I've been wanting to set some personal goals for myself and so I thought I'd start a poll...
Mine:
* Read one book a month
* Exercise and shower right away in the mornings (sounds funny, but not working it's easy to lounge around and then get moving and sometimes half the day has gotten away from me)
* Try one new recipe a week
* Fold my laundry within one day of getting it out of the dryer (you all have seen my mountains of unfolded laundry in my TS pics )
I may edit to add more later. These may sound silly, but they are things I'm trying to work on in myself.
Anyone else have any that they're trying to work on?
* Exercise and shower right away in the mornings (sounds funny, but not working it's easy to lounge around and then get moving and sometimes half the day has gotten away from me)
* Fold my laundry within one day of getting it out of the dryer (you all have seen my mountains of unfolded laundry in my TS pics )
I'm with you on both of these FP .
I only have one other, and that is to try to keep the big picture in mind. I have a tendency to get muddled down in small trivial bits of everyday life and the need for instant gratification, so I'm going to keep trying to remind myself to assess everything that happens by how it affects the big picture/longterm goals. Hopefully it will keep me out of the 'But right NOW ..' trap - But right NOW I don't want to exercise, I want to be on ST (But in the big picture, I'd really like to lose a couple pounds, and ST will still be here later today)! But right NOW I don't want to think about going back to school or finding a job (But in the big picture, it would help with money now and money later which will bring a house and retirement much faster)! Etc, etc, etc ...
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To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment ~ {Ralph Waldo Emerson}
This is so awesome! I really need this kind of motivation to do stuff.
*I need to get out of bed earlier. I am still in grad school mode of having class at night so I don't actually have to wake up at any hour. I was getting up at noon, 1pm, PATHETIC. I have literally spent the last 2 years of my life sleeping. It is frustrating, but nothing I can do now. I need to get up just earlier to actually have days where I do something.
*I have to study for the exiting exam at my school so I must do a little work on that everyday. EVERYDAY.
*Clean my apartment more often. I will not disclose how infrequently this gets done.
*Do more things for me that will enrich me as a person, i.e. take language classes, go to museums, etc.
*Call my mom more often (she has terminal cancer).
*Just enjoy life. I have spent too many years worrying about the future and about things that never materialize. I always think, if only I had X I would be happy. I need to change that mindset and just be happy now, as is.
I think that is about it, though I may have more to post...
ETA:
*DUH! The most obvious is that I need to get a job. UGH. I hate applying for a buzillioin jobs and hearing nothing back. I just need to start getting paid.
* Exercise and shower right away in the mornings (sounds funny, but not working it's easy to lounge around and then get moving and sometimes half the day has gotten away from me)
This is such a great post FP.
Im with you on the one above. Now that classes are starting for me again, Id like to get back into a routine and EXERCISE. The only way ill do this is if i do it first thing in the morning.
Im also trying to stop worrying about every little thing, and not let stupid things bother or annoy me. I get upset/annoyed whatever, so easily and I need to sit back and just enjoy life
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"Deep down you may still be that same great guy I used to know. But it's not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you" Rachel Dawes, Batman Begins
* Fold laundry within a day of drying it. Unlike you, FP, mine sits in the dryer for a few days.
* Get a job. I'm done with my job in two weeks and still don't have anything lined up.
* Not to sit down as soon as I get home. Once I sit down either at the computer or the couch, it's difficult for me to get up and get anything done the rest of the evening. And my house is a complete pig sty because of this.
* Stop spending money on clothes and start spending it on making the house look better. Every room in my house is half decorated and nothing is finished and it is driving. me. crazy.
- Walk more, keeping in mind it's good to get outside and exercise on a daily basis - Control road rage - Shop less - Keep my apartment cleaner - Keep my car cleaner
-finish grad school within 3 years (hopefully more like 2) -do Pilates at least 1x per week -stop feeling like I have to "do it all"/stop stressing so much -quit eating so much crap -leave work no later than 5 pm the entire year -get my dog trained to work as a hospital/nursing home volunteer -finish decorating my living room (last room I need to decorate!) -save money
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"We live in an age where unnecessary things are our only necessities." --Oscar Wilde
*Volunteer more often *Throw a dinner party *Invest more time in long-distance friendships *Stealing this one from FashionPrincess -- test one new recipe per week. That seems doable, and less daunting than telling myself I'm going to cook every night, which doesn't usually happen :)
Like you, do laundry (fold/put things away) no later than a day after they've been removed from the dryer. Joe hates when they sit around in our room longer than that. LOL
Upkeep of the house, do a better job, get better organized.
