Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Every day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined topic chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-first day of the month is "Decision."
*******************
Every day is a series of decisions, many are inconsequential, but will lead to more pressing decisions if not made in a timely manner. Beyond what to eat (every. day. I. have. to. figure. out. three. meals), whether or not it's worth it to buy the expensive cucumbers at Costco instead of the gross, cheaper ones at the grocery store, and what direction to turn when I start my walks with the dog, there are bigger decisions. When do you email someone to follow up about that thing? When do you call? Can you call after five? Is it okay to text my friend when I think of something she needs to know at 9pm? Is it okay to interrupt my husband's meeting to tell him I'm leaving? How many books is too many books to have borrowed from the library?
 |
| The riverwalk. If Hannah and I cross the street and walk a block, we hit it. She likes the riverwalk a lot, especially at night. I do, too. |
Even as I sit, I wonder if I should have spent the time I'm working on writing this doing a better stretch after working out. I wonder if I should have gotten started working on dinner earlier. I wonder if any of these decisions will matter tomorrow. Probably not.
What's a daily decision you dread?
*******************
To see what Bestest Friend has to say about decision, go visit her at Too Legit to Quit.
After getting up at 4:30, I decided to hang on until 9 for breakfast. It is getting close to 9, now I wonder what to have.
ReplyDeleteUgh. 4:30 is a rough wake up time!
DeleteI detest deciding what to make for dinner Every. Single. Day. Honestly, if someone would just write down what to make a week ahead, I'd be so much happier. I'm never in the mood for any certain thing, and usually, by the time I've spent time making it, the last thing I want to do is sit down and eat whatever dinner I've prepared.
ReplyDeleteThe riverwalk in your town is gorgeous. I'd walk that every day and night, too.
The riverwalk is lovely and underutilized because it's hard to take it from one place to another, but it's so close to our house that we use it enough for lots of people!
DeleteHmmm...this is a solid question but I can't think of an answer. I mean, I make decisions every moment, but I am a pretty structured person (ORILLY NICOLE) and so a lot of the decisions are "made" for me if you know what I mean. Like, I always do yoga at a certain time and I have a certain asana sequence I do. I always do Peloton/ cardio at a certain time and for a pre-decided amount of time. (speaking of decisions, this is always a fun one to make: which ride am I going to do? 80s theme? Hip hop? Classic rock? Etc.) I always go for a walk, and while the loop can vary the length doesn't really. I make a dinner plan each week but most days are pretty set (Mondays pasta, Tuesdays stir-fry, etc.) OMG AM I A ROBOT.
ReplyDeleteI guess I like to have control over my schedule because there's so much that isn't in my control. I haven't talked about it on my blog at all, but what the hey, I'll tell you here: we are moving in six months or so. Like, to another province. It's a huge thing and I feel pretty at sea, when it comes to thinking about moving companies, packing, selling the house. And then do not get me started on once we are there: new doctors, dentist, where do I get Rex groomed, new vet, how do we get new drivers' licenses, where will I get my hair cut, is my favourite local Calgary product going to be available or will I have to get it shipped. Etc. So those are things I am actively dreading, but I have to just keep breathing, one step at a time. Anyway, now you know, and I will probably officially announce it soon - but since it is dependent on my husband's retirement, not quite yet.
I wondered with all your talk of big changes if you were going to move. That will be so exciting! Scary, too, but let's focus on exciting! All those logistical things like licenses, finding a groomer for your handsome boy, getting your teeth cleaned (presumably someplace new that does not take HOURS), hair stylists, all those things will fall into place! Make good use of the local social media pages, Yelp, and asking for recommendations and it will all work out. But think of the new adventures! New friends!
DeleteWhat's a daily decision you dread? WHAT'S FOR DINNER? I just want to say... FOOD? But that's not quite the answer...
ReplyDeleteFood is the answer for me, too! Why is it sooooo hard?
DeleteWHAT'S FOR DINNER. All caps, as Ally said it. Because it is soul sucking.
ReplyDeleteThis is making me feel less alone in my dinner dread every night.
DeleteThis is why I regularly have to jolt myself out of Decision Paralysis: the what-ifs make me crazy! I remind myself that very rarely is there Only One Right Answer, but still.
ReplyDeleteThe riverwalk photo is beautiful.
I love our riverwalk. I also secretly love that it seems like most of the time it's only me and Hannah who use it because I love that we're left alone on it!
