New Week's Resolution - Week 4

nossmf
nossmf Posts: 11,527 Member
in Challenges
Welcome to the first week of the rest of your life! Now seems like a perfect time to select a New Week's Resolution.

What is a New Week's Resolution? It's exactly the same as a New Year's Resolution, with two important distinctions: it only lasts for one week, and you can start one any time you want, rather than just once per year.

So what's wrong with New Year's Resolutions? According to some quick Google research, just one thing: they DON'T WORK!
  • 23% of people quit within the first week
  • 43% quit by the end of January
  • 80% quit by mid-February
  • 92% fail to make it a full year
Why such high rates of failure? Probably because most resolutions fail to follow these simple steps from the SMART method:
  • Specific - "exercise more" is vague; "hit the gym twice this week" is specific
  • Measurable - did I go twice? Yes or no?
  • Achievable - "drink a gallon of water per day" may not be realistic; drink 8oz is
  • Relevant - if it doesn't matter to YOU, why bother?
  • Time-bound - keep your goal for this week something quick you can reach THIS week
With these thoughts in mind, what is ONE thing you want to do this week? Some examples may include:
  • Hit the gym two times this week
  • Cook a meal from scratch three times this week
  • Go to bed no later than 10pm every night
  • Limit myself to one alcoholic beverage this week
  • Finish two pages of my family photo album
...and so on. While this is very similar in nature to the famous "Just Give Me 10 Days" series, that challenge focuses primarily on weight loss and diet control, whereas this challenge is of a broader nature, including interpersonal relationships, home improvements, health and fitness and more. Just pick something specific you wish to focus upon, set a number goal you can reach (or not), and make status updates to document your progress. This will be a judgment-free zone: if you do not reach your goal, take the time to figure out why not (too big a goal, life happened, etc), and forgive yourself, because you can always try again next week.

Replies

  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,527 Member
    Getting setup for next week. My plan is to continue what I started in previous weeks, and add one more focus item every week as I go. Eventually older items will drop off the list, not because I no longer want to do them, but hopefully they will have become so ingrained a part of my daily routine that I no longer need to record them to make sure they get done.

    Past focus items:
    Floss every night before bed
    Clean litter box every night before bed
    Get at least six hours of sleep every night

    New focus item:
    Wash dinner dishes the same night they're used - I'm guilty of quite often taking a break after dinner is eaten, to watch TV with my wife, or help my daughter with her homework. Next thing I know it's bed time, and the dishes from dinner have been sitting in the sink, maybe rinsed off, maybe not. More often than not, I end up loading the dishwasher the following morning, after the dishes have sat all night. This week I want to focus upon not allowing myself to get distracted until AFTER the dishes are done, for one less eye-sore, a more hygienic kitchen, and an easier morning routine.
  • AdahPotatah2024
    AdahPotatah2024 Posts: 2,237 Member
    So this week, for my extra 8 hours per week that I have free, I will continue 30 minutes of LinkedIn courses, 30+ minutes of art, and 30 minutes of working on a short film/video every weekday.
    (I sold a painting this week, finally!:D)
  • Adventurista
    Adventurista Posts: 1,650 Member
    Yay congrats!

    Include veggies with breakfast
  • AdahPotatah2024
    AdahPotatah2024 Posts: 2,237 Member
    ✔️✔️✔️ so far
  • Adventurista
    Adventurista Posts: 1,650 Member
    Ck
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,527 Member
    Monday night...

    Floss...check!
    Litter...check!
    Sleep...check!
    Dishes...n/a (wife wanted to take advantage of me getting a free meal for Veteran's Day by making it a date night last night, no dishes to wash)
  • AdahPotatah2024
    AdahPotatah2024 Posts: 2,237 Member
    ✔️✔️✔️
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,527 Member
    Tuesday night...

    Floss...check!
    Litter...check!
    Sleep...check!
    Dishes...check!
  • Adventurista
    Adventurista Posts: 1,650 Member
    Chk
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,527 Member
    Wednesday night...

    Floss...check!
    Litter...check!
    Sleep...check!
    Dishes...oops...

    I can make the excuse of taking care of my sick daughter, but simple fact is I had time to do the dishes, the habit just isn't ingrained yet. First un-check in four weeks of doing these threads. (NOT "first failure" as that's not what this thread is about.)
  • AdahPotatah2024
    AdahPotatah2024 Posts: 2,237 Member
    ✔️✔️✔️
    If I had any sort of housework as a goal, I'd not be doing so well!:D
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,527 Member
    Thursday night...

    Floss...check!
    Litter...check!
    Sleep...check!
    Dishes...check!
  • Adventurista
    Adventurista Posts: 1,650 Member
    Nope.

    Yes. And yum!

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