Greetings from my last week of writing my book before my July 1 delivery date!
I can’t believe it. It’s all coming together! Like clues in an escape room: I’ve had moments of being completely stuck, then an aha! unlocks a door only to then find myself in another little room with its own puzzles.
Good thing I love escape rooms.
One of my personal goals was not to “pause my whole life” until July 1, but to integrate the writing process alongside my real life.
I’d give myself a C. 😆
I can tell that the book is taking up a lot of mental real estate, and I have chosen to decline a few social invitations I would normally say yes to. But! I have also “played the hits” when it comes to the most impactful minimum viable habits (mvh's) that make me feel well-rounded and my four kids have a fantastic way of pulling me back into real life. 😆
Self-trust is a foundation habit that is helping me stay grounded. I have now proven to myself I can ebb and flow with seasons without completely backsliding. So I’m choosing not to panic about the idea of shorter workouts and a little less social time til july 2.
As I say often (and will be including in the book), “She’ll be back.”
It would be very easy for me in a giant project like this to focus on negative self-talk. (Believe me, plenty is trying to sneak in at all times.) But one thing that has helped is my now 2.5-year daily-ish practice of “three things”.
Here’s the context.
Your brain is a negativity machine. It was built that way to keep your caveman self alive. The problem is: in 2026, it doesn't know the difference between a saber-toothed tiger and being left on "read". It just flags DANGER.
We're deep in the mindset tier now. Same format: micro-habit, science, mindset script, journal prompt. Let's go.
YOUR QUICK WIN THIS WEEK
Write down three specific good things that happened. However small.
"This coffee is perfect." "I got outside for ten minutes." "My kid said something that made me laugh out loud."
Three things. Once a day. Some strategic times might be:
With our morning coffee while it's still hot.
Right before you open your laptop for a work block.
In the car before you walk back into the house at the end of the day.
Pre-bed.
Whatever makes sense for you.
WHY IT ACTUALLY MATTERS
The brain registers negative experiences instantly... but requires about 12 seconds of conscious attention to absorb a positive one into long-term memory. That's the negativity bias in action, and it means good things happen to you all day that your brain quietly files under "irrelevant." (which is so sad!)
This practice, studied extensively by psychologist Martin Seligman, counteracts that asymmetry.
Two weeks of consistent three-good-things journaling show measurable increases in happiness and measurable decreases in depressive symptoms. It’s the same life; you just start to actually “see” the whole picture.
YOUR MINDSET SCRIPT
“I’m training my brain to absorb the good into long-term memory.”
Read this if the practice feels cheesy. It’s not. It’s SCIENCE.
BONUS: JOURNAL PROMPT
When do you tend to notice beauty or goodness most naturally... and when does it feel hardest to find? What's happening in your life during those two seasons? What does that tell you?
That's your Monday experiment: report back!
xoxo,
Katie Day, your habit hype girl
(write back soon)
The sweetest gift from my delusional ally, Elsie Larson. I light it when I write.
Caught on Kelsey cam doing my morning pages a year ago. I love that I had a daily writing habit before I had a book deal. It has made the process feel much more organic. (still challenging, of course!)
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"Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity."
Simone Weil
(ps this quote just knocked me out. so freaking good.)
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.)