January 2012

THEMES FOR 2012
CREATE....................MEDITATE....................MOVE....................MAINTAIN

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm reviving the concept of yearly themes. I'm resetting it. Re-doing it. Renewing it. Some people choose a single theme word for the year. For me, that's too restrictive. Others choose a set of goals to work towards. Also too restrictive - my attention wanders a lot, and I have no idea if I'll still be interested in achieving those goals in 12 months, or even 3 months. So I compromise - I choose 4 words/themes, but leave up to interpretation exactly how I live up to those.

This year is mostly similar to last year. I've made two changes. I changed 'de-clutter' to 'maintain'. Moving house last January forced me into a radical purge, so I feel this goal is mostly taken care of. This new word ... maintain ... could mean so many things (and that's just the way I like it!). Maintain a de-cluttered state, maintain a clean home, build on things I've already achieved in all areas of life. Don't lose sight of what's really important.
The other change was one of terminology. I was hesitating because I had a problem with the word 'Actions'. It sounded too cold and business-like. So I'm changing it to 'Things I'd Like To Do' or just 'Things'.

I also learned a couple of points about formulating the Things from last year's experience:

1. Don't pile on too much stuff. I only had 4 themes, but I had at least 5-6 actions to achieve each month. That's fine if some of them take 10 minutes, but if I start to feel overwhelmed, then I'll procrastinate and it won't happen. Life can and will get in the way - sickness, seasonal busyness, etc. Less is better than more. I can always add on bonus actions later.
2. Think ahead. There's no point planning a heavy exercise schedule in a month that's normally scorching hot, or going on a picnic in the middle of winter.
3. Well, this isn't really something I just learned, but it's good to remember - formulating SMART goals. So many new year's resolutions I see are too vague and therefore doomed to failure. For example: 'go to the gym more'. 'be nicer to other people.'
This post has some good advice for formulating better new year's resolutions. (No longer available.)

On to the Things for January:

* Finish both Top Secret projects. (CREATE)
* Make list of potential baby projects. (CREATE)
* Continue to meditate every day. Try 1 new recording every week. (MEDITATE)
* Play Zumba or Dance Kinect game twice a week. (MOVE)
* Find previously cancelled projects and throw away/recycle them. (MAINTAIN)
* Make a list of non-keep books to read. Start reading one. (MAINTAIN)