That's right, we are on the brink of being eleven twelfths of the way through 2010. There is one busy, crazy (at least for us and many people we know) month to go! As we approach the end of the year, and with a particularly busy few weeks at that, I wanted to check in on my 2010 goals or the dreaded term, New Year's Resolutions.
I know a lot of people who hate New Year's Resolutions. They think they're silly because no sticks to them. Or they think it's dumb to pick an arbitrary date to evaluate one's life. Or some even think it's just one more commercial attempt to get people to join gyms and buy diet foods.
I, on the other hand, like New Year's Resolutions. I like them because I like evaluating where I'm at and setting new goals to work towards. I'm the kind of person who likes making lists and checking things off. It's not to say that sometimes I don't throw out a list, because it becomes irrelevant, but overall, I like how they structure my life.
Like all people who like setting goals, I know the things that go into an effective goal, and therefore an effective New Year's resolution. They must be realistic, specific, and measurable. Looking at my resolutions from last year, I was not so good about specific and measurable. But nonetheless, I want to see where I'm at with them.
1. Lose weight, get active, eat healthy:
How I've done: I am doing really well with this, and I am proud of what I've accomplished. I've changed my eating habits. The occasional fast food that had become too frequent now makes me physically ill because we just don't eat the stuff anymore. I am running. I went from not being able to 2 minutes to running 6.2 miles. I am getting strong, and I am loving it. I have also lost weight, more than twenty-five pounds at this point, but I won't reveal a total until January 1, 2011.
How I'm going to keep working in December: I am signing up for a New Year's Day 5k. My goal is to finish in under 30 minutes which is a serious challenge but also completely doable. I am going to add in some weight training this month as I've been neglecting that. And I'm going to focus again on vegetables and water to balance out holiday treats. As a result, I have no doubt my weight will continue to come off.
2. Get our finances in order and take care of debt:
How I've done: We have not charged a single thing on a credit card in 2010. WOW. That's huge for us. We have started an emergency fund, and we are working within a budget. We have cut many expenses, including eating out and impulse purchases.
How I'm going to keep working in December: We have a strict Christmas budget that we are closely adhering to so that all our hard work does not go out the window this month.
3. COOK MORE - which plays into both above:
How I've done: Good. Really good. It certainly goes in waves. We have weeks where we fall off the wagon, but overall, we grocery shop and meal plan weekly. We cook double meals often so that we can freeze half for later making our own convenience meals. We are make delicious real food meals made from scratch. I've learned to make bread, soup, cook whole chickens, homemade pizza dough, and granola bars.
How I'm going to keep working in December: Meal plan and grocery shop weekly so that even when it gets crazy we have easy fresh meals to prepare.
4. Get the house in order:
How I've done: Eh, this one is a lot harder than the rest. Again it's gone in waves. We have certainly made progress, but I haven't gotten into a home management routine the way I wanted to. But we've begun to clean, organize, and put some finishing touches on some rooms.
How I'm going to keep working in December: This one honestly overwhelms me. I don't have a good plan. I'm going to do something daily to work in the house, regular maintenance/cleaning or projects, big or small. We are also going to start cleaning out and organizing our offices which is the room in the house where things just get dumped when they have no place to go.
So those are mine. What about you? Did you make resolutions? How are you doing on them? Have you thought about next year's?
I know a lot of people who hate New Year's Resolutions. They think they're silly because no sticks to them. Or they think it's dumb to pick an arbitrary date to evaluate one's life. Or some even think it's just one more commercial attempt to get people to join gyms and buy diet foods.
I, on the other hand, like New Year's Resolutions. I like them because I like evaluating where I'm at and setting new goals to work towards. I'm the kind of person who likes making lists and checking things off. It's not to say that sometimes I don't throw out a list, because it becomes irrelevant, but overall, I like how they structure my life.
Like all people who like setting goals, I know the things that go into an effective goal, and therefore an effective New Year's resolution. They must be realistic, specific, and measurable. Looking at my resolutions from last year, I was not so good about specific and measurable. But nonetheless, I want to see where I'm at with them.
1. Lose weight, get active, eat healthy:
How I've done: I am doing really well with this, and I am proud of what I've accomplished. I've changed my eating habits. The occasional fast food that had become too frequent now makes me physically ill because we just don't eat the stuff anymore. I am running. I went from not being able to 2 minutes to running 6.2 miles. I am getting strong, and I am loving it. I have also lost weight, more than twenty-five pounds at this point, but I won't reveal a total until January 1, 2011.
How I'm going to keep working in December: I am signing up for a New Year's Day 5k. My goal is to finish in under 30 minutes which is a serious challenge but also completely doable. I am going to add in some weight training this month as I've been neglecting that. And I'm going to focus again on vegetables and water to balance out holiday treats. As a result, I have no doubt my weight will continue to come off.
2. Get our finances in order and take care of debt:
How I've done: We have not charged a single thing on a credit card in 2010. WOW. That's huge for us. We have started an emergency fund, and we are working within a budget. We have cut many expenses, including eating out and impulse purchases.
How I'm going to keep working in December: We have a strict Christmas budget that we are closely adhering to so that all our hard work does not go out the window this month.
3. COOK MORE - which plays into both above:
How I've done: Good. Really good. It certainly goes in waves. We have weeks where we fall off the wagon, but overall, we grocery shop and meal plan weekly. We cook double meals often so that we can freeze half for later making our own convenience meals. We are make delicious real food meals made from scratch. I've learned to make bread, soup, cook whole chickens, homemade pizza dough, and granola bars.
How I'm going to keep working in December: Meal plan and grocery shop weekly so that even when it gets crazy we have easy fresh meals to prepare.
4. Get the house in order:
How I've done: Eh, this one is a lot harder than the rest. Again it's gone in waves. We have certainly made progress, but I haven't gotten into a home management routine the way I wanted to. But we've begun to clean, organize, and put some finishing touches on some rooms.
How I'm going to keep working in December: This one honestly overwhelms me. I don't have a good plan. I'm going to do something daily to work in the house, regular maintenance/cleaning or projects, big or small. We are also going to start cleaning out and organizing our offices which is the room in the house where things just get dumped when they have no place to go.
So those are mine. What about you? Did you make resolutions? How are you doing on them? Have you thought about next year's?
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