Given the extreme number of ideas I've started and stopped on my blog here, I wasn't too sure this "52 Changes" would take. At times I haven't been prompt, but I've been making small behavioral changes a week at a time. It's hard to believe, but last week marked week 13, or one quarter of the way there. I think that warrants a look back to see which were worthwhile, and which have fallen by the wayside. A bit of a cop-out, unless you count changing a change as its own change :) but even if I do this every quarter-way, 48 positive changes in a year is pretty good. So here they all are.
Week 1 - No snooze - This has turned out excellently so far. Since beginning this project I have not once hit the snooze button on my alarm clock. It hasn't exactly made me more energetic getting out of bed in the morning, but I'd rather keep the quality sleep and lose the semi-awake, alarm every five minutes of life under snooze.
Week 2 - Decompress post-work - Haven't really done this much at all lately. To be honest, work isn't that stressful for me most of the time. I can chat or joke with my cube-neighbors, I take a walk most days to get out of the office, and my workday has natural breaks in it so I'm not working non-stop. If I want to work on relaxing, I'd rather do something, like a yoga routine, rather than just deep breathing. That might be worth a try.
Week 3 - Meal planning - Has gone really well most weeks. Since it's been such a busy summer, there have been weeks where the meal plan still hadn't come together by midweek and had to be adapted, but that's easy enough to do. I like doing this, but a new thing to add is a semi-regular fridge inventory check, to make sure we're using up what we have in our planned meals. I hate to waste food.
Week 4 - Dish washing routine - Not surprisingly didn't really go far. I always start these things and can never keep up with the rigidity of it. It's kind of been supplanted by the Board of Labor, so when dishes need to be cleaned, they go on the board. Easy. I admit I need to get more into the habit of just doing dishes, but this every-other-day thing wasn't working for me.
Week 5 - Keep a clean car - This works when I think of it, the only change is that I need to be more cognizant of doing it every time I leave the car. That's really the key if you're only taking a thing or two out each time, and I've gotten a bit slack on it, but it hasn't been too bad and with a little more effort it's really doable.
Week 6 - Exercise semi-regularly - We were going almost daily when we first joined the Y, and as might be expected it's dropped a little due to schedules/work/fun, etc. But we've gotten over the hump where exercising sucks and the last few weeks have felt really good. The original goal was 1x per week, but we've almost gotten to a point where it's an expected part of most days, so we should be able to keep up.
Week 7 - Blog once a week - I'm not going to be so neurotic as to go back and count, but I think I've been on pace with about one a week. The key is to not push myself so much that it becomes a chore, and I feel like I'm still enjoying it. If that's the case, the minimum number of posts should just flow organically.
Week 8 - Eat more mindfully - I have been doing this, and it's been a bit of a revelation. I still may get partway into a meal before I think to slow down and really taste, but when I do I feel like I appreciate things even more. We made a rare-ish seared Ahi Tuna last week that I was chowing down on at first, but then stopped and enjoyed it - and it was one of the best flavors I've ever had.
Week 9 - Budget tracking - This goes on a per-month basis, and we've really been tracking every penny in August. Not to the extent that we're depriving ourselves, but again being more conscious of our choices. We likely won't hit the "goal" for August, but we're close and most spending decisions are being made thoughtfully rather than impulsively.
Week 10 - Board of labor - As I mentioned, this has become the new way of assigning chores and keeping ourselves honest about them. I like it better than any other way we've tried, since it focuses on the most-needed tasks and perhaps most importantly allows for some flexibility. It's a keeper.
Week 11 - Live in the now - A major change, and majorly difficult for me to make. This is something that I need to constantly remind myself of, but when I do I find things to be much more enjoyable. It's hard to retrain myself after years of uber-planning, but at least I'm starting to try. I think I can make this work, but it will continue to be a challenge.
Week 12 - Lose the excess lists - Ties in to living in the now, I suppose. Also a major mindset change, but one that I think I can make. I've already changed some (in my mind) from "collect them all" lists to simply lists from which to choose. I need to watch myself to not become too much of a list collector, but as time goes on I feel it's something I can do.
One fourth of the way there, and only a few of the changes are total losses. And in some way, each one was a change in that it made me think about things in a new way, even if that way was just to say "I don't like this change." It's a neat program for the most part and I suppose I'll keep it up for as long as I can think of new ideas (or 52 weeks, whichever comes first).
I don't have a change yet for this week, but stay tuned for next week (8/31). It's going to be a whopper!
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