2010, A New Chapter
I’m not a proponent of New Year’s resolutions, at least not personally. I can only remember one resolution that I actually stuck to and that was the resolution, 13 years ago, to stop eating out so much for our health and wallet’s sake and learn how to cook. That one certainly took!
While I’m not big on resolutions, I do think that the beginning of a new year is a great time to evaluate your life, goals, routines and habits and make some changes if necessary. There are 12 new pages on the calendar full of possibility. I’m not going to go on about how rough last year was, because I’ve done plenty of that, but things have gotten out of whack around here in some ways because of the stress and uncertainty.
It seems like every six months or so, I’m trying to get back on track with some sort of schedule. I try. I really try, but I’m not naturally gifted with the ability to maintain a strict routine, nor do I want to do that. I do recognize the benefits of a daily or weekly routine and for that reason would like to be more consistent. So, I’m going to try harder to stick to the routine that I printed out last time. It’s still stuck to the door of my kitchen and I get compliments and questions about it all the time. Alas, it’s embarrassing to have to admit more often than not that it’s just there for decoration. When I try to follow a routine, I do get more done and feel better about what I’ve done at the end of the day. One thing that’s hard for me, is that in our household, because of the way we’ve arranged our lives, the routine is set by me (and ruined by me). That’s a pretty big burden sometimes. But it is what it is. We don’t have jobs that dictate our schedule, for the most part, nor do the girls have to be out the door and headed to school by a certain time. It falls to me, because the unfortunate cycle is that if I don’t get dinner on the table at a reasonable hour, everybody stays up later and then wakes up later and several months down the line, you have us eating at 9:00, going to bed at 11:00 and waking up late. So, I’ll try. That’s all I can do.
One other thing that I need to give more attention is physical activity. I was doing yoga at least five times per week, several months ago and then I got out of the habit of doing that. It’s nothing intense, but I just feel better throughout the day having moved a little in the morning. Maybe at some point, I’ll try to thrown in a morning walk, but I’m not ready to make that commitment yet, because some days it takes a whole lot of effort to roll out of bed and face the day’s challenges.
2010, you’ve got 52 weeks of possibilities…don’t screw it up.
Tardy Homemaker 
Lisa, I’m with you 100%. I am the one who makes or breaks my schedule around here, and I, too, find that my nifty, color coded schedule is used to cover nail holes in the wall than direct our lives. Unfortunately, we also have cows, bad weather, frozen tanks, etc, to help get us off track with the schedule, but I’m determined to at least stay on schedule 3 out of 7 days each week. Sadly, that may actually be a lofty goal. I am also in the physical activity mess. For some reason, I’ve allowed myself to think that moving from child to child doing school lessons, or standing while cooking supper equates to physical activity. I really want to feel better – forget the size 3 because that ain’t happenin’, but I do want to feel better so that I can enjoy the family I have now as well as future grandchildren. What a better year to start than 2010. Maybe we’ll be able to encourage each other. Hugs!!!
Ilove to make schedules. I make them all the time. I even get on photoshop and make them real pretty to print out. Then we stick with it for maaaybe a week or two. Life really is easier, but the slightest thing can get me out of it. Here’s to you, 2010.
I like how you stated your blog. The most you can do is keep working at it and not be too hard on yourself. Looks to me like you have set a healthy goal to work at. If you start doing small things routinely it makes it easier to go after larger goals. We were doing so well exercising on a daily basis and then started making excuses for not exercising and then it continued. We need to get back to it. All of us feel so much better physically and mentally when we are working out. Keep at it!
i threw my planner away. well, not really, just buried it in the bottom of my bag. when i make lists and don’t accomplish them i get super cranky. i am THE WORST at sabotaging our schedule so you are not alone.
now i just list the really really important things i’m likely to forget and i feel a bit better.
i know what you mean about the physical stuff. i’ve tried to get regular with this so far this year and i actually do feel better doing so, now to hang on. i love yoga.