Looking Forward to the Little Things

I have often said that if you find it hard to get motivated in the morning (whether because of depression, which has been my problem since I was very young, or just because you're not a morning person), find something to look forward to. For some people, that's as easy as knowing that you'll have that first cup of coffee. That's definitely the first thing that makes me leap out of bed in the morning (it doesn't hurt that I'm basically a morning person). I also have things that I look forward to most days that are specific to those days, though. I always remember the Friends episode where Monica was explaining that just because she looked forward to Mondays because that's when her People Magazine came, that didn't mean she was shallow. I realized that I, too, looked forward to certain days because of certain little "pick-me-ups." Everyone has their own, and they change - often frequently.

For now, though, here are some of mine. I'll leave off the weekend because, well, it's the weekend!

• Monday - it's been my favorite day of the week since I finished with my grad school classes. Monday is a fresh start, a chance to get right everything I got wrong last week. It's a chance to get a head start. It's also the day my favorite podcast - "Lore" comes out.
• Tuesday - my two favorite emails get delivered to my inbox almost first thing in the morning: The Reader and The Lineup. The former is "Five Bookish Bites delivered to your email each week," and the latter is "where murder and mayhem is delivered daily." I know, but what can I say? I have always loved true crime. When I was around 11, I checked out the encyclopedia of murder from the library so often they just should have given me the darn thing.
• Wednesday is the one day of the week I don't have to leave the house - an introvert's dream!
• Thursday -- nothing to love about Thursday. Thursday is about endurance. No, wait! "Thinking Sideways" (another podcast I really like) comes out on Thursdays! New Bitmojis come out on Thursdays!
• Friday - Henry's day off!

And so it goes. You get the idea. There are also all kinds of little ways to motivate yourself. You just have to find them. Throughout the week I can tell myself things like, "Tomorrow you can start working in a new crossword puzzle book," or "Thursday you can steal ten minutes to knit a row on your shawl." Whatever it takes to make the day palatable - to fake it 'til you make it. It's surprising how well it works. If your happy triggers get stale, find new ones. Think about what you like and start from there.