I began writing this post in the afternoon at a local café, killing time before I saw Poor Things at the theatre around the corner (a very weird but visually spectacular movie, btw). I was in no rush then and haven’t been all day: from walking Coconut in the morning to munching on leftovers for dinner, I’ve taken my sweet time, in contrast to my typically hurried pace. Today was President’s Day, a holiday that caught my team by surprise last week when one of us realized we had Monday off. The older I get (or, more accurately, the longer I work), the more I treasure federal holidays. Three-day weekends just hit differently, y’know?

Work has been pretty busy lately, but a calmer grad school semester has balanced that out. My current class focuses more on programming and less on theory, which works strongly in my favor. While I enjoy theory, coding comes a lot more easily to me since I do it full-time. And with rehearsals and my (now-completed) home makeover (details to come…), a theory class would’ve spread me way too thin.

But let’s chat rehearsals! Those have been great—everyone’s super friendly, and I’ve really enjoyed being in such a creative, collaborative space. (I honestly can’t believe that our first show is less than a month away.) Now that we’re off-book, rehearsals have also been a lot more dynamic. It’s been neat to focus on my character’s body language, mannerisms, and reactions to others without the burden of a script. 🎭

Another new development is the home makeover I mentioned earlier! When I was back in Texas for Christmas, my interest in home improvement was at an all-time high (thanks, interior design Youtube lol). I began to question what about my current apartment made it not ~joyful~ to live in, and after much contemplation, it hit me….my walls are yellow. I’d even mapped out the color scheme of the bedroom using old pics and videos for reference, and it was not a pretty sight:

That realization led me down the rabbit hole of color theory, DIY home improvement, and furniture shopping. I’m planning on writing an entirely separate post dedicated to the makeover (with before-and-after pics!), but essentially, by the time I was back in Boston, my mind was made: I was gonna transform my apartment. Until a couple days ago, when I finally declared the project complete, no one had been in my apartment since 2023. While I talked about it constantly, I wanted to have a “big reveal” rather than letting people see it in progress. (Exceptions included occasional pics sent to my family, who won’t see it in person until March.)

Again, saving the deluge of pics for the separate post, but gosh I’m soooo pleased with the results. Before, I loved my apartment’s location, but now I actually love the interiors too. Today I spent a good chunk of time lounging in the apartment, and it felt exactly how I dreamed it would feel: cozy, clean, and inviting. And I think Coconut likes it more too!

Even with these fresh new interiors though, a new thing I’ve been trying to do is work less from the apartment. I don’t have a dedicated office space here (#StudioLife), so when I do work from home, it’s from my kitchen table. I used to not believe in the importance of separating certain activities from spaces—for example, going to the living room when experiencing insomnia to avoid associating the bedroom with sleeplessness—but I’ve since changed my tune.

My work stress had been spilling over into non-work hours, and it felt like I was in a low yet constant state of tension. When someone pointed out that it could be partly due to how entwined work was with my home (was I ever truly “leaving the office”?), I decided to only WFH in the morning and head to the library for the rest of the day. That simple change has made a huge difference, stress- and productivity-wise, and I try to stick to it for the majority of the work week. I think there are multiple factors that make it so effective:

1. Breaking the association. My kitchen can be, for the most part, just my kitchen. Sure, I still work at the table in the morning, but I’ve now added a designated bin that holds my laptop stand and keyboard when I’m not working. (Those used to just stay on the kitchen table 24/7, which was…not great.)
2. Movement. Now my workday is broken up with a nice, 15 minute “commute” that clears my head.
3. Less isolation. Even if I’m not interacting with them, it’s nice to be around others. The library crowd seems to be a mix of students and remote workers like me.
4. Accountability. I’m way more likely to engage in deep work because, c’mon, it’s a library! It reminds me of when I was in college, heading to the stacks to tackle problem sets.

If there’s a single takeaway from this post, it should be that environment design really matters. This past month, I was busier than ever, but a combination of beautifying the apartment and working from a new space reduced the overwhelm. (It should be noted that the home makeover genuinely felt like a hobby to me, which definitely helped with de-stressing.)

Even as my three-day weekend comes to a close, I’m not feeling super anxious about work tomorrow or the new homework assignment that just dropped. Having the day off was lovely, much-needed, and restorative. The highlight of the day was definitely the two-ish hours Coconut spent napping in my arms as I read this month’s book club book, How Much Of These Hills Is Gold.

I’ll end with a few more snapshots from my camera roll: gorgeous Valentine’s Day chocolates (d’awww), Coconut being silly on the new kitchen rug, and a wakeup selfie from today’s incredibly relaxed morning!

👋