Author Archives: Kathleen Guthrie Woods

Nudging: Explore things I’m curious about

Leave a reply

Backstory: Last week I worked with some prompts to come up with tasks that might become Nudges on The List for the re-launch (coming up in September). I was shocked when “3 Things I’m Curious About” yielded only two. What the heck?

So this week I’m going to dig a little deeper and try to find things I’m curious about. I might google random topics online. Maybe I’ll look at maps or pick up a book about reinventing myself. I’ll definitely review class offerings at City College.

What have you always wanted to learn? Was there an academic or career path you let go because it wasn’t “practical”? Is there a skill you’ve always wanted to acquire? Let’s explore those and figure out how to get some of those small steps on our lists for the next round of 52Nudges.

Nudged: Build “The List” with prompts

Leave a reply

Backstory: I’m gearing up for 52Nudges 2.0, which I plan to launch in September. To do this, I’m reviewing old to do lists and generating new ideas to update The List. When I’ve got a bunch, I’ll type it all up, cut it into strips, roll those strips into balls, and put them into a bowl. Then, each Sunday, I’ll pull one to tackle that week.

Last week I reviewed my Big To Do List and reviewed the musts, the shoulds, the need to dos. This week is all about what I want to do.

I might set a timer for 5 minutes and:

  • take look at course offerings at City College (What do I want to learn?)
  • go online and read up about faraway cities I want to visit some day (Can I get a book about its history? Is there a local cultural center that has programs? Can I get a CD of folk music or a cookbook of cuisine from the library to experience it without the big expense of travel?)
  • list small things I can do for myself (We’re talking self-care: take a hot bath, walk a labyrinth, warm my PJs in the dryer before bed)
  • remember specific activities I loved doing as a kid (Dancing? Reading? Playing games with my friends? What do I want to do again?)

The goal is to find some FUN things to add to the list. And for this week, it’s about brainstorming. I want to let my imagination run wild, then in a couple of weeks I can edit the list for things that really speak to me and for things that fit the 52Nudges parameters (must be able to be completed in a week, not expensive, nudge me out of my comfort zone).

Hope you’ll share some of the items that come up for you.

What Happened: I started by setting my timer for just 3 minutes and jotting down anything I could think of that I loved doing as a kid: baking, playing dress-up, reading Nancy Drew books (and imaging I was Nancy), blowing bubbles, going to the beach, learning new things to earn badges in Girl Scouts, riding horses, talking on the phone with friends and planning what we were going to wear to school the next day. Ha! That last one came out of nowhere and cracked me up. When was the last time I had a phone conversation like that? Shoot, when was the last time I simply enjoyed a looooong phone conversation about everything (or nothing) with a good friend? That’s so going on The List.

I reset the timer and thought about things I could do for myself that fall into the Self Care category: get some really nice body lotion and actually use it, get a real scrub-off-all-the-calluses pedicure, have one-on-one time with each of my siblings, wear the “nice” PJs, create a plan for spiffing up the living room, set aside a night to enjoy a fire in the fireplace. Lots of opportunity here.

Finally, without the timer, I opened a new page and titled it “3 Things I’m Curious About.” And I got only two. Two? Two! What the heck?! Other than San Francisco History and Cake/Cookie Decorating, I couldn’t think of a single class or book or podcast I want to watch. So that’s something I want to explore further.

Ah-Hahs: With all the responsibilities in life, I rarely take time to think about what gives me pleasure, feeds my soul, makes me feel most at peace with myself. And then I rarely take time to do any of these things. This is so much about what 52Nudges means for me. It’s figuring these things out and then doing them. So I’m going to continue brainstorming items for The List, and I’ll share them with you for inspiration. Hope you’ll do the same.

 

P.S. If you haven’t already, sign up to get 52Nudges posts in your email. It’s FREE! Let’s inspire and support each other on this fun adventure. 

 

Nudging: Build “The List” with prompts

Leave a reply

Backstory: I’m gearing up for 52Nudges 2.0, which I plan to launch in September. To do this, I’m reviewing old to do lists and generating new ideas to update The List. When I’ve got a bunch, I’ll type it all up, cut it into strips, roll those strips into balls, and put them into a bowl. Then, each Sunday, I’ll pull one to tackle that week.

Last week I reviewed my Big To Do List and reviewed the musts, the shoulds, the need to dos. This week is all about what I want to do.

