My Happiness Project - March

As you know, March kicked off the, for me, much beloved 40 Bags In 40 Days, which also makes March the perfect month for my happiness project goal to be Lighten Up. I mean for this to be both literal and figurative. Consequently, my steps to reach my goal this month are:

1. Let It Go: here's where the 40 Bags comes in. I have a plan for 40 different areas in my house to work on. I fell behind on but worked hard this weekend and have two rooms done. I've even gotten The Big Guy starting to sign on. A couple of bags of trash have gone out, a couple of bags worth of stuff has gone into recycling, a bag is ready to donate, and a bag of winter gear will go to a local homeless shelter later this week.

2. Take Time To Be Silly And Laugh - Time with friends and family always helps with this one and a trip to see my baby great-niece later this month will allow me to be ridiculously silly. I just got a new Nora Ephron book to read this month and that lady always made me laugh. Some funny movies will definitely be on the agenda!

3. Lose Some Mental Weight: Tackle A Nagging Task - Once I've gotten through a couple of major areas during 40 Days, I'll decide which task this is going to be. I've got a couple of things in mind, just need to decide what fits but is also realistic to pack into the month.

4. Dance - I used to dance around the house all of the time. I danced as I cooked. I turned on music and danced while I cleaned. I danced with the kids. I can't remember the last time I danced in my house. I'm going to dance again. It will likely be ugly but who cares?!

What would you do to lighten up in your life?

My Happiness Project - February Wrap Up

That little picture? For me, as February wrapped up, that silly little thing was a complete failure at my goal for the month for my happiness project. Focus.

Perhaps the thing I most need to work on these days. And yet, I could not make myself stick to any of the steps I set out for myself. I didn't put down my phone. I didn't walk away from the television. I didn't even do any research on meditation nor did I figure out how I was going to measure "stay on tasks." I couldn't even focus on books. It was a struggle to read every page even when I was enjoying the books.

I'm determined not to let that slide. Even as I move into March with a new goal, I'm not letting working on my focus slide entirely. I'm going to build on my little victories - we did leave the television off more often, we were more deliberate about what we watched. I found a 7-Day Electronics Detox that I may give a try in the coming weeks. And I'm still determined to learn how to meditate. I need it now more than ever. So I'm not letting February's failure steal my happiness.

My Happiness Project: February

When I posted my January resolution, I said that I wasn't entirely set with my resolutions for the year. Since then I've finished that, put together a list of "commandments," and I'm working on ways to measure my progress for each of the resolutions. Which brings me to February's resolution: Focus.

I've always been a daydreamer, and a person that has a hard time finishing projects; electronic devices have made it even harder for me to stay on track and make good use of my time. I struggle to stay focused. In the coming months, it's going to be really important for me to make good use of my time, stay on task, and keep my eye on the ball.

Here are the things I'm going to do to try to become a more focused person:

1. Limit use of my phone - If you know me, you know how attached I am to my phone. Sometimes when I'm working on the computer, I'll even pick up my phone to check Litsy or other apps I can only use on my phone. While I'm already on an electronic device! The trick to this has been in trying to decide what my limit is going to be and how I'm going to reach that goal. At home, I think this will mean, leaving my phone in a different room than the one I'm in; at work, leaving it in my purse.

2. Stay on task - Again, this is a tough one to measure and a lot depends on what the task is and how long it takes. The main thing will be, I think, to just say "no" to myself any time I think I'll stop in the middle of something to do something else. Say "no, you can't redo the bookshelves right now" while I'm in the middle of dusting them. Yes, I have done that before and a fairly short task soon became a project lasting several hours.

3. Try meditation or yoga - This was already on my list when I started yoga last month. I'm leaving it there as a reminder to continue the yoga (which takes much more focus than walking on a treadmill). And I'm thinking adding some meditation time might not be a bad idea, either; try to clear my mind and calm myself.

