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Thursday, March 10, 2011

Checks & Balances

This morning as I checked off my daily goals, I thought it was high time I sent out an update.

 

As part of my New Year’s Resolutions, I chose to measure 13 ‘small things’ each day.  The thinking was that rather than trying to do one or two BIG things this year, I’d try to affect change in my life by instilling new ‘small habits’.  I’d been inspired by my own success at taking the stairs & ‘far parking’ at the office every day since we moved into our new building in early December.  I figured, if I could do THAT, then why couldn’t I do a few things - all at once?

 

Well, as it turns out, ‘The Experts’ tell us to change just one thing at a time - for a reason!  I may have chosen to bite off a little more than I could chew all at once J

 

To aid in my success, I tried the checkbox method used by Jerry Seinfeld.  The idea was that you get one box for each day, and every day that you do the item, you get a check mark.  After a few days, you don’t want to break the chain.

 

However, I apparently didn’t have ANY problem breaking the chain!  I appreciate the idea though, as I’ve always felt you never know what little thing will put you over the tipping point.

 

So, you ask, how am I doing?

 

Probably no great shock, but some things are going better than others.  The easiest items to stick with have been the ‘non-quantifiable’ items.  If it’s an easy ‘Yes/No’, it’s a LOT easier to track this way.  Items like following my Atkins plan, or doing a daily to-do list are a bit more…hazy.  Does it count if I just look at the to-do list?  I mean, I don’t need to make a new list EVERY day, do I?  Some items get done, some don’t – the ‘rush of life’ get’s injected, the list gets recycled to the next day, and then it’s hard to make it a cut & dried yes or no.

 

So, how do I make that more easily measured?  I’m not sure.  I don’t want to drop that category, though.

 

The Atkins Plan & Junk Food daily to-do’s are perhaps best left to my daily carb tracker app.  I need an uninterrupted hour to set up the favorites section on that.  Hmm – maybe that should go on my to-do list…?  Perhaps I could make it a check-mark that I used the tracker each day?

 

Early to Bed / Early to Rise - both continue to frustrate me.  They stay.  I need my 8 to 9 hours each night, and I seriously NEED to not be such a night owl!  Getting up early enough to walk the puppy & do a bit of writing before I head to work…this…this would be seriously good.  Walking the puppy after dinner may also help get my fat butt into bed at a reasonable hour.  Perhaps the Puppy Walk should get broken down into two categories, one each for morning & night?

 

Daily Writing / Puppy Walk / Read My Book Today – these all continue to plague me.  Surprisingly, I’ve not been reading a lot lately.  This isn’t like me, and it needs to change, but I’ve been frustrated with ‘the Library experience’, nor do I want to continue paying for books that crowd my shelves with mediocrity.  I may try an e-reader, although that feels like the literary equivalent of driving a Prius.

 

Drink The Water – I’m going to edit this.  My intention was to drink 8 glasses of water each day, but I get a check mark for each one…making my slackness look like success.

 

Likewise, I need a new definition for ‘Snappy Dresser’.  Wearing ‘new’ cargo pants does not mean they are ‘snappy’.  Getting the lunch-stains out of my favorite polo shirts doesn’t make them ‘snappy’.

 

My daily ‘Fiscal Check-In’ is my big success!  I am dumb-money-free so far for 2011 (meaning no late fees, no bounce fees, etc), the bill management is going well, and I’m reasonably happy with this area.  Lots of room to improve my overall ‘fiscal strategy’, but that’s not what we’re looking for here.

 

The other big success is actually doing this list each day.  I should give myself a checkmark for that…

The Chick 'n Dip is open for 2011!

Remind me later to tell you about this...