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April 2026 Recap
Introduction:
Hey everyone! I hope your month was wonderful, and you got to do things you enjoy! I can't believe April is already gone! It's one of my favorite times of the year because it's my birthday month! I celebrate myself the entire week of my birthday, if not the entire month and everyone should celebrate themselves more because we are all amazing human beings! April was full of amazing weather, spring adventures, birthday adventures, writing, creativity, and so much gratitude.
If you're new to this series, I recap each month to keep track of my year from the small stuff to the big stuff, so when January 1st 2027 gets here I'm not left thinking "What the heck happened in 2026?" It also helps me to stay on track with my goals, and I mainly want to build a consistent writing habit along with healthier habits. If you missed the previous months recaps you can read those linked below.
And if you'd like short weekly updates from me, you can read them on my website here.
Recapping in Four Parts: Writing, Reading, Health, And Other Life Stuff
Habit Tracking
Another month down with my daily habit tracker calendar, and this tracker has truly changed me for the better! Being able to track and see my progress is a game changer. Even though this month was less than lass month, seeing all of my habits and goals laid out and checking then off daily has been essential at keeping me on track, and I know those daily small habits are what lead to success.
Writing
Habit Tracker: 17/30 writing days. That's 57% and way down from last month. Lol I definitely knew I took more time off this month and that's okay! May will be back higher with the final push to finish this book. Yay! I'm still proud of myself for showing up the days I did amongst the birthday celebrations, and I know that the time not writing was not wasted and that living life provides more ideas for stories, and my well is nice and full. There will be no burn out happening over here! Writing with joy is definitely the way to do this business. I do have a tentative release date for the end of next month. Eeek! No promises, but setting a deadline will help me push to get there. This book has my heart, and I can't wait to share it with everyone!
Sneak Peek:
"He who wears mostly black, and can’t express himself according to adults, is the best listener and most observant, caring person I’ve ever met. Ash is still and will always be my best friend, but for me, he’s also my everything. I love him, and I’ve loved him as more than my best friend for a while now. Hell, maybe forever and I just didn’t know what to call it. But I don’t know if Ash would even know what romantic feelings are. I’ve taken to calling him my platonic life partner so I don’t accidentally cross lines with him."
Copyright © 2026 R L Tynes
And there you have it. We have some childhood besties in love with each other. Swoon!
I will share more on my ghosted social media platforms when I am in the final stages of this book. You can find me anywhere here. More importantly, my newsletter will be the best place to get updates from me. If you aren't signed up for that you can do that here.
Reading
No surprise here, but April was another slow month of reading for me. It's the theme so far this year, and I know it's just this season of life and other things are priority right now. Mostly writing and publishing my own book, so it's a good thing! I did read 2 more books than last month though for a total of 8 books! That's funny because the month before I upped it by 2 books. I'm trending up and that's awesome to see! I should still easily make my annual reading goal of 100 books. I set it here knowing I usually end up between 120-130 books read each year based on my reading speed and lifestyle.
I did not finish a non-fiction book, but I am so close. I read multiple at a time and alternate, so I'll probably end up finishing a lot together and that goal will be hit overnight of staying on track with non-fiction. Lol I also shopped the Spring Audible sale and got a handful of audiobooks I'm excited to dive into!
My favorite series I'm reading right now is The Guns N' Boys series by K.A. Merikan. It is a phenomenal MM dark mafia romantic suspense adventure romance that has sucked me in and taken me on a JOURNEY. I've been to Italy, New York, Germany, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mexico, and Columbia within the span of a few weeks and it's been awesome. It's a true series that follows the same main characters across 11 books. I'm obsessed. It has all my favorite tropes and the audiobooks are fantastic. I'm currently on book 6 and loving it!
Health
Water
My goal is still 3 glasses or 24oz. a day and I completed 14/30 days or 47% this month. This was a drop from last month's 77% complete, and I know it was me being off track with celebrations and not taking my water along with me everywhere. This should go back up in May.
This is my favorite water bottle and I've found them for cheap at places like TJ Maxx and Ollie's. So check your discount stores local to you for one. I'm sure there are other brands with the same features as well. It has a straw and I always drink more water when I have a straw!
Intentional Movement
I did this habit 19/30 days or 63%! This one was up almost double from last months 35%! Woo Hoo! My husband definitely kept me accountable here with daily walks together! I have really enjoyed them, and I think we will continue on in May with daily walks.
