I can’t do my usual workout routine this morning since I am not feeling well—even securing a record-breaking 11% recovery score in my app. I am frantically trying to keep myself busy or else I will lose my marbles. ADHD is very unkind, as this feels similar to physical pain. The best way I could begin to describe it is that I want to unzip my skin and step away from my body from the sheer discomfort of existing in it.

So far, I’ve worked on the Wiggle Work site, updated our wiki, and organized my upcoming priorities for the group. A couple of upcoming events I’m most excited about are a new channel called deep-dive where we will focus on a single topic for an entire month, and our annual winter writing challenge.

For work, I’ve been plugging away at new YupGup messaging and a new site. We’ve shifted our focus and audience substantially, yet this is not really reflected in our language. Realistically, I believe I can complete these foundational brand messages this weekend.

I’ll also head to the library to place some book holds and write a couple of cards to Ben’s school. His new school has been life changing for him and the family. He is getting straight As in math and has joined a leadership team. I can’t begin to express how grateful I am to them, but I want to try.

Finally, I have baking to do. This list should keep the boredom monster away, for now.

After going through all the emotions several times over the past couple of weeks, I’m left feeling mostly angry and motivated.

The nefarious role that social media played in the election is undeniable. Thousands of people surround us, yet social media feels isolating and dangerous, as hate-filled opinions are amplified—these platforms are not uniting people. I’ve been pulling away from most of them for years as a result, with Mastodon being one of the few exceptions. So for the past decade, I’ve further established my working and personal life online, yet there are seemingly fewer and fewer safe, genuine spaces to connect with others.

Well-organized, thoughtful, and intentional communities are consistently the exception here and the only thing that enables a healthy remote work lifestyle for me—something precious that provides hope in a time that can easily feel doomed. What the internet we originally fell in love with mostly felt like. You get to interact with people in a small, more intimate setting, connecting with real individuals that you get to know more each day through small quirky insights. You hear about their families, their hobbies, compare what everyone had for lunch. You get to know people beyond their highlight reel—that’s what builds genuine, lasting relationships. That’s what reinforces you are talking to humans and not just avatars.

While I am no stranger to retreating from the world in terrible times, I’m set on doing exactly the opposite this time. I want to fight for what is right and necessary. I’ve mapped out my remaining Wiggle Work priorities for the year and already have some 2025 events I’m looking forward to. I’ve also joined a lovely space for community builders called The Hive, where I’m eager to meet folks doing similar work and learn as much from them as possible. And finally, I am looking to move offline a bit as well and reached out to the incoming Delaware governor, Matt Meyer, about volunteer opportunities.

I am really looking forward to being all-in on a few crucial spaces and bringing others along on the journey.

I’ve truly perfected my smoothie recipe. These usually act as a lunch for me and I load them up with fruits, veggies, seeds, nuts, and protein and supplement powders—it’s a lot. Part of making these sustainable is Sunday prep as cooking potatoes, cutting up beets, and refilling frozen bags. Using as many frozen ingredients as possible helps ensure I don’t have a bunch of food going to waste and gives it a cold, thick texture without using bland ice.

I’ve chosen these ingredients based on what won’t anger my stomach, suggestions from a book called “The Hormone Fix”, some insights I gathered from a podcast about fiber, and just general knowledge of healthy fats. I don’t measure most of these ingredients, but the taste and texture manages to be pretty consistent each time.

Here’s the super list:

• Cooked sweet potato chunks
• 1/2 fresh avocado
• Frozen butternut squash
• Frozen, cooked beet chunks
• Frozen spinach/kale
• Frozen berry mix
• Frozen okra chunks
• Almond milk and water
• Splash of pure cranberry juice
• 1 tbs ground chia seeds
• 1 tbs ground flax seeds
• 3 tbs chocho protein powder
• 1/2 tsp acacia fiber powder
• 1 tsp matcha powder

I desperately need to come up with an off-day morning routine. I absolutely live for routines. Most days, I get up early and start preparing to go to the gym. There’s a lot of comfort in knowing exactly what I’ll be doing and when. I also really look forward to getting out of the house. This isn’t always realistic, though, and I’m struggling on days where this isn’t possible.

