2019 Non-Bookish Resolutions

I feel a little iffy about New Year’s resolutions, mainly because it feels like they always fizzle out. But there are things about my life I’d like to improve, and now seems like as good a time as any! I’ve made a list of somewhat specific resolutions (things I can actually measure in some way, rather than “work out more” etc.) that I’d like to work toward achieving in the coming months. While the list may seem a little overwhelming, I’ve decided to use the “Monday resolutions” method — I’ll work to implement one of these every week or three and slowly incorporate them into my life.

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Journal 4+ days a week

I used to journal religiously every single day, usually 3 full handwritten pages. I don’t know exactly when or how I fell off the bandwagon but I miss it. It helped me to remember things I had been up to, and helped me to organize myself in some ways. I’ve tried to keep telling myself to start up again, but have finally realized it may not be feasible to jump back into journaling every day! Instead, I decided I’d like to journal most days. See how that may be a little easier? This way, I’m less likely to feel like I’ll run out of things to say, and I don’t have to beat myself up if I don’t have the chance to get to it. You’ll see that a lot of my resolutions have been structured similarly.

Exercise 3+ days a week

By exercise, I mean go to the gym for 20-30+ minutes or go running outside. I have a membership to the gym a block from my office so I have no reason not to get back to this one (except for depression and fatigue…). I always feel so much better when I’m actively exercising and if I can do it before work, I don’t have to worry about being too exhausted at the end of the day!

Spend (IRL) time with someone who isn’t my sister 1+ day a week

This is an easier goal than “make more friends” which can feel daunting. But in winter especially, I really need to focus on spending time with others and not self-isolating. I live with my sister so we “hang out” a lot, but I think I would feel more enriched if I made an effort to spend time with others!

Create 1+ days a week

This can be drawing, writing, knitting, etc. I haven’t really been creating in a while and I feel so stale. My friend Marlaina and I have been trying to do drawing challenges but I’ve been terrible about actually doing them. Instead of beating myself up about it, I just want to try to do anything creative at least once a week.

Order takeout and eat out twice or less a week

I’m a takeout fiend, and it is really cutting into my budget! My sister and I recently started doing Peapod, so it should be much easier for me to eat food I already have at home. I started this rule a while ago and fell out of it, but it wasn’t actually too difficult to stick to! I just need to be really conscientious of how much I’m eating out. Usually I’ll try to save it for the weekend and even just cutting out weekdays has helped a lot!

Praise myself more

I’ve always been in the habit of getting down on myself about stuff, so I really want to focus on praising myself more! Anytime I work toward any of the above goals, or do anything good for myself, I’m going to try to praise myself for it. This doesn’t necessarily mean treating myself, or rewarding myself, but just saying some nice things to myself and recognizing any progress I’ve made!

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How do y’all feel about New Year’s resolutions? Do you have any you’re going to try out in 2019?

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