Some days I feel ridiculously unproductive. I’ll sit at home watching “Gilmore Girls” and “Scandal” all day and the day will go by so quickly, but I’ll feel like I’ve gotten nothing done, but still happy (because Netflix).

Other days, I feel ridiculously productive. I write, brainstorm, film, feel beautiful, go grocery shopping, take care of chores, organize like crazy…. And I feel fulfilled. 

I don’t know how the two days start out so differently or what urges me to go one way or another but I do.

Today is one of the latter days. I got an ER (an early release) from my 6:15am shift at about 8:45am so I’ve had lots of time on my hands and I’ve actually spent it quite productively! Part of this productive day has been spent reading a great book that I’ve had on my theoretical bookshelf (we’re too cheap to have an actual bookshelf here, so it’s really been on the coffee table) for about a month, but haven’t really broke open!

I’m currently reading Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin (aka: the author of The Happiness Project; a book I still have yet to read and now realize I absolutely must) and it’s made me think a lot about the habits I have, the decisions I make and what kind of person I am in regard to different things. Am I a lark or an owl? A simplicity lover or an abundance lover? Am I a finisher or an opener? The questions go on and on… And I love it. This book really makes me think and makes me question my daily habits, motives and actions. It’s so interesting!

My most favorite thing about the book so far is that it’s not just someone telling you do “Task A” and that you’ll be successful in doing so. She dives into how there are different types of people and how they have different habits for different reasons. One answer doesn’t fit all. She suggests ways of going about things based on what type of person you are. She doesn’t present solutions, she presents guidelines on which to find solutions and recognizes that while one thing may not work for you or me, it may actually work for someone else, but it’s still valuable knowledge to have.

It’s so great to be reading something that gets me thinking again. Being out of school for the semester to do the Disney College Program has been really great. It’s been building my networking skills, it’s helped me become more personable and it’s given me new experiences; but I’ve really missed reading textbooks (as icky as that sounds) and being in classes. This book is helping me expand my mind in different ways again, which I can really appreciate.

I’m really excited to use what I’m learning in Better Than Before to not only master my own habits, but to use the information I’ve gathered to cultivate my actions into actions that truly flow from myself. I guess it all comes from habit, but I think understanding yourself is what needs to come first and foremost and I like that I’m learning how to do that from this book.

Do you have any suggestions for some great reads? Let me know in the comments below! 

I received this book complimentary from Birchbox’s Birchbloggers Program. All opinions are obviously completely my own or I wouldn’t be babbling on about this great book like I did!