Some mornings require family related appointments. Sometimes I need a proper rest day. I’ve tried becoming obsessed with work on these mornings instead, but without getting out of the house to do so, it just doesn’t feel the same—something is missing and I feel unsettled. I like the idea of grabbing coffee and going to the library, except they open way too late. Maybe I need to settle for school drop off and then a cafe. Maybe I need to find an early morning gentle yoga class. Maybe I need to join a walking club. Maybe I need to write a book.

In the meantime, I’m just here at home climbing the walls, anxiously anticipating the mundane, predictable, safe routine that most Mondays bring.

Yesterday I posted a Marvelous Monday discussion prompt theme in the Wiggle Work community Discord, and it was more impactful than I expected. The questions were:

• What thing are you doing today that should set you up for a marvelous week to come?
• What are you looking forward to most today?
• What’s a small gesture you’ve made or action you’ve taken recently that seemingly made someone’s day better?

These questions helped me think about the week to come in a different light. Like how the week goes is something I can directly craft over something that will happen to me—there’s strength within this mindset over the powerlessness of the other. It felt great and energizing to process these questions and produce an action-oriented game plan to manifest what I’m determined to be a marvelous week.

As always, it was great reading through everyone else’s responses as well. Someone shared that they helped a stranger pick up dropped cards on the sidewalk—what a lovely exchange to think about instead of all the hostile, political fueled interactions we exclusively read about.

It was all-around a positive exercise with positive imagery and I like the idea of doing this theme more regularly.

I saw a LinkedIn post recently that celebrated not having goals. I can possibly understand this perspective, but for me, it sounds like a nightmare filled with aimless chaos—so, my summer in many ways. 

I lost sight of my professional goals these past couple of years because of my surgeries and I spent the summer spiraling over it. Due to the emergency and prolonged nature of it all, I lost touch with most of my work contacts. I’ve been struggling to recover from the impact of this ever since. My schedule and future seem less clear and I’ve been thinking a lot about the fragile nature of the work environment I’ve created over these past seven years as an independent brand and marketing designer. 

Further, once my mind gets warmed up about a topic, wandering becomes boundless and I’ve also been trying to figure out which aspects of this career I like and which I really don’t. It’s time for a BIG change, and to feel calm and grounded about this so that I make the right moves, I need formally established goals. I know that without these goals I’m going to keep treading water and and am ready and excited to move forward and not look back. 

We have a goal-sharing call at Wiggle Work tomorrow and it’s motivated me to thoroughly spell out my intentions and my roadmap to get there. I can’t wait to share these and get a glimpse into what others are working on—there’s still time to join us!

I had a project unexpectedly fall through for August, and it had me a bit rattled. I’ve been thinking about what to do for a few days now and realize I’m struggling because I feel fairly flexible in regards to what happens next—which is not a situation I’ve found myself in for many years. 

For the past decade, I’ve been focused on branding, design, and marketing in the tech space. Before that, I worked in nonprofit administration, managing programs and writing grants for at-risk youth initiatives. I’ve enjoyed all of this work, and the path here has been surprisingly cohesive, with writing, project management, communication, and strategy being at the forefront of it all. Still, I find myself often missing mission-driven work, creating an inner conflict where I have to ultimately choose between these two worlds, firmly settling into a single direction. This feels impossible, though, since realizing I do not have strong convictions about job titles or roles at all. 

I really just miss working with great people on great projects, with bonus points around supporting a mission grounded in environmental or social justice. I can do this within a number of roles, including as an employee or contractor. And while I still prefer a remote setup, I also now see the appeal of a hybrid setup when necessary. 

There is a part of this that could potentially look like a career crisis of some kind, but I’m slowly realizing it’s actually just hard-earned insight into what does and doesn’t matter and the true value I bring to projects and the values I admire most in others. So, I don’t actually know what I’m going to do about losing this project, but I somehow now feel excited about the unrestricted possibilities.

