Abandoning Habits and Embracing Routines Instead

Abandoning Habits and Embracing Routines Instead

Jody Yarborough
Life

In case you don’t know this about me, let me clue you in on something: I’m somewhat of a productivity nerd. It’s always been part of my DNA to get things done as efficiently as possible. I think I’m this way for three reasons: 1) it is a learned behavior. My mom was a school teacher, and my dad was a military officer. Enough said. 2) self-preservation to conserve energy and maximize performance. Being born with a physical disability meant I had to learn how to get more done with less from a young age. 3) I happen to enjoy it.

A few years ago, habit formation became very popular in the productivity world. It was spurred mainly by books by Charles Duhigg and James Clear. I’ve read Duhigg’s book, but only half of Clear’s. By the end of this post, you should understand more clearly why I didn’t finish Clear’s Atomic Habits.

Top Gun Maverick Offers Up More Than Just Great Action

Top Gun Maverick Offers Up More Than Just Great Action

Jody Yarborough
Pop Culture

It was the summer of 2019, and Drew and I were sitting in a movie theater watching the previews for Ford vs. Ferrari when I saw the trailer for Top Gun Maverick for the first time. Even though it was just a few scenes set to the iconic Top Gun anthem, I immediately got goosebumps. To say I am a fan girl of Top Gun would be a huge understatement.

When Top Gun was released I was only 10 years old. My parents never took me to see movies as a kid, so as a result I never saw it in the theater. When I did finally watch it on VHS later that year, it had a significant impact on me. Even though I know at that age, my ability to appreciate all the movie had to offer was limited, I still loved everything about it. I mostly connected to the movie’s military setting and the aerial combat scenes because my dad was a fighter pilot— Air Force, though, not Navy, as he’d like to correct me.

It's Not About Luck: My Real-Life Stories of Serendipity

It's Not About Luck: My Real-Life Stories of Serendipity

Jody Yarborough
Life

Today is St. Patrick’s Day here in the United States. I’ve always been conflicted about the holiday. I think my hesitation to fully embrace a celebratory attitude stems from one of a couple of reasons. Either: a) my aversion to a holiday that legitimizes drunkenness or b) that the holiday mascot is a leprechaun— a cute, jolly little short dude who is an appropriating stereotype and caricature for a Little Person (who are actually real people, by the way).

Aside from green beer and leprechauns, though, St. Patrick’s Day is most associated with luck and four-leaf clovers. The myth of Celtic tradition says that four-leaf clovers are to be used to repel back luck. The leaves of the clover themself stand for faith, hope, luck and love.

Leaving WordPress for Squarespace to Host My Creative Content

Leaving WordPress for Squarespace to Host My Creative Content

Jody Yarborough
My Creative Life

If you are a creative entrepreneur who is currently using WordPress to host your content, and you are thinking of switching to a different platform, let this blog post serve as a kind of permission slip. Because years ago, when I was thinking of leaving WordPress , I came upon a blog post written by a woman who had just made the leap from WordPress to Squarespace. She explained her reasons and rationale, but all in all what the post did was permit me to let go of all my hang-ups about sticking it out on WordPress and make the leap myself.

The War in the Ukraine With Links on How to Support Their Citizens

The War in the Ukraine With Links on How to Support Their Citizens

Jody Yarborough
Politics & Current Events

I was a sophomore in high school when the break up of the USSR happened. I wish I could say I remember it clearly, but I don’t. My family was going through a breakup of its own at the time, so I doubt I had the attention span for current global events, and I’m kind of regretting that now.

What I do remember are hearing phrases like “the effects of perestroika and glasnost,” and “the end of the Cold War.” I clearly remember images from 1989, two years prior, of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the overthrow and execution of Nicolae Ceausescu. Seeing how the Romanians pulled down a statue of Ceausescu in the capital of Bucharest and thinking, “Gee, those people don’t mess around.”

I feel like the world is in a weird place right now. Or maybe it’s that I’m feeling weird in the world. More times than I find comfort in, have I checked the headlines this week to see if World War III has broken out. Depending on who you ask, some say it has. But what does that mean, exactly?

Headlines From the Day I Was Born

Headlines From the Day I Was Born

Jody Yarborough
Everything Else

I love history. It was my favorite subject in school. It’s my favorite category on Jeopardy. I usually do pretty well when anything history-related is a Trivial Pursuit question.

I also love journalism. It was my major in college, and if it weren’t for the soul-crushing pace of a reporter’s life, I think I would have excelled in the profession. Even though I didn’t make journalism my career, does not mean I wasted my time in college. I learned how to ask questions, think critically, and never bury the lead. I believe good skills to have in general, really.

The beautiful nexus of where history and journalism converge is that reporting (when at its best and most objective) becomes a record of history. There is a quote I love by the late Philip Graham, former publisher of the Washington Post, who said, “Journalism is the first rough draft of history.”