I might set a timer for 5 minutes and:

  • take look at course offerings at City College (What do I want to learn?)
  • go online and read up about faraway cities I want to visit some day (Can I get a book about its history? Is there a local cultural center that has programs? Can I get a CD of folk music or a cookbook of cuisine from the library to experience it without the big expense of travel?)
  • list small things I can do for myself (We’re talking self-care: take a hot bath, walk a labyrinth, warm my PJs in the dryer before bed)
  • remember specific activities I loved doing as a kid (Dancing? Reading? Playing games with my friends? What do I want to do again?)

The goal is to find some FUN things to add to the list. And for this week, it’s about brainstorming. I want to let my imagination run wild, then in a couple of weeks I can edit the list for things that really speak to me and for things that fit the 52Nudges parameters (must be able to be completed in a week, not expensive, nudge me out of my comfort zone).

Hope you’ll share some of the items that come up for you.

 

 

Nudged: Review the Big To Do List

Leave a reply

Backstory: I’m getting ready to re-boot my 52Nudges project in the fall, so I’m looking for new Nudges I want to include. Activities that are fun, that nurture my creativity, that feed my spirit, and that…well…just need to get done. If you have been on this journey with me for a while, you also know these tasks need to be things that can be done within one week, that aren’t expensive, and that make me somewhat uncomfortable, thereby nudging me out of old ruts.

So this week I’m pulling up the Big To Do List, a 4-page, 2-columned, constantly growing document that lives on my desktop. Yikes. I’m going to look at all the items I’ve put down over the past year-plus and see what I want to give some extra attention to.

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be doing some other exercises to come up with tasks that will go onto my 52Nugdes 2.0 list. I hope you’ll join me in this process as you clarify what you want to put on your list. I’ll be sharing mine, and I hope you’ll share some of yours.

Let’s do this! 🙂

What Happened: Late afternoon Monday, I pulled out an old folder and discovered a to do list from 2013. You know what was on there? A lot of the same darn things that are on my 2019 list: turn my “office” into a “creative space”, lose weight, pay off all the bills, finish editing my book and get it into the hands of readers. GEEZ!

I stayed up till 1:00 am that night, having dug out similar lists from 2015 and 2017, along with scraps of paper where I’d scribbled reminders to myself to add more tasks to the to do list. I did a lot of thinking. Let’s be honest, I did a lot more self-loathing. Have I really made so little progress?

I figure I have two options: (1) Take every list and scrap of paper, run it all through the shredder, and just live my life. (2) Condense all those lists and scraps into one document, prioritize, break down those big goals into smaller steps, and get to work.

Option 1 is very appealing. But I know what I am: A list-maker. A manifestor. A finisher. I derive distinct pleasure from crossing something off the list.

A friend recently introduced me to Growing Gills, a book by Jessica Abel. I’ve been told it’s about helping creative people achieve creative goals, in part, my friend told me, by picking ONE thing to do at a time and finishing it. This makes sense to me. Clearly my current method of trying to do a little bit of everything, every day, is not working. Yes, some little things get done (like the laundry), but overall I feel scattered and frazzled. I have all these other big things (like find my purpose through my work) I want to do in life that stay on the list, that hang over me like a threatening weight, and I feel the need to make progress.

Ah-Hahs: Maybe I’ll take some of those big goals and break them down into smaller steps, steps that could become Nudges. Maybe I’ll work those Nudges into my plans for the coming year and make it possible to feel that I’m making real progress. Hmmm….

Here are some of the Nudge ideas that came from reviewing my to do lists (yes, plural) and from the thinking that happened this week:

  • Plan a picnic (I love picnics, yet this has sat on my list for two summers!)
  • Do something historical (take a historical walking tour in my own city or google a historical event and learn more about it)
  • Pick something old from the Big To Do List and break it down (and add some of those steps to the Nudges bowl)
  • Book a month of walks/hikes (4 weekends) with different friends (helps me meet fitness and social goals)
  • Spend 15 minutes/day cross-stitching
  • Explore 5 blogs and comment
  • Go to a speakeasy for date night
  • Invite the nice neighbors over for wine & cheese (we have good intentions to get better acquainted, we just need to do this)

More ideas coming! I’d love to hear what’s making its way onto your list of Nudges.

