In order to reach new goals in 2012, I know that I am going to have to embrace new habits. Nevertheless, many great points are brought up in this article about the need to try and tackle one new habit at a time. I don't want to get over ambitious by trying to tackle 30 new habits only to burn out after a week! So, I am going to try and focus on a few that I know will have major impact.
I am embracing 3 new habits that will help me achieve some broader goals I have for 2012.
2012 New Habits
1. Be 15 minutes early. - If you know me, you know I have a habit of being notoriously late. In highschool, this was not the case. I was usually early for school, church, and other engagements. I think it may have been the freedom of college that ruined me. Of course, with each new baby I only get worse and believe you me: being late is the pits! The stress of having 4 small children in tow and running late with them is enough to wipe you out! Having a habit of being 15 minutes early will force me to plan and prepare more. This will help me achieve a broader goal of being better about planning my time and money.
2. Wake up at least an hour before my kids. - Whenever I think of a time that I like I was minimally stressed and unusually productive, it was a time that I was getting up really early. I think better and have more energy in the morning. My entire day goes smoother and my attitude is better when my mornings are not rushed and I have some time to myself. By contrast, when I wake to the sound of crying, whining and sibling rivalry, I am not quite so pleasant. Waking up an hour before my kids will contribute to my goal of having a more consistent schedule and of taking better care of my health, since it means I will have to put the kids in bed earlier, go to sleep earlier, and will provide me with more time to exercise.
3. Check my voicemail every week. - Now this sounds simple enough, right? Nevertheless, I have the hardest time keeping up with voicemail messages! Family and friends are always reminding me that my voicemail box is full. So, I have programmed my phone to call me once a day and remind me to check the voicemail. This habit will help me reach a broader goal of being better about returning calls and taking care of business matters.
As a way of motivating myself, I keep reminding myself of the new habits I started in 2011. Last year, we started having family movie night on Fridays as a way for the whole family to relax and unwind after the week. Of course, there were some weeks where we didn't have it, but we had it enough for the kids to really enjoy it and look forward to it each week. Things like this are important to us because we use them as a means to keep a close-knit family and to find balance between work and play. That has gone well, so I know I can add and follow through with new habits this year!
Yayyy, for your new goals! They sound great.
ReplyDeleteIf I could get up before my kiddos days would flow better...I guess that means I would have to go to sleep earlier:(
This sounds great!
ReplyDeleteI really need to get up earlier too, but its so hard to let go of the quiet evenings.