The Goldilocks Rule…or Just Go Outside
Weekly Reads v. 9.3.2026
How do you stay motivated this time of year? Winter hasn’t really left us, and Spring hasn’t yet sprung. The holidays were ages ago, and the lazy days of summer are still such a long way off. Each day feels a bit like a marathon, to be honest. Add insult to injury in the form of this trippy thing we call Daylight Savings, and I struggle to summon the will to power through an ordinary Tuesday afternoon.
This lack of motivation even tarnished my weekly letter to you (so you know I was in a bad way). I couldn’t write to you with just a question couched in my deflated no-good attitude, so I turned to an expert on how to stay motivated when all seems blah.
James Clear has penned some pretty insightful essays, and I was pleased to see he’d written about my exact predicament. (!) In fact, he’d christened the steps to emerge from my deflated no good attitude with a name – The Goldilocks Rule. Perfect. At the start of this weekend, I had planned to read his essay, interpret a life lesson based upon the resilience of comedian Steve Martin, and rid myself of this mediocre state of being. Only, I must confess, I couldn’t get through it. I suppose I was too far gone on the Not Motivated scale to finish reading a how-to guide on Getting Motivated.
How would I write to you if I couldn’t even muster up the motivation to finish reading a short essay?
Nevermind the fact that any and all deadlines related to this Substack are self imposed, and I have a pretty strong feeling you’re the gracious type who would forgive a week’s absence. But still. I was determined to climb out of the mundane and unmotivated pit I found myself in. I decided I’d skip finishing the essay, transform this note to you into a “weekly read,” and go outside. For the entire day.
And so my husband and I set off. We walked, took the train, and walked some more with a national landmark as our destination. As we made our way down Independence Boulevard, we noticed signs for a Basquiat x Banksy exhibit at the Hirshhorn Museum. That would be our first detour and the place where I’d feel my sense of blah begin to wane.
I took some pictures, if you’re interested in seeing them.
While I don’t have a cleverly named theory on how I slowly dialed up my motivation level, I can say getting outside helped. Immersing myself in work someone else spent ages completing also really helped. It’s all just one step after another. (And buying fresh flowers sometimes helps!)
Look, I get the fact that this article comes from Hello! Magazine might make some people roll their eyes and scroll on. But. I kinda think the writer has something here, because I sure as heck do not feel amazing after a long day of standing at my desk – I feel like I’m back in retail with aching joints and an aching back. So, are standing desks ruining our legs?
Jackson, WY has a new hostel. It’s gorgeous, that’s for sure, but it’s a hostel. Would you stay here?
During Gucci’s latest runway show, a model checked his phone in the middle of the catwalk. I’m pretty sure this was part of the show, but it does show how disruptive our phones are.
Is this true? The “founder of Instagram hasn’t posted in 8 years.”
This new bathhouse in Paris is covered in tile and is absolutely gorgeous.
Broccoli is the new performance enhancer. A compound found in broccoli has been shown to do all sorts of magical things in your body to allow you to push yourself a bit harder and not feel so much of the burn later. Bonus points, athletes don’t fail drug tests while on broccoli.
Target is offering parents a new boutique experience with curated offerings. It seems curation is the buzzword over the Target, what with their shiny new (curated!) Soho store.
A luxury new hotel located at the corner of Wilshire Blvd. and Santa Monica Blvd. promises to be the Dubai of Los Angeles. (h/t to cozy girls.)
Norwegian airports rolled out “coat hotels” so you don’t have to carry your bulky coat to your beach vacation.
Pretty pale blue earrings for Spring from Vivian Drew.
Love, love, absolutely love this house described as a “playful Hamptons home inspired by Strawberry fabric.”
I mean, this Navage Nose Cleaner is kinda gross in theory, but also allergy season is the worst.
It’s Monday. You have no idea what time it is or why it is dark/light/that time right now, but summer is on its way so we press on! Here’s to a marvelous week.