We are officially leaving behind the era of stress and entering our season of alignment. 🏹 It’s about more than just the aesthetic; it’s about the pillars that hold you up: clear skin, shiny hair, a fit body, and a healthy mind. This is your sign that it’s an "add to cart" kinda day for your wellness essentials. Whether it’s that new serum you’ve been eyeing or a journal to protect your peace of mind, invest in the things that make you feel like your highest self.
Remember: the glow-up starts the moment you decide to STOP picking at your progress (and your skin!) and start prioritizing your peace. Nourish your body, clear your mind, and the happy life will follow. You aren't just changing your routine; you’re upgrading your entire frequency. ☁️🕯️
Reblog if you’re manifesting this energy for 2026! Follow for your daily dose of wellness inspo and glow-up motivation. 🤍✨
i hope everyone got to rest and spent some time with their loved ones during the holidays.
even though i did pick up more shifts at my hospitality job, i defo slowed down this month. this also includes my language learning i.e. I didn’t hit most of my goals but i’m not going to beat myself up over it.
i’m still in the process of finalising the (personal) goals i want to hit this year. so i might post some personal posts on that. i'm defo looking for this year, espeicially for summer!
i do plan on traveling for a good chunk of january (back to the uk & bucharest!!), so this month will also be kind off passive. i listed my non-english/german songs that made it in my spotify wrapped and listed the languages that i want to learn/focus on this year.
my current languages:
french (A2)
dutch (A1)
yoruba
here are my december language goals ♡:
maintain a 30 days duolingo streak (completed 300+ days streak!!)
completed the december challenge on duolingo (completed)
watch 3 easyfrench & easydutch YouTube videos (not fully, only watched 2 videos of each)
watch at least 3 episodes of miraculous in french (netflix) (not completed)
complete lessons 10 - 14 in ‘The Complete French Self-Study Guide’ with notes taking (eBook) (not completed)
watch ‘Learn French in 5 Days # Day 1’ up until ‘Le verbe ‘Attendre’ (3:01:45)’ (youtube) (not completed)
finish the 'getting started with french' course (the open university website) (not completed)
review all lessons & notes from the low german course (not completed)
watch all the alphabet related videos saved in the watch later playlist (youtube) in yoruba and take notes (not completed)
get familiar with all the yoruba language learning apps & delete if not useful (not completed)
watch at least 5 episodes of jenifa’s diary (youtube) (same as 3.)
watch at least 5 episodes of arole in yoruba (youtube) (same as above)
watch at least 5 episodes of splendid cartoon in yoruba (youtube) (not completed)
watch at least 4 (1 each week) yoruba movie (not completed)
non-english/german songs that made it in my spotify wrapped 2024:
coup du marteau - Tam Sir
eu quero tchu eu quero tcha - Joao Lucas & Marcelo
yoyo / petit coeur - franglish
balada - gusttavo lima
i’m a bit surprised that no dutch songs made it in my wrapped but oh well
here are my january language goals ♡:
maintain a 30 days duolingo streak
completed the january challenge on duolingo
watch 3 easyfrench & easydutch YouTube videos
watch at least 3 episodes of miraculous in french (netflix)
complete lessons 10 - 14 in ‘The Complete French Self-Study Guide’ with notes taking (eBook)
watch ‘Learn French in 5 Days # Day 1’ up until ‘Le verbe ‘Attendre’ (3:01:45)’ (youtube)
finish the 'getting started with french' course (the open university website)
watch at least 2 dutch movies
watch all the alphabet related videos saved in the watch later playlist (youtube) in yoruba and take notes
get familiar with all the yoruba language learning apps & delete if not useful
watch at least 3 episodes of jenifa’s diary (youtube)
watch at least 3 episodes of arole in yoruba (youtube)
watch at least 2 episodes of splendid cartoon in yoruba (youtube)
watch at least 2 yoruba movie
gather resources & create a language learning plan for hausa
theses are the languages that i will start to learn throughout 2025 (subject to change)
Q1: French, Dutch, Hausa & Yoruba
Q2: Bavarian, Hausa & Yoruba
Q3: Yoruba, Yiddish, Bavarian & Turkish
Q4: Yiddish, Turkish & Hausa
like always, french & dutch will be learned throughout the year even if they are not listed. i listed them in Q1 because i plan on taking (another) online course, which will run till the beginning of summer. for french it’s the level above the one i’m currently one (the one that i should’ve taken initially) and for dutch, it’s actually a a1 beginner level course.
with bavarian, it’s similar to low german; i don’t plan on becoming fluent. i also don’t plan on taking a course like with low german; it’s more so for fun since i’m a huge fc bayern fan.
my main language that i want to start to pick up this year is yoruba & hausa! there’s a lot more resources online compared to edo. i will defo keep an eye out for the edo online course and will adjust my plan once it hopefully becomes available again.
das wars von mir,
bis dann,
mars the prinzess xx
｡ﾟﾟ･｡･ﾟﾟ｡
ﾟ。 happy new year 💫
ﾟ･｡･ﾟ
*none of the pictures i used are my own, unless stated otherwise! i got them from pinterest.
i've been bullet journaling in an a5 leuchtturm1917 for 4 years now. i feel very happy with the system i put in place, and i've taken to decorating it heavily this past year. i have a basic calendar view, with a direction of notes that doesn't make sense. i often repeat what i've written in my weekly spreads here, but it gives me a a nice overview of the whole month. i do feel and organise myself in months, so this is the best layout for me.
i track 25 habits because i don't want to lose sight of what i'm doing, i track what i eat because i don't want to be mistaken about what i consume, i track how im feeling because i know i will forget.
