by Jay Hiller, August 4, 2022
If you’ve spent any time at all on the planet and been paying attention, you know how easy it is to get distracted. It’s also natural when you fall away from the path toward a goal to tell yourself, “That’s it. I’m not going to be able to do this. I’m done.”
I have this app that helps me track things that I want to do consistently, like brush the dogs’ teeth or avoid snacking between meals, for example. When I miss one opportunity, there’s a circle that turns orange. The second time I miss it, it turns red. (I hate that when that happens. It happens more than I like.) Then it starts counting, displaying the number of times I’ve missed. But I only have to do the habit one time to turn the circle green again and then it starts displaying the number of times I’ve done so consistently inside the green circle. Admittedly, maybe I’m a bit of a dork to like Mickey Mouse things like this. But what I’ve learned is, just one step to get back on track is all it takes. One glass of water, one 10 minute walk, opening the textbook and reading a page and a half–you get the idea. It doesn’t take much.
Planetary Health Tip–Consider using a clothesline.
It’s hotter than usual where I live. It’s also hot in places that typically don’t get hot. If there’s an upside to this, it’s that the solar clothes dryer is working great. My family has been drying clothes on the clothes line for as long as my husband and I have been married–35 years in a couple of weeks. Sunlight is effective for killing microorganisms and dust mites in textiles. When it’s hot like this, sometimes the clothes that were hung up first are dry by the time the last things in the basket are hung. Not running a big hot appliance in the house helps keep your house cool and reduces the load on your air conditioner, if you have one. I personally find hanging the clothes somewhat soothing. (Don’t tell my husband though. He’ll use it against me next time I want him to do it instead of me.)
What if your homeowners’ association has no clothesline rules? Rules like this are a sign that the homeowners’ association is working on a set of guidelines that are out of step with the current reality and need to be changed. You pay your dues. Say what you think and do what you can to get them changed.
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