I spent years searching for a protein bar that didn’t have fillers and too much added sugar. I ended up having to make my own and wanted to properly document this. Since it certainly doesn’t fit on my allergy-free food blog, I’ll add it here.

Ingredients:

• 1 jar almond butter (no palm oil added)
• 125 grams (half bag) of Pascha chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (unrefined)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup hemp hearts
• 1 cup max protein hemp powder
• Course salt for top

Melt the liquid ingredients low and slow, and then add hemp hearts and protein. Pour the mixture into a parchment-lined glass baking dish (8x12) and top with salt, refrigerate until hardened (a couple of hours), and then cut into bars.

Makes 12 bars with 16 grams of protein each.

At some point next week I will have wrapped up an inital draft of a personal portfolio, something I haven’t done in years. I have a lot of mixed feelings, including dread, over it, but I’m pushing through and it’s coming along nicely.

I had a birthday recently and am reminded of one of my professional goals: to move away from graphic and visual design and fully into a position based in strategy and creative direction by 40. While I have definitely made progress here, it’s been slow. With only a year remaining, I realize I need to change my approach.

I’m crafting a portfolio that takes a closer look at three recent projects and the varied work required for me to complete these successfully. Sure, visual design is a part of these projects, but it’s only able to fall into place after a lot of research, strategy, and relationship building—this is what I actually love doing. Yes, I created an identity for a nonprofit this year, but I also wrote their mission statement, defined their brand’s personality, and helped them craft their values. I need a portfolio that focuses on these foundational elements first and visual design second.

I’d love to collaborate with someone for a mutual portfolio review soon. My experience is rooted in writing, graphic and visual design, marketing design, UX/UI design, some front-end development, and general micro agency things. Let’s share our goals over coffee and gather thoughtful feedback to help each other achieve them.

Reach out on Mastodon, email, or Discord, and we’ll get started—can’t wait.

Work has been especially challenging recently, and I grumpily wrote this week off entirely because of it. If I look past work, though, some pretty great things actually happened.

I set my new post-surgery cycling record (6.5 miles) AND my walking record pace (14.4 minute mile average/14.2 fastest split) this week. I also drove the longest distance since surgery. Driving was the first thing I lost the ability to do, and it was difficult and scary to do again.

Ben and I had some time together and got important house stuff done. There was no shortage of shitty things that happened, but I don’t want to lose these wins because of them. And hopefully I can make sure my future work weeks are not quite so unbearable.

Sneakers are a near-constant purchase for me and a frequent source of frustration. It’s hard enough to find the perfect pair to cover as many comfortable miles as possible, but then, each year, that sneaker model changes dramatically. These updated versions usually don’t resemble or perform as well as the previous, beloved year’s model. Getting outside opinions can further complicate things since everyone’s needs and preferences are so different. I hit this issue every 200 miles.

I’ve rotated between a few different models of Brooks and ASICS for many years. While there’s a lot to love about the Brooks brand, the quality of the models I was getting each year reduced to the point where I was even getting toe holes (Glycerin 20) in each pair before 90 miles.

I have not experienced this quality dip with ASICS and have grown to prefer their gel insoles–it’s a difference that can be felt immediately. But their Gel-Kayano model was making my underpronation (insufficient inward roll of the foot after landing) worse, and the latest model has become nearly identical to Hokas, which I’ve found overly bulky and unstable.

It all feels impossible and overly expensive until I remember to just go to the local runner’s store. I brought in my old shoes so they could look at my treadwear pattern, and I shared brand preferences and activity goals. I walked away with a pair of ASICS Gel-Cumulus 26, which feel like they will be perfect—for now.

Today, I hit a post-surgery bike milestone of 5 miles. This feels especially huge because, due to the nature and journey of my injury, I haven’t been able to sit on my Peloton for a year and a half.

I celebrated by getting some healthy tacos for Taco Tuesday, which made me instantly miss my usual unhealthy steak tacos with all the sauce that gives me heartburn. Aside from that, though, I’m trying not to let the Peloton brand experience bring me down. I’m still not ready for classes and, therefore, have yet to reactivate my Peloton account.