The Magic of Marriage

The Magic of Marriage

Jody Yarborough
Love Actually

Today is Valentine’s Day here in the United States, and while I know some people believe it is a wholly commercialized Hallmark Card holiday, I think it is always a special day to celebrate love. My love, of course, is my husband, Andrew. We met in the summer of 2004, and we got married in October 2007. Even though it has been almost 15 years of marriage, some moments it feels just like yesterday.

Note that I said it feels like yesterday. Major life events that have happened since we walked down the aisle tell me different. So I thought for this blog post, I would reflect on a few of those major milestones and how they have, or haven’t, changed my idea of what marriage is, or at least would be, for me.

DOING A MAJOR HOME REMODEL

In the Spring of 2012, Drew and I embarked on a significant home remodeling project. After much research, we decided that the best solution for us was to temporarily move out of our home while it got torn down to the studs and rebuilt. The new home would be bigger, newer, and more accessible for us both.

Happy Birthday, Sis. Remember That Epic Road Trip?

Happy Birthday, Sis. Remember That Epic Road Trip?

Jody Yarborough
Remember When...

This past week my sister, Leigh, celebrated her birthday. Mine is in a couple of weeks. I love that they are both in the same month. I wanted to take the occasion to write a post about what she means to me. I think she knows. I hope she knows. But either way, sharing my love for her with the internet universe just feels right this year.

Leigh and I have shared over four decades of life together. That is a lot of memories and lived experiences. Like most sibling relationships, the highlights include family road trips, epic temper tantrums, and periods of infrequent communication. We are the only two who endured our parents’ alcoholic disfunction, and that alone feels like a badge of something. Certainly not honor, but, hey, we survived in the trenches and are probably closer because of it.

So of all the sister stories I could share in these following few hundred words, the one that I want to write about was when Leigh and I drove from Tacoma to Minneapolis in July 2001 for our paternal grandmother’s funeral.

Learning From Masterclass

Learning From Masterclass

Jody Yarborough
My Creative Life

A dear friend of mine gave me the most wonderful gift for Christmas. She asked me what would be something that would enrich my learning and support me with my goals. I thought about it for a while, and then it came to me: a subscription to Masterclass. I have been contemplating subscribing for some time, but to be honest, we try to limit the number of subscription services we have in the Yarborough house. I already had a Skillshare subscription, so I wasn’t ready to sign up for another. When my friend offered it to me as such a generous gift, it voided that obstacle.

If you aren’t familiar with Masterclass, it is a subscription platform hosting tutorials and lectures pre-recorded by experts in various fields. Names like Hans Zimmer, Judy Blume, Wolfgang Puck, Malcolm Gladwell, Shonda Rhimes, Steve Martin, etc.

Have You Played Your Wordle Yet Today?

Have You Played Your Wordle Yet Today?

Jody Yarborough
Pop Culture

Have you done your Wordle yet today?

Man, yesterday’s was tough! It took me four tries, but I finally got there.

If you aren’t familiar with Wordle, it is the online word game that has taken the internet by storm. I am not on social media that much, so my husband Andrew introduced it to me. We are pretty competitive, so we are always looking for new games to play.

Keep in mind that I am not a trend-seeker or band-wagon person. I never got into Pokemon, Animal Crossing, or any of those other types of online phenomenons that captured the cultural zeitgeist of the time. I do things because I enjoy them. Not because everyone says I should.

And I do enjoy Wordle. It makes sense because I’ve always loved word games, whether Hangman when I was a kid or the New York Times Crossword puzzle when I got older.

In Honor of MLK Jr. Day, My Top 10 Truths for Racial Justice and Equality

In Honor of MLK Jr. Day, My Top 10 Truths for Racial Justice and Equality

Jody Yarborough
Politics & Current Events

Today we honor the life of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was born on January 15, 1929, and assassinated on April 4, 1968. Dr. King was and still is, revered as a monumental leader in the Civil Rights Movement. An American Baptist minister and activist, he evoked a message of peace and non-violence in the struggle for African-Americans to achieve equality and justice in the United States and beyond. The fact that he did this in an environment that at one point jailed him and eventually cost him his life is a testament to how great this man truly was.

As an ally who stands steadfast in the fight for the principles of freedom and equality Dr. King sought for African-Americans, these are my 10 Simple Truths for racial equality on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day:

  1. Black Lives Matter.

My Golden Retriever Alton Had to Have Surgery

My Golden Retriever Alton Had to Have Surgery

Jody Yarborough
Tales of Tails

I have written a lot about our Golden Retriever Fur Son, Alton, on this blog. And good Lord willing, I will be able to write a lot more in the years to come. But for today’s post, I wanted to share about a recent surgery Alton had to have. Thankfully, it was a minor procedure. But any time a pet has to go under anesthesia, there are risks. Additionally, Alton is eight years old now. As they say, for a large breed dog, he’s getting up there.

Last spring, we noticed that he was developing some lumps and bumps on his body. The largest of which was near his right shoulder. When we took him to the vet for his regular check-up, she said she would needle poke it, but she assured us she thought it was just a benign fatty tumor, another name for a lipoma. There was no need to talk of removal at the time because it wasn’t that large.

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