I didn’t discover the joy of reading for pleasure until I was an adult. Once I did, I was like, “OMG THIS IS MAGIC.” And then as a parent, “OMG LIBRARIES ARE MAGIC” (both for programming and books).

When my kids were little we plowed through piles of picture books. And then there was the magical moment when all of a sudden the room went quiet because Laurel or Violet were reading their chapter book and I was reading my book. We were in our own literary worlds, yet still cozied together.

We started calling this time QRT (quiet reading time). QRT persists to this day and I treasure it!

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Inspired by a recent conversation with the wonderful author Vicky Fang, in which we talked about how to raise kids to love reading without it feeling pressured or performative, this week’s homework is to try QRT. This can be with your kids if you are a parent/caregiver, or the concept is the same if you have time solo. Put your phone away, get cozy, pick up a book, and enjoy the stillness!

If you’re looking for reading inspiration, I recently posted a list of the 24 books I finished by the end of July, starring my favorites. The list spans modern fiction, contemporary romance, and historical fiction. And here’s a sneak peek on the first book I devoured after posting that list:

It’s been over a decade since Christina Baker Kline published Orphan Train and wow, The Foursome was worth the wait. Baker Kline is a distant relative of Sarah and Adelaide Yates, the two sisters who are at the center of this book in their controversial marriage to the famed/exploited conjoined Siamese Twins, Eng and Chang Bunker. This book is about this complicated foursome’s growing of two families, yes, but it’s also about race and identity, what it means to be owned, and breaking gender conventions. This was a deeply compelling read and it was the type of book I picked up in whatever snatches of time I could find.

❤️ Christine

This week’s episodes

If you aren’t yet subscribed to Edit Your Life, search “edit your life” wherever you enjoy listening to podcasts, or you can hit the play button in the embeddable players at the Edit Your Life website or below. Here’s what went live recently.

If you’ve been wrestling with old stories, limiting narratives, and identity, listen to this conversation with Kristina Flynn about how to edit your inner narrative.

This conversation with my Mom on curiosity is evergreen, and is being re-released to celebrate Rachel Koh’s 90th birthday.

And then the pandemic happened. And between the move to virtual meetings and events, getting a dog who did not learn how to be alone periodically, and then eventually retiring Boston Mamas (not because of the pandemic, just because it was time), my willingness to go downtown went down the toilet — even though I only live 6 miles outside of the city, have immediate public transit access, and don’t mind driving in the city.

Normally, I’m all about removing friction (see my latest healthcare adulting post) but I have recently been thinking about how there is a case for working through logistical friction when it comes to relationships.

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A beautiful example of this happened recently, when I got away for a couple of days with my former colleagues/forever friends Morra and Jen. The great irony is that Morra and I live about a 20-minute drive from one another but we rarely see each other here in Massachusetts. Despite the friction of multiple calendars and the need for each of us to drive many miles, we made it happen.

And it felt so very special.

More immediately, I recently reconnected with a couple of people who are technically work connections first, but we also have a personal relationship. Given the existing professional connections, it would have been reasonable to schedule Zoom catchups with them both. But I thought to myself, if they’re up for it, let’s do things differently and meet in person in the city.

This shift in mindset is notable because while the friction with my dog is less now that James is 6 years old, it is the case that my schedule is very full these days. So a 45-minute virtual versus 2-3 hours for an IRL meetup (lunch + transit) is not trivial.

I feel like it’s totally worth it. I want to feel the joy of connecting in person, to experience the city I have always called home but not spent much time in lately, and most importantly, to prioritize human over calendar efficiency.

So, my homework for you this week: Consider how you might opt for friction — something less convenient but super wonderful — in service of a relationship.

❤️ Christine

This week’s episodes

If you aren’t yet subscribed to Edit Your Life, search “edit your life” wherever you enjoy listening to podcasts, or you can hit the play button in the embeddable players at the Edit Your Life website or below. Here’s what went live this week.

Back-to-school season can be both wonderful and a lot. If you’re feeling in the “a lot” category, enjoy these 7 tips for simplifying the back-to-school season.

The premise and payoff is simple: If there’s a beloved recipe you make on repeat, batch prep in order to save on time and dishes. Here are three scenarios from my house:

Make mornings easier with smoothies

When Laurel was in high school, she loved green smoothies for breakfast but needed to leave for school super early. On Sundays I made 5 days worth of smoothies, put them in recycled drink cups, and lined them up in the fridge so they were ready to go. I tinkered with the recipe to reduce the water content so the beverage didn’t separate (that usually happens with berries; I instead used fruits like mango and pineapple) and it worked great! I couldn’t find a green smoothie pic from back then, but here’s another trio of tropical smoothies I batch prepped for Violet a while ago. Washing out the blender is not my favorite job so doing it once instead of 5 times is obviously a huge win.

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Batch prep a hard step to make a recipe super easy

Last week I bought this massive bag of “day old picked” zucchini from a farm stand for $5! I went into batch prep mode because with some of my favorite zucchini recipes the most time consuming part is blitzing the zucchini in a food processor and letting it drain. And then you need to wash the food processor and colanders, which feels onerous so I’d rather do it once instead of multiple times. Last weekend I processed zucchini for 6 loaves of my favorite zucchini bread recipe (one pound of zucchini per loaf) + 7 batches worth of these zucchini pancakes my family loves (also one pound per batch).

