And just like that it’s April. Turning the page on the calendar brings hopes of spring, even though it hasn’t felt much like spring here in Ontario in recent weeks. My March 2023 roundup has a progress report on my monthly goals, along with five posts from some wonderful bloggers.

Read on for posts on one-backpack travel, perfectionism, the problem with hyper-culture, and the dramatic triangle. Plus, a special treat this month—a climate-change related short story by one of our Climate Change Collective members.

Cool things I read in March

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 funny, inspiring, and informative content.

Here are five pieces that caught my eye in March.

My family’s experiment with one backpack travel – Lovely Lucid Life

Those who know me already know I pride myself on packing light, but I’ve never tried going away for a week with just a backpack. In this post, Lovely Lucid Life shares her family of four’s experience travelling with just one backpack each. It has inspired me!

There was a positive domino effect to each of us only bringing one backpack that started from the minute we walked out our front door and continued well beyond returning.

My family’s experiment with one backpack travel – Lovely Lucid Life

The harm of perfectionism and how to overcome it – Unwanted Life

Perfection is often seen as a goal to strive for. In this post from Unwanted Life, learn how perfectionism can damage our mental health. Plus, you’ll find tips on how to overcome the need to be perfect at all costs.

Having high standards is one thing, but being completely inflexible about them is something else. This form of perfectionism can set you up to fail.

The harm of perfectionism and how to overcome it – Unwanted Life

Caused by Climate Change – A short story by Jamie Ad Stories

For the first time, I’m sharing a piece of fiction here. Jamie and I started the Climate Change Collective a few months ago, and I was delighted to see he’s writing a series of short stories to raise awareness of this important issue. This first story in the series will give you something to think about.

“Nobody saw this coming,” he said in what Charlie recognised as a very local Fenland accent.

“Yes they bloody did!” he said, grimacing at the screen as if the farmer were stood right there in their living room.

Caused by Climate Change – A short story by Jamie Ad Stories

Opting out of a hyper-culture – Rich In What Matters

We live in a world that constantly screams “More! More! More!” This post is a thoughtful look at the impact of all that hyperliving and provides simple ways to slow down and really live.

We’ve become a society addicted to busyness. To a frenetic pace. To a surface-level life. To hyperliving.

Opting out of a hyper-culture – Rich In What Matters

The dramatic triangle and the role we all play in it – Wise and Shine

In this informative post, Cristiana looks at the causes of conflict in our personal relationships and provides suggestions on how to recognize and overcome our roles in these conflicts.

Most conflicts in our personal and professional relationships arise because we have adopted a role of persecutor, rescuer, or victim.

The dramatic triangle and the role we all play in it – Wise and Shine

What I wrote in March

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

• 6 ways to reduce the environmental cost of experiences (A Climate Change Collective post)
• The Sunday Spark – Why haven’t we stamped out Ageism?
• Sustainable swaps that weren’t easy for me
• The Sunday Spark – The great Daylight Savings Time debate
• The Sunday Spark – Will you choose Teflon or Velcro?
• Residential solar panels – How much could you save? (A Climate Change Collective post)
• The Sunday Spark – Making the best of winter travel woes

In addition to my new posts, I refreshed and republished this older post:

• Life lessons we can learn from ducks

March goals – How did I do?

After a bit of a slow February, I saw great results on my March goals. Here’s how I did on my six goals for the month.

Fitness goals

In addition to working out 150 minutes a week, I continued my plank challenge in March, and I also set a goal of 15 outdoor walks.

I exceeded my 150 minute goal every week this month, averaging 182 minutes in the four full weeks of March. Interestingly, that was my average for February too. Consistency is key!

As for the plank challenge, I increased my endurance to 60 seconds but then I had to give up the challenge because it was aggravating the arthritis in my shoulder. I’m still proud that I increased from 25 seconds to 60 seconds over two months. Time to find a new challenge.

A little bit of milder weather gave me the opportunity to get outdoors more. I exceeded my goal with 17 outdoor walks.

Cut the candy

I’m working hard to tackle my sugar habit, so I decided to give up chocolate and candy for Lent, meaning I could only indulge on Sundays. It was actually easier than I thought.

Read 3 books

I’m enjoying getting into the habit of reading again. I exceeded this goal, reading three books and I discovered a new author.

• Hello Darkness by Sandra Brown
• Blind Tiger by Sandra Brown
• Spare by Prince Harry

Morning journalling and reflection

Writing in my journal has become part of my morning routine. I wrote every day in May. I also got some scripture verse cards, and a set of angel cards thanks to this post from Wynne Leon at The Heart Of The Matter. Those cards give me something to ponder as part of my morning routine.

Declutter 3 areas of my home

I got back on track in March, decluttering the front-hall closet, the basement closet and my bedroom closet. (Seems like it was closet month!) In total, I only cleared out 8 items which was a reminder that I’ve already come a long way with decluttering.

Sing every day

I’ve been doing well with practising my singing and learning my new songs. I managed to sing 25 out of 31 days in March.

My April goals

All-in-all, March was a pretty good month and I think I’ve made great progress on my goals so far this year. Here are my goals for April.

• Fitness: With 150 minutes a week well in hand, I’m turning my fitness goals in a different direction. Spring is here so I’m setting a goal of 10,000 steps a day, and 20 outdoor walks in the month.  
• Cut the candy: Lent will be over later this week. I’ll allow myself to indulge over Easter but, after that, I’m going to try to limit candy and chocolate to once a day.
• Reading: Again, I’m going to set a goal of three books for the month.
• Learning: I feel like I’ve been neglecting my learning so I’m setting a goal of eight hours of learning in April.
• Blogging: I like to schedule two to three weeks of blog posts in advance to give me some flexibility when life gets hectic. I’ve fallen behind on this in 2023, so my goal for April is to get back to being three weeks ahead.
• Music: I’ll look to keep up the momentum from March by practising my songs every day.

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Thanks for dropping by to check out my monthly roundup.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of the posts I’ve shared. Tell me what you think below.