I had the most productive day yesterday. 

I woke up at 4:30 in the morning completely (and surprisingly) well-rested from a good night’s sleep. At 5:30 am I got the beating of my life at the gym after two weeks off but couldn’t stop humming to “Hurt So Good” by John Mellencamp while catching my breath after my workout, completely doused in sweat. 

I came home, showered, poured myself a cup of green tea and learned Japanese for 15 minutes, courtesy of my recently downloaded Duolingo app. At 9:00 am I headed to the Korean spa for an hour long scrub and oil massage – with a complimentary mini facial I might add. If you’ve never been to a Korean spa, you need to book an appointment and experience this magic at least once in your life. 

I wanted to start off the first full week of January with a fresh start and I couldn’t think of a better way than to literally scrub the remnants of 2019 off my body to reveal a glowing new canvas itching to create a new portrait. 

If you’ve had a body scrub before in a Western spa, then you were likely in your swimwear or bottoms, exposing as much as you were comfortable with, rubbed down with some green tea coffee mix promising to exfoliate your skin, then wrapped up looking like someone’s Thanksgiving leftovers. You poor little snack.

Let me tell you that the Korean spa is a much different experience. You strip down to your birthday suit, hang out in the spa or sauna until your fingers and toes look like raisins, then a tiny Korean woman in black lace underwear (scandalous, right?) and the strength of a bodybuilder (no joke) takes you into a private room where she literally scrubs off your dead skin with nothing but what feels like a sandpaper loofah. If you’re brave enough to look, you’ll notice your arms and legs look like someone freshly grated parmesan cheese on them and wonder how you’ve been carrying around this much dead skin. You feel disgusted yet refreshed at the same time, if you can get over the anxiety that comes with baring it all for a stranger. In recent months, the only other person I’ve been that intimate with is my waxing lady and we’ve been together for over a decade. That woman has seen parts of me that I know none of my ex’s have.

I got sidetracked.

After the Korean spa I went on a grocery run and came home to meal prep for the week. This week’s menu includes Beyond Meat cheeseburgers (I’m not vegan or vegetarian but these are seriously delicious), Alaskan salmon kale and spinach salad, and chicken breast with mixed vegetables. In an effort to really be an overachiever and kick-start this “New Year New Me” bullshit, I even cleared the entire Whole Foods selection of celery juice to start each morning with. 

In the afternoon I headed to the bank then cut a check to pay my entire year’s rent. That’s right; the entire year. I’m really big on saving and try to be smart with my money so if I can avoid one stress this year I will absolutely cut bills off my list. I guess my dream Camaro will have to wait.

Having had a busy but productive day, I closed the evening by reading. I turned off my phone, avoided Netflix, and continued to read “Girl, Wash Your Face,” by Rachel Hollis which I had started on the first of the month. One of my many goals this year was to start reading more so I decided to commit to reading one book a month. It’s not much considering most can put a good book down within a week, but it’s a realistic goal and one that works for me. I used to read obsessively before college but as I took on more classes, accepted internships, and got more and more job offers, I fell out of my passion.

I don’t have any New Year’s resolutions but I certainly have realistic goals that I’ve set for the year that prioritize my health and happiness. Today, I woke up at 4:30 again to go to the gym, sorer than I was yesterday. I must have hit the snooze button 8 times this morning and thought of every reason why I didn’t have to go but then realized that if I didn’t show up I was flaking on myself. Put it into perspective; if you say you’re going to commit to something and decide you’d rather Netflix and order pizza, it’s basically the equivalent of a friend making plans with you and flaking last minute. I’ve been that friend and I’ve had friends flake on me multiple times. It’s the worst. So why flake on yourself? Don’t you deserve better? I think you do. And I do too.

I’m not saying we don’t deserve a rest day every once and awhile. Hell, I’m sitting on the couch as a type this with a glass of wine beside me. And yes, just a glass this time. It is only Tuesday after all. But I’m having that glass of wine knowing I’ve been productive as fuck and I’m only celebrating how good that feels.

So cheers to the New Year and cheers to feeling good. 2019 was an icky year and I finally got sick and tired of feeling so beat down. Looking back on it though, as cliche as it sounds, it really was a blessing, hurting in the same way growing pains do. Hurting in the same way Monday’s squats are feeling right about now. But after the pain comes the muscle and with the muscle comes strength. 

Come at me 2020. For better or worse, this is going to be my year.