 

Nudging: Review the Big To Do List

Leave a reply

Backstory: I’m getting ready to re-boot my 52Nudges project in the fall, so I’m looking for new Nudges I want to include. Activities that are fun, that nurture my creativity, that feed my spirit, and that…well…just need to get done. If you have been on this journey with me for a while, you also know these tasks need to be things that can be done within one week, that aren’t expensive, and that make me somewhat uncomfortable, thereby nudging me out of old ruts.

So this week I’m pulling up the Big To Do List, a 4-page, 2-columned, constantly growing document that lives on my desktop. Yikes. I’m going to look at all the items I’ve put down over the past year-plus and see what I want to give some extra attention to.

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be doing some other exercises to come up with tasks that will go onto my 52Nugdes 2.0 list. I hope you’ll join me in this process as you clarify what you want to put on your list. I’ll be sharing mine, and I hope you’ll share some of yours.

Let’s do this! 🙂

Nudged: Buy a new houseplant

Leave a reply

Backstory: I have no recollection of why I put this on the list. It doesn’t feel dramatic or uncomfortable, other than spending money on things like new houseplants is way down at the bottom of the to do list. We have plenty of plants, and I like having fresh flowers in my office and bedroom especially. Hmmmm…. This one could be a dud.

What Happened: Early in the week, I took a tour around our home and evaluated the plants. It was interesting to me how many of them came with backstories, including several we received as housewarming and hostess gifts from dear friends. I do a pretty decent job of keeping everything alive. But there are no plants in our bathroom, and it seems a pretty obvious spot. Good indirect light, lots of steam. Or may I need to move things around, see if one of the plants would do better in a different spot. Hmmm…

I continued to mull while I ran errands, then was hit with inspiration at the grocery store. Five dollars at Trader Joe’s. I’ve spent more on a large mocha! For five measly dollars, I now have this sweet succulent, with its elegant dark-pink edging, for my bathroom counter.

That’s the space I decided needed some love. Every so often (like when we were expecting company), I’d buy some fresh flowers for that spot, but before this morning, I had a vase with dried flowers there. Now it’s fresh and happy and makes me smile.

The Ah-Hah: Let me be honest: Those dried flowers had been sitting there for at least six months and were covered with dust. Gross. Now I have something live and pretty and low-maintenance (it’s a succulent, so I should be able to keep it alive with minimal effort).

So, nothing earth-shattering learned from this week’s Nudge, other than a reminder to look around my home once in a while and think about how I might treat it like the lady she is. And think about how I spend my money. A $5 mocha is a nice treat once in a while and will make me feel peppy for a few hours. But a pretty plant that will last for months (if not years) feels like a bargain.

Nudging: Buy a new houseplant

Leave a reply

Buon giorno! I’m back from a fun and relaxing vacation, hoping to hang on to my calm new perspective for a while and use this clarity to help me move forward discovering and pursuing what most feeds my soul. In the next few weeks I’m going to be revisiting everything Nudging and thinking and planning for a new round of 52 Nudges. I hope you’ll join me! In the meantime, I pulled the following to get me back in the Nudging groove. Here we go!

Backstory: I have no recollection of why I put this on the list. It doesn’t feel dramatic or uncomfortable, other than spending money on things like new houseplants is way down at the bottom of the to do list. We have plenty of plants, and I like having fresh flowers in my office and bedroom especially. Hmmmm…. This one could be a dud.

 

Seeking guest bloggers! Would you be interested in sharing your experience with a Nudge? Or maybe introducing a Nudge of your own, letting us all follow along, then following up with your “What Happened” and “Ah-Hahs”? I’d love to include some new voices in this. Send me a message here and I’ll get back to you with details.

Re-Nudging: Visit a new market

Leave a reply
I’m on vacation–a real, fully unplugged vacation! While I’m out, I’m re-running a couple of favorite Nudges. You might try them again for yourself, read them simply for entertainment, or use them as inspiration to try one of your own new Nudges this week. When I get back, keep an eye on this space for news about a rebooting of 52Nudges in the fall. I’d love to have you join me. And if you haven’t already, sign up to receive the posts in your inbox. Subscribing is FREE. Cheers! — Kathleen

Backstory: A few weeks ago my husband and I tried out a sushi restaurant that just opened up in the neighborhood. At the table next to us, a dad ordered a table full of items for his two girls, who looked to be about five and two years old. No one complained or whined or insisted she was no longer eating things that were green (or raw or gooey). The two-year-old gobbled up salmon roe like they were jelly beans. It was amazing to watch—so inspiring! When I was growing up, I wouldn’t touch fish unless it was smothered in breadcrumbs and deep fried. And (and this is a tad embarrassing) I didn’t have my first sushi until I was in my 30s. Even now, I order the same things pretty much every time we go out.

