I’m not usually big on new year’s resolutions. They are usually broken before the end of January, and they seem so predictable. Eat right, exercise, lose weight, have more fun, love more, laugh, etc. But as most resolutions go, they usually end as quickly as they start. Like this.
Or in my case, is that chocolate?
So instead of making one resolution that I will surely break within a month, I’m trying something new. One resolution for each month, inspired by my NaNoWriMo attempt in November. It makes sense to focus your efforts on one goal for a short time, rather than becoming depressed with minor setbacks and throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Plus, they say it takes 28 days to form a new habit (or something like that), so why not form 12 new habits in a year instead of one?
I don’t have the entire year mapped out yet, but I do have the first few months that I’ll share.
January’s Resolution – Finish my book that I started in National Novel Writing Month. Yes, I can sense the irony here. But it was hardly my fault my Mac crashed at almost 40,000 words. I’m back on track now and still need at least 8,000 or so to finish this project. I’m not a quitter! (Unless it’s related to potty training, then yes I am!)
February’s Resolution – Finish the screenplay that I started over a year ago. I have about 60 pages on this gem, and we plan to shoot it locally using my husband’s skills as a videographer and any friends or family that we can recruit for acting or extras. No budget, of course, so it should be a fun, creative adventure.
March’s Resolution - Drop 15-20 pounds of dead weight. I have to start this effort in January in order to accomplish it by March, so it’s technically not a one-month resolution. But the goal will hopefully be reached in this month. With Jillian Michaels as my guide, I will be shredded.
April’s Resolution - Finish three squares of my crazy quilt. Again, it’s a project I started over a year ago, but now that I have a sewing machine, I should be able to knock this out much faster.
May’s Resolution - Finish the book that I started for my son and intended to give to him this Christmas, Under the Big Tree. When I started uploading photos in November, I realized I had taken almost all of the photos with my low-res iPhone. What was I thinking? If only I were married to a photographer who could have alerted me to my mistake. Oh wait, I am. Maybe this time I will be patient enough to let him take the photos and retouch them.
June’s Resolution – Refresh my son on his swimming skills and teach him how to ride his tricycle. The boy has a Schwinn. He needs to learn how to use it.
That’s about all I’ve got for 2013 so far. Maybe I’ll find new ones as the year progresses. What about you? What are your new year’s resolutions?
This post was inspired in part by Mama’s Losin’ It! pretty much world famous writing prompts.
I like the idea of choosing a different resolution for each month of the year! I decided on
“push it” as my 2013 motto. Maybe I need to get more specific with monthly goals? Good luck with all of your projects. It sounds like you’ll be busy!
I like push it too. Maybe at the start of each month you could play the song to re-energize? Do you have a link to your post? I’d like to check it out.
Definitely like the monthly goals. Makes everything seem very feasible!
Wow! That’s a great idea! And you have some wonderful goals!
I like doing it monthly (that’s what she said) because it gives you a chance to report success as at least a fraction, instead of 100% or 0%.
That’s a good point. And by the end, you could be 120% successful if you achieved 100% success all 12 months. Works for me!