I always make a double batch of zucchini bread (last weekend I dropped a loaf off for my Mom) so I made that double batch and tossed the other two double batches of processed zucchini in Ziploc bags and froze them. For the zucchini pancakes, I packaged 6 batches worth into individual recycled pint containers and froze them, and left the 7th batch in the fridge. I made zucchini pancakes the other night and it was so satisfying how fast it was to toss the batter together with the zucchini already prepped!

Make baking a breeze by prepping dry ingredients

The batch prep tactic that gets the most play in my kitchen is for baked goods. I have done this for granola, cornbread, carrot muffins, Shalane Flanagan’s superhero muffins, and more. I measure dry ingredients into recycled containers, label the containers, and my pantry is stocked and ready. It makes the final assembly and baking so easy! Think of it like boxed cake mixes; just add wet ingredients and go.

I’d love to hear about something you batch prep. Yay for more efficiency and less dishes!

❤️ Christine

This week’s episodes

If you aren’t yet subscribed to Edit Your Life, search “edit your life” wherever you enjoy listening to podcasts, or you can hit the play button in the embeddable players at the Edit Your Life website or below. Here’s what went live this week.

This conversation with Vicky Fang is perfect for parents who want to raise kids to love books without all of the pressure.

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Coordinating between work and home

Someone asked how I coordinate planning systems between work and home. I asked what systems they use now and they wrote, “I currently use the Cozi app for family stuff and Outlook for work. I love a paper planner but have cycled through countless formats and can’t seem to use them effectively or consistently.”

Here’s my task and schedule systems stack. This is intentionally set up so I have access to my systems from my phone (i.e., no matter where I am):

• Todoist: This is where I capture to-do’s at a granular level (here’s an episode on how I use Todoist).

• Google Calendar: I have multiple calendars that all feed into my central calendar, color coded for easy scanning.

• Google Docs: In the next two sections I will share the weekly and monthly command center I use to keep an eye on priorities.

This is not a solution if you are a paper person, but my handwriting is a disaster and I easy access has always been a priority so digital is the right option for me.

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Weekly Workstream View

People asked for a visual of the system I described in the June 29 Mini Edit about a system to reduce weekly overwhelm. I created a Google docs template version that you are welcome to copy and customize. Page 1 shows the weekly view. I included sample text so you can see how I split out my high-level workstreams and then sub-projects nested under each workstream. As I mentioned in the episode, as I populate my week, I also add specific drop dates if applicable, which makes daily scanning easier for me.

My one edit after several weeks of usage: I changed the last row from “Personal” to “Travel.” The rationale is that this document is work oriented and I don’t want my personal life to be a workstream; whereas travel could be personal or work and it definitely impacts my workstreams so having trips on my radar is helpful.

Get the planner!

Holistic Monthly View

Here is another relevant comment that came in with one of the questions above: “I love the idea of seasonal planning (though I just learned about quintiles). I am currently reading The Garden Within and started to map out yearly goals into 3 dimensions of Relationships, Purpose, and Legacy. I also like good visual aesthetics to keep me motivated.”

This isn’t aesthetically beautiful, but I talked about the monthly planning system I developed and shared about in this episode from the beginning of the year. On page 2 of the Google doc you can see the monthly view I use. The idea is to have an easy way to visualize five holistic priorities:

• Family: My immediate crew of Jon, Laurel, Violet, and James

• Other core relationships: Everything outside of my immediate crew

• Professional: Major work anchors (e.g., travel, big projects)

• Home: Home projects that I want to tackle

• Hobbies/Fun: Fun things to pursue

This grid makes it really easy to see when you need to, for example, add a little more fun to your life!

❤️ Christine

This week’s episodes

If you aren’t yet subscribed to Edit Your Life, search “edit your life” wherever you enjoy listening to podcasts, or you can hit the play button in the embeddable players at the Edit Your Life website or below. Here’s what went live this week.

It can be hard to find your voice in this noisy world. I chatted with Meredith Walker about how to help teens unlearn the rules and find their voice, values, and purpose.

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We all have the capacity to encourage others to prioritize preventative care. You certainly don’t have to do it via a public platform like I do, but we need to keep talking, especially about things that might seem taboo or awkward.

(I grew up with plenty of conversational stigma and I am over it.)

Today’s homework includes two options:

1. Book a medical appointment you’ve been putting off.

2. If your appointments are already set up, figure out if there’s a way to reduce friction.

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I think about friction every time I go to routine visits (e.g., PCP, dentist, mammogram), as well as when I need to book periodic appointments like bloodwork or a colonoscopy. I’ve said this many times before, but friction kills. Sometimes this is a good thing, like creating friction between you and your phone usage, but other times, friction gets in the way of routine maintenance that’s important to prioritize. Here are the ways I have reduced friction related to healthcare appointments.

