Morning Mastery

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I have been feeling pressure to create a New Year’s resolution.  Where is this pressure coming from? All the resolutions I’ve seen posted on Twitter this week?  No.  All the “Best of 2011” lists that didn’t include Sperk*?  No.  From a place within that is nagging for change? Yes.

In doing some serious self-examination, I realized that most things I want to change in my life could be altered simply by changing my daily routine.  The girls are gone for the weekend which allowed me some time to explore different tools that could support this theory and create a plan of action. 

I came across this list at a blog called The Change Blog, written by Peter Clemens, which I think is ideal. It consists of 24 things to incorporate into my day.  Some I already do—most I do not. 24 seem like a lot and I am feeling intimidated by it.  But I am going to give it a try.  I expect positive changes to occur because of its implementation and I plan to keep you updated. 

  

The Morning

1. Wake Early: I typically wake at 6 a.m. which is 30 minutes before Sophia wakes.  I am going to wake earlier to allow time for the subsequent activities on the list.
2. Exercise: I used to be a dancer and very much in shape.  I used to workout daily until I went back to school. I used to, I used to, I used to. I miss exercise and the benefits it has for my brain. I am looking forward to adding physical activity back into my daily routine. 
3. Review or (even better) Rewrite Your Goals:  Goal number one is to implement this list.
4. Read and/ or Listen to Motivational Material: I have a box full of inspirational readings on discs. I’m going to dig those out.  I already have a daily quote app on the smartphone.  I’ll continue using it because it provides inspiration.
5. Visualize the Day Ahead:  This seems like a good idea.
6. Write a “To Do” list: Already implemented.  I use Cozi .
7. Check the News Headlines: Already implemented, however, I need to put a time limit on it. My “read later” list in Diigo is enormous.
8. Take a Multivitamin: I have some. I need to check the expiration date.
9. Tidy Up: Will do in the morning, as list suggests, instead of ten minutes before kids get home from school.
10. Take Time to Look Good: Will do because it makes me feel better.  I will do this in the morning instead of five minutes before kids get home from school.

Items 11-17 are tasks to include during the day.  Items 18-24 are tasks to include in the evening.  I am looking forward to implementing all 24 tasks, but am only going to commit to the morning tasks for now. I will add day and evening tasks once I have the morning mastered. I am giving myself a one week deadline to master the morning list and will compose items 11-24 during number 6.  [The real reason I have abandoned creating day and evening lists is that I find the Lego Friends controversy more interesting (see item 7)].