When we rounded up our staff’s Weekly Upgrades last Saturday, our editors were doing more walking on their way to work, gaming their credit card rewards, exploring new podcasts, and investing in fake sunlight.
This week, we’re working on our positivity, making decadent sandwiches at home, keeping cleaner kitchens, and in some cases, nursing ourselves back to health.
What upgrades did you make this week? Let us know in the comments.
Digitise your gratitude journaling
I’m using the Three Good Things app, which might just be the simplest way to start gratitude journaling. Every night at 9PM, it asks me, “What went well today?” (It’s the only phone notification that I tolerate.) I then type in three good things. My good things have been small – a text convo, listening to a favourite podcast, laying on the floor in luge-position with my daughter and pretending we’re speeding down a slope of ice with the Olympians. Once this week, I even wrote “drank a lot of water”. Man, my life is boring. But good boring.
Michelle Woo, Parenting Editor
Step up your home sandwich-making game
I realised that I have the power to make sandwiches at home any time I want. Look, making a sandwich is a hassle, and keeping a bunch of fresh ingredients in my fridge in the right amounts is also a hassle, so my upgrade is just remembering that it’s worth it. Here’s my fave sandwich recipe this week: I put two slices of sourdough in the toaster oven, with sliced gouda on top of one. When the cheese is all melty, I spread mayo on the other slice, and fill the sandwich with salami, maybe some turkey or some salad greens, and a big handful of sautéed peppers and onions.
Beth Skwarecki, Health Editor
Escape into virtual reality
I bought a PlayStation VR bundle last weekend, so goodbye real world. If you need me I’ll be fighting monsters, shooting aliens, and getting the crap scared out of me for kicks.
Patrick Allan, Staff Writer
Ease back in to an exercise routine
I joined a gym and started running again this week after a brief hiatus (thanks to knee and ankle troubles… yay ageing), and I have my eye on a half-marathon in a few months. It’s frustrating not to be able to run the distances I could a few months ago, but my body needed the break, and it feels really good to be back at it.
Alicia Adamczyk, Staff Writer
Free yourself from timepiece tyranny
My watch broke and I have yet to replace it, so I’ve been going timekeeper-free. Mostly I’ve discovered that I didn’t need to keep checking the time every minute, and it’s OK to not worry as much about punctuality. But my wrist feels weird.
Joel Kahn, Senior Video Producer
Tote a tote for emergencies
With my favourite pair of backpacks in the repair shop for a zipper replacement, I’ve been forced to commute with a nice but unwieldy shoulder bag, wishing I had a bit more width to store everything I usually carry to the job. I knew something had to change when I saw my colleague Nick materialise a tiny, self-contained nylon tote from his own bag during a conversation. So now I carry around a folded up tote emblazoned with the name of my partner’s company to add some extra carrying capacity to my person. When I get my normal bags back, I’m most definitely sticking one of them in there, just in case I need to do some heavy lifting of some farmer’s market greens.
Patrick Austin, Staff Writer
Keep your self cosy while you convalesce
*Feebly raises head from sick bed* My upgrade is this heated blanket! It makes my life cosy and my mornings less hostile.
Claire Lower, Food & Beverage Editor
Don’t let dishes build up in your sink
In an effort to improve my overall cleanliness and build up new habits a bit at a time, I’m trying to become a person who washes their dishes as soon as they’re done using them. Living alone it can be tempting to let the sink pile up all week, but my apartment is so much more inviting (and I’m so much more likely to cook) if I keep it clean. And generally, except for one night when I was sick and exhausted, I’ve been able to stick to it pretty easily – it really only takes a couple of extra minutes when you only have a few dishes to deal with, and not several days’ worth. Who knew.
Virginia K. Smith, Managing Editor
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