New Years Resolutions 2012

   In a blog about changing your life, I would be remiss if I did not write about new years resolutions.  Tomorrow is New Years Day. It is the time when people everywhere promise to make changes in the coming year, but few of them last until February.  Does this mean we should give up on the whole resolution business? No.  We should instead examine our previous attempts and fix whatever we did wrong.
   One common error is that we often make our resolutions vague.  Without a clear plan of action, we almost never achieve what we set out to do.  For example, we may say we want to loose weight, but if we do not plan how we are going to bring this about, we will probably to loose anything.
   Another common error is to set unrealistic goals.  In our weight loss example, if I say I want to loose 75 pounds by the summer, I am setting myself up for failure.  Instead I could try to loose a more reasonable one to three pounds a week.  As long as you are taking steps towards your goal it is okay if it takes a while.

 
  Finally, don't be discouraged by your mistakes.  One of my goals for last year, was to learn how to keep a container garden for vegetables and herbs.  I have always had a bit of a black thumb and for years I gave up on growing plants.  But last year I decided to give it a go.  Well needless to say it did not go well.  After I planted we had a freak rain storm that completely swamped my pots and killed my little plants.  I was very discouraged, but now I know not to put the pots where they get all the runoff from the roof.  I don't know if I will succeed this year, but even if I fail, I will learn from it.
  So what are my resolutions this year.  I am not going to count my three goals as resolutions, because I am already doing them.  Instead, I am making smaller goals to help bring about the larger ones.

Resolution 1: Once again I am going to attempt to grow my own herbs and vegetables.  Do the upside down tomatoes really work?
Resolution 2: Pay off my car.  I'm not sure if I can actually do this in a year, but I can at least pay off most of it.
Resolution 3: Finish my novel. Okay I confess I've made this resolution every year since 2006, but with all the time management skills I'm learning I can pull this off.
Resolution 4: Remember to send people birthday cards this year.

What is your New Years Resolution?

Project Unclutter: Book Review

 One month ago, I wrote about Project Unclutter.  The first step of Project Unclutter was to read the book Unclutter Your Life in One Week by Erin Rooney Doland by the end of the year.  Well here it is December 28 and despite holiday madness and an increased work schedule I managed to make it.  In case you did not read my previous post, in Project Unclutter I will follow Doland's advice and see if I really can unclutter my life in one week.
  I initially scoffed at the title of this book.  I have been trying to get organized and uncluttered for years.  How can it be done in one week?  I still have my doubts, but with the guidance of Unclutter Your Life in One Week I should make tremendous progress.
  The first thing that won me over was Ms. Doland's testimony.  She admits that she was not always organized herself.  As she put it, she was "surrounded by stacks of papers, piles of shoes and clothes, and dozens of boxes of sentimental trinkets."  This is key.  Over the years I have read many articles and books on getting organized.  The only ones which have been of much use are the ones written by people who have actually changed their lives.  Someone who is born organized has difficulty understanding those of us who are not.  However, someone who has been unorganized herself knows what they were doing wrong and what they did to fix it.
  The book is organized by the days of the week, Monday through Friday with the weekend grouped together.  Each week day is divided into three parts: morning, at work, and evening.  This breaks the enormous task of organizing your life into manageable bite sized pieces.  I also liked the fact that she includes work.  I work from home now, but I can still apply her principles to my home office.
  As for the specific advice she gives, there is so much useful information that I could write about.  Some examples are, making a 30 minute playlist to clean to, and scanning information in your computer so you don't have to keep stacks of paper. There is much more, but instead of sharing it all now, I will let you know how it works after I've tried it.  Starting on Monday, I will begin the year by putting Unclutter Your Life in One Week to the test.  When I can, throughout the week I will let you in on my progress.
   Despite my initial scepticism, Unclutter Your Life in One Week is a very useful book.  I still doubt it can be done in a week, but I believe it will be a great help in my journey towards an organized life.