Resolutions
I usually don't make New Year's resolutions. In the past I have found that they don't really work because they're too easy to make and too hard to follow through on. I've tried out some variations though. A good one was the notion of a monthly resolution. It's quite a bit easier to do something for just one month instead of a whole year, and then at the first of each month you can decide whether you want to renew the resolution or not.
Another thing I've done in the past -- one that has been pretty successful actually -- has been to pick a single area of my life to focus on each year rather than come up with a laundry list of resolutions. So for example, one year's focus was "fitness", the next year was "finances" another might be "nutrition" and so on.
This year I've got a new one. I wrote previously about the mental clutter that comes from a lot of undone tasks. Well, this year's resolution/focus is Finish Something. I'm the sort of person who thinks of something that would be useful, or cool, or that just needs doing and I'll make a mental note to do it but never actually get around to it. So these things pile up in my brain creating that pressured feeling of always being behind on my task list. This year, I've decided that I'm getting things done, but only those things that I've previously put on my list: No new projects until the all the clutter is cleared up.
So far, it's working pretty well. There are simple things like the oil that have been cleared up finally after years. As well, I've already managed to knock off a couple of video projects that have been pending for a half-year or so, and have started on one that's over half a decade old.
The great thing about it is that I love crossing these things off my list -- doing it is a wonderful reward, so it really is self-reinforcing behaviour. That's the best kind, because it's easy to keep doing. If I persevere, by the end of this year I will have cleared up about 30 years worth of task backlog, and then next year I can do this year's projects and next year's and then will have caught up. Hmmm. Then what will I do?
Another thing I've done in the past -- one that has been pretty successful actually -- has been to pick a single area of my life to focus on each year rather than come up with a laundry list of resolutions. So for example, one year's focus was "fitness", the next year was "finances" another might be "nutrition" and so on.
This year I've got a new one. I wrote previously about the mental clutter that comes from a lot of undone tasks. Well, this year's resolution/focus is Finish Something. I'm the sort of person who thinks of something that would be useful, or cool, or that just needs doing and I'll make a mental note to do it but never actually get around to it. So these things pile up in my brain creating that pressured feeling of always being behind on my task list. This year, I've decided that I'm getting things done, but only those things that I've previously put on my list: No new projects until the all the clutter is cleared up.
So far, it's working pretty well. There are simple things like the oil that have been cleared up finally after years. As well, I've already managed to knock off a couple of video projects that have been pending for a half-year or so, and have started on one that's over half a decade old.
The great thing about it is that I love crossing these things off my list -- doing it is a wonderful reward, so it really is self-reinforcing behaviour. That's the best kind, because it's easy to keep doing. If I persevere, by the end of this year I will have cleared up about 30 years worth of task backlog, and then next year I can do this year's projects and next year's and then will have caught up. Hmmm. Then what will I do?
posted by Brent at 11:50 PM
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