Resolutions



I have always been a great New Years resolutions maker, but not necessarily the best New Years resolutions keeper.  Not the worst. . . but certainly not the best!  So this year I came up with a new plan (after reading The Happiness Project, I should add).  Instead of making yearly goals, I would make monthly goals.   I then made an Excel spreadsheet to review and check off each night before bed.  The idea was that by reviewing my goals every day and holding myself accountable with the chart that I would keep the goals better.  I was even accommodating enough to coerce my husband into making some goals and setting up a chart for him (he was thrilled).  Sounds like a great plan, right? 

Well it was a great PLAN, but that plan was derailed the first week of the month when I was deathly ill with influenza.  And when I say deathly ill I mean that I was giving my husband directions that if I were not to make it he should definitely remarry (but that he needed to make sure that his new wife was thoroughly approved of by our first grade daughter because I didn't want her to have a life like Cinderella before Prince Charming. Yes, I have always been a bit on the dramatic side.  Why do you ask?)   Anyhow, as I was saying, me and my plan kind of got off on the wrong foot. 

(By the way, I am using the words resolutions / goals interchangeably, but I also learned in  The Happiness Project that they are actually different.  Goals have an achievable end while resolutions are something that can be worked on indefinitely.   For instance, running a marathon would be a goal, while exercising every day would be a resolution.  I just thought that was  an interesting tidbit to throw out there.)

Part of the problem with my resolutions is that I think I made too many of them.  I made seven when it would probably be easier to focus on them if I had only made 3 or 4.  Also, not to use the weather as an excuse, but I am going to use the weather as an excuse.  This January has been the most BLAH month I can even remember.   Three words:  freezing cold  and inversion.  These three words mean that it is really hard for me to be motivated.  Who feels like getting up early enough to exercise when the air is as thick as soup and the tears in your eyes freeze over?  Even when you're inside.  OK.  So I am admitting that I have been just plain lazy this month (after getting over being sick).   But in an effort to finish the last week of the month off on a stronger note, I am going to be brave and list my resolutions for all to see.  Then I'll let you know how I do and set some new ones for February.

So here goes.
1 - Exercise at least 3 times per week.  So a year ago when I was working out consistently nearly every day this one would not have been a problem and would have even been a wimpy goal. But then I had a crazy, messed up year last year and my exercising got off track. In fact, I had some health issues where I wasn't even allowed to work out for a few months. Then when I was allowed to again it was the holidays.  Which brings us to January and it's yuckiness.  So 3 times a week seemed like a good place to start.  And I am happy to say that now that I am feeling better I actually have been doing this.  Not more than the minimum, but at least something. Once I get in the habit it becomes second nature.  Still waiting for that to hit!

2 - Go to bed by 10 PM.  I think that I have done this maybe twice.   The point was that when I am more rested I am less grumpy, more motivated, and life just seems to go better. (Also, I would be able to get up and exercise before the kids were up.)  But it is just so hard to get to bed that early.  I am recommitting right now (as I type this post at 10:15).

3 - Control my temper.   I found myself nagging my family too often and maybe getting upset more than was warranted at times.  I hated the fact that in the morning I felt like I was spending my time getting after people to hurry up because they were going to be late instead of giving them a calm, warm and motherly send-off.  So, I decided to work on keeping calm and biting my tongue when I feel like nagging or ordering or complaining (or yelling).  Actually, I have done pretty well with this one overall (considering the fact that it is hard to feel as happy when the sky is filled with poison), but not so much today. . . Oh well, tomorrow is a new day.  That's the beauty of a resolution. . . you can keep working on it as long as its needed.

4 - Hug each member of my family daily.  This one seems like it would occur naturally, but when I thought about how I could show more love to my family, I realized that there were plenty of days where hugs weren't being given.  My three year old is in a really affectionate stage with me (my brother-in-law referenced the Oedipus complex, in fact) so he gets about 50 hugs a day from me, and my daughter always gets a hug goodbye in the morning and a hug goodnight. However, D-man, the nine year old, is not very affectionate and so I realized that there were days where he was getting skipped on the hugging.  AND, sad to say, there were actually days when we were in a particular rush where my husband himself was getting skipped on the hugs goodbye (and some nights he gets home after I've gone to bed which means he wasn't getting any hugs from me on those days).   I feel that a good hug can show love in ways that words just can't so I wanted to make doubly sure that I was hugging everyone in my family every day.  I better go and hug the husband right now and then I think I'll be good for today!

5 - Study/ prepare each day for my Sunday school Lesson.  I have the great privilege of teaching Sunday school to the teenagers at my church.  It is a daunting task so I decided that I could help myself be more prepared by studying each day instead of procrastinating to the night before as I often did last year.  So, I have been doing a bit better at this (especially at the first of the month), but it is not happening every single day.  The whole January thing again . . .

6 - Complete a daily household organizational task 5 times a week.   I did clean out my fridge one day and a kitchen cabinet the next . . . And I managed to take the Christmas decorations down and return them to their storage in the garage.  But somehow I don't think that averages out to 5 tasks per week.  The whole lazy thing  caused by the January thing. . .

7 - Limit personal computer time to 1 hour per day max.  You know, so I can get some household organizational tasks accomplished.   OK.   This one has been a challenge. I seriously did not realize how much time I was spending each day checking my email, emailing my husband back and forth, working on the blogs, and reading the news (and YES, checking Facebook).  I have kept this resolution a whopping 2 times so far this month.  In fact, I violated it today just by typing this post. 

Which means, I had better get off the computer and get to bed (now that I have already missed the 10 o'clock goal!)

Anyone have any great goals / resolutions tips?  It appears I need some help!