Hello and welcome! As always, if you’re new and want to check out my previous issues, you can do so here.

Last week, two of my best friends moved out of the DC area. A few days later, one of my roommates left for a two and a half week long trip. And in a few days, my partner will be headed home for a week. So, for the first time in a long time (if ever, tbh), I will be completely alone in my apartment for multiple days, without my usual friend group to rely on.

Now, yes, I’m being dramatic — of course I have so many friends still in the area, I have started going back into the workplace, and I have plenty of opportunities to connect with people throughout my week.

But…I have never been one to handles being alone well. Since middle school, I’ve always overpacked my schedules and overcommitted my time (something I briefly discussed in my second newsletter) so that I wouldn’t have to be alone. I will save the theorizing as to why for my next therapy session, and focus on how I am going to try embracing alone time in the week ahead.

My problem when I am faced with alone time is that I lean a little too hard into guilty pleasures (read: spending hours listening to musicals and playing The Sims). This week, it’s all about balancing being an adult, enjoying the quiet, and trying not to overcommit myself.

Talk soon,

Emily

The Recipe Breakdown

Lemon: Alone time. Plain and simple, I don’t handle alone time well. But I’m hoping my self-awareness helps me lean into my ingredients for help so I can make it through the week without any breakdowns.

Ingredient #1: Time blocking. Usually associated as a “productivity hack,” time blocking has been very useful for me to balance my need for pseudo-productivity and making sure I’m taking care of myself. This week, I’m blocking off my days into two hour chunks, categorized as either: Work, Sleep, Goals, Care, and Maintenance.

Ingredient #2: Maintaining routine. I find it way too easy to slip into vacation mode when home alone, so I’m going to be trying my best to wake up at a reasonable time, not order pizza every night, and actually like, do laundry. This is, of course, going to work together pretty closely with my time blocking to make sure I’m giving myself time to rest but also getting my daily chores done.

Ingredient #3: Habit and mood tracking. So, although I try to habit track every day, I’m going to expand my normal tracking to include maintenance habits (eating vegetables, taking meds, showering) to make sure that none of the important things fall off my radar while alone. And if they do, I’ll be tracking my mood to hopefully notice the effects of falling off any routines.

Want to talk about your own lemons, ingredients, or lemonade recipes? Feel free to reply to this email!

🍋 Lemon Zest 🍋

The Little Things that help make my days a little brighter 💕

🎵 I listen to nighttime meditations from Headspace and Hallow almost every night, but sometimes it wakes my partner up. I think this combination eye mask and headphone contraption would be the perf solution.

📝 I had this Bipolar Mood Journal printed out for me to mood track this week (and I love how cute it is).

🕯️ As I build out my time this week, I’m keeping this list of daily mindful rituals from Om and the City in mind.

💸 Finally bought my own bottle of Mike’s Hot Honey, which is a great addition to any cheese board or latte — even if you’re a midwest baby like me when it comes to spiciness.

💭 Thinking a lot about this article and all the productivity hacks I have fallen into (or wanted to try).

☕ Thank you to Emily and Ana for buying me coffee! If you’d like to support my work and Making Lemonade, consider buying me a coffee or sending a few dollars my way via Venmo: @emmyfromminny! ☕