Category Archives: Completed Nudge

Nudged: Treat my feet

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Backstory: Upon drawing this morning’s nudge, my first thought was PEDICURE! It’s been over two years since I’ve had a full-service professional pedicure, and this may be the week I pull the money from my budget and treat myself to an hour of pampering. (Face mask on, of course.)

But then I pulled my notes about what inspired this nudge, and it was simply to lather my feet in thick lotion and put them up in some heated booties (a gift from a friend that I haven’t used as much as I should). That’s more in line with my “rules”, which dictates that nudges must be “cheap”.

We’ll see how I feel as I head into the week.

What might you do to treat your feet — or any part of you that needs a little extra TLC — this week?

What Happened: I was all set to give myself the full treatment at home: soak in a tub of hot water and Epsom salt, scrub the callouses off, trim the cuticles, polish the nails in some cheery color. Then (and stay with me), I asked my feet what they wanted.

They wanted to walk in the sand.

feet in sand

So off to the beach I went, for a long barefooted walk.

It was exactly the treat my sweet feet — and sweet spirit — needed.

The Ah-Hahs: It was in February of this year that I finally — after nearly 10 years of living here — spent time at the beach near my home. That one nudge shifted so many things for me, and now the beach is where I go whenever I need a reboot.

sand dollar

The air, the sounds and feel of the water, and the sand (bonus: natural callous-scrubber!) are all free. I’m learning again and again with these nudges to appreciate — and take full advantage of — the simplest pleasures.

Nudged: Exhale

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Backstory: Alexandra Epple’s blog, Spirit Journey (you met Alexandra in a 52+ interview about a month ago), inspired this nudge. In her “The Gigantic Breath Cycle of Your Life” post, she wrote a couple of lines that struck a chord with me:

“Our society is not set up to honor exhales. We are set up for creation, achievement, progress…all of which equate to inhaling.”

A healthy cycle of breathing, she went on to explain, is inhale, exhale, pause.

I suck at this. “Pause”? Oh, sure, I do that when I’m sick or exhausted or forced to shelter in place for an extended period of time. But the rest of it is challenging for me. “When we find ourselves in the exhale cycle,” Alexandra continued, “it takes courage, awareness, and reminders to allow yourself to be in that space.”

I know I need to be more intentional about healthy breathing–about healthy living–until it becomes my new natural rhythm. Starting today, I’m going to practice this.

What Happened: We live in stressful times. I mean…really. My stress level the past several months has been Off. The. Charts. And even though some things have somewhat calmed down, I know that I continue to carry that stress with me every day, even if nothing new is added to my load.

But this week I practiced dealing with it a little better. Every time I felt the worry (and some times panic) start to bubble up, I stopped in my tracks, closed my eyes, visualized a positive outcome for whatever I was worrying over, and let out a long, deep exhale. Then I moved on.

Monday I had to work at it some. I’d carry around a worry — about my husband’s safety, for example — and feel myself gearing up for a meltdown. Then I’d catch myself and go through my new routine. By Tuesday, I was dropping into the stop-visualize-exhale drill before the worry got its claws in me. I barely even thought about it, I just did it.

So I am heading into this holiday (Happy Independence Day to my U.S. readers!) feeling quite calm. And, if I start to feel less calm, I know I can handle it.

Exhale-post-2

 

The Ah-Hahs: I could meditate, practice yoga, get hypnotized, take anti-anxiety meds, drink more whiskey…or, I can exhale. For me, it really can be that simple.

Nudged: Claim my “bread”

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Backstory: The idea for this nudge came from the book The Sermon on the Mount by Emmet Fox. It basically comes down to embracing the fact that God (Mother Earth, the Universe–whatever term you choose) always provides. “Bread” in this instance may be actual bread, though it really means everything we require for a healthy, happy, free, and harmonious life.

Then it’s a little more. It’s a call to stop being so stubbornly self-sufficient. And that’s what intrigued me, so I thought I’d explore it. Do I need to work on stopping all the doing in my life? (Yes.) Do I need to allow some good to come to me for a change? (Yes.)

Last year, a close friend was rushed to the emergency room and received a very scary diagnosis. I was terrified, and I desperately wanted to do something to help her and her family. She, naturally, resisted at first. We’re grownups, we’re proud people, we can take care of ourselves–right? I told her I understood, for I saw myself in her. I asked her to allow me to step up, and she finally accepted. It felt really really good to be there for her, even in small ways. She has since recovered, and I am reminded that my friends would like the opportunity to give to me on occasion too. Sometimes we can give each other the gift of giving to each other. I know that last sentence is a bit of a tangle, but when I break it down, it makes sense to me.

