2015: The Year of Getting My Shit Together
I'm going to go ahead and call 2015 the Year of Getting My Shit Together.
I had a nice break the second half of 2014. In July, I got out of a bad relationship, quit a job I hated, and I moved home. Things were looking up. Then my papa's health really took a nose-dive. I took the next two months completely off from anything other than sitting in the hospital room with him almost all day almost every day. My family needed me more than I needed to be doing anything else. And that was great. I felt so fortunate to be in that situation, where money wasn't a huge object.
Then at the end of September, I realized that I really needed to start doing something else. So I got a part-time retail job, which was great. I was getting some money and I had something to occupy a good bit of my time, but also allowed me to spend plenty of time with my family. Again, I felt fortunate to be in that situation.
Now, as 2015 is dawning, I feel like I need to be doing something more with my life in all areas.
While I am not 100% sure what I want to do career-wise, I AM positive that I worked pretty hard at school to earn all of my degrees, so I can be doing a bit more for myself. I am 27 years old. I'm not near the end of my working years by any means, but I don't want to sit out too long from doing something that matters to me. I don't know if this will necessitate getting another degree or merely changing to a different kind of work environment, but I am ready to start looking.
I've also been thinking a lot about health lately. I lost 25 pounds just by changing my eating habits over the last few months. It's amazing what not eating a bunch of crap will do for you physically, mentally, and emotionally! I still have 10-15 more pounds that I would like to lose, but I am not going to stress about it too much. More than anything, I just want to be healthy. That means I need to continue eating better and start working out. I'm not talking anything crazy. I have no aspirations to do those IronWoman competitions or become a body-builder, but I think I would benefit in more than one way from starting to run and doing yoga.
I spent some time this morning cleaning my room. I still haven't gotten fully unpacked from moving home for the summer after my freshman year of college, let alone from moving out of my apartment two years ago and moving entirely back home in July. Today's work was mostly cosmetic--making my walk-in closet a walk-in closet again and cleaning up a couple of piles. It's amazing how quickly things can get out of control when the room isn't completely clean to begin with. In the past I've tried to conquer it all at once, which is exhausting and overwhelming, so I need to break it up into smaller chunks and work on it over the course of several weeks.
I wrote about my reading and writing goals last week.
As with any goal or personal improvement project, it's mostly a matter of making the time and making the work a priority. I feel so much better for the whole day when I get up early and get the hard stuff out of the way first thing, when I'm not tired or stressed or defeated by the day.
Last night I did something new for me. I got out my lovely planner (pretty sure that's the correct one) and actually did some goal planning. Nothing fancy. But I listed out four major areas (technically five, but the last one was "other") and wrote steps of completion/subgoals. I actually thought it out instead of just diving in without a plan. I like having it recorded in a specific place so that I can check back in throughout the year to see how I am doing.
My next step is to read Adulting: How to Become a Grown-up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps by Kelly Williams Brown. It started as a blog where the blogger asked for and reported people's advice on how to get their shit together in various aspects. It doesn't call you to be perfect, but it will help you at least act like an adult in some respects. It's mostly humorous, but has some good, worthwhile advice in there. I've started it before, but didn't finish. I'm going to start from the beginning and just go and take notes along the way. I mean, I am kind of run down today with my annual sinus infection, so I don't really want to do much of anything, but I can do this and still count myself as being productive for the day.
So away I go!
I had a nice break the second half of 2014. In July, I got out of a bad relationship, quit a job I hated, and I moved home. Things were looking up. Then my papa's health really took a nose-dive. I took the next two months completely off from anything other than sitting in the hospital room with him almost all day almost every day. My family needed me more than I needed to be doing anything else. And that was great. I felt so fortunate to be in that situation, where money wasn't a huge object.
Then at the end of September, I realized that I really needed to start doing something else. So I got a part-time retail job, which was great. I was getting some money and I had something to occupy a good bit of my time, but also allowed me to spend plenty of time with my family. Again, I felt fortunate to be in that situation.
Now, as 2015 is dawning, I feel like I need to be doing something more with my life in all areas.
