Things I No Longer Do

'Tis the season to simplify. There are lots of things that I used to do, that I used to enjoy doing, that I don't do anymore. Priorities change in different seasons. In case it's helpful for your own recalibration, here are some things I've recently let go of (and what I've replaced them with, where applicable):

Researching and celebrating national holidays based on the National Day Calendar (Fun but I'm celebrating getting through each day a lot of days right now)

Reading every blog post by my favorite writers (Some of the stuff I don't need to know)

Extensive research pursuits (I find what I need to know to solve the problem at hand and move on)

Google searching for recipes (I used cookbooks instead.)

Making complicated recipes (Remember, simplifying?)

Browsing at the grocery store ("Get in and get out" is my motto most of the time!)

Thumbing through catalogs that come in the mail (It's not worth my time and can breed discontent.)

Watching movies on a regular basis (Shows are shorter and easier to pick up or let go.)

Listening to the radio (I would rather learn by listening to podcasts.)

Writing and mailing cards (This I mostly let go do to the pain of handwriting caused by focal dystonia. I still enjoy Facebook messaging and/or e-mailing people on their special days, though!)

Reaching out to friends who don't respond (I really hate this one! I'd like to keep up with people regardless of their response, but the truth is, I really don't have time. Friendships have seasons, too.)

Letting go, for me, has been gradual. In most of these cases, I didn't make a resolution not to do things. They just slowly faded in presence and prevalence. It's okay. Life is still okay. I still find joy. It just looks different.

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Readers, anything you've stopped doing recently? Why have you stopped doing it? And what are you doing instead? Please feel free to share in the comment section.