Ways 3-5 to rock 2014!

This is the continuation of what was becoming a long, ramble-y post. :)


3. Get it together, man! Is anyone else severely overwhelmed by life in general? I mean, you wake up, feed the cat, get ready for work, try to get stuff done on your cell phone during your commute, work all day, try to sneak in some bill-paying, grocery list making, and meal planning at work, stop off at the gym after work, hit up the grocery store, get home, put dinner in the oven, grab a quick shower while it's cooking, eat, remember you have no more work clothes and throw in a load of laundry, notice the overflowing sink and unload and reload the dishwasher just so you don't dream about it, then  finally fall into bed, too tired to even ask your spouse about their day? And have mercy on those of you with kiddos!! I can't even imagine where they fit in. So in the above (slightly too familiar) scenario, there's no time to catch up with friends, go on a date with your spouse, significant other, or random stranger from that bar (that you didn't have time to go to so are never going to meet anyway), or time to really do anything. May I suggest an audit? You can squeeze it in whenever you have an extra minute during the day, I promise. Keep a pen by the bed, in your purse, and at your work station, and every time you switch tasks, jot down how much time you spent on the task you just stopped. Make sense? So I would wake up, get dressed, feed the cat, toss my work bag together, drink my oj, eat my toast, and get in the car to head to work. While we're driving, I'd note on my handy-dandy audit sheet that I spent from 6:30-7:00 am getting ready for work. Mark down your commuting time, and when you're at work, be honest. Such as, I would write down from 7:30-9, I was working. From 9-10, however, I was blogging and surfing pinterest. Get the idea? Then once you have your audits for a week, check out where you can consolidate some things. For example, the time I spent on pinterest could have been spent filling out my budget sheet for the month, and I would have been done with it! One less thing hanging over my head. Everyone's day looks totally different, as they should! Only you know what time is "wasted" and what activities are meaningful and productive in your life. So once you have them all on paper, and have checked out how much time you spend doing things from both categories, you'll have a pretty good idea of what you can cut down on and where you can squeeze in a little more from the productive column.

4. Just say no! I think we've established that none of us have much free time floating around (see #3). That being said, I plan on taking control of the free time I do have in 2014! In order to own my time, I have to learn to say no. So do you! If someone asks you to commit to something you don't have time for, say no! Be as involved as you want in your church, family, community, etc, but draw the line when you start to feel overwhelmed. I do several things at my church, which take up a considerable amount of time not only on Sabbath, but prep time during the week. I enjoy doing them, which is why I said yes when they asked. However, I will not be picking up the responsibility of, say, shoveling the church parking lot or joining the social committee. Those aren't my strong suits, and I would rather have the time I would spend in those activities to use for something I would enjoy. Look at your current commitments, see where you can cut back, and make sure to think about each new commitment before you agree to take it on.

5. Just say yes! Yup, I know. I'm a walking contradiction. Just ask the hubby. But the things we're going to just say yes to in 2014 are the new, fun things! Like skydiving! Or visiting a new state! Or trying a new restaurant! Anybody out there ever seen that Jim Carry movie, Yes Man? It's pretty dang good, in my opinion. He decides to say yes to everything he's asked to do for a year. What a world of possibilities that would open! I'm not saying to Jim Carry style crazy, but just like you're going to think about new commitments before automatically saying yes, take time to think about new opportunities before automatically saying no. You never know what kind of amazing adventures you're missing out on unless you step (even a tiny bit!) out of your comfort zone and give it a shot.

Anybody have anything to add to the list?

5 ways to rock 2014!

Hey there folks! Now that we're already halfway through January (eek!!), I thought it would be a good time to talk about showing the new year who's boss. Taking 2014 by the shoulders and shaking it, yelling "this is my year!!!"

I know a lot of people who don't make New Years resolutions, and that's totally fine. You do your thing, I'll do mine. Me, I have about 12. Give or take. There are several little ones, such as keeping up with my project life, blog once a week (which is clearly going well....), and to read more books while watching less television. I love to read, so that one should be a no brainer. And I'm sure once I re-watch all 3 season of Veronica Mars to get ready for the movie coming out in March (yay!!), that resolution will be in full swing. There are also slightly more difficult ones on my New years to-do list, such as getting hubby to come to the gym with me several times a week, learning Italian, and writing a novel in 30 days (more about that here).

But not matter which camp you fall into with the New Years resolutions, it's my humble opinion that everyone could stand to do something new in the coming year. Don't make a single resolution, that's totally fine by me!! But there are ways to make the most out of your year without them. I have assembled a short list of 5 ways to knock the socks off of 2014. Since this list is forever long, I'm going to split it up. Ideas 1 and 2 are below, and 3-5 are in the next post. Enjoy!

1. Get Happy!!!! My happy is going to look a whole lot different from yours, and that's perfectly acceptable. Encouraged, even. How boring would life be if everyone was excited by the same thing? According to Gretchen Rubin, author of the Happiness Project and Happier at Home, the steps to gleaning the most happiness possible from an event are to:

• Anticipate the event
• Savor it as it unfolds
• Express your happiness as you're feeling it
• Recall the happy memory

Not too difficult, right? For example, Nick's birthday this year (the closest event I can think of off the top of my head!). We've been thinking about taking a little trip, so once we have the dates, I'm going to mark them on my calendar so I have a visual reminder to "anticipate the event".

In order to "savor it as it unfolds", my plan is to put our phones on silent, bring a 2 person board game or two, and maybe some......other things....to make Nick's birthday fun. Wink wink. I want to be totally present in each moment we get to experience together.

We have kind of a joke saying in our family; "This is fun guys. Isn't this fun? We're having fun, aren't we?" But really, if you're enjoying your time with someone, make sure they know. Make sure you say it out loud and remind yourself that this once-in-a-lifetime moment is pretty cool. I have a brother-in-law who is awesome at this, and I don't even know if he knows it. About a year after Nick and I got married, we were all in the parking lot of Waffle House at about 1:30 AM (cause that's just how we roll), and he randomly turned to me and said "I'm really glad you're in our family". Totally simple, but that was over 2 years ago and I still smile every time I think about it. People appreciate when you "express your happiness as it unfolds". 

It's easy for me to "recall the happy memory", because my camera is never farther away than my purse or back pocket. Photos, scrapbooks, project life, facebook albums, that's what helps me remember all of the awesome things I've been blessed enough to take part in. Find what works for you and make it happen. 

2. Let it go! Easier said than done, and no one is going to struggle with this more than me this year. But trust me peeps......it's totally worth it. Don't let something from year, months, even weeks ago steal a single second of 2014. It's not healthy, fun, or worth it to dwell on things that, more than likely, you can't control anyway! In the spirit of moving on and letting it go, that's all I have to say on this topic. :)