2018: looking forward doing more of what you love and less of what you don't
As I was brainstorming about blog posts to create in 2018, I noticed that many bloggers go for the cliche posts regarding resolutions for the New Year. Instead of creating another batch of resolutions for the New Year, I want to post some inspiration from on a book I am reading “You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life” by Jen Sincero . In Chapter 3 of her book, Jen gives readers some great advice about how to live a more awesome life by doing the things that you love.
“We’re all busy, but it’s the people who make enjoying their lives a priority who, um, enjoy their lives...Give yourself the gift of a joyous life while you’re still among the living”
One of the ways she mentions to maximize your best self is to do more of what you are good at and less of what you aren’t. I can attest to this fact wholeheartedly. When I am stuck doing tasks that I don’t enjoy a majority of the time I am pretty unhappy, and frankly, I don’t do a great job. However, when I am in flow with my hearts greatest desires, I thrive. As a result of this book, In 2018 I resolve to doing more of what I love and less of what I don't. Which means I need to make a living, breathing list of the following:
A. Do more of This Z. Do less of That
In addition to, any progress I make in establishing a system that allows me to allocate tasks toward each list along the way. I also want to be able to look back at the time and money spent on having more fun. Join me in looking forward to 2018 in doing more of what I love and less of what I don’t, but in order to do more of what I love, I really need to do some prep work. I need to do some deep thinking about what I need to do to be in the frame of mind to really follow through on this goal. So I do what most people do, I made a list. What do I need in 2018 to do more of what I love and less of what I don’t? I came up with two things:
Dedicated Time
&
Budgeted Dollars
Planning - Do you know what next week looks like for you? Have you made time for enjoyable activities each day? To be honest I really never kept track of this for myself. I never dedicated time to enjoying life, It was only added if there was time after my obligations were met. This is how I was raised, and I feel this is correct, but as I get busier my life is getting in the way of actually living. It happened slowly and the the detriment of my happiness, which leads me to this project. I am an organized, planner at heart. In fact, planning and organizing brings me joy, and incorporating more fun into my week should be easy. In 2018 I resolve to allocate more time to enjoying activities that I love and less to what I don’t. This involves incorporating time for budgeting for activities and ample time for relaxing, so that I can enjoy myself.
Show me the Money - In 2018, I really want to be sure that my money goes to purchases that support my mission of doing more of what I love and that my money spent is an allocated expense for fun. I want to look back and remember that the ticket I purchased for the lion King wasn’t just an added expense, but definitely an expense that I maximized. Sure, if I hire someone that motivates me to workout that is an expense, but that is money well spent in that I am happier and healthier. Plus, that money goes further than paying for a gym membership that I don’t actually use. In 2018, I resolve to really understand that my hard earned cash is going to support my in my life goals and ensure that this is trackable, via this blog. I feel wholeheartedly that as I devolve more time to doing what I love, I will see more money in the bank. Yes, some of the activities may cost me dollar wise, but the memories I make and the enjoyment in the moment will create more fulfillment over time.
Relaxing - In order to have fun and do the things I love, I need to be the right frame of mind. Have you ever had plans to do something that you loved, but weren’t able to enjoy it, because you were not in the right headspace? For me, this typically means that I need to be in a relaxed state of mind and body before embarking on anything enjoyable. However, relaxing is different for everyone. In my experience, I enjoy activities that you would actually see if you were to google the term relax. This includes meditation, yoga, acupuncture, journaling, reading, warm baths, facials, pedicures and I could go on. In short, in order to do the things I love consistently, I need to ensure that I am relaxed and this involves choosing an item that moves me from the list above and doing this for 20 - 30 minutes prior to completing an activity that I love.
Okay, so now it is time to get to the good stuff. Perhaps you are wondering what I actually like to do or not to do, or maybe you don’t care, but I advise you to go through this exercise. Because I have an inclination that you aren't really maximizing your time. Make sure you start [insert link here], with part I of this post to get you started.
