2010 and 2011 Resolutions
Jan. 1st, 2011 04:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebI made three big resolutions for 2010:
1) Make a specific resolution about my weight such as refraining from eating out by myself, finding alternatives to eating for handling work stress or cooking more. I did not do any of these things. In fact, halfway through the year I decided to stop trying to lose weight. This led to me gaining five pounds. Oops.
2) Take a moratorium on dance lessons so I can have more time for other activities. I succeeded perfectly in staying away from most dance lessons. I didn't really do other activities besides play Backyard Monsters and read more blogs, though. However, I greatly enjoyed not having something scheduled and not having to be patient and open minded, etc.
3) Reduce irritants. Ones I thought of:
* Get a warm hat – I made one, though it wasn't quite as warm as I was hoping it would be.
* Get a better purse or purse with a better zipper – score.
* Find my wallet – nope. I did replace everything, though.
* Rain-X my windshield – I did that. But then I had to replace the whole car. Which I did.
For next year, I would like to declutter. This has been something I've wanted (to be magically done with) for the last few years, but I haven't been willing to commit to actually doing it. I think I am now, though most of my efforts on this task so far have been focused on procrastinating. I've made some real progress which makes it so much more enjoyable to hang around the house and fabulously easy to access the things I do have.
To move beyond procrastination and into action, I've though of some of strategies to try.
* Books - Every other book I read will be a book of mine that I think I should purge right until I open it. But half the books I read will be recommended books that I'm looking forward to reading. I can get to a fun book without reading one of mine by just getting rid of one of mine. I am not willing to read only my books because then my life isn't fun enough.
* General - Break down the job into small tasks that aren't intimidating. I've already broken down my clutter into categories such as office supplies and books in the natural sciences. And I've categorized each of these as important, quick, or other. This way if I just want something quick, I can find that. If I want to know what I should really do next, I can look at the important things. But if none of those things looks good, I have additional options.
* General - Make myself answer the questions “Do I use it?” and “Do I love it?” Saying no to both doesn't necessarily mean I get rid of it--I don't do well with extremist strategies. Some things that I don't use I should start using. Some I'm going to keep anyway because I might use them and they're difficult to replace (such as interview clothing). But it needs to be okay for me to get rid of:
- things I turned out not to like as much as I'd hoped I would (even gifts)
- things I used to use, but have not used in a while (especially those that are easy to replace if I change my mind)
- things I have replaced long enough ago that I can see that the replacement is, in fact, better, so I know it's safe to get rid of the old thing
* General - I am allowed to keep back-ups, but only a reasonable number of back-ups.
Also, I have been prepping for this by cleaning up some things that have gotten out of control lately: first the front door area, then my dresser, then my desk.
1) Make a specific resolution about my weight such as refraining from eating out by myself, finding alternatives to eating for handling work stress or cooking more. I did not do any of these things. In fact, halfway through the year I decided to stop trying to lose weight. This led to me gaining five pounds. Oops.
2) Take a moratorium on dance lessons so I can have more time for other activities. I succeeded perfectly in staying away from most dance lessons. I didn't really do other activities besides play Backyard Monsters and read more blogs, though. However, I greatly enjoyed not having something scheduled and not having to be patient and open minded, etc.
3) Reduce irritants. Ones I thought of:
* Get a warm hat – I made one, though it wasn't quite as warm as I was hoping it would be.
* Get a better purse or purse with a better zipper – score.
* Find my wallet – nope. I did replace everything, though.
* Rain-X my windshield – I did that. But then I had to replace the whole car. Which I did.
For next year, I would like to declutter. This has been something I've wanted (to be magically done with) for the last few years, but I haven't been willing to commit to actually doing it. I think I am now, though most of my efforts on this task so far have been focused on procrastinating. I've made some real progress which makes it so much more enjoyable to hang around the house and fabulously easy to access the things I do have.
To move beyond procrastination and into action, I've though of some of strategies to try.
* Books - Every other book I read will be a book of mine that I think I should purge right until I open it. But half the books I read will be recommended books that I'm looking forward to reading. I can get to a fun book without reading one of mine by just getting rid of one of mine. I am not willing to read only my books because then my life isn't fun enough.
* General - Break down the job into small tasks that aren't intimidating. I've already broken down my clutter into categories such as office supplies and books in the natural sciences. And I've categorized each of these as important, quick, or other. This way if I just want something quick, I can find that. If I want to know what I should really do next, I can look at the important things. But if none of those things looks good, I have additional options.
* General - Make myself answer the questions “Do I use it?” and “Do I love it?” Saying no to both doesn't necessarily mean I get rid of it--I don't do well with extremist strategies. Some things that I don't use I should start using. Some I'm going to keep anyway because I might use them and they're difficult to replace (such as interview clothing). But it needs to be okay for me to get rid of:
- things I turned out not to like as much as I'd hoped I would (even gifts)
- things I used to use, but have not used in a while (especially those that are easy to replace if I change my mind)
- things I have replaced long enough ago that I can see that the replacement is, in fact, better, so I know it's safe to get rid of the old thing
* General - I am allowed to keep back-ups, but only a reasonable number of back-ups.
Also, I have been prepping for this by cleaning up some things that have gotten out of control lately: first the front door area, then my dresser, then my desk.