Destination Simple by Brooke Mcalary

DESTINATION SIMPLE
EVERYDAY RITUALS FOR A SLOWER LIFE
BY BROOKE MCALARY
114 PAGES

One of my guilty pleasures is buying those books that are placed around the counters of bookstores. They are these little handy pockets full of warm and fuzzies, sometimes they have cute illustrations, great quotes or  valuable life tips, they are basically something you can get some quick enjoyment from.

That's where I saw this one, on the counter of two bookstores and when I saw it the third time I just had to buy it. I was drawn to this one because it spoke to me. My days lately (usually always) are quite full on with work, personal projects, drawing, always thinking and a lot of time wasting. I've been wanting to begin following a routine to make sure I get all the important things done in my days. And the tea cup on the front cover pulled on my desire to have more time to relax. So, come to think of it, my expectations for this book were super high.

It was a quick read, and I'd say only took me about 2-3 hours to read (taking notes and coffee breaks included).

There are basically 7 simple steps, in which some of the steps can be combined to create less steps. These steps include certain tasks and exercises involving things like:

- eliminating multi-tasking and being present in the one thing you do
- unplugging from the digital/technological world for part of the day
- a task similar to free writing or journaling
- simplifying your to-do lists
- including gratitude in your day
- creating a morning routine and
- creating an evening routine.

I don't know about you, but I've read a lot of self-help/personal growth books, and I know about all of these things, and I know about them in even greater depth than what they were discussed in the book. And this is because I have read many, many books focussing solely on each of the individual steps/tasks.

The way that this differs from what I've read and what I know, is that Brooke McAlary, gives you real life examples. These examples prompt you into thinking about your habits, areas where you multi-task where you should probably not multi-task, about how to break down and plan your mornings and evenings, so that you can be more efficient and make sure you're not stressed and worrying about things all the time.

So even though I really wanted to do what the author was telling me to do, I still haven't done it, and this is why I'm still busy and running out of time to do things, and have no time really for relaxing. However, I think, all that info that I read in the book is swimming around somewhere there in my subconscious, and since reading the book I have been more productive. I don't really think that the book really does what it says it will do, which is to give you tips to live a slower life. I think what it does is, it gives you steps you can follow to live a more organised, mindful and purposeful life. If you've read the book I'd love to know your thoughts.

The book also has a few great quotes like the one I've handwritten below.I did some googling and discovered Brooke McAlary's website Slow Your Home and also her podcast The Slow Home Podcast (which I've just subscribed to) which looks great. I'll check back in about it once I've had a chance to have a good listen.