I like New Year’s resolutions, making lists and setting goals. I always have. As a young girl my Mom would ask me to do something and I would ask her to make a list. Yes it got under her skin on occasion.
A couple of years ago I heard a Ted Talk by Matt Cutts “Try Something New for 30 Days” (video below) and it became my newest favourite way to create goals and resolutions. It meant that I could do it anytime I felt like I wanted to improve in some way or focus more.
With the winter solstice I got reading about how this is a great time to set goals, so I went back to my list of 30 day resolutions and decided to list the entire year. Here is how it is looking so far.
For example in January my goal is to learn Spanish. This doesn’t mean that I have to be fluent in the language in 30 days. I am just aiming to learn a bit of Spanish every day.
I also set a few rules up for myself when I do a 30 day resolution because I don’t need perfectionism and self-criticism. to enjoy the 30 days I use these rules:
- I am doing my best. I have done a few 30 day yoga challenges. When I have a busy day I fit in as much yoga as I can. If my goal is to do 60 minutes of yoga a day, but I remember just before bed that I have not done any, then I do a pose or two or a breath. One yoga pose for one minute counts in my books.
____________________ - Celebrate my accomplishments. This November I made a goal to write a novel. I signed up for the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWrMo) challenge and set my goal of 1600+ words a day. I aimed to write 50 000 words total. At the end my word count was just over 20 000. I could feel bad about not hitting my goal or I could celebrate what I did and try again next November. I choose to remind myself that at least I tried and look what I did get to.
____________________ - Tell supportive friends about my goals. If I don’t tell people about my intention then I am much more likely to give up. I have joined facebook groups (such as the Tone Studio 30 day yoga challenge), but sometimes I just announce it in my house to my partner and kids. They are great at cheering me on.
____________________ - Plan ahead and check it off. If I do a small amount of planning ahead, then it increases my enthusiasm towards the month ahead. For example I did a lot of research and reading before November, when I started my novel. Checking something off a list gives me a lot of satisfaction, so I like to either write it on a calendar or have a check list that I look at every day.
At the bottom of this post I will share my full list of 30 day resolutions. Please share your resolutions (30 day or otherwise). I would love to hear about it.
Shannon’s Master List of 30 Day Resolutions
- Read 25 pages of a book every day
- Do yoga (aim for 60 minutes per day minimum)
- Go outside every day for at least an hour
- Walk for at least 30 minutes
- Work in the garden
- Bike for 40 minutes
- Wake up at 5am
- Meditations for 20 minutes per day
- Make and drink fresh juice
- Take a photo every day
- Dance for at least 10 minutes
- Paint something
- Learn French for 20-30 minutes a day
- Learn Spanish for 20-30 minutes a day
- Learn piano
- Walk the Bruce Trail and camp along the way
- Write in my journal
- No Netflix for 30 days
- No sugar for 30 days
- No electronics for 30 days
- Planning and working with budget and finances for 30 days
- Play a game with my kids every day
- Create and publish a blog post every day
- Write a novel (50, 000 words) in 30 days
- Plant a tree (yep 1 a day for 30 days!)
- Homeschool activity every day with the kids
- Read a chapter book every day with the kids
- Do an inversion (like handstand)
- Make a video
- Write a sweet note to someone
- Write a letter and mail it
- Drink 1-2L of water
- Swim every day
- Tell someone a joke
- Reading with my family
- Learn about a new country
- Learn a new word of the day
