Now that I'm back to not working again, I cancelled my Calm subscription, my FitOn subscription, and National Geographic and Canadian Geographic. I've also started cooking and baking more.
Partly, it's because I'm not making money, so I don't have extra to spend; but, partly, it's because I don't need that support any more. I am doing great without the "Daily Calm" guided meditations. I'm not stressed out from work. If I need them, I can go to YouTube. I've been able to find Tamara Levitt's Daily Calm videos and all kinds of meditation and fitness videos on YouTube, and I made playlists so that it's easy to find them again when I need them.
I found National Geographic and Canadian Geographic on Libby, the free library app. I have read tons of books and magazines using the Libby app since the beginning of COVID (average 1 book/week). I read on my iPad, a large iPad Pro, turned sideways so that I get two pages at once. I might start going to the library to borrow real books again, and I know that they also have magazines there. Maybe I could have a big walk or bike ride there and then sit and read. I have the time to do that.
My diet is better again because I have time to cook and bake, so we're not using ready foods or ordering in or going out. When I was working, we ate restaurant food at least once a week, often twice or more, and I used time-saving ready sauces and dressings and canned or frozen things. Now, I'm cooking and baking and freezing my own stuff. We save money and we eat better now. I cook with way less salt, fat, and sugar than restaurants do. Simpler and better.
When I'm preparing meals, I'm not sitting. That's already something. I sit so much less now that I don't have to sit at a computer for 8 hours or more every day! I still do sit too much, and I still look at screens too much. Right now, I'm at my desktop. I often write sitting at my desk, but sometimes sitting in the family room or out on the deck using my iPad. And, while I'm there, I'll take a look at not only emails, but also Instagram or Facebook. The absolute worst time-waster is TikTok, but it was a life saver while I had COVID and couldn't concentrate enough to read or watch a show. I have set a one hour limit on social media on my phone, which is helpful. It's not perfect, since I can override the limit or just switch to my iPad, but it's good to have a little push in the right direction.
It's September, so it's time for a restart. The cooler weather and shorter days signal a change. Kids are back at school and at after-school activities, so adult activities start too. Choir starts tomorrow! Yay! I've missed it terribly. I'll be working on the Euphonia Therapeutic Music Program soon too. Hopefully, there will be some money coming in and not too much time tied up. And, my church schedule is already building. I hope to keep things as simple and manageable as possible so that I can keep up this calmer and healthier lifestyle.
Netflix is now showing the documentary "Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones" and I highly recommend it. I became aware of and inspired by the Blue Zones years ago. Check out the website. Here's an infographic from them that I like:
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