There’s your daily horoscope reading, offering guidance for the day or week ahead and then there’s Noodle – a 13-year-old pug who decides if you will have a productive or relaxing day.
The internet has fallen in love with the fortune-telling pooch, waiting every day to know if it’s a “Bones” or “No Bones” day.
Every day his owner Jonathan Graziano picks him up from his bed and if Noodle stands on his own, it’s a Bones day.
It’s going to be productive. You should be ambitious, take risks and tackle those projects you’ve been putting off.
But if Noodle flops back down into his bed, it’s a No Bones day. Take it easy, stay cosy and look after yourself.
His daily videos have led to many structuring their days around Noodle’s ability to stand up on his own.
I tried following Noodle’s advice for a week, here’s what I learned about finding motivation in unexpected places.
My week taking Noodle’s advice
November 1 – Bones
With my instructions from Noodle, I decided it might be best to think about what a productive day would look like for me.
Two things instantly came to mind: getting up earlier than usual and going back to the gym. Both of which I struggle to do on Mondays.
Not wanting to let Noodle down, I set my alarm for 6am and a reminder for the afternoon to head to the gym.
Waking up wasn’t as painful as I thought, since I’d been testing out a new sunrise alarm. I got up, made breakfast and got ready for the day.
It was in the afternoon when I started to struggle. The skies got darker and it was barely 4pm, but my second alarm went off and there was no turning back.
How did it feel?
Overall, I didn’t hate it. Leaving for the gym was harder than actually being there and running my poor man’s version of a 5K.
Waking up at 6am wasn’t painful and I felt like I got a lot more out of my day than I usually do when I roll out of bed at 8am.
But there was something satisfying about walking back through the door after my workout and knowing I had two things checked off my list I usually struggle with.
Rating: 🦴🦴🦴🦴 4/5 bones
November 2 – No Bones
Oh boy, was I looking forward to my first No Bones day.
I wasn’t sure what I would do with it. Excited but caught off guard, I told myself I would just go with the flow. There’s a part of me that thinks some of us were built innately to be Bones or No Bones people.
(For me, I think I stand firmly in the No Bones category.)
I decided to give the stove a break this evening and have a picnic-style dinner. Hummus, breadsticks, olives and falafel were on the menu. A little tiny drop of summer on an autumn’s evening. Why not? Noodle said it was okay.
I re-watched Anastasia on Disney+…twice.
Oh, and drank some water – as per Jonathan’s advice.
How did it feel?
It was nice to take a break, and not worry about dinner like I usually do every night. Noodle gave me a great excuse to jazz it up, because I knew it was a moment to indulge in.
Rating: 🦴🦴🦴🦴 4/5 bones
November 3 – No Bones
“Another No Bones day?” was my exact phrasing when the reading came through. Completely chuffed.
I made absolutely no plans after work. No Bones for me means conserving my social battery, getting into my rattiest and comfiest sweats and indulging in whatever I could get my hands on.
And no gym time.
As soon as I logged off from work, I immediately made the flat cosy. I turned on the fairy lights and got the couch ready for me being immobile for the next five hours.
I pulled out one of my favourite teas I only use for special occasions and added frothy milk to it for fun.
Pizza was ordered and stinking up the living room.
The main event? I re-watched so much reality TV, that if it were sweets I would have been phoning my dentist the next morning.
How did it feel?
Glorious.
However, and not to look a gift horse in the mouth, I felt like I could have used the evening to be productive.
The mountain of unsorted laundry did feel ominous from the peripheral of my vision throughout the entirety of my binge-watching session.
Rating: 🦴🦴🦴🦴 4/5 bones
November 4 – Bones ‘And A Half’
I should have known something big was about to happen because Jonathan started the video by running out of his home repeatedly saying: “Oh my God!”
It wasn’t just any ordinary Bones day. It was going to be a Bones day “and a half” – whatever that means?
Not only had Noodle stood up, he’d headed into the garden to sniff some hydrangeas.
