New Week's Resolution - Week 23 (Mar 31 - Apr 6)

nossmf
nossmf Posts: 13,643 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: 13,643 Member

    Getting setup for this week a day late, sorry about that. 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 because 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 successfully transitioned to un-monitored habit:

    Floss every night before bed
    Clean litter box every night before bed
    Kiss wife within one (1) minute of arriving home from work, gym, store, church, etc
    Wearing my glasses every day, all day
    Park in furthest spot available
    Read 10 minutes daily
    Wash dinner dishes the same night they're used
    Get at least six hours of sleep every night
    Check parakeet water daily
    Record receipts same day spent

    Tasks completed thanks to this weekly challenge:

    Complete digital cookbook
    Clean outdoor grill

    Ongoing focus items:

    Shave daily (6/7)
    Wash hands before preparing ALL meals. (4/6)
    Spray down counter/oven after every meal. (3/7)
    Fold laundry same day it gets washed (1/1)

    New focus item:

    I still have four focus items, and only once they prove over a two-week span that they are becoming automatic (at least 80% of the time) will they be replaced with a new item. So this week will be spent repeating the same focus items.

  • p8m6bwghh9
    p8m6bwghh9 Posts: 683 Member

    Hope I can jump back in. I am tweaking my ongoing focus items without adding anything new.

    Ongoing focus item:

    • Complete stretch or yoga routine each day, preferably first thing in the morning.
    • Spend at least 30 minutes each day decluttering/spring cleaning house and/or yard.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 13,643 Member

    Monday

    Shave…check!
    Hands…check!
    Counter…check!
    Laundry…check!

  • shoranani
    shoranani Posts: 141 Member

    Goals for me :

    M/T/W/Th/F/Sa/Su

    • Workout/movement 5x/week ✔️
    • call/check on family 3x/week❌
    • 15 min clean kitchen/living room every night ✔️
  • AdahPotatah2024
    AdahPotatah2024 Posts: 3,077 Member

    Ongoing focus items:
    -Waste less than an hour on the youtube/internet per day(so I have time for my hobbies)✔️
    -Get back to my regular sleep patterns! ✔️
    -Try to drive as minimal as possible. Plan errands more efficiently!✔️
    - attempt at using all the groceries I have w/ zero waste...🚫still working on
    - Cook only 3 good meals per week with enough leftovers for 2 days (Restaurant on Thursday/pizza Sunday)🚫still working on
    - organizing books, clothes, and papers and donations after decluttering ..🚫still working on

    Last week I did an exercise from a book Simplify Your Time by M.Ramsland which is to log how I spend all my time for the week on a 168 hour chart, and then This week look at time wasters and "reassign those hours to activities that add balance to my life."

    I already have been working on prioritizing my time, but this week I'll have to shave 15 hours of free time off my schedule for my part-time job#3.

    More quality time with friends and family,work,walking, cooking healthy meals,art, cleaning and organizing,gardening...A little less reading, genealogy research, and watching movies!:)

  • shoranani
    shoranani Posts: 141 Member

    Goals for me :

    M/T/W/Th/F/Sa/Su

    • Workout/movement 5x/week ✔️✔️
    • call/check on family 3x/week❌❌
    • 15 min clean kitchen/living room every night ✔️✔️
  • AdahPotatah2024
    AdahPotatah2024 Posts: 3,077 Member
    20250401_195541.jpg

    Here's example of the chart if anyone is interested in trying it. My plan is to start prioritizing the hobbies I can do while spending time with friends and family for atleast the next few years.. I'll still paint and read, just not as much.

  • p8m6bwghh9
    p8m6bwghh9 Posts: 683 Member

    Monday

    Stretch/yoga…yep

    Declutter…yep

    Tuesday

    Stretch/yoga…nope

    Declutter…yep

  • AdahPotatah2024
    AdahPotatah2024 Posts: 3,077 Member

    I am feeling that my time is being spent more wisely this week, so far, and in line with my values:)

  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 13,643 Member

    Tuesday

    Shave…check!
    Hands…check!
    Counter…check!
    Laundry…check!

    Wednesday

    Shave…check!
    Hands…check!
    Counter…check!
    Laundry…n/a

  • p8m6bwghh9
    p8m6bwghh9 Posts: 683 Member

    Wednesday

    Stretch/yoga…nope

    Declutter…yep

  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 13,643 Member

    Thursday

    Shave…nope
    Hands…check!
    Counter…check!
    Laundry…n/a

  • p8m6bwghh9
    p8m6bwghh9 Posts: 683 Member

    Thursday

    Stretch/yoga…nope

    Declutter…yep

  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 13,643 Member

    Friday

    Shave…nope
    Hands…check!
    Counter…check!
    Laundry…n/a

  • Ihatemyjobmotivation
    Ihatemyjobmotivation Posts: 21 Member

    Goal by April 6th:

    1. Wash and cut hair
    2. Plan and assemble materials for the coming week Monday to Wednesday
  • p8m6bwghh9
    p8m6bwghh9 Posts: 683 Member

    Friday

    Stretch/yoga…nope

    Declutter…yep

  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 13,643 Member

    Saturday

    Shave…check!
    Hands…check!
    Counter…check!
    Laundry…n/a

  • p8m6bwghh9
    p8m6bwghh9 Posts: 683 Member

    Saturday

    Stretch/yoga…nope

    Declutter…nope

    Dang it😞

  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 13,643 Member

    Sunday

    Shave…nope
    Hands…check!
    Counter…check!
    Laundry…n/a

  • p8m6bwghh9
    p8m6bwghh9 Posts: 683 Member

    Sunday

    Stretch/yoga…nope

    Spring Clean…yep

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