I remember years ago making New Years Resolutions, especially back in my pre-children year. Having less responsibility for the lives of others, you would think it would be easier to make positive changes in my own life. Alas, I can’t think of any resolution I stuck with. This year I’m going to aim for making small changes each month with the ultimate goal of creating good habits I can maintain. Daily routines to help me accomplish more and feel less stressed.
Always Fighting the Overwhelm
Occasionally I have shared that I deal with depression and anxiety. Recently I was also diagnosed with ADHD and adding a medication for this is really starting to help.
For years I have associated mental health to diabetes. Some forms can be managed with diet and exercise alone. Some require medication for life.
Every illness comes with an element of choice.
Daily medication is necessary for me. But I can’t expect it to solve all my problems. If I take my medicine but lay in bed and wait for it to work… well, I’m going to be waiting a long time!
Every day I choose to put the extra effort in to make the most of my life. Somedays that extra effort is put into just making it to tomorrow. Other days are amazing and fall into that “best life” category.
Obviously, there is a lot more too it, but that is my ultra condensed version because my battle with depression and anxiety isn’t the focus of this post.
What is my focus, is making positive changes that will benefit me and my family long-term. My personal experience has shown me I am at my best when I am not overwhelmed and I have a plan but remember it’s ok to adapt and be flexible.
For years, I’ve known regular routines would be beneficial to me. I know they are beneficial to two of my children as I have seen the difference in them when we have more structure and routine when life is busy.
Consistency in routines has always been my downfall and I let things get backed up until I’m overwhelmed and can’t function. My goal is to drastically reduce this (because I’m too realistic to say “fully eliminate”). Each month I’ll be adding 3 small changes or building on a change I’ve already made.
Baby Steps to a Routine
It’s been said it takes 21 days to create a habit and 90 days to create a lifestyle.
Obviously, I’m a slow learner as, after 42 years, I’m hardly consistent at anything! So three small changes a month and building on is my plan.
Initially, I hadn’t even considered sharing this here, so I’m already into my January changes. Accountability can be a powerful tool in achieving goals and I know I’m not the only one in the world who needs to make positive changes. If my experience helps one person, then it’s worth sharing.
The three things I’m committing to in January are not new to me. All are things I have tried and felt improved my daily life but have fallen by the wayside over the past few months (or years!). This time next year I want them to just be a natural part of my life. And when days don’t go as planned, natural enough to just jump back in.
For the month of January, I will be committing daily to yoga, intermittent fasting, and the start of a morning and evening routine.
Join Me
If you are looking to make positive changes, I’d love for you to join me. Jump in where ever you are! But, please note, select your changes based on your own personal needs especially when it comes to dietary or health changes. I’m not a doctor or professional in anything health-related. So talk to your own professionals and do your own research. I’m sharing my experiences purely as an example.
Past experience has shown me I enjoy yoga and feel better throughout the day when I start my day with yoga. Selecting a 30-day-yoga series of videos I can do in my living room each morning is easy and free.
Intermittent Fasting is something I didn’t understand until a friend shared his experience with me. As in all things, there is scientific data out there as well as positive and negative advice. Past experience has proven to me when I start the day with carbs and sugar, I eat lots of carbs and sugar all day. There are also days when I’m not hungry in the morning so waiting to eat isn’t always hard.
Finally, I made myself a morning and evening checklist of 5 things that take me less than 15 minutes total to do. Right now, it’s insanely simple and mainly consists of things I should already be doing. But, I know I don’t do these things 100% of the time consistently. My goal is to expand on these morning and evening routines so they become second nature.
My morning check-list consists of: make the bed, personal care, take medicines/vitamins, empty the dishwasher, know the plan for the day.
Before bed, my check-list contains: take medicines/vitamins, start dishwasher, clean-up table or workspace, review calendar for tomorrow, personal care.
Yes, I have to put personal care on there… that whole depression thing… sometimes I just don’t want to shower or brush my teeth even! You probably think that sounds gross and wonder how someone can not just do regular personal care without being reminded. But sometimes my brain just isn’t working right…
Tracking Progress
I am a very visual person. Writing things down and being able to see it has always been helpful to me. Add to that my love of printables, and well, I made a printable to help me track my progress.
Keeping it simple allows me to use it for any 3 goals at any time. Right now, that’s all I need.
Because I wasn’t sure if I would write the dates in the blocks, there are actually 5 weeks. For my morning and evening routine, I’ve been putting the first half of the x in the box once my morning routine is done and the second half once my evening routine is complete. Since I’m trying to do my yoga in the morning, I x off intermittent fasting in the evening. This way I’m using the tracker twice a day which is helping me keep my goals fresh in my mind.
If you want to grab a copy of my 3 small changes printable and keep track of changes in your daily routines, please do! And please let me know what changes you’re making this month. (Click the highlighted link!)
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