I've got a cute lil free printable for you below, but FIRST. An ANECDOTE!
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Wait, you drive your golf cart into the cave? Then through a waterfall? Then around a cliff? We finally did it! A personal fall leaf bucket list item i couldn't ever quite get serious enough about to pull off before the leaves died (again!) every year. Top of the Rock. It's so close to home, but it feels like a true vacation destination.
The quest: You drive your own golf cart along a 2.5-mile winding trail. Along the way you pass through covered bridges, dramatic rock formations, and waterfalls. (There are nine waterfalls on the trail alone.) Then you drive right into a cave, where there's a four-story waterfall and a bar built right into the rock called the Bat Bar. And you get views of Table Rock Lake on top of all that.
It's a perfect example of novelty, something I've been thinking about all month. Routines are wonderful, until you start craving something new.
You know I love a routine. It takes away decisions and makes the good stuff automatic. But the downside is that when every day looks the same, you start to feel restless. A little flat. And most of us just wait for the next vacation to fix that feeling.
You don't have to wait. You also don't have to blow up your routine. You can schedule novelty in, in small doses, close to home.
This is the whole idea behind the artist's date from The Artist's Way: a weekly solo outing just to fill yourself back up. (Here's the time I took myself on one and was convinced I'd get arrested for sketching on a parking garage. 😆 And here's what I learned from all 12 weeks.)
The irony: when you finally get a free moment to play, your tired brain often can't think of anything that sounds good. When your mind is already full, coming up with ideas feels like one more job. So you default to the same thing you always do.
So I made you a list. You don't have to think of ideas when you're already running on empty. You just pick one. And even if nothing on it is quite right, it might spark something that is.
Enter: the very unofficial November Novelty Challenge.
The Novelty Checklist has 100 ideas to help you start seeing the novelty that's already at your fingertips. They're sorted by quick or takes time, and free or costs money, so there's something for every kind of day. Most ideas are something you can do on the spot.
Anyone can join me in this very unofficial challenge. Check off as many as you want this month. There's no wrong way to do it. Once a day, once a week, as many as you can in one weekend.
The science-y part
Why your brain loves something new
Variety is linked to happiness. Researchers tracked the location and mood of more than 100 people in New York City and Miami for several months, and the people with more new and varied experiences each day were in a better mood. (Read more)
Distance doesn't matter. In that same study, what mattered most was going to a variety of places, not how far people traveled that day. (Read more)
It works both ways. Exploring seemed to make people happier, and happier people explored more. (Read more)
New places help you remember. People who visited a new environment remembered a list of words better afterward, especially teens and young adults. The researcher's explanation is that a new environment boosts dopamine in the part of your brain tied to learning. (Read more)
This week's habit hack: Mandatory novelty
Put novelty on the calendar like anything else that matters. A little every day, a bigger one every week, whatever fits your life. There's no wrong way. Pick from the checklist, or create your own. Once a day, once a week, as many as you can binge in one weekend, but do go ahead and schedule it in as if its mandatory. You have official permission to play from your habit hype girl. 🫡
And then hit reply and tell me what you checked off. I want to hear about it! I'll be posting mine on instagram and I'll be sure to do a roundup here as well.
Mindset script
"I don't have to wait for a vacation to feel something new. There's novelty right here if I look for it."
Bonus journal prompt
What's a place near you that other people travel to see? Which item on the checklist feels most exciting?
xoxo, Katie Day, your habit hype girl (write back soon)
A view others would fly for, just a few minutes away. How many enjoyable things are right at our fingertips if only we'd schedule them in advance!
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"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things."
After hitting rock bottom, I've embarked on a radical journey. For one year, I'm taking a break from all cynicsm and trying out some crazy self-improvement experiments (so you don't have to.)