Sleep (7-9 hours)
I did this habit 23/30 days or 77%. This is the exact same number as March and I'm not mad about it. I did recently buy a book on sleep to help motivate me to prioritize more sleep and make me want to get that 100%. Lol I know it's important for every function of life, and I can't wait to see what this book says! It's called Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. Maybe this book will be the game changer for me.
Skin Care/ Self Care
Morning Skincare: 22/30 days or 73%. Almost on par with last months 77%.
Evening Skincare: 9/30 days or 30%. I'm down from last months 45%.
My morning skincare is still pretty consistent, and my evening skin care took a hit. Lol I'm still not being an adult about this one, so I need to see what kind of reward system I can set up for evening skincare. Will report back in May.
I'm also starting back where I keep my nails painted. I used to always do my nails, and when I have them done, I feel like I can conquer anything and I feel so pretty and put together. Typing in my manuscript even feels better! Lol but now that I'm on a healthier product journey I didn't want polish and remover that smelled like fumes and have found Honeybee Gardens Nail Polish and Remover. I'll link them below for you!
Journaling
Habit Tracker: 30/30 days or 100%
Journaling, once again, is the reigning habit. It's a non-negotiable for my mental health, and I make this easy and quick. This month I finally started my gratitude journal on a physical journal instead of the app and I've really enjoyed it! I am excited to be the journaler who fills up notebooks instead of the writer that collects and hoards blank ones. Although both hobbies are valid. Lol
I also got this birding journal for my birthday and I'm obsessed! I will be using this one as my life list log!
Vitamins
29/30 Days or 97%
I had one day where I ran out of vitamins or this would still be 100%. I will definitely restock early from now on. I am still taking a women's daily, (Garden of Life), Fiber Vitamins, and extra vitamin D. I still want to add CBD oil into my routine, I just haven't made it out to that store yet. Hopefully I'lll have an update on that in May. There are a couple of health books I want to read and apply to my life and I've been putting them off. I'll link them below and you can tell me in the comments if either of these changed your life and that I need to stop putting them off!
Other Life Stuff
Time Outside/Birding & Other Nature Things
I walked outside almost everyday this month! Nature is healing. My body does feel better when I move and it's good for the mental health! Win Win. I always bring my camera along and I got some great photos of all the geese nesting and baby geese photos. They are so freaking cute. I'll have to share some more nature photos with y'all eventually! The highlight this month was seeing a beautiful red fox! You can see a photo of it here.
The highlight of backyard birding this month was having a Blue Grosbeak visit for the first time ever! It was stunning and I was in awe! Yay for Spring and new birds! Also my Baltimore and Orchard Orioles are back! I absolutley love feeding them. They love oranges and grape jelly!
My husband also took me on a horse trail ride for my birthday. It was so much fun, and so peaceful. If you are ever in central Mississippi look up Soul of Dixie Trail Rides.
Films/TV
I did read more than last month so naturally I watched less film/tv. That's great for me because reading stories is my preferred method of escape vs watching them. We saw the new Super Mario Galaxy movie in theaters and I loved it! I liked it more than the first one, and if you haven't watched them I recommend watching them in order for the backstory! I also watched a couple of sci-fi movies. I go through phases where all I want to watch are outer space or futuristic movies so I watched The Midnight Sky and Arrival. I loved both of them! Kyle and I finished season 2 of Heartstopper and he is loving it! One more season and then we will both be ready for the movie finale this Summer! The absolute best show I watched this month was Interview With The Vampire, and I should not have put it off this long, but now I'm ready for season 3 this summer! It was absolutely phenomenal. I cried, I laughed, and I loved. Loustat forever with their hearts dancing toxic love. Run to watch that show!
Family & Home
I got my library cleaned out and books listed for sale and even sold some! Woo Hoo! Yay for books going to new home where they will be loved. I also got my desk drawers organized and I feel so good about it. It was time. My husband did a birthday tarot reading for me and I love doing these occasionally! They really help me refocus on my goals, remind me of what I should be working on, and motivate me. For the daily though, I love these cute bird affirmation cards he got me.
I also cheered on my husband as he ran a 5K on Easter weekend and this was the first time he medaled! He won first place in his age group. I'm so proud of him! He has a race booked nearly every month this year, and is currently doing half marathon training.
Conclusion
April was such a fun month full of birthday celebrations! I am stepping into the best decade of my life, and I'm so glad I started off this decade with new daily journal logs, habit tracking, and this new blog series! I'm feeling grateful and inspired. My writing is more consistent than ever, and I'm most proud of that! I think May will be jam packed and I can't wait to get things done!
Let me know in the comments below how your April was and if you reached your goals or what you worked on. Do you track your habits too?
As always,
Happy Writing & Reading!
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