My 2023 Resolutions To-Do List
Many people say that New Year’s resolutions have a negative connotation for them. But I don’t think the word choice really matters. If you make a resolution, a goal, a commitment, or a plan….it’s all the same thing. No matter what word you use, the idea is the same and if it isn’t always at the forefront of your mind, it can become a passive attempt at a loose concept. Not to mention, if you just set the goal without the steps to get there…it’s probably not going to go great for you. I don’t remember the last time I even made a New Year’s resolution. But I make the hell out of to-do lists. Like daily. So that’s what I’m doing for this year. The items on my 2023 To-Do list are things that I will need to take action on daily, weekly, or monthly in order to be able to check them off my list this time next year.
- THE WHAT: Get strong AF – at the young, tender age of 50, my family is already beginning to treat me like I’m fragile. Let me tell you, that pisses me right off! Just because I had to have a rotator cuff repair and a week before the surgery I tore the other side, does not make me fragile. It makes me independent, and maybe a little impatient and dumb. But not fragile!
- THE HOW: Weight lifting at least 3 days per week at an incrementally challenging load and duration.
- THE WHAT: Prioritize sleep – I love my sleep. Always have. But I have struggled with it a lot lately due to dopamine antagonist withdrawal. That’s a story for another time but if I could go back to 2016 and not take some recommended medications, believe me, I would. This is a misery you don’t want to mess with.
- THE HOW: End phone and computer time by 6 pm daily unless I have a coaching session, group, class, or meeting.
- Also, no phone or computer time at all on Sundays. This will be great for my sleep and my mental health!
- THE WHAT: Get ready for the day, every day.
- THE WHY: Because of my poor sleep, I have a tendency only to make myself presentable when absolutely necessary. I feel like this has made me so freaking lazy over the last 6 months since I left my government job. To clarify, I think a lot of work-from-homers get trapped in this. Getting a quick shower and switching from PJs to other equally comfy clothes doesn’t really motivate me. I comb my hair but do not style it. I put on clothes, but nothing I would leave the house in. I want to eliminate any excuse for not putting myself out there more.
- THE WHAT: Drink more water. I forget to drink water. Can anyone else relate? I know this is a big issue for those with ADHD, which I have learned I probably have but have not been formally diagnosed.
- THE HOW: I downloaded an app on my phone already. It’s helpful, but I may need something a little more extreme – like an alarm on my phone every few hours. The app makes a noise, but when I’m hyper-focused on something (which is almost every minute of every day) I ignore it. Not on purpose, I hear it but it doesn’t really register in my brain and the reminder only sounds once at each designated interval. I almost need something that will ensure I can’t ignore it.
- THE WHAT: Continue my education – to better serve my clients, the plan is to watch, read, and/or listen to educational content every week.
- THE HOW: I will schedule time for this every week. I may join a group hosted by a trusted mentor, watch a webinar, read or listen to an audiobook, or enroll in free and paid courses. All of which will be related to zero-carb, low-carb, keto, carnivore, food addiction, etc.
I will track some of these habits each day, week, or month so that I can check them off my list at the end of the year! None of these items will be automatic – meaning I’m obviously not going to be strong AF tomorrow, but I will be making progress toward each to-do item every day, week, or month.
I feel that saying, ‘ok, starting today I am doing X’, can be a recipe for failure. I know I need transitions.
Another thing that helps me is the reminder to act like who I want to be. By that, I mean I will start ‘identifying’ as the kind of person who is productive and ready for every day. I will ‘identify’ as the kind of person who stops working and puts the phone away at 6 pm each day. I won’t beat myself up if I can’t do that due to something that is scheduled, like a meeting, a client session, or something going toward my continued education. But on the days I do not have something planned, I will be sure to have screens off by 6 pm. This is a small measure that will go toward my to-do item of prioritizing sleep. So small steps toward a larger, overall goal is my strategy for success. Knowing I love to cross items off a list means making this a to-do list rather than a lofty goal or resolution is less daunting, and will (hopefully) lead me to success.
See, it always, ALWAYS goes back to individuality. Knowing yourself and what you need to do to succeed is the key. You can’t copy someone else’s goals or systems and expect to get the same results. It might work, but you really need to consider the process of achieving the goal and not just the goal itself.
If that seems overwhelming, reach out! I can help you pick an attainable goal in a realistic time frame, and help you break that goal down into a process toward progress.
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