I really hate making New Year's Resolutions. I think it's mainly because it's so cliche. Add that to the fact that most people don't last through the first two weeks of January with most of them anyway. But I need - and have needed - to make some serious changes for quite awhile now.
1) I don't maintain my blogs like I want to and they aren't growing AT ALL.
2) My house was beginning to look presentable, but it all stalled and now I'm living in CHAOS* again...and thereby forcing my loving hubby to live in it, too! (*a term coined by FlyLady to stand for "can't have anyone over syndrome")
3) I stopped reading for pleasure to finish my degree but I haven't really started up again with any kind of consistency - ergo, my writing has stagnated and suffered from severe drought.
4) My yarn crafting has gotten away from me to the point where I'm behind on obligations and gifts so that I have to turn most of Christmas 2012 into Christmas 2013 and hope I don't blow it again!
5) I never practice. :(
So, here I am on New Year's Eve with a bright, shiny new keyboard for my iPad and a murder mystery nearly finished (reading) on my end table. Do I make a New Year's Resolution? Hmmmm...
How about this for a compromise? I won't call it "resolutions," I'll call it "goals" for the New Year. In 2013, I'll make small but permanent (I hope) changes to my routines and lifestyle until I get things sorted out and manageable - and moving FORWARD instead of dragging me back! Okay, here goes:
1) Blogs:
January - I will post one entry (at least) to each blog each week.
February - I will learn how to market my blog and get the exposure I want to make them successful.
March - I will post at least two entries per week to this blog and one to the DogBlog.
April - I will reassess.
2) House:
January - I will restart my FlyLady notebook and MyRoutines app and begin (again) the clean-out process. That's right. Time to Shine My Sinks! AND I will get the basement floor cleared and my library reassembled (for my hubby's sake).
February - I will reorganize my craft shelves and library again to rid myself of any unnecessary clutter I missed or can't find/use.
March - I will reassess.
3) Reading:
January - I will read one book for pleasure each week.
February - I will read one book for pleasure AND one book for professional development each week.
March - I will read and annotate magazine/journal articles (1-3 per week, as time permits) and dispose of ancient or non-useful crap that's clogging the system.
4) Yarn:
January - I will begin Christmas 2013 crafting and mark/store them as I go.
February - for each gift I make, I will make one item to sell.
5) Practice:
January - I will reduce my church obligations to one Sunday per month and will prepare that service daily as soon as I know what the hymns are.
February - I will start Hanon again on a daily basis.
March - I will begin to revisit old organ exercises and re-learn things I knew and have let go by the wayside.
April - I will reassess.
May - ???
June - I will begin composing and arranging again.
Yeah, that's a lot to bite off and chew. But I used to be able to do all that before I went back to school. Somehow in the process of moving from Missouri to Ohio and back again, the whole thing became a mess and I hate myself! I'm not getting any younger and I'm not going to stop living just because world around me is crushing me. That's mostly my own doing and allowing others to encroach.
How about this for an overall change: I WILL LEARN TO SAY NO! Maybe if I quit taking on more because people ask and I know HOW to do something (even if I have no time or feasible means to do it), maybe then I'll be able to get life in order and get back to a state of being where I CAN do things again - and enjoy them!
Hmmmm...looking back at this list, I know it's going to be too big to accomplish by these deadlines ALL at the same time...maybe it's the list for the year and some may take two or three months to grow into habits. After all, the goal is to have things under control and flowing smoothly by this time 2013. ;-)