Book providers close to home

Many years ago I went on a mission to move all of my healthcare providers as close to home as possible. Yes, I live adjacent to a city (Boston) that is abundant with stellar medical care options. But my needs so far in life are pretty basic (e.g., I’m not on any meds and don’t require any specialty care). So for things like my PCP, dentist, and mammograms, I booked right in my city. This means that, for example, when I went to get my mammogram on Tuesday, the whole thing was 40 minutes round trip, and that included the 15-minute early arrival time since I’m a rule follower.

Book early morning appointments

I will forever be the person who asks for an early morning appointment to reduce the risk of being part of appointment backlog. It’s the best!

Schedule your next appointment before you leave

Many practitioners routinely book the next visit before you go, but if that is not offered to you, ask. If the practice is not ready to book as far out as you need it, ask when the earliest you can book is, and add a reminder on your calendar.

Space out appointments

As you schedule your appointment, make sure you do a quick scan of your week before saying yes to the first option offered. If you end up having more than one appointment stacked in a week (I once had three consecutive days of healthcare-related adulting appointments and, well, LESSON LEARNED), it increases the likelihood you might cancel one, which then kicks into motion a chain of needs re: rescheduling (more friction!).

You’ve got this!

❤️ Christine

This week’s episodes

If you aren’t yet subscribed to Edit Your Life, search “edit your life” wherever you enjoy listening to podcasts, or you can hit the play button in the embeddable players at the Edit Your Life website or below. Here’s what went live this week.

Finances are central to life and the learning largely needs to happen at home. In this episode brought forth from the locked archive, Asha and I share 9 ways to teach kids about money.

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Once a person turns 18, they are legally independent. Ensuring that their healthcare proxy, power of attorney, and HIPAA paperwork is in place enables parents/guardians to make medical and financial decisions in case of an emergency.

I know this is a tough topic to think about, but also, it’s better to be prepared. Laurel was 17 when she started college (she’s an early September birthday), and not long after she turned 18 one of my top priorities was getting this paperwork done. When we went to a local bank to get the paperwork notarized, the notary said, “Wow, we rarely see people come in for this.”

Indeed, whenever I have shared about this process, people often respond, “Wait, I need to do that?!”

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This topic resurfaced for me because last week I remembered that I needed to update this paperwork since Laurel will be shipping off to medical school in a state that is different from her undergraduate state.

If you have an attorney you already work with, great. But much like when I set up my first will 21 years ago, I used an online service for Laurel’s power of attorney documents — in this case Mama Bear Legal Forms (this referral link will get you 20% off). Kind of a silly name, but it is reputable. It only costs $89 for the Young Adult Power of Attorney package and it is super easy to set up to set up a primary (home) state + add a second state (e.g., if your kid is going to school in a different state).

It only took a couple of minutes to switch Laurel’s second state paperwork in my account. The most onerous part is getting the documents notarized, though you can usually do that at local banks. (Call first to be sure your local bank has a notary on staff.)

I hope this post moves you to take care of this paperwork if you have a kid over 18.

Meanwhile, I also have thoughts about setting up a will (for you, the adult), which is really freaking important. But I wanted to start with the young adult adulting paperwork because: 1) many parents prioritize things for their kids ahead of their own needs so why not take advantage of this reality (lol), and 2) in my opinion, getting young adult power of attorney documentation set up is emotionally way less complicated than dealing with big questions like, “who will take care of my kids if I get hit by a meteor?”

You’ve got this!

❤️ Christine

This week’s episodes

If you aren’t yet subscribed to Edit Your Life, search “edit your life” wherever you enjoy listening to podcasts, or you can hit the play button in the embeddable players at the Edit Your Life website or below. Here’s what went live this week:

Setbacks are a part of life but that doesn’t make them any less painful. Listen to this conversation with the wonderful .

P. S. Also in the realm of adulting, last weekend I added Laurel to my Costco executive membership. What a moment!

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But as I’m sure everyone has experienced at some point, it’s not always easy to fall asleep, even if your day was busy and you feel tired. There are many factors that impact sleep.

I loved exploring these factors d…

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As in, “Why are my grown children still asking me what’s for dinner?” or “Why is the assumption always that I’m going to make dinner?”

These are valid questions.

Whether or not you enjoy cooking, mealtimes — especially if you are coming off a busy work day and s…

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That said, of the five recommendations I shared, #5 has the immediate friction of needing to obtain something you might not already own.…

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And while I appreciate that scientific rigor, I love that in my current life simple data collection can also be useful. It’s a practice of noticing that helps me see patterns and report out…

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And this is one of many reasons I loved my recent…

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And that’s one of many reasons why I love time management expert Vanderkam. She has been an Edit Your Life guest twice — be sure to listen to th…

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And then as if the universe was listening — who am I kidding, it always is — I received this…

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First: A blizzard cleanup effort mangled my carefully cultivated medicinal herb bed. A younger version of me would have stewed in the injustice. Instead, I looked at the uprooted plants — some literally bent at 90 degrees — and thought, “Well, …

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Here’s the backstory.

For 17 years, we’ve had a table at the intersection of our kitchen and dining space — originally …

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