In terms of likes and dislikes, sometimes it is easier to start backwards, so let’s start with the tasks I don’t love, which is pretty easy to compile:
DO LESS OF THIS:
Deep Cleaning - Don’t get me wrong, I love to organize and I am a pretty neat person. However, cleaning is not my strong suit. I love the smell of a clean home and all that comes with that, but the back breaking, baseboard scrubbing, dust stirring cleaning is not my thing. I don’t mind being clean in order to have a tidy home, but I did not inherit the need to clean as a stress reliever from my mother. As a result, in 2018 I resolve to outsource the cleaning of my apartment to someone who actually enjoys cleaning. It will benefit them in that they will get paid to do something they enjoy and I will reap all the benefits of a clean and tidy home without the pain and suffering.
Motivating myself to Work Out - I was an active child and teen. Always playing a sport such as basketball or cheerleading. I can only remember one short winter period where I wasn’t actually involved in a physical activity. Even in college I attended the gym often for step aerobics (yes I loved this), running, yoga, dance classes, etc. I worked out fairly consistently enough through my early twenties and even had a trainer with a friend for about 3 months. We decided on this, because after our first Beyonce concert we were determined that at 25 we needed to tighten up.
Not only was I more active, more energetic and more fit. I felt better and less stressed from the daily grind. I cannot think of one negative about working out other than finding the motivation to do so. In fact this is mainly my issue. So I feel that this needs to be outsourced as well. In recent years people are moving from working out at the big box gyms and moving to smaller studio settings such as barre or cycling. Judging from my past classes or a trainer is the way to go and the cost of one or the other is relatively equal when you do the math. in 2018 I resolve to outsource motivating my workouts to someone other than myself, whether it be a class instructor or a trainer, as I enjoy the after effects, but cannot be solely responsible for getting started.
DO MORE OF THIS:
Sleeping/Napping - I have an affinity for sleep. I always have and always will. There is something about me that needs it more often that those that I poll on occasion. Many people stay “Seize the Day” or “You sleep when you die”, but it is an essential part of me actually having enough energy to seize the day. In fact, I was told by my acupuncturist that I actually need more sleep than I am getting. As a result of this I resolve to get a better quality sleep, by going to be earlier to allow my body enough time to the rest that it needs. Especially if I am going to workout more consistently, more sleep will needed in order to feel and look my best
Cooking - Since I moved to the DMV area I have been eating out, a lot. More than one average person should. As a result my slim wallet and plump waistline are on opposite ends of where they should be at this point. Considering that 1) I actually like cooking given the time and 2) I am a good cook, I will add this item to the do more list. I have friends that have dinner parties and create meals for others, they are also trying new recipes, which makes me jealous. I also have a fairly nice cookbook collection and have taken over 10 cooking classes. Apparently I really enjoy cooking. While, I know this may seem surprising to some, I did receive a Martha Stewart cookbook as a Christmas gift at the age of 12. Cooking is in my blood and as I do more of what I love my stomach and wallet will thank me. In 2018, I resolve to make more of the yummy recipes that I have learned in a class or in one of my cookbooks.
Travel - Have you ever had a free weekend and thought, “I should have flown out to Atlanta to see my childhood friend.”, well I have, but this is only after I spent the weekend cleaning or attempting to motivate myself to workout. When you spend less time filling your calendar with obligatory tasks that are not pleasing, you won’t have any time left to fill up your cup. In 2018, I resolve to ensure that I plan to travel as a way to do more of what I love. In fact, one of my friends who is really good at this, books her travel for most of the year in January or at least plans for it. This way you have not excuses and you are recharged and will have destinations to look forward to throughout the year.
Keeping the above Items in mind, I do actually currently make time for plenty of tasks that I enjoy, many of which I listed below. However, I really want to create some way to ensure I am doing this more often and this blog will allow me to track these activities in a creative and fun way. Also, there are plenty of thing that I want to do, but that I am not quite ready to start yet, but as I create more time, I feel that I can accomplish all that I am to do with the time that I have.