DeleteWhat's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If I didn't have kids, I think I'd graze for breakfast and lunch, but they want to EAT WHEN THEY'RE HUNGRY so I have to be regimented about having meals on the table at relatively predictable times. We send lunchboxes from home, so I'm not even off the hook when they're in school.
ReplyDeleteI have come up with a go-to menu for when we host company and that really helps.
But food in general consumes so much time. There are so many decisions around food, and then all the work (when should I go to the grocery store, when should I start cooking) that goes into to actually prepping said food.
The emotional labor of food planning, shopping, and preparation is intense, I agree. I find it sort of consumes my life in ways that I never would have expected when I was younger.
DeleteI pretty much have the same few things for breakfast and lunch most days, but dinner is always a tedious chore. If it were just me the dinners around here would be MUCH simpler- I mean like rice, beans and broccoli. My family strangely wants to eat more interesting things for dinner, SIGH.
ReplyDeleteMy husband would be okay with eating the same thing for literally every meal, but it's me who wants more variety! He's just so picky that our options for evening meals are pretty limited and that's a bummer. It's just so hard when you have to account for other people.
DeleteSo with the texting thing, I think you use an Android phone. One thing I like about the iPhone is that when I text other iPhone users, I can tell if they have their notifications silenced. So I am more likely to text them at 6am if I know it won't potentially wake them up. I wish I could schedule texts! I never send them in the evening - morning is when I am most likely to want to text something!
ReplyDeleteThe decisions I dislike to make the most are around meal planning. I used to handle it on my own but since having kids, Phil is way more involved. It makes the process so much better. Previously he would just say he was fine with whatever I wanted to make. Now we come up with 3 meals for the week together and it has made that whole process WAY better. Decision fatigue is real!
Android 4EVA here. I honestly can't figure out how to use any of the Apple products we have around here, including our iPad. It's a challenge because small children can figure it out, but I'm all trying to figure out what button I accidentally pushed and ended up closing the window I wanted to use. Ha. I feel geriatric about it. If we could schedule texts, that would be amazing! Let's bombard all the phone companies with this as a feature we all want in our next updates!
DeleteScheduled texts would be SO AMAZING!! I generally prefer to say what is on my mind when it comes into my mind because I cannot be trust to remember said thing in 2 hours when it's an acceptable time to text someone! Luckily I do have a lot of mom friends and I KNOW they are up very early so at least I can text them! But I am very glad that it's easy to turn off notifications on phones. I don't get any notifications for texts after 8pm or before 7am.
DeleteUgh, so many decisions. But I feel like the more you can "automate" them (read: get a routine) the easier some of these decisions get, as you don't have to actively think about them all the time. Yes, meal planning does take some active decision making, but I feel like even that can get "automized", if you rotate the same meals in and out.
ReplyDeleteI am not a great decision maker, but the big decision bother me more than the small ones, because they seem to be so much more consequential.
Hmmm...it's interesting because it is the little decisions that overwhelm me. I tend to take time and really consider ALL the options for large decisions and feel confident about the decision in the end. But today I bought some placemats at Target and I just stood there with three fine choices in front of me and I didn't want to/have the time to really dig into the differences and so I just bought some, but now I'm rethinking that decision and wondering if I should return and BUY more or just let it go and it's going to bother me all day. I almost never regret a BIG, well-considered decision, but these little decisions fester.
DeleteDecision making is my least favorite! Even when I'm just making a decision for myself, it's hard. Deciding what to feed myself every day, what time I'm going to go for my walk, if I'm ACTUALLY going to take a shower or not, what TV show I'll watch with dinner... all silly little decisions, nothing major, but they exhaust me. I feel you so much on this!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a small child who just wanted to be left alone to make her own decisions, I never would have imagined that adult me would be so sick of making those very decisions I longed for!
DeleteDeciding on what to cook for dinner always eludes me! Also trying to figure out what tile I want for a renovation has taken up too much of my life and I need to get it done.
ReplyDeleteI feel you! Cooking and decorating are so exhausting! And the choices are endless!
DeleteWHAT TO COOK FOR DINNER is a horrible choice that must be made. I am fortunate that I am down to only making that decision 3 nights a week, and lately we've been having leftovers for one of those, so I really only have to come up with 2. MUCH EASIER.
ReplyDelete