4. Shut the television off - We are terrible about turning on the television when we walk in a room and once it's on, it tends to stay on, even if we're not particularly interested in anything that's on. Makes it tough to focus on the other things I'm trying to do. The other piece of this will be to leave the room if it's on. The Big Guy likes to have the t.v. on (he suffers from tinnitus and that doesn't bother him as much if there's some other noise) but I don't have to be in the same room all of the time. After all, we used to limit the kids' t.v. time; why not limit ours?

So I'm turning off the computer now and walking away from the television BG just turned on!

My Happiness Project: January Wrapup

I'm a month into my attempt to bring more happiness into my life; January is in the books and it's time to check in, to make myself accountable. For January my resolution was to Have More Energy and I picked six strategies to keep me. My results were mixed, partly because I didn't work hard enough at it, partly because life got in the way. At least I'm moving forward and the things I've put into place this month will continue into the rest of the year, they just won't be the focus.

1. Get More Sleep - utter and complete failure on this one, except on the weekends but that's only because I never had to get up on the weekends so I could sleep in. But then I felt guilty about wasting so much of the day in bed. I'm working on some things to help me be better at getting to bed earlier because I'm sure sleep is the key to much of what's to come.

2. Get Moving - I am doing better at getting to the gym more (although still not as often as I want to) and I started doing yoga at home. I'm making sure that I get up more often at work, too. If nothing else, I feel better about myself for doing these things.

3. Drink More Water - I'm killing it on this one, especially during the work week. I'm noticing markedly less dry skin so that's a good incentive to keep it up.

4. Act More Energetic - Eh. The key to this one was not to sit down after dinner, to stay in motion. But that's so much easier said than done. Warmer weather will help - yard work, no need to stay curled in a corner of the sofa just to stay warm.

5. Eat Better - We've been planning meals much more, making sure to include more fruits and vegetables in our meals and I've taken a piece of fruit for lunch almost every day. 

6. Take Care Of Yourself - This was meant to be my kick in the butt to schedule doctor's appointments. That hasn't happened. Yet. But it's on my calendar for the coming week. 

What I learned this month: 

The steps need to have some way to be measured. February is going to be tougher to measure so I'm going to have to give that some thought this weekend. 

Just putting the Happiness Project resolution for the month on my monthly bullet journal page is not enough. I need to add the steps to my daily to-do lists to keep them front and center. 

On to February!

My Happiness Project - January

Last year I chose, for my one word, the word "happier" to be my focus. Other than putting out little notes, listening to "Happier" podcasts, and spending months reading Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project, I didn't actually do much to make myself happier. But when I finally raced to finish the book, I was inspired to put together my own happiness project.

I've spent hours in the past week thinking about what I wanted my resolutions to be for the coming year, one a month. I'm not entirely set for the entire year but I'm most of the way there and solid on the first six months of the year. The biggest problem so far? Once I decided what my resolution would be for each month, I really want to put all of them into effect right away. But I know from experience that I can't try to change everything at once. So, one thing at a time. I hope you don't mind coming along on the journey with me. Rubin's podcast has taught me that I need to be accountable to someone in order to be successful. Each month, I'll be sharing my resolution for the month, along with the things I'll be doing that month to make it happen.

For January, my resolution is to "Get More Energy." Exactly how am I going to make that happen?

• Get more sleep - I'm trying to make sure I'm getting 7 hours of sleep during the week, but I'm a night owl so this is a tough one for me. Eights on the weekends is the goal and if that doesn't work, I'm planning to make time for a nap.
• Get moving - I sit at work and I can often find that I haven't gotten out of my chair in a two or three hours. I'm working to make sure that I'm getting up at least every hour, even if it's just to get copies or to grab a file.
• Act more energetic - this one's a little harder to define but I'm thinking it will mean things like dancing while I'm making supper, talking myself into doing some cleaning even though I'm really tired and just want to sit down at the end of the day...that kind of thing.
• Drink more water - I'm a soda girl. I love me some Diet Coke. But it's not good for you and water is. A lot more water than I usually drink, especially in the winter when cold beverages aren't necessary what I want. But I'm also dehydrated all winter, so...
• Eat better - specifically eat more fruits and vegetables. Starting with taking a piece of fruit every day for lunch, more salads, making sure we having vegetables with every dinner.
• Schedule appointments - I'm long overdue for a visit to the doctor and the eye doctor but I hate to take the time to go in. Gotta make that happen. 

