As my main haunts have been limited to my apartment, the greenbelt, and the bi-weekly trip to the grocery store, I’ve realized that I need to intentionally keep my environment feeling fresh. In so many ways I like my routine — the same walking and running routes, the habits that keep me grounded. But you have to inject some kind of variety into life.
Small changes to your environment are an easy cheat for this. For example, when we first moved into working from home in March I “rearranged” my kitchen table nook to feel more like a workspace. And by that I mean I moved the extra chairs away, set up my monitor and work chair, and moved my living room light closer. But it helped make the environment feel new so I could start associating it with a place of work and focus rather than that unused table that my cats sleep on sometimes (let’s be real — if you live alone you eat on the couch).
This week I did another one of those small changes and rearranged my balcony chairs. At first, I did this so I could fully be in the morning sun, but I can’t believe how much I like just having a different perspective, a slightly different view. It’s the little things, but they help.
It’s why I’ve enjoyed exploring new routes on my weekend long runs. My senses, who can rewatch and reread and eat the same foods every day with the best of them, are craving the scraps of “newness” that make running around a retirement community block I hadn’t seen before feel like a goddamn adventure.
With Love,
Natalie