Well, here we are, on the brink of a new year already! As we prepare to dive in, I always like to spend some time reflecting and considering my goals for the year ahead. This year, I'm feeling particularly motivated after my husband gifted me an awesome book for Christmas - Tranquility By Tuesday, by Laura Vanderkam.
I started it over the Christmas break (actually on the airplane on the way down to visit my folks), and my brain is buzzing with ideas and excitement! It has me feeling eager to explore the possibilities of managing my time more efficiently, while also getting more enjoyment out of my busy life. It's not exactly a "time management" book, but more along the lines of helping you figure out how to get more out of life even if you feel overwhelmed and too busy to do the things you enjoy.
I'm only halfway through, and I've already found three of the "rules" to be extremely helpful and inspiring. I'm sure I'll come up with more ideas as I move through the book, but for now, I've listed 3 resolutions or "intentions" for 2024 below. I share them here to offer inspiration, as well as to look back on and keep myself on track throughout the year ahead!
I started it over the Christmas break (actually on the airplane on the way down to visit my folks), and my brain is buzzing with ideas and excitement! It has me feeling eager to explore the possibilities of managing my time more efficiently, while also getting more enjoyment out of my busy life. It's not exactly a "time management" book, but more along the lines of helping you figure out how to get more out of life even if you feel overwhelmed and too busy to do the things you enjoy.
I'm only halfway through, and I've already found three of the "rules" to be extremely helpful and inspiring. I'm sure I'll come up with more ideas as I move through the book, but for now, I've listed 3 resolutions or "intentions" for 2024 below. I share them here to offer inspiration, as well as to look back on and keep myself on track throughout the year ahead!
My main goal for this year on a personal level is to manage and use my time more wisely. Rather than resorting to little time-saving "hacks" to make this happen, my focus will be on taking a more intentional approach to tasks and activities. The book mentioned above is a great resource to help accomplish this, and I've already gained lots of ideas and insights.
Here are the 3 that I plan to start with:
1. Set a Bedtime (and observe it!)
This was the first "rule" listed in this book, and it is actually something that I've been considering for quite some time, but have not managed to implement. I've always been a night owl my entire life, and although having chickens has meant I can't laze about in bed too long in the mornings on the weekends, I still often oversleep even during the work week. I tend to stay up too late after my husband goes to bed, either watching TV, reading, folding laundry, or some other task that always seems to take more time than I anticipated.
It doesn't help that I'm also someone who needs a lot of sleep. The general guideline is 7-9 hours for the average adult, and I'm still closer to the 9 hours end of that spectrum. I can function on 8, but I'm not at my best. The book provided some helpful tips for getting the amount of sleep that I need for optimal energy to manage my busy life.
I actually enjoy getting up a little earlier when I'm not too tired. Even an extra hour (9:00am instead of 10:00am on the weekends) seems to give me so much more time to accomplish things! If I could observe a consistent bedtime that provides me with enough sleep, I think I could accomplish more without feeling frazzled or exhausted by the end of the day.
So my first resolution for the year is to set a bedtime and stick to it. There can, of course, be exceptions, but to get myself motivated to get to bed when I should, I've set a "bedtime alarm" on my phone. Rather than setting it when it's time for bed, I set it half an hour earlier just to remind myself to get ready for bed in a timely manner. (This also gives me a little leeway if I'm watching a show or reading a book and just need a few more minutes to finish a chapter or scene.) My goal is to finish ALL of my chores (laundry, cleaning, pre-bed stretching routine, etc.) BEFORE the bedtime alarm goes off. Then I can get ready for bed without any unfinished tasks hanging over my head. Most nights, I think this should be doable.
Although my insomnia may make my bedtime rule moot some of the time, I hope that over time, I will enjoy more sleep at night and more energy during the day.
2. Exercise Daily
This is a big one for me, because although I actually enjoy exercise, I usually feel like I don't have time to get nearly as much as I need. The book shared some practical tips for getting more exercise into my day (some of these lessons I have learned before but forgotten over time, since I read Move A Little, Lose A Lot years ago).
She emphasizes giving yourself props for even getting 10 minutes of movement here and there throughout the day. Her rule is "move before 3pm," but since I'm inside at my desk most of the day, my structured workouts usually have to occur in the evening. Still, caring for the chickens in the morning involves about 20 minutes of walking, bending, reaching, and other movement, which although not strenuous, still counts! I am sure I can also manage to extend my twice-daily trips to the bathroom at the office. By using the upstairs bathroom and taking a lap or two up and down the stairs and the long hallway, I can probably manage to add at least 20 more minutes of movement during my workday.
Another of Vanderkam's rules is "three times a week is a habit." I love this, as I already try to do yoga twice a week during the winter, so if I simply add a once-a-week strength-training session (this book shares one that only takes 10-minutes and is supposed to be very effective), I've got my thrice-weekly workout habit set! Outside of that, I can throw in more activity during the workday as discussed above, and fit in 10-15 minutes on the treadmill before dinner on most days when I don't have a structured workout.
As I had wanted to start doing some strength training anyway, and I always feel like I need more exercise - particularly in the winter - I'm excited to put this resolution into practice.
