For January, my goal is to get myself together. Rather than being reactive and waiting to see what happens in my daily life, I want to cultivate more intentionality. I want to bring more energy into my life so that I'm able to be more present - and playful - with my kids (and my husband, too!). I want to carve out some time and space to get back to being me, the adventurous woman who's always out exploring, who's engaging in conversation with friends and strangers, who's ready for anything life might bring (this contrasts with how I see and feel myself now - the exhausted housewife who's just trying to keep everybody afloat and who does nothing for herself).
With that in mind, my day-to-day resolutions for this month are:
- Get enough sleep. This has two parts: 1) no screens after 9pm (new research shows that the blue light of tablets, smartphones, etc. is particularly disruptive to sleep habits and should be avoided in the evening hours), and 2) be in bed with lights out by 10pm.
- Write a to-do list every evening for the next day. I find that if I don't write a list, I let tasks linger and I squander a day looking things up on the internet and picking my toes; if I write a to-do list, and give myself clear goals, I get so much done and I feel better.
- Practice yoga or do some sort of heart-pounding exercise every day. I do tons of walking with James and the boys, but I miss stretching and using my body in different ways, and I miss the exhilaration of an intense workout. I also miss everything about yoga - the stretching, strengthening, calming-ness of it.
- Meditate for 5 minutes every day. I have avoided a regular meditation practice for nearly 15 years, but I've always felt that it's the one single thing I could do to most improve my life. Also, there's new research out showing that a regular meditation practice can rebuild grey matter in your brain. After nearly three years now of having pregnancy and mommy brain, I could use a little brain boost! I could also use some conscious quiet time.
- Look nice (or at least try). I tend to wear t-shirts and yoga pants 90% of the time. Okay, 95%. When I leave the house, I just put on what's convenient and I never wear makeup. But I know that I feel better when I look nice, and that looking nice can be as easy as a little mascara or lipstick. It's also true that my wardrobe is so boring, and I don't enjoy getting dressed. The thing is, I loathe shopping! My taste and my budget are totally at odds, so I avoid facing that depressing situation by never shopping. I'd like to spend time this month (and year) building a nice wardrobe with quality pieces so that I can feel good getting dressed.
I have two weekly resolutions, too:
- Have a Jodi date. Go to a cafe or a museum and spend some time doing what I like to do - thinking, writing, enjoying art or a good latte. Reconnect with myself in the world. (There are logistical difficulties with this one, being that I'm always toting around an infant, but I'm determined to figure this out).
- Write a weekly meal plan. James and I are much happier and calmer when we have a meal plan posted on the fridge - we know what to shop for, we know what to make for dinner each night, and we try new recipes. We can avoid the late-afternoon hassle of trying to scrounge something up while corralling the boys and dealing with meltdowns.
I started this on January 1, and I've been so surprised at the immediate payoff of going to sleep earlier. I already have so much more energy, and I can feel that I'm a better mom and wife because of it. It's also nice to have an hour at the end of the day when I'm not on the computer, when I can take care of odds and ends or read for a bit. It does mean that I won't get to blog as much, and it'll take me even longer to respond to emails, but it's sooo worth it.
Want to start a happiness project with me? Let me know and we can do this together! You can start anytime.
(I'll try to get some photos of the kids today! I do realize you come here to see them, not to hear about me.)
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