How reading LESS will make this bookworm happier

In the spirit of #simplify2016 and #connect2016, I'm tackling one of my most beloved but all too often neglected hobbies: reading.

In any given year, I attempt to read numerous books for several reasons or occasions.

I am part of an online book club called Eclectic Readers so there is at least 12 books that I try to go through in a year. I'm not always successful. If I can't finish a book and/or make it to a group discussion, I make up for it by listening to our nifty podcast.

I also participate in a "book bingo", which if you don't know what it is, I highly recommend a Google search on the topic. The bingo card usually covers 24 books of varying genres, some spots taken care of through my book club selections, but the rest are picks of my own.

On top of that, I try to set a Goodreads challenge for myself so if I'm feeling ambitious and want to read more than 24 books, I have to make up the difference for the challenge.

In case you missed it in my first post, "The Inspiration", I happened to have a baby in 2014. She is in full on toddler mode now so there seems to be little time, if any, to sit down and crack open a nice, cold beer book. That means for most of 2015, I struggled to keep up with something that I deeply love and NEED in order to keep my peace of mind and my imagination strong.

So, let's do this, 2016! I am setting out to simplify life by cutting out book bingo (*sad face emoji with tears*) and focusing mainly on my Eclectic Readers book club picks. This in turn will help me connect again with the amazing members of this group. I'll also be able to keep my challenge count reasonable.

I haven't been in this book club for as long as some other members, but in the time I've been a member and the few times I've been able to join discussions, I've been privileged enough to learn A LOT from some amazing people. I've been exposed to genres I wouldn't normally choose for myself, and I've listened to opinions and insight that I couldn't have possibly come up with myself. This book club covers quite a few things that I love about life: reading, friends, and meaningful conversations.

Seriously, I think I felt my heart grow bigger just thinking about being able to be more connected and engaged with my ER friends. I can't wait!

My One Word for 2016

ETA 2/2/16: I did decide on one word. My theme this year is Simplify.

Well, I couldn't decide on one word... so I have two words for 2016.

Simplify. Connect.

The first word I immediately thought of for my theme was simplify. I've been on a clean and purge mission the last couple of months of 2015 and I wanted to continue that, but it goes beyond the physical act of simplifying our belongings. I wanted to simplify the things I do and find ways to make life easier. I want to work smarter, not harder. I want to keep things to the basics and fundamentals. It's too easy to take on more or to find complicated ways of going about things. Sometimes the best things in life are the simplest tasks and pleasures. I want that... no, I need that. Life is hard enough on us, why make it harder?

As soon as I thought of simplify, I quickly thought of the next word, connect. In this sense, I mean relationships. I knew that efforts to simplify other aspects of my life would potentially give me time to build up my connections. My main priority is to be better about keeping in touch with my family in Florida and to make face-to-face plans with my friends in Chicago or to plan calls or video chats with my long-distance friends. I want to connect with people, the ones who mean something to me. A secondary look at connecting is of course, technology. I can utilize technology to connect to the people I love, but also, this blogs is a form of connecting to the internet and to whoever is reading it. I want to keep the technology aspect of connecting to a reasonable level. I don't want it to consume my time and take away from other more important things, but I do appreciate that technology will assist me in realizing my two themes for 2016.

I'm not one for making resolutions, but I look forward to sharing how I achieve these themes in my everyday life.

#simplify2016
#connect2016

The Inspiration

I used to keep an online journal back in college and it was one of my most treasured "possessions" - something just for me. After I graduated and settled into the "real world", I still craved the therapy and expression that my journal afforded me, but I wanted something less informal and something more structured. I've played with blogging on and off for the past several years but never found a theme or unifying idea to base my blogs on. They were all reincarnations of my old online journal and never felt quite right, not quite what I wanted to achieve and maintain. I needed a focus. I needed a foundation. I needed inspiration.

Now I have it.

One of my newest addictions is listening to podcasts. The most recent one I've been listening to is "Happier" hosted by Gretchen Rubin and Elizabeth Craft. I love that this podcast offers real, achievable tips for living a happier life. One of the tips that resonated with me became the basis for this blog.

Pick a one-word theme for the year. The idea is very simple - pick a word that will describe the kind of life you want to live for the year.

I actually read about this tip a few years back - there was something about it in a magazine (of which the title I can't recall) that Gretchen Rubin wrote. At the time, a blog wasn't something I was considering as a personal project but nonetheless, I wanted to find a way to incorporate the one-word theme into my life.

I actually remember this more vividly than I should. It was the tail-end of 2013 and I decided that "happy" was going to be my theme for 2014. I wanted to make decisions and do things that would contribute to me being happy. For that particular point in my life, that meant I was going to cut back on commitments that gave me anxiety or displeasure and that I would spend more time with my husband.

2014 ended up being a banner year in our house. We were settling into our first purchased home, and we decided it was the right time to start our family. I got pregnant pretty much right away (possibly due to my new happy mindset??) and we welcomed a beautiful baby girl in October 2014.

Fast forward a year and I am now reconnecting to this happiness tip that made a difference in my life. It hit me that this was how I would create a focus for a blog. The best part to me is that every year, I can start fresh with a new word, and I don't have to feel bored or constrained to one idea indefinitely that might not matter to me in the future. This blog will also be a vehicle for me to record ways I follow other happiness tips and things in life in general, all of which will hopefully tie into my one-word theme.

Stay tuned for the next post when I reveal what my one word will be for 2016!