March Birchbox Book Club: A Review

I am sure many of you are aware of what Birchbox is, and for those who do not know allow me to explain. Birchbox is a monthly beauty subscriber box that allows you try out different beauty products from various beauty companies. Once a month, a box is shipped to your home with 5 samples ranging from hair, makeup, skin care, body, and lifestyle that pertain to your beauty needs. I have been a member of the Birchbox community for some time now but it wasn’t until recently I have become one of their Birchbloggers, where I can write about things that I receive from Birchbox. It was also around that same time that Birchbox came out with a monthly book club for their bloggers. YAY for me since I blog about books and not beauty products, so it would have been super awkward!

For the month of March, Birchbox gave me Better than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin, which is an in-depth study of habits. A habit tends to be something that people would often consider to be a “dirty word”; no one really likes to create habits or routines for themselves, if we are honest with ourselves. But the author, Gretchen sheds light on the thing most people are unwilling to budge on or comes to terms with. Gretchen goes into great detail on habits and how they shape our lives; how we form habits, what makes us decided on habits we need to adopt, how our personality works with habits, the difference between a good and bad habits, and how we can keep habits. She breaks down the everyday struggles that we face in order to keep the good habits and get rid of the bad habits we have established in our everyday lives. Some are easy to keep and remove, where as some require more concentration and diligence to keep or remove them. As someone who likes habits, Gretchen draws an understandable description of how we form and keep habits based on our personality types. With each personality type, the reader can get a better understanding of how they form and can maintain the habits of their lives.  Ever wonder why you could or couldn’t keep that New Year’s resolution? This book can help get you back on track so that you can keep the changes you wish to make in your life.

I admit, I am a huge fan of habits and this book was a good tool to use in helping me to define my routine. I have so many habits; they have shaped and defined my everyday life. From learning to only eat at the table, turning off my phone after 10pm to unwind and read, blogging once a week, and checking my emails before starting my work day are all habits that have become things that I cannot live without. It is when I do not do those habits that my life seems a little out of sorts. On top of the habits I have already mastered, I am also trying to gain new habits like running/walking more, saving more money, and spending less time in front of a screen every day. This book has helped me to define who I am as a habit maker and gain an understanding on how I can keep the good habits in my life. I have learned that I am a Questioner, a Marathoner, an Over Buyer, a Lark and an Abstainer (read the book, it will all make sense). Along with knowing these things about myself, I can better put new habits into practice and see where I may or may not need improvement. I learned that I am a person who needs to have structure in my life in order to get things done. If I do not have structure, or habits per say, then nothing would get done and everything would become a hot mess. This book has been such a huge blessing for me, and I am seeing how much things have improved since following Gretchen’s advice and teaching.

This book was such a fascinating piece of research to see and understand why we do what we do. I can see, and read Gretchen’s passion and dedication to something that each of us struggles with every January or at least every year, week, month or day. Each chapter is broken so that the reader is able to grasp the concepts of habits and take away the tools they need to better equip their lives. This book provides structure without the reader feeling boxed in or overwhelmed by the demands and rules that come with changing their habits. The process Gretchen lays out in making and breaking habits can be easily followed and adjusted to your life and circumstance. It is going to be a game changer for a lot of people who have been struggling for years to achieve goals; it will ultimately set people free from things that hold them back. We struggle with making or breaking habits every day. Will I or wont I do this? What is the benefit of me doing this? (Hello, Questioner!) There is always that desire to better improve who we are as individuals and this book can help unlock those things we struggle with. It is the key to forming a life we will be happy with, and allow us to become better individuals in the world. If you have trouble keeping habits, like keeping habits, or know someone who is also struggling, then this book is for you. I have gained so much perspective from this work and everyone should really read it. But be forewarned, you are going to change from it, but change is good. It is pretty much a win-win situation for you, so why not? What do you have to lose?

Thank you to Birchbox for sending me the book! I loved it and look forward to receiving more books from them in the future!

How are you on habits? Do you like them, or hate them? Let me a message in the comments below telling me your thoughts on habits.

Happy Reading!