Making the Internet My Accountability Partner

I got so excited after making my Autumn Bucket List I wanted to jump on something right away. I was already in the middle of working on some Christmas gifts, but knew I wouldn’t be able to share them with anyone for months. Of course, sharing on this blog is not the primary motivator for any of the items on my seasonal bucket list, but it is the accountability I need to make sure I get things done. With this in mind, I started looking at libraries to borrow The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore.

Understandably this is a really popular book and there was a significant wait for each library I checked for every format of the book. Thankfully I hadn’t used my Spotify audiobook hours for the month so I was able to listen to The Pumpkin Spice Cafe. It was so pleasant to sit on my back patio, enjoy the autumn weather, light a s’mores scented candle, color, and listen to a cute fall romance. (I feel obligated to note that even though it was cute there was a spice element.) I couldn’t have imagined a better way to romanticize my autumn.

I thought it was the audiobook format that meant I finished this story in two sittings. I had so much fun with this book that I decided to use a gift card to buy another book in the series. I sat down with The Cinnamon Bun Book Store last night and devoured half the book. I’m starting to think I have been missing out on romance novels. I have been having odd feelings about my reading habits lately. I have this bucket list of books I don’t own, and fully intend to borrow from the library. Yet I am surrounded by books I own and have not yet read. Just this past weekend I not only bought a new book, I bought 5 new books. Yet, I am also deeply wishing I didn’t have this unready physical TBR weighing me down.

This is ultimately a classic example of I need to change my shopping habits and yet the emotions of shopping are “too much” to override. I know I am capable of managing these emotions and achieving my goals. The classic short term vs long term gratification dilemma rises up for me. It will realistically take me years to get through my physical TBR, so the immediate dopamine rush of buying a book I’m excited about is so attractive. I’ve been toying with the idea of using an online tracker for my physical TBR. It might be helpful to use that and set goal posts so I’m not waiting forever for the satisfaction of achievement. I will certainly keep you updated if I go that route.