I’m not sure where this nudge will take me, and I’m eager to try it out.

What Happened: Careful what you wish for!

Early Monday morning, while making breakfast for me and my guys, I dropped a pan full of hot grease on my bare foot. Thor was home, and we were able to treat it immediately. No trip to the ER, no blisters. It could have been so much worse, and I feel really lucky.

However… I spent all of Monday and Tuesday with my foot stuck in a pot of cold water to keep it from blistering and keep the swelling down. Any time I moved (office to couch, couch to office), that pot went with me. And since I am still unable to put on a shoe,  I’m home-bound.

foot in cold water

That’s one way to kick prideful self-sufficiency to the curb!

Rest and healing became the only goals of my week, so that’s what I focused on. I did get some client work done, and then I took the time gifted to me to do some internal work. I thought about how I have recently blocked my creativity by filling my time with doings–admin work, housework, busy work. There are other things I want to really devote my time and energy to.

So I pulled a book about breaking through creative blocks out of my stack and got to work, my work. I’m starting with a self-commitment to choose projects that feel “100% Kath.” I wrote that on my big white board: 100% Kath.

It’s a start. I’m ready to claim all my good.

The Ah-Hahs: So…the other thing that happened…. I took myself outside for lunch today (inspired by the nudge from a few weeks ago) and noticed the blueberry bush. The full-of-ripe-berries blueberry bush!

blueberries

I have done nothing to deserve or earn this other than occasionally remembering to give it some water, and yet here it is, bursting with gifts to give me. Another reminder that God always provides–and often gives us more than we asked for. We just have to claim it–or, in this case, harvest it! 🙂

 

Nudged: Ignore the laundry

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Backstory: Well, crap. I knew this was coming — heck, I created these nudges! — and have been dreading the day I would pull it from the bowl. That day has come.

This is included because over the past two years I’ve noticed I’ve been been saying more frequently “Laundry is my life.” Sorting, washing, drying, line-drying, ironing, folding, putting away…. It’s meant to be a joke, but it’s not so funny any more.

There was a small part of me that thought just now  “I have until noon — I can do just a few things (aka cheat) to get ahead of this.” But that defeats the purpose of the nudge, so here I go, starting now, I commit to ignoring the laundry for one week.

To keep myself honest, here’s a photo of the basket of clean laundry sitting next to my bed.

laundry before

If all goes well (haha), it will be right here seven days from now. Impossible to know if I’m doing myself a favor or creating a massive headache for myself for next Sunday.

What Happened: This has been one of the most physically uncomfortable nudges I’ve done. Not because I didn’t have clean clothes — we were fine — but that it nudged me so far out of my comfort zone. I was thrown totally off-balance. By nature and/or nurture, I am a multitasker, and throughout the week I would see a basket or pile or whatever and my brain would want to just take care of it. But I resisted the urges, and it was challenging! So much so, that I woke up early yesterday morning from a dream in which I was sorting laundry. That is just wrong.

Except for a shirt Thor pulled out of the Before basket (he’s supportive of my nudgings, but, heck, he didn’t sign up to do them himself!), that basket of clean items by the bed remained untouched. He helped by lugging the overflowing basket of items to be sorted and washed down to the basement for me. (Good man.)

laundry after

We were fine, by the way. Had all the essentials and spares we needed. I did, however, run out of warm PJs. That sounds weird to most of you, I know, but remember I live in San Francisco where “summers” are cold and flannel is my friend. I remain grateful for our heavy blankets and comforter.

The Ah-Hahs: “We were fine.” That says it all, and I continue to be grateful for all that we have in our life. I mean, come on, I have a washer and dryer on site, and a closet and dresser full of clothes. So many people in our world have so much less.

But what I learned most from this week is It’s okay to let things go. I don’t have to multitask all the time. I don’t have to drive myself to exhaustion trying to finish every task on the to do list. I don’t have to be “perfect”. Aside from the nightmare, I felt pretty good through the week. Maybe even a little less stressed than usual. I also didn’t try to fill that “free” time with other tasks. This, to me, is a successfully completed nudge.

 

 

52+: Pat’s craft cart (a Nudger in action)

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I love hearing from readers when a nudge has inspired them to do something new!

A couple of weeks ago, Pat wrote to tell me, “It’s entertaining to hear all the different ideas you come up with. I can’t keep up, but I love the ideas.” I celebrate that. This blog was created primarily so I would keep myself on track (and honest) with weekly challenges. If others are inspired to do the nudges with me or create their own, that’s all bonus to me.

