Summer is rolling along, and I can’t believe I’m writing my July 2024 roundup already. I hope you’ve had a chance to enjoy some downtime while the good weather is with us. 

In addition to my goals update, my July 2024 roundup has insightful posts on savouring every moment, life lessons from the Sunday funnies, and the new deinfluencing trend.

Happy reading!

Cool things I read in July

Since publishing my first monthly roundup at the end of 2020, it has been an honour to introduce you to some of my favourite bloggers. I started the roundup to say thank you to the blogging community and bring attention to talented writers who create inspiring and informative content.

Here are three pieces that caught my eye last month.

A Piece of Advice – Surprised by Joy

I think every parent recalls the advice to enjoy our kids because they grow up way too fast. In this thoughtful post, Wynne reflects on “Enjoy this time, it goes so fast.” and how applies to other areas of our lives.

Enjoy this time, it goes so fast tells me to savor what I have.

A Piece of Advice – Wynne Leon, Surprised by Joy

Life lessons from Peanuts, Calvin & Hobbes and company – The Heart of the Matter

People “of a certain age” will undoubtedly remember reading the Sunday (or Saturday in my case) funnies. In this great post, Brian shares life lessons from these beloved characters.

Along the way, the funny thing is that I ended up learning much about life from the comic strips.

Life lessons from Peanuts, Calvin & Hobbes and company – Brian, The Heart of the Matter

Deinfluencing and Underconsumption:  Learning from Our New Favorite Trends – Hello Brownlow

I’ve written before about how rejecting the lure of influencers can simplify our lives and improve our finances, but this brilliant post from Amanda is a must-read.

Deinfluencing has allowed myself and so many other social media users to take pause and realize that they don’t need a new-and-fancy thing just because someone on the Internet told them it was awesome.

Deinfluencing and Underconsumption: Learning from Our New Favorite Trends, Amanda Brownlow

What I wrote in July

In case you missed any of them, here are the new posts I published in July here on Boomer Eco Crusader.

• Small steps that make a big difference
• The Sunday Spark – Celebrating milestones
• 60 valuable life lessons I’ve learned in 60 years
• 5 years of blogging and still loving it
• The Sunday Spark – Enough of the crazy summer weather!
• Final update on my 60 before 60 list
• The Sunday Spark – Hop on the party bus!
• Paperback Book Day – Time for a reading update

And here are the posts I wrote in July for Wise & Shine.

• How sustainable living makes life better
• Fostering intergenerational cooperation
• Beyond self-actualization to self-transcendence

Plus, as I revisit my 52-Weeks of Decluttering Challenge, I refreshed and republished these posts.

• Week 27 – Night table drawers
• Week 28 – Closet organizing & decluttering
• Week 29 – Pantry

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July goals – How did I do?

July was my first month of retirement, so it was a month of new beginnings and establishing a new post-career routine. We also were on vacation for a little over a week, so that had an impact on my goals. Let’s look at how things went.

Fitness

Because of our planned vacation, I switched things up a bit on the fitness front in July. My goal was to either work out or walk at least 30 minutes every day. I managed to do this on 25 of the 31 days.

Reading

I exceeded my goal of reading 4 books. Here’s what I read this month:

• The Stranger Inside by Lisa Unger
• The Perfect Girl by Gilly MacMillan
• The It Girl by Ruth Ware
• Lessons Learned in Retirement by Mariella Hoy
• The Maid by Nita Prose

Reinvention/Second Life

Heading into my first month of retirement, I set a couple of goals related to my new life.

• Establish a new morning routine. I made decent progress on this one, although I observed my new routine isn’t that much different than my old one. I’m sure it will continue to evolve over time.
• Plan my Second Life Vision website. I didn’t even get started on this one, which is okay because I told myself I’d prioritize downtime over the summer before diving into my retirement coaching plans.

Decluttering

Again, I exceeded my goal of decluttering 50 items, with a total of 58 items removed.

Personal development

I completed the first draft of my presentation on age-friendly workplaces for the conference I’m attending in September.

My August goals

I’ll be in Ireland for more than half of the month with my mum and sister, so once again my monthly goals are light.

• Fitness goals: My goal is to either work out or walk at every day in August.
• Reading: Read 5 books.
• Decluttering: Declutter 50 items.
• Personal development: Finalize and submit my presentation on Age-friendly Workplaces.

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Thanks for dropping by to check out my July 2024 roundup. How is your summer going? Drop me a comment below to let me know.