PREVIOUS ARTICLE
We feature an original illustration by the lovely Mari Andrew every Friday morning. Here’s today’s.
P.S. Weekend plans, and nice moments.
This Year’s To-Do List
Subscribe
85 Comments
It feels good to know that I’m not the only one that has the same list of not have to do’s! Whew! (I was getting a bit worried that I’m too weird… ;)
Be a minimalist!! YES! I love my stuff
YES to including “be a minimalist” in the things you DON’T have to do! As a collector of many things, I will never, ever be a minimalist and, whilst I can appreciate it for what it is, I am fine with never being one – it just feels like everyone who IS one isn’t fine with it! Let me have my 25+ coffee mugs and money boxes that are shaped like other things if it makes me happy. They’re not hurting anybody!
YES, THIS IS THE BEST!!!!!! Thank you for the “do not have to do” items!
I absolutely love this list! My favorite from the have to list is “stop pressing snooze” because it is nice to know getting out of bed is not a struggle for just me. My favorite from the not to list is “understand how to style wide leg pants” because, good gracious, it is impossible to perfect and carry out every new fashion trend out there. :)
I so feel not needing to finish an article. I have fifty-something tabs open on my phone and most are articles I’m planning to finish sometime.
Love this list so much I shared it on my blog today to brighten my readers up! https://www.shessobright.com/2018/01/22/6-links-to-brighten-your-week-18/
I have stopped trying to read every article ever and joining a book club. LOL
Great tips for life. People ought to restrain from certain activities but need to find what those activities are.
For all of those things we just don’t have to do here is some guidance and inspiration. Hilarious, yet spot on. *warning! NSFW Adult language ahead* https://youtu.be/GwRzjFQa_Og
Cheers! (And amen to everyone who refuses to finish a book that isn’t worth their time!)
Love this!!
These are so great. My bf and I tossed around the idea of buying a tiny home for awhile and then were just like…..yeah let’s stop pretending- they are super cool but we are just NOT minimalists! Lol
Best one yet.
#1 comment- practice good dental hygiene! As a dentist, I thank you for the PSA!
Don’t forget to squeeze a lemon over your pasta and peas! I love the onion dip thing….I still make it occasionally for the same reason that I occasionally stir up a can of plain old Campbell’s Tomato soup to dip my grilled cheese sandwich into….because nothing else is quite the same. The oldies but goodies are just that. We love them because they are familiar and delicious. There are times when I don’t want gourmet anything…. I just want the real thing….like Coke!
Oh, I love this one.
Best one yet.
Amen, sister.
I especially resonate with the ‘feeling guilty about enjoying something.’ Self-love doesn’t really need to be so gloom.
Holy goodness this one gave my heart pause and let me breathe a long sigh of relief. Thank you for the forgiveness and reminder, Mari, you are a treasure.
I always love Mari’s illustrations on Fridays! They are fun, but they also make me think and reflect. This one was especially good. Thank you, Mari, for giving me the permission I didn’t realize I needed to let go of things that aren’t working for me!
Every time I read about Facebook or Instagram, I’m so happy that I don’t have any social media accounts. I deleted mine when I was pregnant with my first kid and I’ve never missed it. If you’ve ever thought about deleting your accounts, you can do it!
HOW. IS. SHE. ALWAYS. RIGHT?
“Understand how to style wide leg pants.” Whew! I just CANNOT get on board with that trend!
I felt the same way about skinny jeans and pants. As a pear shaped person, I feel much more confident and beautiful in pants that flow. I think we shouldn’t have to figure out how to wear trends that don’t fit our body shape or our personality.
I love it. It really helps!
“Things You Do Not Have To Do: Follow Anyone on Social Media Who Makes You Feel Insecure”
What if that person is a good friend of yours and someone you genuinely love but are sick of their workout posts with their perfect abs? (Which I don’t have, hence, making me feel insecure)
This is my dilemma too! Either they’ll notice their follower number is missing one, or some app will notify them that I’ve unfollowed them. Some might say “simply pass by their pics” but ugh it’s not that simple.
Some sites let you hide folks posts from your feed.
And … well… you can certainly love and support a friend and still not follow them on social media! If you say it’s not that simple then you’re overcomplicating your life!
thank you
Gotta admit – sometimes I’ll press the “close” buttons on the elevator (but not like right in anyone’s face). I’m ok with it. Another elevator will come. :)
I was in a Nordstrom elevator a few months ago with one other woman. There were buttons on each side, and we both saw someone coming from a distance – and both pressed the close button. We looked at each other and grinned and then went on with our days.
Now if only we could so easily unfollow in-laws who happen to be big-time Instagram influencers and use an app to track their follows and unfollows! How obnoxious that this technology exists. I would love to permanently unfollow said in-law, but I tried once and it caused a tremendous rift in the family that has not recovered.
Omg this is awful!!! It’s like being held hostage! *internet hug*
I just left a comment that this was simple but I can see it can be complicated!
I stand corrected.
You are not responsible for how they react! If they are upset they can deal with it. It’s Instagram, you’re not condemning them to hell.
The less you interact with their posts, the less you’ll see them- the algorithm is helpful sometimes! I know this from avoiding my Dad’s instagram posts… they just make me cringe too much!
This list — this list is speaking to me!
This is one my favorites! Can we see a Mari interview? I’d love to know more about her inspiration and where she’s coming from.
