New Week's Resolution - Week 17 (Feb 10 - Feb 16)

nossmf
nossmf Posts: 12,856 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: 12,856 Member
    Getting setup for this 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 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

    Tasks completed thanks to this weekly challenge:
    Complete digital cookbook

    Ongoing focus items:
    Get at least six hours of sleep every night
    Shave daily
    Record receipts same day spent
    Wash hands before preparing ALL meals.

    New focus item: Spray down counter/oven after every meal. I admit to being lazy, and usually only spray down the countertop and oven top when they appear to need it. But I really should be doing so all the time, both to help prevent buildup of food particles as well as to cut down on possible germ growth. So, let's get to it.
  • AdahPotatah2024
    AdahPotatah2024 Posts: 2,712 Member
    Ongoing focus items:
    -Waste less than an hour on the youtube/internet on workdays (so I have time for my hobbies)
    -Post one item per wk in my Etsy shop
    -30 minutes learning ASL every weekday
    -Get back to my regular sleep patterns! Awake by 5am!Changing this to 5:30
    -Try to drive as minimal as possible. Plan errands more efficiently!

    This week: another attempt at using all the groceries I have w/ zero waste...
  • elmerja
    elmerja Posts: 2 Member
    A weekly resolution sounds great to me.
    For this week I would like focus on cutting out sugar - I have the worst sweet tooth and when there is chocolate or any sweets around, especially at work, I have little will power. So, no sugary snacks/treats for me!
  • AdahPotatah2024
    AdahPotatah2024 Posts: 2,712 Member
    ✔️ so far!
  • elmerja
    elmerja Posts: 2 Member
    Scale was down this morning and while my kids were enjoying chocolate chip cookies I was enjoying a dark chocolate hazel nut filled bar with no added sugar from costco. Here's to another great day!
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 12,856 Member
    Monday

    Sleep...check!
    Shave...check!
    Receipts...check!
    Hands...oops...
    Counter...check!
  • Ihatemyjobmotivation
    Ihatemyjobmotivation Posts: 9 Member
    Try to focus on the joyful moments in the day instead of being ready to jet out of the miserable, rote expectations for magic to be happening every day where I am, especially when I get possible pop-in observations. Joy not miserable--that's the goal.
  • AdahPotatah2024
    AdahPotatah2024 Posts: 2,712 Member
    ✔️ to all except
    Have to throw out half container of hummus...how does one eat whole container in one week!?😋

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