They make using this machine that I supposedly “own” an intentionally bad experience without an account. A notification banner even hides access to important UI when riding. Finding the ability to “Just Ride” is in tiny fine print at the bottom of the screen, and they have clearly put a lot of thought into making sure it’s all terrible and a little shame-inducing to use without their pricey, monthly account. I had always planned on reactivating, but this has me thinking I need to possibly explore other non-subscription options at some point.

Maybe I’ll stick with the Peloton and maybe not. What I care about most is just being able to be on a bike. At least my outdoor bikes are mine–for now.

I have already written and deleted a bunch of paragraphs about this. But I think it boils down to this: I think being too nice is working against me now. At least in the current state of things, where somewhere along the lines this is getting translated to no boundaries and mistreatment.

I can’t point to any single thing that brought this on, but rather a series of things that have built up over the past couple of months. I generally default to being nice and trusting at work and out and about in the world. Not all situations make this easy. It takes deliberate effort and some days are harder than others, especially when other people are unapologetically not making the same effort.

However, something that is becoming less clear is how to be nice while also making sure people know and feel that this does not equate to weakness. Further, I also realize this is a complex and often sexist issue. With a few exceptions, this has not been so much of a problem until now. Maybe my tolerance level has changed, or maybe others are becoming less regulated. I don’t know. Either way, this has become a priority after a recent out-of-line DM, which, in a strange way, I’m grateful for since it was the final catalyst for seeking change.

I had my 6-week post-spine surgery checkup today, was cleared for PT, and got the green light to remove my brace. It’s equal parts thrilling and terrifying. This was my third spine surgery since July 2023, and I’m struggling to not carry that baggage with me and treat this as a fresh situation. Therapy (talk therapy) is helping, but I think time is needed more than anything. I asked the orthopedist’s office what protocols they have for monitoring the surrounding discs. They said none and that I need to enjoy my life and not think about that. I really need to figure out what that looks like.

For now, I’m going to spend the day working less than usual, going for a walk, researching the perfect PT office, and just existing without overthinking anything. The sun is out. It’s warm. I actually still need to remove my brace, but I will soon. Probably.

Sunday is always the day when weekend guilt sets in. As a family, we tend to be homebodies. I like recovering from work, going for longer walks, and getting into internet things like starting and customizing this micro blog. I also looked into bird feeders with cameras so that I can put trygarden.ing to good use this year. Further, I’m still making my new office cozy and watching Conan’s new show. We have a family board game lined up for later. We will do more once the weather is consistently better, but you won’t ever find us going on sporadic trips or concerts or bars. We like going out to get plants or antiques and then just coming back home.

I guess the problem is when other people ask me what we are doing and then share their intense, action-packed plans. The things I’ve listed don’t seem like much or very impressive when I say them out loud. And I can’t help but feel a bit of guilt as a result.

The thing is, though, this is what we need and enjoy. I’m still healing from surgery. We have a lot of allergies in the house that make most trips too difficult. We like being cozy and around our stuff. I really want to shake the guilt of this, lean into it, and own it–I don’t need excuses! I guess it’s probably very boring to some, but a weekend itinerary sounds very stressful to me.

Hi, my name is Joni, and I like doing nothing on the weekends.

I hit a new post-surgery walking pace this morning: 15:08 minute mile.

I’ve been thinking a lot about whether or not I’ll get back on Strava, and I’m leaning towards no. I really liked the data, but I can get that with other apps. The social feature is a bit too painful when going through something like an epic injury. Most of all, though, I think it encouraged (for me) a lot of unhealthy habits and personal competition, and I really lost sight of my original goals and struggled to care about anything else. I couldn’t see this in the moment, but it’s pretty clear now. I don’t want to go back to that level of obsession.

I’m happy to hit this little milestone right before the six-week mark. But, ya know, I’m not obsessing over it or anything!

I’m excited to try this platform out after seeing many of my favorite people praise it. This has motivated me to be unmotivated with actual work today and focus on cleaning up all my internet accounts and updating my colors everywhere.

I can’t wait to follow along with everyone.