is1
C – Subtract to Add
Let’s finish out our weekly TLC talking about The Law of Subtraction.
Now, I know it sounds counterintuitive to say we add to our lives by subtracting, but hear me out.
Sometimes too much of a good thing isn’t always a good thing. I find myself walking in excess quite often, whether it’s my always-growing TBR pile, my quest for obtaining (and maintaining) healthy habits, or my calendar that keeps filling up with more items than space to write them. And where does all this excess leave me? Feeling overwhelmed and unable to focus on the moment.
So, I would like to offer two simple ways to fix this – two ways to help us subtract in our lives so that we can conquer the excess weighing us down.
- Pause. Yes, that’s it. When we pause, we have time to reflect – on what we already have in our lives at the current moment. If these things are serving you well, embrace them and give them your full attention and energy. If they are not serving you and your well-being, let them go (subtract them, if you will).
- Be mindful with the resulting space. Let the things you are subtracting to leave without immediately replacing them with something else. It’s absolutely 100% okay to have space in your home, your schedule, and your mind.
Now take a deep breath – breathe in the good, breathe out the other stuff.
Sending you all the good vibes…
~S~
Teacher-Life-Coach 