LOTS OF LITTLE THINGS

Sometimes I think the big secret to a happy life is just creating lots of little things to look forward to.
— Mackenzie Horan (@mackenziehoran) August 8, 2013

 First of all, I have no idea how I survived long car trips or even coffee lines before the advent of Twitter. Lately I've been doing a better job remembering to tweet little tidbits of my day or random thoughts that pop into my head. I posted this a couple weeks ago and have been thinking about it a fair amount since. There are plenty of things on our calendars we all dread — deadlines, dentist appointments, etc. — but giving yourself lots of little things to look forward to can totally offset the nagging obligations. 

Around the same time, I stumbled upon this quote: "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." Gretchen Rubin's book (which I highly recommend!) repeats over and over, "The days are long, but the years are short." Both of these are such obvious sentiments that totally escape me in the day-to-day grind. Letting even one day pass by without fun or inspiration or progress is such a waste! Going a couple months without seeing friends turns way too quickly into "oh, I haven't seen her in years." Putting off goals on our bucket lists just makes it less likely that we'll ever cross everything off (hence my 101 in 1001 list!).

I'm trying to be more conscious about filling my days and weeks with lots of happy little moments: coffee with an old friend, dinner dates at new restaurants, happy hours with bloggers from out of town, meetings I'm actually excited about, and of course bigger goals and projects like those on my list. I miss so much when I decide I'm too busy or too tired to go out. It's way, way, way more rewarding to approach each day with energy and enthusiasm and collapse into bed each night exhausted but totally content. Now that I'm more aware of it, it's definitely something I'm going to make a concerted effort to improve about myself.

A few of the things I'm looking forward to right now? A Red Sox game with my dad, New York Fashion Week, a fall jaunt to Nantucket, a weekend trip to New Orleans, and — at the end of September — the start of my next list (wooohooo!).

Does any of this ring true for you? What's one thing you're looking forward to this week or this month? P.S. You can follow me on Twitter here if you're interested in more daily musings!