Enough

First Quarter Check-in: Closing the Tabs in My Brain

April 10, 2026

Photo by Trent Erwin on Unsplash

During the last few months of 2024 and almost the whole of 2025, I spent all my time randomly ping ponging around, putting out metaphorical fire after fire. These included dealing with the aftermath of a major hurricane, moving, maintaining and selling our family home while not living in it, unpacking, renovations, and the death of my horse. I set no goals (is “surviving” a goal?) and made no real plans for myself, other than trying to get fully unpacked and settled in to our new and smaller home. The entire year of 2025 is basically a blur.

And while 2026 is shaping up to be a much calmer year overall (fingers crossed), I didn’t start it by setting a bunch of big goals for myself. I did fill out a “26 in 26” list, and set a word for the year, a phrase, actually, “mend and tend,” and that has been my focus during the first three months of 2026. 

It feels good to have the breathing room to putter around fixing and cleaning and rearranging. When I got tired, I retreated to the couch. 

And though we’re only into the second quarter of the year, I’m thinking about finishing. Finishing the renovations (kitchen and second bathroom are up next and they’re the last ones), finishing several courses I’ve signed up for but haven’t had the time or mental bandwidth to complete, finishing the unpacking (I only have a box or two left). Even finishing the sketchbook I took to France in 2018! 

It feels like closing tabs in my brain, and that feels good.

You are enough

I still feel the urge to Make Big Plans, but I know they have to be the right ones, ones that come from my heart. I read something in a newsletter from Jenna Kutcher last week that resonated with me:

“What if we just stopped? Like what if the most radical thing we did heading into Q2 wasn’t a new strategy or a rebrand or another launch plan, but a single, quiet decision to stop shrinking, to stop performing wellness and actually live it, to stop building something that looks right and start building something that feels true.

“You don't need a birthday or a milestone or a sign from the universe to give yourself permission to recalibrate. The end of a quarter is enough. This moment is enough. You are enough.”   

What has the first quarter of 2026 been like for you?

Check in

First Quarter Check-In

March 25, 2022

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

I hate to break it to you, but 2022 is one quarter of the way done…or it will be next week.

Time seems to have picked up its pace, racing forward with no regard to my readiness for it to be the end of March and Almost Summer (in Florida we have two seasons: Summer and Almost Summer). While I’m a little surprised to find myself teetering on the verge of April, the first three months of the year haven’t been all bad, despite bouts of depression and continued horror around the world. This year, I’m going to try something new: reviewing both my word of the year and my goals every quarter. Previously, I’ve been much more haphazard about the review process.

The year so far

I’ve taken to heart what I mentioned in “First Thoughts for 2022”: “I want a year of ease and serendipity and settling into the spaces of my life in a way that feels organic instead of molded to fit arbitrary goals I set for myself.” I’ve continued to concentrate on my word of the year, simpler. Since I didn’t set a big bunch of goals at the beginning of the year, I don’t feel bad about not having a long list of shiny accomplishments checked off.

The thing I’ve noticed most is that so far this year, I have been operating more slowly and mindfully. I catch myself rushing, and slow down. I single task more often. I’m becoming more realistic about what I can accomplish in a day. This is a valuable mindset shift that’s starting to feel more natural. 

A few noteworthy accomplishments:

  • Continued to add slips of paper to my Happiness Jar.
  • Read two books related to my exploration of simpler (The Power of Less, by Leo Babauta and Do Less, by Kate Northrup). Next up, Digital Minimalism, by Cal Newport.
  • Moved Tank to new accommodations. My entire boarding barn relocated to a new, larger property this week. A huge undertaking for the owner, and a bit of upheaval in my settled routine, but the property is great and it will be a positive move. (Tank is happy, so I’m happy.)
  • Continued taking a couple of online courses, one personal and one related to blogging.

Coming attractions

During the next three months, I plan to continue to take small steps toward reenergizing my writing. I’m going to start planning a trip to California to see family. And I’ll continue some cleaning and organizing projects around my house.

I’m also preparing to take an internet break in April (inspired by David from Raptitude, who wrote about taking an internet break here, and about how it went here. I’ll write more about this when I’m just about to do it).

I’m far too tied to my devices—laptop, tablet, phone. A couple of weeks ago, my (newish) laptop’s internal fan died, and I had to use my old (slow and glitchy) laptop to complete some work until we could fix the new one. I couldn’t go even one day without a computer. It’s true that most of my work uses a computer, whether for research, connection, or actual writing, but I also read quite a few blogs and listen to a couple of podcasts on a semi-regular basis. I’ve been scrolling Instagram nightly after dinner while we’re watching something mindless on TV. I try to maintain one day a week where I don’t go to the computer, but I don’t always manage that. I find that when I have a few minutes, I jump online to “catch up” on blog reading or emails. There are other better ways to spend time.

As I continue to learn what simpler means to me, I feel that it’s about “less, but better.” About going deeper into things that matter rather than trying to do or be All the Things. About slowing down enough to feel content. So far, I’m pleased with my word of the year choice, and after some rough days, I’m feeling slightly more positive overall. Baby steps, one day at a time. Learning to live with hard things and still function. I’m looking forward to the second quarter of 2022. 

How is your year progressing so far? Any surprises?