maintain a daily routine that inspires me to be the best me.

I’ve been seeing a naturopath, and this has really instilled some great habits, especially cooking my own food, bringing my own lunch, giving up coffee…. And, because of my new found energy, I have also been more inclined to exercise! I am going to keep these up throughout may, then add some other goals that are less health-oriented for june.

I would also like to start using a daily checklist again – I find this really helps because it tracks my progress.

Some revisions from January, but I’m feeling good about the direction this is going.

1. make and bring my own coffee to work. In Jan I discovered a great type of instant coffee that I actually love – nothing beats the convenience of instant, so this was pretty thrilling. Also, I just bought a really pretty travel coffee mug. I will treat myself to a fancy coffee once a week – I usually like to go on Sunday. If I can spend one more month workin on this goal, then no more latte factor! It’s frightening how much of my income goes toward my morning coffee.

2. 30 minutes of exercise and/or yoga in the evening. I am enjoying this, but I find that I do a bit of one or the other, never both. So, I’m going to do more of one, rather than a bit of both. I expect that each will end up falling on certain days, but I’ll let that happen naturally, rather than trying to plan it.

3. 30 minutes of cleaning and/or tidying in the evening. I’m still working on Apartment Therapy, and I really want to develop some good daily habits while working on it – specifically keeping the dishes washed, dried and put away, all my clothes tucked in my closet, and my papers filed away – so my place is always presentable and comfortable and beautiful!

eat breakfast and make my own coffee
put on great music and do 10 minutes of exercise
work on curing my home (apartment therapy!)
prepare a delicious lunch for the next day
meditation and/or yoga before bedtime

This time, I will try to make it happen by writing an entry here, on 43 things, every night. I have renamed all of my daily goals, assigning specific days. I think this kind of structure will work very well for me. If I don’t have deadlines and timelines, I get sidetracked. So, we’ll see…. somethins gotta catch on.

Well, this goal is not exactly turning out the way I want. My last entry was all about getting up early, but it just wasn’t in me. I guess I wasn’t really feeling it.

SO, the next 30 days, May 24 – June 24 will be devoted to exercising every day (and another goal of mine, to “find an enjoyable form of exercise”). Excessive? maybe – but, I need this. And, I know it’s in me, because I’ve already started. The trick is to keep it up! I can do this! I feel that if I can really make exercising a habit, then anything is possible.

This is definitely a goal that parallels many of my core values, and I think that is enough to make it work, I just have to keep reminding myself. And, who knows, maybe exercise will help me sleep better, thereby getting up earlier! Things have a funny way of working out sometimes…

I let this goal go for a while, which is upsetting because it is so important to me. So, I am back, I’ve been doing some research, and I have a plan!

First, I will only tackle one thing at a time. I hope that if I choose something “core,” then other good routines will also fall into place. Second, I will maintain it for 30 days. Third, I will document my progress, in order to really find out what works for me, what motivates me, and what is holding me back.

So, April 25 to May 25 – I will get up early and make my mornings count. I will start with 6am – though this may be tweaked along the way.

I’m getting excited thinking about all the soulful things I can do tomorrow morning!

good article:
http://jonathanfields.com/blog
/are-your-sleep-habits-making-you-fat-nasty-and-dumb/

www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/inspiration/
winding-down-after-work-rituals-044611

Here are some ideas for little routines that will organize my life and inspire me! (But I will continue to only tackle three per month).

Sort Papers (definite priority)
Doodle/Draw
Read
Write down five things I’m grateful for
Connect
Exercise, or just be physically active
Go for a walk
Yoga, or a few sun salutations every morning
Floss
Write, perhaps a la Julia Cameron
Watch a clip from a very inspiring movie
Find great new music
Blog
Learn something new

I can also get in to weekly routines, like for finances or larger home repairs/decorating/rearranging, personal projects….

Well, the month is half over and maybe I need to further define my current goals. I am sort of following them, except maybe the breakfast (oops). One thing I have been doing pretty faithfully is turning off the computer and tv at 11. This has been enormously helpful. Getting ready for bed is leisurely, rather than a chore I skip due to exhaustion. I read a bit, shut out the lights at a decent hour… It’s nice! and I’m not so tired the next day.

My evening goal is to tidy for 15mins. I definitely need to define this one more specifically. For my bedroom, I no longer need to organize my clothes because I just went through a major closet overhaul, but I would like to arrange my outfit for the next day. For the kitchen, I’ll do the dishes, prep lunch and breakfast for the next day, and wipe the counters and sink. For the bathroom, I would just like to tidy the countertop. I’m sure that if these are kept up, 5 mins for each room will be more than enough. plus, I’ll post a checklist. geek, yes, but I’ll thank myself in the long run!

My morning goal is to have breakfast. Seems simple, but not so! All I expect is a bowl of cereal or oatmeal, coffee, some fruit… I hope preparation the day before will help… I will also add vitamins to this one – I usually forget.