Fun Decisions
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“I must have a prodigious amount of mind; it takes me as much as a week, sometimes, to make it up!”
― Mark Twain
The decisions that are agonizing to me are generally the decisions that are truly important--how to spend enough time with each kid, how to deal with interpersonal conflicts, how to help my kids work through difficult things. But the daily decisions that sometimes take up the most mental energy are the light, fluffy ones, the kind of decisions that probably should not be important at all.
Lately, I have been increasingly living by one of the Lazy Genius mantras--decide once. I used to deliberate over notebooks, standing in the stationary section of Barnes and Noble for ages while weighing my current mood against each possible selection. Was it too fancy? Did the pages tear out? Did it look easy to write in? Then I discovered Moleskine, and I quit lingering over stationary. I know that a light, small lined Moleskine notebook will be my journal, and I no longer debate this decision.
Shopping in general, something I once loved, has grown difficult, not just because of COVID, but because of kids, who understandably don’t want to wait in dressing rooms. So my decide once has become using Stitch Fix, a styling service that sends a box of clothes at times I set. I don’t need tons of clothes, so I set them far out, and I rarely keep everything they send. But it has simplified shopping for me, so I count it as a decide once.
Deciding once has saved me time and mental energy, and I love the sense of accomplishment it gives me. But there are still decisions on which I spend time. Emily P. Freeman’s podcast last week was about shoes. Normally she focuses on how to make your next decision--how to “do the next right thing”--but on this show, she talked about the kinds of decisions that are so much fun to make, you linger over them and enjoy the process of choosing. For her, these decisions for deliberation are for shoes. For me, it’s bags.
My husband has learned not to try to select bags for me. The selection is not an exact science by any stretch. The bag needs to be big enough to carry a paperback and my notebook, and it’s best if it has lots of pockets for a phone and Germ-x. I like messenger-style bags so much, especially if they are cross-body and canvas and floppy. I love soft, buttery leather or structured sides. I don’t do designer labels, because that price tag is a decide-once kind of decision, and I like to buy a couple of bags a year, changing with the season. I tend to lean canvas for summer and leather (okay, fake leather) for fall, and I will search stores and the Internet diligently, wading through all the rejects and trying to get a feeling for what will fit my needs, make me happy when I see it, and feel good on my shoulder.
Right now, my summer bag is bright and fun. The canvas is off-white and covered in summer shapes--palm trees, sunglasses, drinks, ocean waves. The messenger-style cover is a soft tan suede covered in a deep green strap, and the underside is bright peach. It’s super casual and perfect for stuffing full of whatever I want to grab and then throwing in the front seat. But even as I feel a rush of happiness every time I pick it up, I’m already starting to think about what kind of bag I’ll need for fall, because I just love the hunt.