On a side note, can we talk about Caroline’s Haiku’s for Ex-lovers? She’s had some great ones lately. :)
that’s a great idea, sara! xo
I listened to an interview with Mari in a podcast recently! Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/goodlifeproject/mari-andrew-the-art-of-knowing-youre-not-alone
On a similar note, I would love to read a Beauty Uniform with Mari :)
Just this week I unfollowed all of the Instagram accounts that make me feel insecure about my body. Fitness trainers, models, travel-accounts-that-have-turned-into-bikini-accounts. I realised that they don’t motivate or inspire me, they just make me feel like I’m not doing enough. Boy, bye!
sometimes the feeling of needing to keep up can be so exhausting, thank you for this!! and, in the same vein, this was featured on browneyedbaker.com today. I think the universe is trying to tell us something. https://www.alifeinprogress.ca/want-mediocre-life/
Hehehe this is actually me with the book club… seemed appealing at the time but now, I don’t wanna go, so I’m not gonna!
I gave up on book clubs back in the Oprah days. Her books were always so boring or featured women too dumb to figure out how to get out of the bed in the morning. The only book club I ever stuck with was one reading through Shakespeare’s plays and I was the only person who stayed the course. It’s just too hard to find people who like the same things.
These are too legit! #maximalismforeva
Mari is the cutest! I love the way her mind works, and I also love how I see everything she does as art, even if it’s literally just a list.
“wear your warm coat even though it’s ugly” ME!! I commute to/from work by public transport and I look like a crazy woman in my big coat, hat and blanket scarf. But I refuse to be cold. But I hate feeling ugly in it. Oh well, right.
Mari Andrew is a gift.
This also feels like a list for how to adult =)
PS – Easy fix for one on the “Have to do” list: get a gorgeous cold weather coat instead of an ugly one ;) I got mine at Everlane!
100% spot on. Mari, I love you!
Love it! Mari, you are a gem.
I haaaaaaate washing my face, so recently I started using micellar cleansing water- total game changer! You apply it like toner, with a cotton round. No rinsing needed. It’s so easy I never skip washing my face before bed.
Be a minimalist….. hahahahah! Truth.
wide leg pants bit is so good :) :) :)
Gah, week in and week out, she gets it right. I look so forward to these every Friday!
I love this one. She nailed it.
Living for this.
I loved this too, especially not having to “seize the day” :) I constantly feel guilty if I don’t think I have. Sometimes it’s enough to “survive the day”.
??????
I feel guilty about that almost every day (too many “mompreneurs” in my life – ha), but the other day my daughters and I just hung out in our guest room. We read a book, then my youngest and I dozed while my oldest pulled out an old toy and got into some great, quiet, imaginative play. We basically did nothing for an hour and then my oldest looked up with a huge smile on her face and said, “this afternoon feels so wonderful. This is one of my best memories.” I still feel terrible about everything I’m not doing, but I’m trying to revive my childhood sense that Being matters as much as everything else.
On Fridays when I read the Mari Andrew posts, I find myself nodding “yes, yes, yes!” every time. Thank you!
perfect.
LOVE THIS! It’s so freeing to make a list of things you don’t have to do. :)
this one is awesome!
Oh man. So good.
One thing I would add to the “must do”: Be yourself. You are one of a kind, and irreplaceable! Embrace yo weirdness.
It hit me a few years ago that if I don’t like a book, I can just stop reading. I love to read and read many books each year, but it’s not my job and it’s okay to quit. Same for scary movies and roller coasters, it’s just not entertainment for me. Stand up for leisurely leisure time, ha!
AMEN! I am giving up on Sally Rooney’s Conversations with Friends, even with all of the acclaim it is getting, because it is mind-numbingly boring and navel-gazing. Maybe it gets better in the last 100 pages, but I doubt it.
Another joy of getting books from the library.
Yeah definitely! I decided at one point that if I’m doing something for fun, and it’s not, then I’m not going to do it and I really don’t care.
This is empowering for me to read. I recently suffered through a book because I knew eventually there would be vengeance and justice, but it wasn’t worth it in the end because the whole book made me feel so miserable. Thanks for the permission to quit when it’s bad; there’s too much other good stuff out there!
Yes! Especially not being minimalist. I feel like it’s a new buzz word.
Totally agree – buzz word! My family all calls me a minimalist; by the trend definition I am not. BUT I’m super picky about what I decorate my home with and for me having an exponential number of t-shirt just means more laundry. I’m just a working mom who is trying to fit in some yoga. Less laundry = more yoga. Minimalism is a solid excuse if you want people to stop buying you garbage for your own that you don’t need, won’t use, and ends up in the trash. So rather than a minimalist I think I’m just controlling. Shoot. There’s an epiphany.
Totally a buzzword! But I think the idea of being more mindful of our consumerism is hugely important. If everyone just incorporated mindfulness into their buying habits, we’d all be minimalists by default and wouldn’t have to sweat keeping up with the “trend” of it!
Love this list.
I’d add to the “Do not have to do list” is finish reading a book I don’t like.
This list I can do!
Yes! Especially the “Do not have to do” part.
Relieved I don’t have to be a minimalist!
Maximalist 4-Life (and it will come in handy should anyone need anything because I have an extra in my purse).
Haha! Love your new adjective :) who doesn’t love people who have just what they need when they need it?
Hahaa I have to say I really appreciate those people that always have everything (because that’s so not me!)
Thank you maximilists of the world!
Yes! I love this! I just decided to not attend a new friend group’s karaoke outing tonight because … I don’t enjoy karaoke or being around people doing karaoke. Win!
Good! Do something you enjoy instead… everyone will benefit from it. :D
love this list. Feel relieved! :)
What a surprise, it’s Joanna’s mom! Hi Ms. Goddard!
Hi Mom!!! :) :) :)
More to Love
The other day, I went in for an eye exam, which I've been putting off for months...
244 COMMENTS
"I live for a good house salad," says Jessica Merchant...
296 COMMENTS
"We want to be satire, not comedy."
137 COMMENTS