To remind myself to stick with it, every month I'm adding the month's resolution and actions to my monthly tracker in my bullet journal. You'll notice that I've also included my word for 2017 on this page as well. For January, the actions are the same since they all also contribute to a healthier heart.

What would you do to add more energy to your life?

Happiness

My friend Mari (The Partyka Project) has been working on The 100 Day Happiness Project. When she saw this picture I'd posted on a Pinterest Board, she contacted me right away to let me know that she was going to do this as a post and wanted to know if I'd be interested in doing it, too.

I've been working really hard the past few months to maintain a more positive attitude and this fits right in to remind me what I have to be positive about. Here's my list; I've lumped some things (I felt it would be cheating to put the names of all of my family members and friends!).

1. Family

My book club and my parents

2. Friends
3. Chocolate
4. Coffee
5. Gerbera daisies
6. Fresh cut grass
7. Fields of wildflowers
8. Beaches
9. Blue
10. Sunshine
11. My cats
12. Homemade ice cream with homemade chocolate syrup
13. Vanilla

14. Lavender
15. Books and everything about them
16. Movie theater popcorn
17. Being silly
18. My faith
19. Office supplies
20. Candles
21. The perfect pillow
22. Smiles
23. Laughter
24. My kids being friends
25. Having my house full of kids
26. A few hours of quiet
27. Being surrounded by the things my ancestors touched
28. Head massages
29. The perfect haircut
30. My favorite necklace
31. Refurbishing furniture

32. Musicals
33. Nebraska sports
34. NPR
35. Fluffy snowflakes
36. Lightening
37. Nebraska sunsets
38. Pouring rain
39. Chives
40. Homegrown tomatoes
41. Cheese
42. Newborn babies
43. Memories of my grandparents
44. High school football on a beautiful fall evening
45. Sitting around the firepit on a beautiful summer evening
46. Hugs
47. The internet
48. Organizing supplies
49. Dolce and Gabanna Light Blue

50. Walks in fall leaves
51. Daylight savings time
52. A perfectly clean room
53. The possibilities of a full pantry
54. A toasty warm house on a cold day
55. Watching my kids succeed
56. Resting my head on my husband's chest
57. Old wooden boxes
58. Frogs - NOT live ones!
59. Going bare-footed
60. Taking care of my family
61. Finding the perfect gift
62. Watching people open gifts from me
63. Music - in general
64. Johann Sebastian Bach in particular
65. Crossing things off my to-do list
66. Being in control
67. Learning
68. Playing the piano
69. Swimming pools

Le Bourgeois winery - Rocheport, Missouri

70. Sitting on a bluff over the Missouri River valley with a glass of wine
71. Flea markets
72. Turning up the music and dancing
73. Volunteering
74. Gardening
75. Blogging
76. A blank journal
77. Noodles
78. The afghan my mother-in-law made for my husband
79. The sound of mourning doves
80. Cookie dough
81. Breckenridge, Colorado in the summer
82. Champagne
83. That a-ha moment

84. My postcard collection
85. Fast boats
86. Truth
87. Rearranging furniture
88. Back rubs
89. White

Mini-him, Miss H, and Mini-me, circa 2012

90. A good day dream
91. Sarcasm
92. Movie nights
93. Inspiration
94. Girls' nights
95. Writing
96. TCM - old movies
97. Boudin's sourdough bread
98.Crawling into bed at night
99. Waking up and realizing it's Saturday
100. Finishing things

What would you put on your list?