As far back as I can remember, I’ve never been much of a New Year’s Resolution person. As is evident by my last post, I’m a generally happy person; and I think that’s a bit of a double-edged sword. While it’s always good to feel positively about oneself, my lack of self-loathing usually leaves me completely unmotivated to do anything to better myself. So when NYE rolls around every year, I’m not obsessing over things I want to improve, I’m just floating along – #NewYearSameMe. However, this year, after my first week back at work, I was having a typical RAGING Saturday night: me, on the couch, binge watching TV, eating junk, perusing Pinterest. And something inspired me. I didn’t really even know what it was (Spoiler Alert: IT WAS JESUS *prayer hands emoji). I started a private board, “2018”, and starting pinning things I’d like to start doing this year. Things to improve my health and well being – physically, spiritually, and financially. And then, for the first time in as long as I can remember, I got to work doing those things.
So, I have dubbed 2018, “The Year of Goals”, and I’ve set out to incorporate one healthy habit into my life each month. I don’t yet have goals selected for every month this year, but I have ideas for the ones that aren’t set in stone yet. Here’s what I have so far:
January: Water
February: Exercise
March: Devotions
April: Read
May: Sleep
June: Organization, Preparation, Focus
July: not decided
August: Savings/Budget
September: not decided
October: not decided
November: not decided
December: not decided
I’m going to break all of these down for you below. January and February will be fairly detailed since they’ve come and gone, but I’ll do separate posts on each remaining month.
January: Water
• My goal for January was to increase my daily water intake to the FDA recommended amount. While I’m usually just under this recommendation each day, I’ve significantly increased my water intake.
• Some background information: I used to start each day with a can of Diet Coke, the same way some folks start with a cup of coffee. While I still LOVE Diet Cokes, I made the decision last year to stop stocking my house with them. I just decided that was money I could be spending elsewhere, and people have been trying to prove to me for years how bad they are for me. I guess I thought, “Hey, I’ll save some money, and if I happen to lose a little weight, that’s just icing on top!” I did not lose any weight. But I broke the habit and just never went back. Now I only drink Diet Cokes on special occasions, like when I’m out eating at a restaurant or grabbing the occasional fast food. Even so, I would take one of my stainless steel tumbles full of ice water to work every day, and I wouldn’t even finish that – like I wouldn’t have to refill it once because I would drink so little. I’m pretty sure I should have just been permanently dehydrated – maybe I was.
• Back to the present: I did some research. According to the Mayo clinic, the recommended daily water intake for women is 2.7 liters, or 11.5 cups. My stainless steel tumblers both hold about 17 ounces, so I would need to drink about 5 of them each day to reach the recommended amount. So I set alarms every day for 10:00 am, 1:00 pm, 4:00 pm, 7:00 pm, and 10:00 pm – reminders to myself to finish the bottle of water I’m working on and move on the next. After the first week, I didn’t need the alarms anymore, I just knew the times I was supposed to move on to my next bottle. This particular goal proved fairly easy for me. I have not lost any weight with my water intake, but I haven’t been discouraged by that fact because it wasn’t my goal to begin with. Besides, I didn’t change my eating or exercising habits so, I shouldn’t expect some huge physical change here. I have noticed that I’m sleeping better at night and I feel like I generally have more energy during the day.
February: Exercise
• My goal in February was to exercise for at least 30 minutes, 3 times per week. Once again, I’m not putting pressure on myself to lose any weight here. I just want to feel good. I want to have some stamina. I don’t want to hurt all over all the time. I want some extra confidence. I want to feel accomplished.
• I hate exercising. There, I said it. Going to a gym, even the small one in my apartment complex, makes me uncomfortable and awkward. I hate it. So I did some research and found some bodyweight exercise routines on Pinterest. I combined a few into a routine that takes about 20 minutes, and then found some post-workout yoga, which takes another 20 minutes.You guys… I kinda enjoy it. Especially the yoga part. I hope this means that, eventually, I’ll be able to find a gym where I’m comfortable going and doing some things, like group yoga classes!
• Anyway, I ended up doing about 45 minutes, 2 times per week. It was only this past week that I was able to get in 3 workouts. But I’m happy with my progress overall. I think the biggest win in February was my eagerness to actually do the workouts.
March: Daily Devotions
• My goal in March is to make time for a daily devotion. This one is obviously focused on my spiritual health, which I’ve certainly been neglecting this past year. I hope to draw near to the Lord in a period of loneliness and bring purpose to this time of my life.
April: Read
• My goal in April is to read more and watch TV less. I’m not entirely sure how I’ll implement this yet. My initial thought was to make sure I turn the TV off at a certain time each night, and only read after that time. I also think I may just commit to not watching TV in bed, only reading while I wind down and try to get to sleep.
May: Sleep
• My goal in May is to get more sleep. I never wake up in the morning feeling like I’ve gotten enough sleep. And on any given Friday night, when I have no obligations on Saturday morning, I can easily sleep 11-13 hours. These things lead me to believe that my body requires more sleep during the week that it’s currently getting. I try to get 8 hours each night, but I rarely achieve that. So, in May, I plan to do what I can to prioritize sleep.
June: Organization, Preparation, Focus
• There are some potentially big life changes coming in June for which I need to be organized, prepared, and focused. I’ll share more about this as soon as I’m able!
August: Savings/Budget
• This will be a good time of year for me to reevaluate my budget and start working on actually saving money each month instead of living paycheck to paycheck.
Part of my aim in sharing these goals with you all is to get your suggestions. As you can see, I don’t have set goals in mind for July or September – December. I’d love to know what you’ve done recently to improve your health and well-being that you’d suggest I try. I have some rough ideas (limiting my gluten intake, trying out Whole30) that I may implement, but I’m open to suggestions. I’m not just interested in physical health suggestions; I want to improve my overall well-being this year.
My other aim, in sharing these goals with you, is accountability. I hope that by no longer keeping these private, I’ll be even more motivated to follow through and keep you all posted with my progress. I’ll be sharing my fears and frustrations and my small and large victories, and I’ll be laughing it off along the way. I hope that you will pray for me, check on me, and encourage me as I move forward.
So, here’s the 2018: The Year of Goals. Let’s do this.