i also list my "commonplacing" entries, they're simply what i write down in my book where everything goes. this list does not include the more visceral stuff that i sometimes purge in a mess book that's structured like a puzzle. these writings are on my archive though. i also keep short overviews of what happened during the day.
i also track what i listen to, watch and read, who i have talked to, what i was interested in, and good things. at the end of the month, i write a retrospective, trying to look back on what i did and what consequences it has on present me going into the new month.
my week layouts are used for planning, but mainly archiving and quick journaling, so i don't forget. i decorate them with pictures that spoke to me as they help me anchor what i wrote with an image i will remember, even if it has nothing to do with the events i write about.
i've bought an a5 hobonichi cousin for next year, and it worries me somehow. i want to commonplace and journal in the a5, making it an archive of sorts -- but i know it's going to be difficult to get used to this new structure and system. i will likely end up buying a new leuchtturm but this time with grid paper. if anyone else is worried about getting comfortable in a new book next year, i'm with you, *please give me your tips, i will die*.
bonus: i use the hobonichi cover i bought for my cousin, and i fill it up with little pictures. i put them together from my pinterest boards and then print them out at a print shop. i should buy a printer, but these days i'm short on money. i just use them for personal use, so i don't reference them, but maybe i should if i take pictures of my pages and post them here? i'm not sure.
anyway, this was my neverending rambling about my journaling system. if you have questions or comments please fire away. i'll likely make a post about what months are what color to me and show you some other spreads from other months that i liked soon.
serious question: how do you stay motivated to maintain habits or stay organized or keep up with a project or planner or to do list or whatever when it's too fucking hot to think or move and you don't have air conditioning or access to air conditioning unless you're grocery shopping?
a couple of weeks ago, we had a "multi day extreme humidity event" and it was too hot to function beyond drinking as much water as possible and moving as little as possible. when the humidity event ended, it took me a little over a week to get back into the habits I had been tracking, and then we had a "multi day extreme heat and humidity event" that lasted over a week, ended on Friday, and I just... cannot be fucked to even try getting back on track because I know the next extreme weather event is just going to derail any progress and set me back literally months
Gamification is the idea of bringing game mechanics into your daily life - such as completing quests, levelling up a character, and so on.
Why should I care?
Because gamification can be particularly helpful when you want to build a habit. Let's be honest: one of the biggest reasons we stop building habits is because they are boring.
I don't know if this is even more true for all neurodivergent spoonies - but it certainly is true for me.
Feeling that way isn't a weakness - it's just a fact.
A lot of habits genuinely are boring, but necessary for our health and wellbeing.
We can try to habit stack (adding new habits to existing ones), but sometimes it's just not possible.
However - gamifying our habits can help beat the boredom - after all, we're on a quest (and not just trying to remember to change our bed every week).
But, can this work for spoonies? Especially those of us who need to pace - who have varying levels of energy and ability due to our health?
Because traditional gamification has one major flaw for us spoonies: the requirement of creating a streak.
For me, as a neurodivergent spoonie, I have always found that if I break a streak, my brain says I have failed. And then it throws a complete temper tantrum and refuses to try again - because I have "failed."
Life, and those distant streaks, became a lot harder after I developed CRPS. Not only did I have to contend with a brain that tried to avoid any idea of failure like the plague, I now live with ongoing chronic pain and brain fog to match.
Streaks, which were already a pipe dream, became almost impossible to create (and maintain). And if that is true for me, I am sure others may have hit the same wall.
So, I developed an alternative.
The Adventure Journal - you can check it out here .
The Adventure Journal takes gamification and applies it to physical care habits (like eating your veg or brushing your teeth), mental care habits (like getting outside or contacting a friend), and hobbies.
And it removes the idea of streaks completely.
Instead, the journal is designed to be filled in only when you are able. No punishment. No streak breaks.
Just slow and steady progress towards building those habits, as your body and health allow.
But - remember to work within your energy limits—this is about gentle progress, not pressure.
This journal actually started me on the path to creating the Wandering Emporium, and launching my business.
At this point, I've been working on the design and mechanics for over two years, and honestly (although I shouldn't), this is hands down my favourite journal design so far.
If you decide to check it out, I'd love to hear your feedback and any ideas for improvement!
It's taken a lot of work to get to this point (and I'm sure you'll spot some illustrations I've already shared here), and I hope you love it too!
I’m really enjoying Habits by Not Boring Software.
It’s free, with an optional subscription to support development and unlock themes, and it has no tracking of personal information, no streaks, no challenges, and no nags.
Just the world’s most satisfying checkbox with a great design and peaceful music.
There's a lot of talk about the wonders of habit tracking, and even more aesthetic pictures of journal pages that look so satisfyingly full colored and beautiful (honestly, goals), but sometimes it is hard to know where to start, or even why to start.
I've been doing some research in regards to this topic and I have found some interesting youtube videos, links below:
How to habit track in your bullet journal: talks about the pros and the cons of habit tracking, personal experiences, tips and ideas.
Designing aesthetic and minimalistic habit tracker based on Atomic Habits: shows a timelapse of the creation of spreads on a bullet journal meanwhile giving a summary of the steps taken to make said spreads.
Habit tracking, personal goals & toxic self-improvement culture: talks about the benefits and the disadvantages of "logging and quantifying behaviours and tasks".
Gamifying habit tracking + Framework for building habits that stick: talks about how to track habits in a more flexible, game-like way.
These last two videos I have honestly watched very recently, but I found as an interesting alternative/addition to habit tracking. I might consider trying it.
