So we are almost a month into 2011. I never make New Year's resolutions as I vow to work on certain things throughout the year, and this year was no exception. However, I don't see any harm in sharing some of these things with others. Sharing things in this blog that I have chosen to focus on - balancing working out, healthy eating, saving money, family and work - has actually helped me achieve this balance. I am fairly certain that I will achieve a better success rate at staying on top of things I tend to be less organized with all year long by sharing them with you.The first is so easy. I have several dear friends whose birthdays I would like to recognize every year with a card. The sad thing is, each year, the way I recognize it varies. Sometimes if I'm on the ball, I buy a card in advance and mail it to them. Other years when I am not organized or have a lot going on, they get an email. Sometimes its a phone call, and sometimes its a late email or phone call. Just writing that already makes me feel lousy. Honestly, not every one of these friends calls me, emails me or sends me a card on my birthday. Some of them do. And I like it. I would like to makes someone's day that way. So, I want to purchase cards to have cards on hand so that each month I can send cards out to my friends who have birthdays that month.
Secondly, I would like to organize the maintenance of my house the way I have organized my workout schedule. Having certain things scheduled on certain days works for me. I live in a good sized 5 bedroom 3 bath home. It is a given that I must do some laundry every day in order to prevent me from backlog. It is a given that I must go to work every day, come home, feed my kids, bathe them and put them to bed. It is also a given that I must clean the kitchen every evening after dinner. So, if I can just add 1 cleaning task to my evening it will prevent my weekends from being a clean-fest. I will have to make a list or chart of some sort. This is going to be challenging as I already feel I lack personal time, but I am not striving for perfection. If I can just make it work some of the time I think I will be happy!
Third, I want to try to get my kids to bed 30 minutes earlier. My 2 year old Buddha naps at least 2-3 hours during the day, and at night he sleeps about 10 hours. My 4 year old Monkey gets about 10 hours at night also, but is very hyper and is just worn out by the end of the day, since he no longer naps. I put him to bed right after the Buddha goes down, but after a little evening chit chat, a book and prayers it ends up being about 30 minutes later. Sometimes in the morning its hard for me to wake him for school and I wonder if he'd be less moody if he got more sleep. In any case, I wouldn't think more sleep would be harmful.
Third, I want to yell less. Enough said.
So that is my plan for now, I hope for some level of success! How are you doing on your resolutions? Hope your year is off to a good start.
