These books have occupied prime space on my book shelf, but since I got hit by the decluttering bug, I decided to reread and then recycle them. I’m glad I did, because I felt like I have gotten so much out of them now that I’m a parent.

Gretchen Rublin is famous for popularising the line “The days are long, but the years are short”. However, the line that made me nod my head fervently goes something along the lines of “free from the oppression of my digital photos”. Turns out that my journey kinda parallels hers! I started out 2024 with 2400~ photos; after some dedicated culling and curating, I am down to 1800~ photos. I think now that I’m a parent without much free time, the fact that I don’t feel overwhelmed looking for a particular photo pays more dividends than one would normally expect. The boost to my energy level is incredible; the fact that I get sats for them on https://stacker.news/r/cryotosensei makes me feel resourceful.

Gretchen also writes about how “completing one challenging task supplies the energy to tackle another challenging task”. As I feel increasingly in control of my digital life, I feel equipped to start new endeavours. I wasn’t intending to do this, but because she kept using words that I have no inkling of, I started to keep track of the new words I encountered from these two books. Geegaw, flotsam, in the tumult of daily life, Dilettanism, busman’s holidays. Not only that, I have started to incorporate these new words into my writing. Not sure how this will help me in my endeavour to be the greatest content creator ever, but gaining a sense of mastery over my bread and butter (I teach English for a living) makes me feel like invincible tofu. I am malleable and can churn out beautiful pieces due to my increased vocabulary! Haha.

Lastly, her first commandment “Be Gretchen” inspired me to be true to my quirky self. For instance, she has a habit of writing one-sentence gratitude journals. Curiously enough, I started this habit in May but the habit never stuck. But as a result of reading the books, I started writing a daily Happiness Journal. As a parent, I feel enhanced joy, but desperately unhappy every day. These Happiness Journals will help ground me and remind me of those fleeting moments of happiness that seem as elusive as bubbles nowadays.

I love these two books!