Ruts. If I’m honest with myself, I have too many. I need to shake up my routines and expand my experiences. So for this week’s Nudge, I am going to check out a store that is new to me and wander for inspiration. Maybe I’ll go to a spice shop. Maybe I’ll pop into a bakery that creatively blends traditional flavors with contemporary culinary tricks. Or maybe I’ll just go to the big, beautiful, brand-new Whole Foods that’s nearby and see what’s in season.

What looks intriguing to you this week?

What Happened: My first thought was to visit our local farmers’ market, but it’s only held on Sunday mornings, and we almost always have something else to do at that time (see family or friends, go for a bike ride, sleep in). I also didn’t want to take my chances of putting this Nudge off all week and screwing it up (see Nudged: Wander an expensive store). My second pick was a decades-old produce market neighbors have raved about. Apparently it’s like an every-day farmers’ market, and generations of my friends’ families have made it their go-to shop for local fruits and veggies. Perfect!

But as my darling husband and I discussed the Nudge, he suggested I go way outside my comfort zone. Way, waaaaay outside.

“What about the Chinese market you always walk past?” he asked.

“But I wouldn’t know what anything was.”

“Exactly. You’d have to ask, How do you make this? What’s it good in?”

Hmmm…. Wise man, my guy.

So, while out and about walking errands in our neighborhood, between picking up a prescription at Target and returning books to the library, I paused at the Chinese market. Out front I spotted pineapples and ginger roots in bins. I wasn’t completely lost. Encouraged, I took a deep breath and stepped inside.

It was a little like stepping through a portal to another country. The signs were all written in Chinese, and I recognized very little of the packaged goods. Even the packages that had English translations were baffling. What in the heck is a “three tooth fish”?

Salted Dried Three Tooth Fish

Live frogs–for real

But the fun began with the live stuff. Big tanks with crabs and lobsters and fish, and a trash can-sized barrel of…What is that?…Are they moving?…Holy Toledo, that one just blinked!…live frogs, each about the size of my husband’s fist.

I was so not buying a live frog.

Feeling slightly freaked out, I made my way around to the front of the shop and spotted a bin of something that looked like mini cucumbers. For $1.99/lb., I could risk it. I took my one tiny item to the checkout counter, where the woman at the register greeted me with a long stream of I have no idea what. I smiled like an idiot and mumbled “Thank you,” hoping that was an appropriate response to what she had said to me.

That night I chopped up my mystery item and was relieved to discover it was, in fact, some kind of cucumber. I had planned to take a photo so you could see it, but it was so delicious, we ate it before it hit the plates.

Delicious cucumber things

The Ah-Hahs: I’ve daydreamed about, and my husband and I have even discussed, the possibility of living/working in a foreign country for a period of time, maybe three months, maybe a year. While my job can be done remotely anywhere, his does not translate. Maybe we could do it if we won big in the lottery and didn’t have to work. It could happen.

But probably the biggest hindrance is neither of us in bilingual. I’d like to think we could, with time and effort, learn the basics of a language here and be able to pick up idioms once we established a residency, but geez, it would be hard. Just getting around, learning the customs and courtesies, taking care of things like banking and driving, and, well, finding food, would all be exhausting. I imagine myself repeating my encounter with the woman at this market’s counter, of being overwhelmed by the selection of unfamiliar foods, of having her talk to me in a steady stream of what sounds to me like gibberish, and standing there like an ugly American tourist who has made no effort to even try to be respectful. This could certainly happen outside our borders, because, heck, I just had it happen a few blocks from home.

Still no clue what this is

Or would it be exhilarating? Are we too old and set in our ways to pursue a grand adventure? I’m thinking maybe, which strikes me as a little sad, but also a little realistic. I’m thinking it might be enough to broaden our Bucket List of places we want to visit, then be sure we line up some savvy English-speaking guides. Or maybe we start by asking around about authentic restaurants in town. Certainly we have an abundance of choices in cosmopolitan San Francisco.

Inspired, I did a quick google search for “best ethnic restaurants in San Francisco.” Jackpot! I found this article from two years ago.

Afghanistan, Chile, Iceland. Iceland! Something like 70 countries are represented. The article ends with “Forget packing your bags. The adventures offered at these Bay Area eateries require only a love for food and a willingness to try new things.”