Spend more time w/my family.
Get back in to exercising like I had been, before I got sick.
I may think of more....
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"Until you spread your wings, you'll have no idea how far you can fly".
* Eat more protein (especially from seafood) and greens * Re-budget after raise in October - use raise to increase montly debt payment and 401k contribution * Stay more focused at work - look for more professional development opportunities and take on more challenging projects * Finish at least two of my knitting WIPs before starting something new * Get a freaking haircut! (I haven't gotten a haircut since Feb.) * Run and bike more often.
+ exercise more, eat less candy and crap, lose 5-10 lbs so I can fit in my clothes again and don't feel as flabby
+ majorly clean out my closet- get rid of half of my stuff at least- list on ebay, sell to second hand store, donate, give to friends- WHATEVER, just make it go away
+ clean my room apt more often, make an effort to do so
+ make a fall shopping list and stick to it, but buy more accessories (a couple more bags I like, some shoes i can wear in the cold here, make myself some necklaces)
+ get serious about being creative again (painting, designing, making jewelry, designing bags/belts to have sample maker make for me)
+ spend less time stressing/worrying about work
+ SAVE, as much as possible, live cheaply, anything- my goal is to save between $500-$1000 a month
+ try to get a raise at the one year point, if not, seriously consider changing jobs at the two year mark, once i've paid my dues
+ start putting time/money towards making myself feel pretty (exercise, getting reg. haircuts and doing my hair in the morn, putting on some makeup, maybe doing something about my skin)- I always just walk out the door and never really feel that pretty (i don't mean this in a shallow/vein way, more in a confidence way- espec since so many people in nyc are gorgeous)
+ worry less about what other people think of me
+ worry less about boys
+ start to invest my money again
+go on at least 4 weekend or longer vacations a year- look into going to south america or europe next year for at least a couple of weeks
+ learn to want less/own less- I really want to travel as soon as i have time between jobs (maybe in 2 years?) so I don't want to figure out what to do with all my "stuff" and i would rather have the savings- i'd rather have a few pieces i love and wear a lot and feel great in than a new wardrobe each season
many of you have already said ones that I'd like to do, too:
*Do more things for me that will enrich me as a person, i.e. take language classes, go to museums, etc. I really agree with this one. My excuse usually is that I spend so much time forcing creative output for school that it's OK for me to be a philistine, but seriously, it's getting sad. I never go to museums anymore, or concerts; I never read; I seem to spend most of my free time surfing the web or shopping or watching TV. And some of that is OK, but I could do with less.
I really want to get into French and Italian again. When I was in France this weekend, I realized how badly I'd missed speaking French... I studied it for years in high school, was really good at it, and it was a big part of my life, but in the past eight or nine years it's just been gone. I'd forgotten how much I loved it, and learning and using other languages in general. It's such a wonderful skill. (Plus, I have to admit... it was kind of a rush to have a conversation in French with the waiter or concierge while my eminently capable boyfriend looked on in total confusion and had to ask me later what we had said... )
* Not to sit down as soon as I get home. Once I sit down either at the computer or the couch, it's difficult for me to get up and get anything done the rest of the evening. And my house is a complete pig sty because of this. Yes, I have this one too... it's very correlated with my first one... and not in a good way.
start to invest my money again. Ugh, yes. I was so pleased with myself when I started my Roth IRA last year, and then when it turned out that I was going to move in with my BF, I had to withdraw it and all that money has vanished... on our broker fee, on crap I bought for the apartment and, most sickeningly, on fall clothes. Which brings me to:
STOP SPENDING SUCH AN ABSURD AMOUNT OF MONEY ON CLOTHES
and
INSTEAD PUT IT TOWARDS TRAVELING! That's another one. A few years ago I would never have dreamed of spending this much on clothes; instead I would have used the money to travel. This weekend was a reminder of how exhilarating and inspiring travel is. Clothes are fun as hell, but I certainly could not describe my shopping habit as exhilarating or inspiring or enriching.
- start going to the gym again. I went 3x/week for a long time and stopped 2 months ago.
- spend more time with my friends in the city. it's so easy to go home to the burbs and feel too lazy to go back out again.
- actually put my laundry away instead of letting it sit on the recliner and rummaging through it for clothes
- start playing the violin again, I really miss it, but am embarassed to play when hubby is home because I think I suck.
- learn how to cook fish! I buy the prepared filets at the store that come w/ cooking instructions, but I've never actually used any of the fish recipes in my cookbooks because they intimidate me.