But I have to say, I LOVE hearing your success stories. This is Pat’s. She decided to tackle cleaning up what she calls “Craft Central,” a cart that holds all sorts of crafty supplies. “My walk-in closet is half craft stuff, and then there’s under the bed,” she confessed. “I’m excited to organize it all.”

Here’s the before picture of her cart:

Pat cart before

Here’s the after:

Pat cart after

And then…here’s the after photo of her desk.

Pat desk after

“This also inspired me to work on my desk at the same time, as they kind of go hand-in-hand,” Pat wrote.

What I sense will happen next is Pat will be re-inspired to pick up and complete on old creative project or start something new. Craft Central is Pat’s happy place, and it warms my heart that 52Nudges has helped her get back to it.

Have you had a recent success with a Nudge? I’d love to hear about it. Email me with a bit of your story with photos at KathleenInk.net.

Nudged: Buy 2 bunches of flowers

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Backstory: I’m so happy to see this nudge pop up, because it makes me…well…happy. 🙂

The idea is to buy one bunch for myself and deliver the second bunch to a friend.

Let’s go make someone’s day a little brighter!

What Happened: So easy…. At the market during my lunch break today, I grabbed two beautiful bunches of…

sunflowers

One bunch is on our dining table. The other I left on a neighbor’s front porch with a note.

The Ah-Hahs: $5 bucks. That’s all it cost me to do this one small thing for a friend. I didn’t have to make a special trip or exert much extra energy (I walked across the street, for Pete’s sake). Yet I know this one small act of kindness will brighten my neighbor’s day.

I see no reason to overthink this, it just feels good. 🙂

Nudged: Have lunch outside

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Backstory: I have such good intentions, but then so often I’m “too busy”. This nudge is about shaking up the routine.

After I pulled this nudge this morning, I thought about my options. The obvious choice for me is to head to the backyard (I work from home even when we aren’t sheltering-in-place). Back in my corporate days, I would find a place to sit in a courtyard, near a fountain, perhaps. In a perfect world, of course, I’d find a pretty spot in a park or on the beach.

Speaking of the sheltering-in-place, my husband and I got creative when we wanted to get out. A few times we picked up sandwiches to go, found a spot with a view of the Pacific Ocean, and had a “picnic” in the car. This would fulfill this nudge too.

If none of the above work, at the very least, I can open a window.

Hope you can get out this week.

What Happened: The day started like so many others. I faced a long to do list of work, household, and personal projects. I ate breakfast while standing at the kitchen counter and multitasking. In between nibbles and sips, I emptied and reloaded the dishwasher, fed the dog, checked the headlines, planned the menu for dinner, made mental notes about this ‘n’ that….

As lunch time came (and whooshed by), I was tempted to do more of the same…until I remembered this nudge. I put my food on a real plate and headed to the cute little bistro table in my backyard.

For a few minutes I allowed myself to stop and enjoy an unrushed meal.

lunch outside 2020

The Ah-Hahs: Though it was fairly uninspired menu of leftovers, I actually tasted and enjoyed my food. I slowed my breathing. I listened to the birds and felt the warmth of the sun on my skin. I read a few pages of a novel. I thought about things other than the afternoon’s deadlines.

Specifically, I brought back memories of the days when most of my meals were taken outside. (Granted, that was when I lived in Southern California and the weather cooperated.) I routinely started the day with a cup of tea on the front porch. Lunch on the back patio. Dinner under the blooming crepe myrtle tree.

One of my favorite annual events was what I called the French Picnic. I invited a handful of friends over, asking each to bring a Francophile dish. Champagne, tarts, freshly baked bread, seasonal fruits, and simple proteins appeared. We dragged my full-size dining table into the front yard and covered it with the cloth from Provence and small vases filled with lavender. We shared the food, we shared stories. We shared our lives.

Over these past few months, as we’ve practiced strict social distancing, conversations with family and friends have included the question: “What do you want to do most when this is over?”

I finally have my answer.

Nudged: Do something patriotic

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Backstory: I laughed out loud just now as I drew this, because here in the United States, it’s Memorial Day Weekend. The last Monday in May is when we remember the men and women who have given their lives in military service to our country. Our flag has been flying outside our home since 7 am, and will continue to fly through tomorrow, so, technically I could call this nudge “Done!”

Not so fast. The whole point of 52Nudges is to go beyond the normal and comfortable and do something more. I just looked up the definition of patriotic: expressing devotion to and vigorous support for one’s country. I’ll have to think on this a bit.

What Happened: I woke up this morning (Monday–Memorial Day) knowing exactly what I wanted to do to complete this nudge.

