Happiness Project Update

Part of my New Year's Resolution this year was to restart my happiness project. For the month of January, I focused on Energy. I had three goals:

1. Go to bed by 9:30 p.m.
2. Exercise for at least 30 minutes at least 3 times a week.
3. Act the way I want to feel.

I feel that it is good practice to reflect, and now that January is over, it seems to be a good time to reflect on the Energy focus.

Overall, I definitely feel more energetic. The days after I go to bed by 9:30 are much better than those when I miss my bedtime. I also learned that wake up time is just as important. I had a few days when I would go back to bed after feeding Reid and we would both sleep until 10 or 11. I found the extra sleep on those days actually made me feel more tired, and then I had missed out on time to get things done. My ideal wake up time is between 7:30 and 8. But Jack's ideal time is between 6 and 7. So, as long as I get to bed by 9:30, the 6 a.m. wake up is tolerable.

The exercise goal was much tougher to meet. I am back at Jazzercise class when I can get away from the house. So far, I've made it about once a week. I only had one week when I got all three workouts in. I did that by going to Jazzercise one night and then walking on the treadmill on two other nights. Not my ideal workout schedule, but I did it. I think in order to make this work, I have to get up on weekend mornings and hit the early Jazzercise class. I always feel good after them; I just hate to miss out on time with the boys and Steve.

Acting the way I want to feel worked out pretty well too, when I remembered to do it. This is actually what helped me conquer the earlier wake up time. This is a hard one when you've had a bad day or others around you aren't feeling so good. I think I still need to work on this a little too.

So energy-wise, I think I am on the plus side of things. I can't just give up on these goals, but I think I have the ideas planted well enough in my brain that I can move on to a new focus.

And that's a good thing since it is a new month, and a new month brings a new focus. I've decided to work on Time this month. With the major change of careers for me, this seems like a good time to look at how I use and manage my time. Here are my goals for Time:

1. Be reasonable about what I can actually do
2. Create a to-do list and use it every day
3. Update Google Calendar to schedule to-dos and events each day
4. Tackle the nagging task

Wish me luck!