The Philosophy Behind the Blog

How it started

My planning on a monthly basis started all the way back in the days of my first “real” job out of college, where I was sufficiently underemployed to spend my time curating Spotify playlists, apparently. I kept refreshing my playlists after tiring them out, and noticed that, in addition to falling into a nearly-monthly rhythm with this habit, certain songs reminded me of certain times of the year, and voila, the concept of organizing my music library by month was born. I remember going through all other playlists I had, and finding a new home for every song. (Sure, I still kept other playlists, such as workout, for specific occasions.) Some were easy: “Long December”, or “Summer Breeze” naturally find their spots with minimal efforts. Others were more arbitrary, and came down to whatever nostalgia or thoughts they inspired, which is pretty individual. I found this process really fun, but I recognize that not everyone will – it can be tedious, and does take a bit of time. Anyone interested is welcome to use my monthly playlists as a jumping off point for inspiration – you can find me on Spotify as Anromedasaur.

 

The success of planning my playlists by month led me to looking to do the same in other areas of my life, like meal planning, which was for me the next logical step. I started to think about the process as a concept more and more, too – and realized that really, this was becoming a full-blown way of life.

There are four main reasons planning by the moon works as a unique way to structure your life: it’s efficient, dynamic (and a good balance of the two), cyclical and therefore harmonious with our nature, and, of course, it’s fun. 

 

It’s efficient

First, there’s the fact that doing similar tasks for a time, focusing on a particular area – can create efficiencies. This is the productivity idea of chunking, and it’s pretty intuitive, and nothing new. If I need to make progress against 6 goals, and I constantly switch back and forth between them, trying to eke all of them forward, I’m losing valuable time in the transitioning (not to mention, creating some unnecessary stress for myself. The human brain cannot multitask, and it’s high time we faced this reality and stopped trying.) Instead, if I assign January to one goal, and February to another and on and on, I can efficiently move from one project to the next, and get more done with less stress in the process. Granted, not everything we want to accomplish fits into a month. Some goals, such as financial ones, for example, can be lifelong, or nearly so. But in that case, setting aside a month of the year to always review your finances– check your credit score, take another look at your budget, go into a “super savings” mode – can help us maintain good financial hygiene without fatiguing us with impractical goals that need to be constantly upheld, making the picture more sustainable. 

 

Similarly, if I want to write a novel, I’m not going to do that in a month– but now in this case, I don’t only want to work on it every March (can you imagine?). But a monthly system can still help you break down the stages of this goal into feasible ones. Maybe the first two are focused on research, and the next month is focused on storybuilding and outlining, and then several are dedicated to a first draft, etc. The by-month system still helps you switch gears as you progress ever so slightly, keeping things fresh while also keeping you focused, which brings me to the next reason I like planning by the moon: 

 

It’s dynamic

If I know it’s going to take me a year to write a book, or save X amount of money, that feels daunting. If instead I say I’m going to spend January researching, or January cutting expenses, and February worldbuilding or cleaning the garage for things I can sell for extra money, I’m still working towards the same year-long goal, but I’m breaking the work into phases, which are smaller and more digestible, as well as dynamic enough to keep me from getting bored with the work. It’s similar to the science behind taking breaks at work – changing things up can stimulate the brain, and keep our overarching focus renewed. It keeps things fresh in a way that I think we really need.

 

Push and pull

Interestingly as sort of a side point about the above two tenets, the brain then is caught between doing like tasks over and over for efficiency – essentially, building repetitive habits – and changing gears to clear the cobwebs. This can become a push and pull situation that can be hard to wrestle with. If you’ve ever experienced exasperation at your lack of organization, decided to overhaul your life and suddenly you’re overplanning on every front– the budget, chores, your daily routine- and this goes on for awhile until it blows up in your face because it isn’t sustainable – you probably understand the backlash you feel as you overcorrect again in the opposite direction, deciding you simply need a less rigid approach to life in all things, because the scheduling and planning drove you crazy. It can become a vicious cycle pretty easily, but a better way is to harness the cyclical nature of the moon, allowing for plenty of change, and repetition. It’s a way to meet in the middle of this push-and-pull, in essence.

 

We’re rhythmic creatures in a rhythmic world

Which brings me to the next tenet: life isn’t one long straight arrow, even if it sometimes feels that way. Time is cyclical. The sun rises, the sun sets. The seasons change and come back around. We grow from children to adults, but then often have children of our own and begin the pattern anew. Recognizing these rhythms around us can be really satisfying, and make us feel both connected to and rooted in nature, as well as a sense of nostalgia as you mindfully revisit a certain time of year. When you have pumpkin bread in November, you’re more cognizant of the passing of time in an appreciative way, and appreciating the moment for what it is. The more we tie less obvious tasks to rhythms that work for us as individuals, the more mindful we can become.

 

It’s fun

Okay, it’s not necessarily fun for everyone – but if you’re like me, you find it really fun to look forward to the next holiday, the next season, or the next big life event. This harnesses that type of excitement. Plus, it’s just cool to think about following the moon’s lead– to me, and hopefully to many of you, that adds a bit of ethereal whimsy to the whole process that makes it that much more interesting to tackle.