In the early days of COVID sheltering-in-place, I learned about Notes for Support. Through this nonprofit, we can send encouraging messages to patients battling the virus and to the healthcare workers who are on the front lines. The nonprofit organization was created by a high school junior named Gina who knows first-hand about the power of receiving a physical note. (Read her story here.)

Note for Support

I’ve been sending notes here and there. It feels like a perfect way to complete this nudge, to show my support for Americans fighting our common enemy, if you will. So this week I am committing to sending two notes each day — one to a patient, one to a healthcare worker. I’m sharing this information today in case you’d like to join me in this.

To members of our military and their families, to healthcare workers and their families: Thank you for your service!

What Happened, Part 2: I started each day this week by writing my notes. Every note was different, as I imagined the person who might be receiving it and wished them well as I wrote. It was so easy, it took just a few minutes, and it set a positive tone for my days.

This morning I made a donation to Notes for Support’s GoFundMe account, to help cover printing and mailing costs. Now I can check this nudge off as successfully completed.

The Ah-Hahs: Throughout this pandemic crisis, I’ve been looking for ways I can help. This was one small one, and it felt good. I hope my notes have lifted the recipients’ spirits. I had my spirits lifted when I read the Gallery on Notes for Support’s website, and I encourage you to check it out. And if you haven’t already, I hope you’ll take a few minutes to send a note or two, too.

Meanwhile, some of us are looking forward to our cities’ reopenings in the coming weeks. Some of us are still practicing strict social distancing, and many of us are struggling. I pray you and your loved ones are safe and healthy.

Nudged: Use the good silver x2

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Backstory: By sheer luck of inheritance, I have two full sets of gorgeous silverware. One set gets brought out for the occasional special occasion. The other set has…ahem…never been used. I’m really not “saving” these precious items, I simply don’t remember to use them.

Until now. Break out the good stuff, people! Let’s use and enjoy what we have!

What Happened: Two meals, each featuring one of the sets of silverware.

So, yes, this did require gentler hand-washing of items (versus stuffing everything into the dishwasher), but I think the trade-off was worth it. (See The Ah-Hahs.)

The Ah-Hahs: About a month into our COVID-19 sheltering-in-place, Thor and I started noticing our food didn’t taste as good as usual. We were able to get good ingredients (so grateful) ,and I wasn’t preparing things differently, but the stress we were under messed with our senses. I also noticed that we were eating a lot faster than usual, eating to fuel but not necessarily enjoying the experience.

That changed when we brought the good stuff to the table. The good silverware inspired the good plates, the nice glasses inspired the nice linens. We sat down to eat instead of standing at the kitchen counter. We didn’t shovel in the food, we took smaller bites. We took our time.

How incredibly fortunate we are to be able to do this.

 

Nudged: Set a small goal and blow it away

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Backstory: Sure, this is about getting things done. But it’s mostly about developing muscle memory. What does it feel like to start something and finish it? Set a goal and achieve it? To win, to succeed, to exceed my own expectations?

Although I complete personal and professional projects every week (I love deadlines), it seems like it’s been a long time since I’ve experienced a really big win, so I’m going to start with something “small” and get back in the rhythm of winning. My intention is then to set bigger and bigger goals for myself. How exciting!

The example I wrote down for myself when I created The List was building up to holding a plank for one minute.

What might you do this week?

What Happened: Paint my office!

Well, that was my first idea. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and includes by extension sewing new curtains, replacing the rug, buying new furniture…. But one of the rules of 52 Nudges is this task must be something I can do in one week’s time. Next!

I considered refinishing a small desk, buying supplies and starting a new vegetable garden, sorting that big pile of old files on the floor, or clearing out my closet. Then I took a step back and looked again at the Nudge: “Set a small goal.” Start small. Do something I can really get done.

I chose to open the drawer in my office that has become the catch-all for personal correspondence. Oh, sheesh, what a mess. Yet one of the great joys in my life is receiving and sending letters with friends. This is where I’ll start.

Letter Drawer: Before.

I pulled everything out and organized it by sender. Done!

Letter Drawer: After.

The Ah-Hahs: Okay, so this wasn’t a “big” win, I didn’t feel a glorious sense of achievement. However, this small completed nudge got me one step closer to doing more of something I really love. Now when I have a free 30 minutes, I can grab the item off the top of my neat pile of letters and respond. No digging. Better yet, no opening that drawer and feeling overwhelmed by the mess and closing that drawer without doing anything.

In fact, I wrote two letters yesterday after I completed the nudge. This is a true win for me.