Category Archives: Nudge

Nudging: Wear red lipstick every day

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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.

Nudging: Visit a new-to-me bookstore

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Kathleen WoodsYes, I broke one of my “rules” today. Because tomorrow is a busy holiday, I drew this week’s Nudge a day early. Being flexible and spontaneous is part of the fun, right? For those who celebrate, I wish you a Happy Easter!

Backstory: I love to read, and I love real books: the feel, the weight, the smell. No Kindle (yet) for me, although I occasionally get audio books from the library to listen to in the gym.

I have been known to refer to a great bookshop as “my crack store.” As much as I can, I try to support the neighborhood shop with my personal and gift purchases, but along the way I’ve also collected a list of specialty stores I’ve been meaning to check out. One in particular—a local shop that friends have told me I would love—has been on that list for close to three years. This, then, is my nudge to finally visit it.

P.S. If you’re doing this 52Nudge thing along with me, and there isn’t a new-to-you bookshop you want to check out, think of something that works for you. Maybe you go to your favorite neighborhood shop and this time explore a new section (instead of Fiction, visit Poetry, for example). Or, if music is your thing, check out a record shop (they still exist, don’t they?) and browse Hip-Hop or Classical. The point is to open yourself up to a new experience—and have some fun!

Nudging: Learn a sentence/phrase in French

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Backstory: Years ago (decade ago?), I learned how to be politely conversational in French: Hello, Good-bye, Thank you, Pardon me, May I have one croissant, please? That got me through my first trip to Paris with some grace. I returned home and enrolled in intensive language classes at a school where the instructors were all native speakers, so in addition to conjugating verbs, I learned correct pronunciations (depending upon my teacher’s home region) and some idioms. I loved it. I loved the intellectual challenges, the exercises, the conversations with my classmates.

I was able to put much of what I learned to good use when my husband and I returned to France for our honeymoon, getting us around unfamiliar villes, finding the salle de bains, ordering excellent vins. Since then, I’ve had good intentions to return to my studies, but low funds and limited free time caused me to leave this on the to-do list.

This nudge, then, is my effort to rekindle that passion and maybe convince myself that now is the time to register for a brush-up course.

Nudging: Pre-dinner drinks outside

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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 outside at my little bistro table, 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.