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I’m no different than most folks when it comes to starting fresh in January. I know there’s nothing magical about January 1, as we’re often reminded by my favorite goal-getter Lara Casey. After a busy, often indulgent holiday season, though, I feel the pull for a new year reset.
This year, I have some habits that truly need to change. I am a lifelong procrastinator because I really enjoy that rush of getting something finished under the wire. I’ve yet to miss a deadline! As I get older, though, I’m more aware of how time is passing me by. I could be living a better life if I just took some action on these lingering goals. Enter January and my renewed focus on two key areas: health and wellness and time management. Today, I’m sharing the tools that helped me succeed this month.
First, let’s talk about health and wellness. This is a broad category for me. It includes physical wellness like exercise and eating well, mental health and relationships. I attack the physical wellness category about twice each year. I generally fail at changing my habits because, well, I don’t really want to exercise and watch what I eat. As a person who’s never been athletic, I have a hard time finding a workout I enjoy and stick to on a regular basis. Working out doesn’t come easily to me. I feel awkward and totally inept in a gym. Plus, who wants to get dressed and leave the house just to go to the gym when it’s frigid in the morning? I knew I would not do this, so joining a gym would just be throwing money out the window. My solution, which has worked for me this month, is the Studio Tone It Up app. I’ve followed Tone It Up for several years and love the positive vibe they’ve created for a female-centric wellness community. Tone It Up usually does free health and fitness challenges each year, which I always start and never complete. Right now, they’re offering the Love Your Body challenge. We’re in week three, and I’ve made it further this year than ever before! It’s because I enjoy the classes they offer via the app. I can take the class of the day, scheduled at intervals throughout each day, or an on-demand class in categories such as yoga, cardio or kickboxing. I’m also enjoying the guided meditations. I love the idea of meditating, but have a hard time doing it without guidance. I usually start thinking about my to-do list, how uncomfortable it is to sit on the floor, then get up and vacuum said floor because sitting on it reminded me it was on my to-do list. Anyway, if you’re a person who prefers working out at home alone, where no one can see you struggle or cares what your gym clothes look like, I recommend this app. I paid about $60 for a yearly membership during a special promo, but it looks like the regular price is about $84 for a year or $12.99 for a monthly membership. You also get a free week to try it before buying. Let me know if you decide to try it! We can work out “together” without having to leave our respective houses.
Regarding the eating portion of this category, I have surprised myself with my ability to make wise food choices most of the time. This probably sounds ridiculous to those of you with impeccable self control. I am not one of those people. I’ve never met a cheese I didn’t want to eat, preferably with a side of crusty bread and dipping oil, and maybe some grapes for a sweet and snappy crunch that also make your meal look healthier. I joined the Tone It Up Nutrition Plan a few years ago and used several of the recipes this month, including protein muffins and a soup I had a daily lunch date with for a week. I also used favorite family recipes - we are not eating solely from this nutrition plan. My biggest win was meal prepping, that fancy thing I see people doing on Pinterest, but had never done myself. Turns out, people do that because it works. Who knew? EVERYONE BUT ME! There is no magic solution here. I just did my grocery shopping each Friday, meal prepped each Sunday and actually ate the food I prepped instead of frantically microwaving Tostino’s Pizza Rolls when I’m starving at 2 p.m. As a side note, am I the only person who actually likes going to the grocery store? Are we going to reach a day when everyone has their groceries delivered and no one goes to the store? Where will we see our friends? This is my weekly catch up time with the minimum of five friends I run into on each store visit.
This leads me to time management. I would like to introduce you to the Simplified Planner. It runs my life, in a good way. The Simplified Planner comes in weekly and daily formats. I am a weekly girl because I like to see my whole week at a glance. It makes it easy for me to see what items didn’t get completed on a day and need to be moved to later in the week. Both versions include a box on each day for meal planning. I meal plan each Thursday night, then put together my grocery list and coupons so I’m ready for Friday shopping. This is one of the small changes I’ve made this year that’s made a big difference. Our family used to grocery shop on Sunday afternoon, which took up so much of our day. Instead, I’ve been knocking it out in an hour and we get our Sundays back to spend time together. Time management! What a concept!
It’s not just grocery shopping that the Simplified Planner helps me, well, simplify. I write down everything that needs to be done and love the satisfaction of crossing it off the list. I’m batching work, home tasks and errands to be more efficient. I’ve always been organized and loved a planner and lists, but frankly, I’m just slow about getting things done. Using my Simplified Planner to brain dump each day and see what needs to be accomplished forces me to get moving. I am devoted to color coding my planner with Pilot G2 gel pens and am not ashamed to carry around a Dolly Parton themed pouch full of colored pens in order to maintain my beloved system.
Finally, the mental health portion of my wellness category has led me to change my morning routine. I used to eat breakfast while watching the Today Show or a DVR’d episode of a favorite sitcom. Although I enjoyed it, I wasn’t accomplishing anything in the morning and felt like I was getting a slow start. This month, I’ve been having coffee while I catch up on my mom and personal journals and read a daily devotional in Annie F. Downs’ 100 Days to Brave. I’ve tried a lot of devotionals over the years and haven’t stuck with them, but this one really speaks to my season of life. It’s a quick, easy read and gives me a few minutes to think about my gratitude and intentions for the day. This has caused a major shift in my attitude, most days. This miserable January weather has knocked me off my positive habit change pedestal a few times. The difference is, this time I climbed back up.
I’m feeling excited about 2019 and hopeful for a good year. As long as I can stick with these changes that have worked for me, while adding more good habits throughout the year, I believe 2019 can be the best year yet! What positive habit changes have worked for you this year? I love to learn from others and share ideas! Let me know in the comments!