While I am not 100% sure what I want to do career-wise, I AM positive that I worked pretty hard at school to earn all of my degrees, so I can be doing a bit more for myself. I am 27 years old. I'm not near the end of my working years by any means, but I don't want to sit out too long from doing something that matters to me. I don't know if this will necessitate getting another degree or merely changing to a different kind of work environment, but I am ready to start looking.
I've also been thinking a lot about health lately. I lost 25 pounds just by changing my eating habits over the last few months. It's amazing what not eating a bunch of crap will do for you physically, mentally, and emotionally! I still have 10-15 more pounds that I would like to lose, but I am not going to stress about it too much. More than anything, I just want to be healthy. That means I need to continue eating better and start working out. I'm not talking anything crazy. I have no aspirations to do those IronWoman competitions or become a body-builder, but I think I would benefit in more than one way from starting to run and doing yoga.
I spent some time this morning cleaning my room. I still haven't gotten fully unpacked from moving home for the summer after my freshman year of college, let alone from moving out of my apartment two years ago and moving entirely back home in July. Today's work was mostly cosmetic--making my walk-in closet a walk-in closet again and cleaning up a couple of piles. It's amazing how quickly things can get out of control when the room isn't completely clean to begin with. In the past I've tried to conquer it all at once, which is exhausting and overwhelming, so I need to break it up into smaller chunks and work on it over the course of several weeks.
I wrote about my reading and writing goals last week.
As with any goal or personal improvement project, it's mostly a matter of making the time and making the work a priority. I feel so much better for the whole day when I get up early and get the hard stuff out of the way first thing, when I'm not tired or stressed or defeated by the day.
Last night I did something new for me. I got out my lovely planner (pretty sure that's the correct one) and actually did some goal planning. Nothing fancy. But I listed out four major areas (technically five, but the last one was "other") and wrote steps of completion/subgoals. I actually thought it out instead of just diving in without a plan. I like having it recorded in a specific place so that I can check back in throughout the year to see how I am doing.
My next step is to read Adulting: How to Become a Grown-up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps by Kelly Williams Brown. It started as a blog where the blogger asked for and reported people's advice on how to get their shit together in various aspects. It doesn't call you to be perfect, but it will help you at least act like an adult in some respects. It's mostly humorous, but has some good, worthwhile advice in there. I've started it before, but didn't finish. I'm going to start from the beginning and just go and take notes along the way. I mean, I am kind of run down today with my annual sinus infection, so I don't really want to do much of anything, but I can do this and still count myself as being productive for the day.
So away I go!
Happy new year, and good luck for all your goals for 2015 :) Well done on the weight loss too - amazing that you've done that just by cutting out junk. I need to work on that myself, I get tired so easily which I attribute to too much pasta and sugary drinks. My goal is to stop drinking energy drinks (I have a surprising lack of energy for someone who drinks so many a day!).
ReplyDeleteHey O! I hope you had a great New Years. I find myself having a lot more energy now, which is great. I know I will have even more energy if I ever get to working out regularly! I love pasta. You don't have to cut it out; you just have to cut back elsewhere and/or add more vegetables to your pasta. :) Good luck!
DeleteHappy New Year - I'm so glad 2014 was a good year for you, and it looks like 2015 is going to be a year of growth, which is always lovely. Also, may I just commend you on the weight-loss thing? I'm trying to get into exercising regularly and now I'm actually seeing how difficult it is - I'm so in awe of those who've actually managed to buckle down and get it done, so kudos to you! Here's to another great year. :)
ReplyDeleteHi! Thank you for reading and commenting! For me, the initial weight loss was a matter of not eating out as often (my ex ate out all the time and I usually grabbed something too) and just eating less at each meal and throughout the day. I wish you the best of luck with it! You'll have to check back in to let me know how it's going. :)
DeleteThe silver lining of the breakup was all of that time you had to be with your papa. I know how much you love him and you will always cherish those days. Glad you're feeling like getting back on your feet and moving forward now!
ReplyDelete