The Soft Week Menu: The Life Behind the Life

Hi Besties, Lately, I’ve been thinking about the difference between the life people see and the life that actually sustains us. When someone lands on my website, they see reading guides, book recommendations, blog posts, and content. They see the finished work. But the truth is that the things that make my weeks feel meaningful are often the things nobody sees. The chapter I read just because it sounded fun. The coloring page I worked on while listening to absolutely nothing. The conversations that happen while baking in the kitchen. The quiet routines that never make it onto a to-do list. I’ve realized that those invisible moments are often the ones doing the heavy lifting. They’re what help me stay creative, stay connected to myself, and keep showing up for the things that matter. So this week’s Soft Week Menu is all about the life behind the life, the small things that don’t look particularly impressive from the outside but make a surprisingly big difference. And if you’re building your own Soft Week Menu this week, I hope you’ll think about the things quietly making your life better too.

This Week’s Menu

Reading

The Love’s Academic series by India Holton

Hobby

Coloring pages and carrot cake with my mum

This Week’s Focus

Paying attention to the things that quietly matter

Ritual

Protecting the parts of life nobody else sees

Reset

Looking beyond accomplishments

Question to Carry

What is quietly making my life better right now?

Reading: The Books That Don’t Need a Purpose

Right now, I’m deep into reading for the Fall Reading Guide. That’s normal for this time of year. But I’ve learned over the years that one of the reasons I remain such a consistent reader is because I never stop reading for myself. This week, I’m looking forward to the Love’s Academic series by India Holton. Magical academics. Professional rivals. Romance. Ghosts. Rare magical birds. Academic chaos. Honestly, it sounds like exactly the kind of delightful nonsense I want to escape into right now. The books I share in the Soft Week Menu are usually the books I’m choosing simply because they appeal to me as a reader. Sometimes they overlap with my work, but more often they’re the books helping me stay connected to the reason I started reading in the first place.

Hobby: Coloring Pages and Carrot Cake

Coloring continues to be one of the most reliable parts of my week. At this point, I don’t even question it anymore. I know that at some point I’ll reach for my colored pencils, settle into a chair, and spend a little time doing something that doesn’t require much from me. There’s comfort in that. Not every hobby needs to challenge us or help us grow. Sometimes a hobby can simply be familiar. This week, I’m also spending time in the kitchen with my mum before she heads home. Last week we finally made the puddings we’d been talking about. This week, we’re moving on to carrot cake. If you’ve ever baked with someone you love, you probably know that the recipe is rarely the point. The best part is usually everything happening around it; the stories, the laughter, the conversations that seem to appear out of nowhere. The carrot cake is what we’re making. The memory is what we’re keeping.

This Week’s Focus: The Things Nobody Sees

I think we spend a lot of time focusing on visible accomplishments. The books we finished, goals we achieved, projects we completed, and habits we maintained. Those things matter. But I’ve been wondering lately whether we give enough credit to the invisible things.

• The hobby that helps us decompress.
• The friend who checks in.
• The family traditions we continue.
• The books we read purely for enjoyment.
• The quiet moments that make us feel like ourselves.

When I look back on my favorite weeks, they’re rarely defined by productivity. They’re usually defined by moments. That’s what I’m paying attention to this week. Not what I’m accomplishing, but what’s quietly supporting me while I accomplish it.

Ritual: Protecting What Refuels Me

One thing I’ve learned is that the activities that help us most are often the first things to disappear when life gets busy. We skip the hobby, postpone the walk, and stop reading for fun. We tell ourselves we’ll get back to it later. But later has a funny way of never arriving. So lately I’ve been trying to protect the things that help me feel grounded before I protect anything else. Not because they’re urgent, because they’re important. So I’ll read a few chapters of a fun book, do a coloring page, and afternoon baking with my mum. These things may not look productive, but they make the rest of my life better. That’s reason enough to keep them.

Reset: Looking Beyond Accomplishments

One thing I’m actively trying to unlearn is the habit of measuring a good week only by what I got done. Because it’s an easy trap to fall into. Especially when you have goals, and you love being productive. Especially when your work revolves around creating things. But a meaningful week isn’t always the week where you accomplish the most. Sometimes it’s the week where you laughed a little more. Read something fun, made a cake, and spend time with people you love. Sometimes the things that don’t show up on a productivity tracker are the things you’ll remember most.

The Question We’re Carrying This Week

What is quietly making my life better right now? Don’t overthink it. Maybe it’s a hobby, a book, a person, or a routine you’ve stopped noticing because it’s become part of everyday life. Whatever comes to mind, give it a little appreciation this week. The things supporting us deserve our attention too.

Final Thoughts

This week’s Soft Week Menu is a reminder that a meaningful life is often built from things that never appear on a highlight reel. A fantasy romance series I’m reading purely for fun. Coloring pages I’ve returned to again and again. Carrot cake with my mum. Small routines that help me feel grounded. None of them look particularly remarkable. But together, they’re creating a week that feels good to live. And sometimes that’s more important than anything else. Your soft week starts here. I’d love to know what’s on your Soft Week Menu this week. What are you reading, reaching for, resetting, or learning right now? Let me know in the comments.