Julianne, Author at This Second's Obsession

It’s February! How are you doing with your 2021 goals? Have you set any yet? Last year, because I moved at the end of 2019, didn’t have a kitchen until March, and then the pandemic happened, I didn’t set any goals until April/May!

Today I have some book recommendations to help you work on your goals, whether you set them in January or are only just getting around to it.

Designing Your Life: Build a Life That Works for You by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

If you’re reading this thinking ‘but I don’t have any 2021 goals’, or you feel that the goals you’ve set are a bit shallow and won’t have any lasting impact on your life, or (or or or!) the pandemic has put you in a reflective mood, this is the book to you. Based on a class the authors teach at Stanford (and now around the world), the basic premise is to apply various principles of design thinking to your life. I’m actually still partway through, because it’s a workbook that takes some time to complete, but I really recommend it.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

168 Hours and Off the Clock by Laura Vanderkam

I’ve said before that I think Off the Clock is Laura Vanderkam’s best book, as it focuses on how to feel like you have more time for all the things you really love and want to do – and that’s what your goals should be all about! But to get the most out of it, I recommend reading 168 Hours first, as background material, as it goes into a lot more depth on time tracking.

Buy 168 Hours: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)
Buy Off the Clock: Amazon (affiliate link)

Real Artists Have Day Jobs (And Other Awesome Things They Don’t Teach You in School) by Sara Benincasa

This is a really great book to have around to dip in and out of. It’s essentially a collection of pep talks, in the form of short essays on various topics, ranging from the relatively frivolous to deeper reflections on mental health. You could even read one every week for a year – there are 52 essays.

Buy: Amazon (affiliate link)

Unf*ck Your Habitat: You’re Better Than Your Mess by Rachel Hoffman

I’ve only just started this one, but I used to love following the tumblr and getting decluttering, tidying and cleaning inspiration from other fans. And I need some inspiration to keep me going on my slow decluttering journey (the problem with slow decluttering is that it’s slow!)

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning by Tom Vanderbilt (I received a review copy via NetGalley)

This is my most recent non-fiction read – a book about the author’s quest to learn several new skills, while also researching how we learn best. He talks to various experts, teachers and coaches along the way and I got more than a few tips to apply to my own learning. If you’ve set yourself some learning challenges for this year, this is a must-read.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals by Michael Hyatt

Okay, let’s be honest. It’s very unlikely that 2021 is going to be anyone’s Best Year Ever. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t try to make the best of it, even if we’re more focused on surviving than thriving. Despite the title being slightly offputting in current circumstances, this is a really comprehensive guide to goal setting. I especially like the process the author outlines for checking in on your goals and revising them as I don’t think it’s realistic to assume you can and will want to stick to the same goals all year.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

The Artist’s Way: A Course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self by Julia Cameron

If I have one small regret from 2020, it’s not picking this up from my parents’ house during the one day in the summer I got to visit. It changed my life when I first went through it, aged 19, and I’ve revisited it several times since. It’s an amazingly powerful book, though the very strictly atheist amongst us may find it difficult to get through as there are lots of references to God and spirituality. If you are more agnostic, like me, then it is not such a problem as the author’s ideas about God are very vague, and you can interpret them as you wish and apply them to your own belief system.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

Do you have any recommendations for books to help us get through/do our best in 2021?

I always loved the idea of clothes swaps...

But wasn't so keen on the execution of the few I'd been to. Most clothes swaps have some kind of token exchange system, where certain brands are given a higher value than others, and the more high-end the clothes you bring, the more tokens you're given. I hated feeling like my clothes would be judged and worried that I didn't have the type of clothes the organisers wanted. What if I didn't bring any labels they considered acceptable? What if we disagreed about the value of the clothes? There are so many brands in fashion, there's no way that one person can know them all and assign them worth at a glance. I knew from my time volunteering in charity shop that at the end of the day, a nice dress is a nice dress, and a nice dress from a cheap fast fashion brand will sell just as well as a designer one. It seems contradictory to me to run a clothes swap which is meant to be anti-consumerist or at least anti-fast fashion, and yet still subscribe to the idea that some clothes are worth more because of their brand.

The one time I went to a clothes swap with a token system, my worst fears were proven true. I felt really awkward standing there as the organiser sorted through my items and assigned them a value - and she gave one item a way lower value than I thought it should get. I headed for the rails and didn't find one single thing I liked, ending up leaving empty-handed, which would have been okay, if it weren't for the sad fact that I also felt really self-conscious doing that!

Happily, there are plenty of clothes swaps that don't have a token system. Normally, at these events, when you arrive you lay your items out on tables or hang them on rails, then you're free to look around for items you want to take home. They tend to be drop-in - which is great on the one hand, because it makes it easy for people to take part, but on the other, I'd never got to see anyone take any of my items! When I used to volunteer in a charity shop, I absolutely loved it when I saw a customer pick up an item I'd donated. A couple of times we even chatted about the item, sharing its history and future. I always wished this could be part of the clothes swap experience.

Enter Walk In Wardrobe! I first heard about this event on Twitter and as soon as I read the description I knew I had to go. Walk In Wardrobe isn't like any other clothes swap I've ever been to, and here's why:

There's no token system

You can bring as much or as little clothing to swap as you want - the only rule is that you're not allowed to take something unless you've tried it on. So many clothes swaps don't even have space to change, let alone mirrors, but Walk In Wardrobe provided both. I was still a little nervous the first time, not knowing what types of clothes other people would bring - but I needn't have worried at all, there was a wonderful mixture of colours, styles and brands.

It's a fixed time event

Rather than being a drop-in, guests have to arrive together. The event opens with a panel discussion featuring people from the ethical fashion community, before the swapping starts. I absolutely loved the panel discussion at the November 2018 event and it was lovely to relax with a drink before the swapping began. And because everyone was picking out items and trying them on at the same time, I got to see and chat to people who had chosen clothes that I'd brought.

It repeats twice a year

Although I kind of wish it was more often, so that more people could go and I could clear out my wardrobe faster, it's quite nice that it's a recurring event with several months in between. Since my first Walk In Wardrobe, I've been putting items aside ready for this one, and it's given me the time to go through my summer clothes slowly and carefully.

If you need further convincing, here are some photos of the event and the items I picked up: