I’ve spent the most of 2014 working on myself. The process has been a mystifying, exhausting, and a series of stops, starts, failures, and successes.
I finally, finally feel like “myself” again.
Throughout this process I have made a point of reading a number of books that would be called “self-help” and they actually helped me quite a bit. The book that I read for this post is entitled:
Now I have to admit that I felt the book was a little too long. But, the guidance that I received from the book was priceless. Basically, the book is all about how to make consistent changes in your life through small and very manageable changes to your personal habits.
By the way, the author recommends only focusing on a couple at a time until the habit is set.
Last week I mentioned how I would like to arrive before 8:00 a.m. to work. You have to understand that I was getting up early before and working on my blog, and working out, and…but then it tapered off over time. I started to hit the snooze button like it was chocolate ice cream-I couldn’t snooze enough.
My morning schedule looked like this at that time:
4:30 a.m. Wake Up
4:45 a.m. (ish) Start working out-note to self, ignore extreme nausea
5:45 a.m. Take a shower and get dressed for work.
6:15 a.m. Running around the house like a crazy because I’ve forgotten something.
Brain fog sucks
6:50 a.m. Running for bus. Just missed it
7:18 a.m On Second bus-on my way to work. Now, I’m late 🙁
It was too much to deal with, I’m not a morning person, and I needed to simplify things.
Here is my current schedule after embracing microresolutions:
4:45 a.m. Alarm goes off. Hit snooze.
5:00 a.m. Second alarm goes off. Turn on light! I’m up.
5:15 a.m. Clean/straighten place if needed. Fix breakfast.
5:45 a.m. Get Dressed
6:10 a.m. Leave house
6:45 a.m. On the bus.
7:40 a.m. Arrive early to work. Am relaxed and start on my projects. Day is already calmer.
I really, really love the change and as a result I have been exercising more at night because everything is organized before I leave my house.
Other goals that I have that are financially focused:
- Don’t miss bill payment dates- I accidentally missed some payment dates-by ONE DAY! This has happened before. What is my microresolution? I will be checking on payment dates on the 15th of every month and putting in reminders in my phone and planners. Late payments even by a day-SUCK.
- Saving money-My biggest nemesis. My microresolution for savings is to resist moving money around my accounts after the money hits my savings account. Once it’s in-I can’t spend.
- Side hustles-They tapered off for awhile. This one is easy. Microresolution-Look everyday for 30-60 minutes for side hustles. DONE.
Personal Goals:
- Keep Home Clean and Tidy-I’m a pretty clean person, but the commute tires me out and I’m unmotivated to: clean/blog/exercise/etc when I get home. My goal is to make sure straighten up before I leave my house. While I will try to do this before going to sleep if I don’t manage to do that I will just spend 15 minutes doing a quick clean up before leaving. I’ve done that a couple of times and its great to come home to a nice, neat home. DONE.
- Exercise-I’m currently using an online weightless tool and my weight is SLOWLY coming off. Emphasis on slowly. My goal is to exercise 1 hour a day I have made this a priority by going during lunch time. It’s pretty hot right now so I have started going to the gym after I get home. I feel a lot more energized after the workout and am finally addicted to the burn. DONE
- Be Social-A few months ago I realized I was becoming a shut-in. So, I decided to do something social once a week. It didn’t matter what-but it had to be in Denver. It has been a great success! I joined a kickball league which has been a great way to exercise and meet new people. DONE
If you’re struggling with achieving your goals meeting your goals probably your process is too complicated. Look at what you really, really want: to lose weight, to meet people, or to save. Do the following:
- Write down your process
- How many steps are there?
- Decide what your desired outcome really is.
- Is there a way to reach it with one or at a maximum, two steps?
- Only focus on that one change (maybe two) until it’s a set habit
Good luck!
**Pic off of Google!**
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Awesome post Michelle and I’m so glad things are changing in a positive direction for you! It would be hard to squeeze all that in in the morning because I’ve experienced at least half your commute! 🙂 While it’s nice in theory to accomplish a lot in the morning, that could leave you really exhausted the rest of the day. I love that you joined a kickball league as well…killing two birds with one stone! I find my body tells me everything I need to know about what is working and what isn’t. If I’m cranky, tired, etc., I need to make adjustments. It means something is not working right and I need to shift my priorities.
I just felt so overwhelmed because there was so much that I was trying to accomplish. This year has been a pretty intense year of getting things done. I’m now focusing more on the weight loss/health wellness part of my journey. You’re right-your body talks to you. I’m looking at going to yoga and dance. Will keep you posted.
I believe working out can help all aspects of your life and make you feel better about yourself at the same time. =)
Working out ROCKS!! I just cannot manage it too early in the morning. I really enjoy the evening workout. It gets all of the stress of the day out of my body.
I love working out too! I went back to the gym last month and I really love it, for me, it’s one way to release stress and to help me being physically active.
I really, really love working out. I miss having a really good schedule. Things at my office have calmed down quite a bit so I will be able to really focus on getting back into shape.