3. Work on Self-Development Regularly
I've already been pretty good about doing this over the past few months, as I've started listening to guided meditations or visualizations at bedtime, and have also started using Holosync again, which I had used many years ago, and kind of forgotten about... It's an awesome tool for creating deeper personal awareness and learning to cope with the stressors of life in a calmer manner, so I've been enjoying listening to my audio tracks at bedtime lately.
The Tranquility By Tuesday book emphasized the importance of making this a regular habit, so my goal is to listen to a guided meditation track or practice tapping three times per week, and listen to Holosync at night as often as possible.
There are lots of other things I have planned for this year, from revamping this website (long overdue!), to updating my blogs, completing some new marketing initiatives, and cleaning and organizing my office. With additional energy, motivation, and structure from maintaining the 3 habits above, I hope to be able to tackle these as well!
Next up: Planning my blog schedule for the first quarter, shelling beans, and planning the 2024 garden! Stay tuned for my progress, plus more healthy living resources, and your January freebie next weekend. :-)
Wishing all my readers a happy, healthy, and successful year in 2024!
Rose.
Here are the 3 that I plan to start with:
1. Set a Bedtime (and observe it!)
This was the first "rule" listed in this book, and it is actually something that I've been considering for quite some time, but have not managed to implement. I've always been a night owl my entire life, and although having chickens has meant I can't laze about in bed too long in the mornings on the weekends, I still often oversleep even during the work week. I tend to stay up too late after my husband goes to bed, either watching TV, reading, folding laundry, or some other task that always seems to take more time than I anticipated.
It doesn't help that I'm also someone who needs a lot of sleep. The general guideline is 7-9 hours for the average adult, and I'm still closer to the 9 hours end of that spectrum. I can function on 8, but I'm not at my best. The book provided some helpful tips for getting the amount of sleep that I need for optimal energy to manage my busy life.
I actually enjoy getting up a little earlier when I'm not too tired. Even an extra hour (9:00am instead of 10:00am on the weekends) seems to give me so much more time to accomplish things! If I could observe a consistent bedtime that provides me with enough sleep, I think I could accomplish more without feeling frazzled or exhausted by the end of the day.
So my first resolution for the year is to set a bedtime and stick to it. There can, of course, be exceptions, but to get myself motivated to get to bed when I should, I've set a "bedtime alarm" on my phone. Rather than setting it when it's time for bed, I set it half an hour earlier just to remind myself to get ready for bed in a timely manner. (This also gives me a little leeway if I'm watching a show or reading a book and just need a few more minutes to finish a chapter or scene.) My goal is to finish ALL of my chores (laundry, cleaning, pre-bed stretching routine, etc.) BEFORE the bedtime alarm goes off. Then I can get ready for bed without any unfinished tasks hanging over my head. Most nights, I think this should be doable.
Although my insomnia may make my bedtime rule moot some of the time, I hope that over time, I will enjoy more sleep at night and more energy during the day.
2. Exercise Daily
This is a big one for me, because although I actually enjoy exercise, I usually feel like I don't have time to get nearly as much as I need. The book shared some practical tips for getting more exercise into my day (some of these lessons I have learned before but forgotten over time, since I read Move A Little, Lose A Lot years ago).
She emphasizes giving yourself props for even getting 10 minutes of movement here and there throughout the day. Her rule is "move before 3pm," but since I'm inside at my desk most of the day, my structured workouts usually have to occur in the evening. Still, caring for the chickens in the morning involves about 20 minutes of walking, bending, reaching, and other movement, which although not strenuous, still counts! I am sure I can also manage to extend my twice-daily trips to the bathroom at the office. By using the upstairs bathroom and taking a lap or two up and down the stairs and the long hallway, I can probably manage to add at least 20 more minutes of movement during my workday.
Another of Vanderkam's rules is "three times a week is a habit." I love this, as I already try to do yoga twice a week during the winter, so if I simply add a once-a-week strength-training session (this book shares one that only takes 10-minutes and is supposed to be very effective), I've got my thrice-weekly workout habit set! Outside of that, I can throw in more activity during the workday as discussed above, and fit in 10-15 minutes on the treadmill before dinner on most days when I don't have a structured workout.
As I had wanted to start doing some strength training anyway, and I always feel like I need more exercise - particularly in the winter - I'm excited to put this resolution into practice.
3. Work on Self-Development Regularly
I've already been pretty good about doing this over the past few months, as I've started listening to guided meditations or visualizations at bedtime, and have also started using Holosync again, which I had used many years ago, and kind of forgotten about... It's an awesome tool for creating deeper personal awareness and learning to cope with the stressors of life in a calmer manner, so I've been enjoying listening to my audio tracks at bedtime lately.
The Tranquility By Tuesday book emphasized the importance of making this a regular habit, so my goal is to listen to a guided meditation track or practice tapping three times per week, and listen to Holosync at night as often as possible.
There are lots of other things I have planned for this year, from revamping this website (long overdue!), to updating my blogs, completing some new marketing initiatives, and cleaning and organizing my office. With additional energy, motivation, and structure from maintaining the 3 habits above, I hope to be able to tackle these as well!
Next up: Planning my blog schedule for the first quarter, shelling beans, and planning the 2024 garden! Stay tuned for my progress, plus more healthy living resources, and your January freebie next weekend. :-)
Wishing all my readers a happy, healthy, and successful year in 2024!
Rose.
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