I wasn’t sure what I would do but decided to ignore the flippant “invest in my local trampoline park” suggestion of Jonathan’s. There wasn’t anything monetary I could think of to spend on.
So, I thought about what investing in myself looked like – which, for some reason, is always chores. I always feel better when the house is organised.
I tried to tidy up my home as much as I could. Putting away that unsorted pile of laundry that—yes—had still been hanging on the rack since Sunday night.
I had plans later on that evening with a friend from out of town to celebrate her birthday. I went a little over the top with my makeup and outfit.
Because I was investing in my future – I only had two drinks and was grateful the next morning.
And for that, I thank you, Noodle.
How did it feel?
It didn’t feel like a chore in the end and I didn’t come to dread it the way I dreaded waking up early or mentally preparing myself for the gym.
Instead, it was nice to take time for myself in a different sense than just indulging in pizza and bad TV.
Rating: 🦴🦴🦴 3/5 bones
November 5 – Bones
It’s only right that I get another Bones day after getting two No Bones readings back to back.
According to Jonathan’s advice, I had to “treat myself” today.
It seemed easy because I had the day off from work and would be going out for afternoon tea with friends.
And while I didn’t get the rice cooker Jonathan suggested, I did get some vitamins and iron supplements while I was in town. A purchase I put off every winter.
How did it feel?
Slightly confused. I wasn’t sure if I was doing a Bones day right. I felt like I was having more of a No Bones day.
But since I was socialising and actually left the house, it probably would be considered a Bones day for me.
Rating: 🦴🦴🦴 3/5 bones
November 6 – Bones
As I watched the latest video, I decided Noodle is unmerciful.
Not only would my Saturday be a Bones day, but it would also be a “roll-over”. With Noodle and his owner travelling, Jonathan said we could choose to count the latest reading for the next day.
This meant my Sunday would also need to have some level of productivity too – and there went my plans to be a couch potato.
Again, I set to work tidying the house and even did the washing up (even though it definitely wasn’t my turn to tackle the dishes).
But it was tough to keep up the motivation levels with the days getting shorter and weather turning colder.
I wanted to take a drive (since I’m a nervous driver) and make the most of my Bones weekend, but the weather told me it was a no-go.
All I wanted to do was put on a candle and watch TV while the heating kicked on.
How did it feel?
I felt lost. I knew I was meant to be doing something for my own benefit by being ambitious and taking a risk.
But the combination of the weather and the inherent No Bones in my genes made it difficult to treat Saturday as something productive or advantageous.
Rating: 🦴🦴 2/5 bones
November 7 – Bones
Even though Jonathan said to take today as a Bones day – or leave it ambiguous – I had to listen to my own bones and they leaned on the latter.
It didn’t sit right with me to do absolutely nothing on a day that was meant to be Bones, so I got up and did a food shop. I looked up healthy recipes to set myself up for the rest of the week.
In the end, I ended up thanking my past self for making the effort to shop for veggies and fruits. I enjoyed my meals for the week ahead, guilt-free, and included my favourite cauliflower curry soup.
How did it feel?
Not great at the start, but in retrospect, fantastic. Getting up to do something that would benefit me in the coming week was more worth it than I initially thought this small task would make me feel.
Rating: 🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴 5/5 bones
Finding motivation in unexpected places
As silly as the challenge may sound, Noodle is offering some positivity at the tail-end of an uncertain and challenging time.
A lot of our structures and daily routines have been disrupted because of the pandemic.
We hear about people struggling to get out of their homes and back in the gym, or finding the energy to go out and socialise.
Noodle and Jonathan are giving us the chance to tune back into our wellbeing after a hectic 18-plus months.
Most importantly, we’re prioritising ourselves. Noodle’s daily reading is an extra push to get us to do what we’ve wanted to do. It’s the permission to let ourselves relax.
It’s also that motivation we didn’t know we needed to get a task or project done that we’ve been putting off for a while.
It could be as simple as getting your vitamins ahead of a long winter, or going all-out and “investing in your local trampoline park”.
Noodle made me realise we can practice kindness with ourselves in simple ways, and find motivation in unexpected places.