Hey, hey Wednesday!
It’s always a little mix around here.
So far this week, we’ve had Trader Joe’s stuff, a big birthday, some recipes, and now, it’s the 2026 EDITION OF 10 THINGS I’M LETTING GO.
A little over a year ago, I shared 10 THINGS I’M LETTING GO, and so today, I thought I’d share ten more.
I don’t know about you, but I’m often taking inventory of my life and there are always just a few things I need to let go.
Some of them big, some of them silly, some of them stupid, some of them substantial…all of them not serving me right this minute.
I’m going to share my little list, and then I hope you share yours too!
Sound like a plan?
In no particular order, here are 10 things I’m currently letting go of right now…
1: MY TO DO LIST
Wait for it.
Wait.
For.
It.
You guys, I gave up my little “to do list” notepad that has sat on the corner of my desk for YEARS (at least 15!).
After reading SLOW PRODUCTIVITY, I decided to stop writing out my lengthy to do list each day. I took his method of only working on three “projects” at a time and have been doing that instead. I have a “task list” (per his book) where I keep a list of tasks that could bump up to a “project” when I have completed one and that’s that. Now, in my physical planner each day, I write out the three projects I’m working on and focus on those instead of making one big long list each day which…honestly contained a lot of “things” that really didn’t need to be on there. Many of the things I do automatically (so why were they on my list?) and many of them were just time sucks that were interrupting my day simply because I was putting them on my list. I am a work in progress here, but right now, today…this new system is making me SO MUCH MORE EFFICIENT. I used to think that I was the kind of person who enjoyed marking things off her list, but I actually think my list was making me a person who just continued to do, do, do so much simply because it was on her list. Only focusing on three projects at a time has freed up my brain space in ways I didn’t know I needed.
2: NOISE IN MY CAR
The older I get, the more quiet I want in my car. Of course, when I have my kids in the car, I pounce on that opportunity to chat with them…but when I’m driving around by myself (which is most of the time), I want quiet. I will listen (softly) to the sports radio station I love or a podcast or an audiobook or a station like Siriusly Sinatra…but I don’t want a lot of chatter and noise. I don’t want anything loud. I want peaceful as I drive. I want to decompress.
3: WORKING OVER THE WEEKEND
I don’t know if this is all small business owners or just me, but I often feel drawn to my desk even on the weekends. I will wake up early on Saturdays and Sundays just to give myself time to work before the family is up. There are a lot of ways I justify this but the truth is, I need to allow myself days off. My brain needs time away from my desk. I need to have faith and confidence that things won’t fall apart just because I’m not sitting there. I’m {trying} really hard to set better working boundaries so that I can sleep in and enjoy my weekend mornings instead of getting up early and going straight back up to my office.
4: BEING A HOSTAGE IN A GROUP TEXT
Hi, my name is Shay, and this year, I’ve decided to stop being a hostage in group texts. I am muting and removing myself left and right. I just reached my limit of being in these group texts and have decided that enough is enough. I don’t want or need the constant interruption of people chatting via a group text and then “hearting” or “laughing” at responses all.day.long. I’m muting or if I can, exiting them.
5: APPOINTMENTS ON MONDAY
Another very valuable lesson I took away from SLOW PRODUCTIVITY was, for me, not scheduling any appointments on Mondays. I find my whole week is set up for success if I have that one uninterrupted work day. Now, when I’m scheduling any appointments (whether work or personal), I try my hardest not to do it on a Monday. I really, really think it’s helped me so much get ahead of my week and not behind.
6: SNACKING
I used to love an afternoon snack. Or a little snack in the carpool line. Or a snack at my desk. Now, I’m really focused on eating enough at my actual meals that I am not hungry a few hours later for a snack. Part of me was snacking out of hunger but a big part was snacking out of habit. Either way, if my lunch is sufficient, I shouldn’t be hungry again until dinner. I am eating more at lunch to ensure I’m set for the rest of the day.
7: AUDIO BOOKS DON’T “COUNT”
Don’t get mad at me, but I used to be one of those people who thought “audio books don’t count”. Are they reading? No. Is it still great storytelling? Yes. I was always personally avoidant of audiobooks because I adore sitting down and opening a book, but now, I see that there is space in my life for BOTH. I still enjoy my daily reading time, but now, I can get an extra book in by listening to one while I empty the dishwasher or drive to the grocery store or lift weights. I have absolutely loved adding these into my days.
8: BEING MY OLDER KIDS’ CALENDAR KEEPERS
This year, I decided not to be on top of my older two kids’ calendars. Their employers, teachers, coaches and booster club parents, etc. send out so many messages about where to be and when and I could get lost in the weeds of those details when it finally hit me one day that my kids can probably do that on their own. And they have.
When they were younger, I knew I needed to be on top of these things because I was their ride and they were not responsible enough, etc. Then last year, I found myself doing it because I didn’t want them to forget/to miss/to not show up and “get in trouble”. But then it hit me one day…if the coach tells my kid to be somewhere and my kid doesn’t show up, they’re going to be held accountable and that’s a good lesson for them. And it probably won’t happen again. How are they going to learn to be organized, on time, scheduled adults if I’m over here micromanaging things? So, I told them they needed to really start paying attention because I was going to stop reminding them to be at SAT tutoring and thus far, it’s been really really good for them AND it’s been so freeing for me too.
9: DIRTY HAIR
In my old age, I have found the secret to life…it’s just easier to wash your hair.
I used to do anything and everything to circumvent washing my hair. I would use dry shampoos and not get sweaty on certain days and style it to cover up dirty hair or whatever…but you know what’s actually easier than all of that? Just washing it. I have a ton of hair, and if I blow dry it, it takes a while, but goodness, it’s just easier than all of that scheduling/maneuvering/fussing I did to maintain dirty hair. At the end of the day, I was either maintaining dirty hair or clean hair…but they’re both maintenance.
10: OTHER PEOPLES’ HOBBIES
I have decided to let go of other peoples’ hobbies. Would I probably enjoy playing pickleball or mahjong or knitting with friends/neighbors/groups in my area? Yes. Do I have time in this season of life? No. I have to let their hobbies go and focus on what’s on my plate.
And those are 10 things I’m letting go of right now.
Okaaaaaaaaay…I would love to hear the things that YOU are letting go of this year! Please, please, please comment and share! If you missed last year’s list, you can catch it HERE.
Before you leave today, this is the perfect time of year to re-share the MOST POPULAR BLOG POST OF 2025. Make sure you catch that today too!
I can’t wait to read the comment section today! I’ll see you tomorrow. 😉
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