Since the beginning of January I have been trying to decide on how to split my resolutions. There are 25 of them all together and I know if I tried to adopt them all at once I would just struggle and probably give up. I considered having each month focus on one aspect of my goals such as parenting, marriage or home life. Instead I just chose the ones that I felt the most urgency in starting and made those January's. Easy peasy. By breaking the lot down into manageable bits I hope to avoid getting overwhelmed but still keep my enthusiasm high. I'm counting on the novelty of adding new resolutions each month to keep everything fresh.
It seemed intuitive that having more energy, both mental and physical, would make it easier for me to accomplish things. More energy equals a boost in my feelings of happiness and well-being, which is never a bad side effect. That means January's goals will be oriented on bringing me more physical and mental energy.
1 - Get regular exercise. I always feel better when I get regular exercise. I'm less tired and better able to keep a reign on my crankiness. And yet I still find excuses to put it off. For the past few months I've been trying to exercise for 30 minutes each day but have been falling short of doing it regularly. This month I intend on doing at least a half hour everyday, six days a week.
2 - Drink more water. Everyone knows that drinking water is good for you. It keeps you hydrated like no other liquid can quite measure up to. Yet I would rather drink a diet soda any day of the week. And I do. I habitually choose diet soda over any other drink. (Always you and me, Diet Dr. Pepper.) But now a study has come out linking sugary drinks, especially diet sodas, and depression. Like I need any more help in the depression department. No, thank you. So we got rid of all the sodas and artificially sweetened drinks in the house and are making do with water. I hate it but I hate being depressed even more.
3 - Tackle a nagging task. I am such a procrastinator. I recognize this trait willingly and without apology. I like to put off things on my to-do list that I don't like to do. The worst is if the task involves talking on the phone. I never voluntarily talk on the phone without a specific purpose. I've even been known to ignore a phone call and then text whoever called back saying I was busy. (Yes, I've probably done this to you. No, I'm not sorry.) Instead of just sucking it up and doing it, I will put off a non-emergency doctor's appointment making phone call for weeks. Months even. But when I'm finally able to cross that pesky to-do off my list I feel such a rush of accomplishment that I wonder why I was being such a baby in the first place. No more. I resolve that if it's something that can be completed in less than 5 minutes, I will just do it now.
4 - Nighttime cleanup. I feel like this is such a small errand compared to the rest of my goals but it's one that I get such satisfaction from completing. Every night, before I climb into bed, I make a sweep of the house and set things to rights. Putting toys back in the toy box (that's the biggest task), turning off the lights, making sure the computer monitor is off, loading and starting the dishwasher. All in all, it doesn't take me more than 10 minutes to get things back to square one but I love how nice it is waking up to a clean house.
5 - Daily scripture study. They say that you can't rely on other people to make you happy; you are the only one who can do that. Which is why I dislike making resolutions that ask others for help. But this goal I truly felt I needed help in completing so I asked Jason to read with me. Every night we've been doing scripture study. Some nights it's not a lot since he gets home late from work but it's always something. It has really helped put my day into perspective and I benefit from feeling the effects the next morning.
6 - Blog at least 3 times a week. This is probably my most lofty goal out of all 25 and yet I had to include it. My blogs won't all be about my progress through my resolutions but it'll be a way for me to keep track of my journey.
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