Guess what’s going on my List for future Nudges?

Re-Nudging: Wear red lipstick every day

Leave a reply
I’m on vacation–a real, fully unplugged vacation! While I’m out, I’m re-running a couple of favorite Nudges. You might try them again for yourself, read them simply for entertainment, or use them as inspiration to try one of your own new Nudges this week. When I get back, keep an eye on this space for news about a rebooting of 52Nudges in the fall. I’d love to have you join me. And if you haven’t already, sign up to receive the posts in your inbox. Subscribing is FREE. Cheers! — Kathleen

Backstory: I laughed out loud when I unscrolled this one. The idea behind this Nudge is to make me feel powerful, to boost my self-esteem, to embolden myself. Embolden—is that a great word or what? That’s all good, but what made me laugh is I picked this on week when likely the only two other beings I’ll see are my husband and dog. Alright, I’ll have to go to the grocery store one day, and I am scheduled for a hair trim on Friday, but otherwise, this is for me. Ah-hah. This is for me.

What Happened: This one almost derailed my whole 52Nudges project. I was extremely uncomfortable going out in red lipstick, and I did go out for errands and other walks around the neighborhood. Red lipstick isn’t me, and I felt like a fraud. If you look at my closet, it’s filled with pastels and corals and cheery colors of spring. Not fade-into-the-background, but certainly not in-your-face colors. I don’t know what I was expecting to learn from this challenge, but…well, nothing came of it….

The Ah-Hah: …Or maybe something did. Maybe the lesson is recognizing what is right for me. Despite what all the fashion magazines claim, maybe a bold red isn’t what I need to feel bold. Maybe I’m at my boldest and best in a warm coral that says “Hello. This is me.”

 

Re-Nudging: Pre-dinner drinks outside

Leave a reply
I’m on vacation–a real, fully unplugged vacation! While I’m out, I’m re-running a couple of favorite Nudges. You might try them again for yourself, read them simply for entertainment, or use them as inspiration to try one of your own new Nudges this week. When I get back, keep an eye on this space for news about a rebooting of 52Nudges in the fall. I’d love to have you join me. And if you haven’t already, sign up to receive the posts in your inbox. Subscribing is FREE. Cheers! — Kathleen

Backstory: I love eating outside: a picnic in the park, dinner under the stars, morning tea on the front porch. When I lived in Southern California, all three meals might be enjoyed at my little bistro table in the front yard, and in the summers I hosted the occasional dinner party under my flowering crepe myrtle tree. Bliss. Now that I live in San Francisco, the colder weather makes this less appealing, and I’ve missed it.

Also, when I’ve traveled in Europe, I’ve appreciated the ritual of transition between working hours and the dinner hour. Some of my favorite meals in France were preceded by a glass of wine, good bread, and bowls of olives and goat cheese, plus light conversation. Too often at home I go straight from the stress at my desk to the scramble of dinner prep, to scarfing down dinner, to collapsing into bed.

There has to be a better way.

What Happened: Naturally, I drew this challenge on a particularly cold and gloomy week, so forget taking in a dazzling sunset. It was also a week when my husband worked some long and late hours. I put it off, hoping circumstances would be more favorable, but at some point I just had to bite the bullet and get it done.

I poured some good wine, opened a can of black olives, and set everything on a pretty silver tray. Bundled up in a thick scarf and down parka, I made my way to the front door. My husband was still at work, so it was just me this time. I sat on the front step, sipped some wine, and…watched the storm clouds go by. When was the last time I watched the clouds? I honestly can’t remember, but easily 10 years ago. How sad is that? I felt myself taking longer and deeper breaths, slipping into almost a meditative state as I released the tensions of a full day of work. I resisted the urge to check text messages, although on another occasion this would be the perfect time for a brief catching-up call with a friend. Or better yet, I could invite a local friend to join me. Just 15 minutes did the trick. After his own very stressful workday, my darling husband was greeted by a glass of wine, a bowl of olives, and, best of all, a calm wife who set the tone for his evening.

The Ah-Hah: I want to do this more regularly. On dark, cold nights, a candle (or several) would be a nice addition to make my porch a cozier refuge. I’d also like to try this in the morning (sans alcohol, of course), to watch the sunrise and begin my day with calm. It’s not a big production, it doesn’t take a lot of time, but I can feel a big positive impact.