What a Wonderful Week: Summer Friday

Summer Friday

Happy Friday! I hope you had a wonderful week. Here, we had a definite change in the light and weather. It helped motivate me to get some life stuff done, like figuring out how I’m going to vote while I’m away in Croatia and getting Ollie’s grooming appointments for the next few months squared away.

Today, though, it’s Friday. In true Summer Friday fashion, I’m off to go play. Summer weather’s back, and it won’t last long. I’m going to take a scenic train ride around the NH’s Lakes Region, and, if all goes to plan, I’m also going to a drive-in movie! I grew up in this region, and now that I’m back for a bit of the summer, I’m trying to wring all the fun from it.

Reading

This week, I read a book about making changes that stick called Switch. It’s an older book, and one I had intended to read for my former job and found in my stack when packing.

While the examples are rather old (sometimes I wonder why these books always provide such detailed examples, as they get dated immediately), the strategies to make changes that stick make a lot of sense.

Switch uses the Elephant/Rider theory (basically the parts of us that run on instinct or analysis) to try and appeal to the best of both and curb the worst of both when making changes. When changes aren’t working, your Elephant might run toward all things bright and shiny and never have any sense of direction or purpose, and your Rider might spend all their time figuring out all the angles and never actually do anything. When our Elephants and Riders work together, however, we are unstoppable.

The book offers a lot of different strategies, to help make changes stick, depending on the situation, and you don’t have to have a ton of power to make it happen. I’m experimenting with a tweak in my environment to help curb my bad phone habits. I do not like how much time I waste on my dopamine machine. Early days, but so far, my environmental tweak was totally simple and has worked. I’ll keep you posted.

Upcoming

Here’s a preview of posts for the coming week:

• In Travel, we’ll have a post about fun summer things to do in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region (I hope to entice you to visit!)
• In Eat, you’re in for a treat, because I’m posting the recipe for a dish I wait impatiently to make every summer. My taste testers (my parents) will tell you that it’s worthy of the anticipation. Bonus—it can’t be easier!
• We’ll have a Sundry Wonders, of course

Until then, let’s catch up on the week in posts below. Please share posts that you think your friends would enjoy!

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