It's nearly December - only 4 more days to go - and I've started planning out my resolutions earlier than I have ever done! I made this post in December of last year (the day after Christmas) and this post shortly after the New Year when 2013 was still just a baby.
Now 2013 is nearly as old as it will get and it's almost time for a new baby year to arrive. As with any baby's due date, there's a lot to prepare for those about to be parents - or embark on a new year. For some reason, these resolutions and sticking to a new plan seems to be more important than any year before, and it's a little sobering to have a blog up where I can see the things I wrote a full year ago, not even considering the months to come and how one day I would look back on those old posts. Now it seems to be more about looking ahead to the times I'll be looking back on - I think I've watched too much Doctor Who lately. DX
I know what you're thinking - there's an entire month left to be thinking about a new year, two more major (American) holidays to get through before we should even start bothering the new baby. We should stick around with the elderly for a while and see this year through to the end before considering the next. At any rate, that's generally the attitude about another year. Even if it gets totally screwed up and I don't accomplish any of my resolutions, I still approach another year with a lot of thought about what I have and haven't done over the past 12 (or 11) months and what I'd like to adjust there.
I've accomplished about half of the things on my previous year's list - most of which weren't actually 'resolutions.' One of the things I'm adjusting this year is the idea of a resolution and what is a plan. Studying all of the lessons in a certain language program isn't really a resolution - studying a language for an hour a day is a resolution. So I've created two lists, one for a resolutions and one for plans that I hope to achieve in the coming twelve, or rather thirteen months since I don't plan on getting it all set out and then kicking back for a month before 'officially' beginning.
One of the things I've already started using is the checklist. Today, it's already helped me stay on track with what I wanted to do. I suppose a resolution of mine should be to improve my memory! I'm not overly fond of making lists, especially for the planning of a day, since I'm never sure if I've overloaded my day or if I've not gotten enough on. It depends on a lot of factors - such as if there will be enough light in the bedroom while brother takes a nap for me to stitch, or will he be on good enough behavior that I can get my cross stitch out while he plays? Can I plan for a walk tomorrow or is the weather going to continue being drippy (which I like) so that we have to stay inside? Should I think of something else to do with that time? Certain days of the week, sometimes all week, I don't have a solid hour to work on languages because I've got to take care of a very active toddler. Should I plan on listening to my language audio during his nap then? Will he lay down for his nap easily today? So it's a juggling act just thinking of what I want to do the next day. List-making therefore is not easily my friend, and I don't enjoy making them. However, I want to have lists, especially of the checking-off kind, so that I can remember to do the things I need to have done before the day's end, and have the things I want to have done in a separate place so that I can add to my day as I need. Supplement lists for activities rather than vitamins!
So while other people's lists can be 'vacuum, dust, do the laundry, stretch before bed,' mine is more like 'wash breakfast dishes, remember vitamins, make such-and-so for lunch,' with a side column of 'Plans' with things like 'cross stitch - Mirabilia today, pick out the 12 non fiction books for the next year, and review list of unfinished K-Dramas so I can pick the one I want to watch in the evenings' - but all of these are possibles. They don't have to be, and often won't be, checked off, because other things happen. Toddler rips all the labels off the sewing thread - baby powder poured everywhere requires extensive cleaning - bathroom break on my part results in food everywhere on his part. There goes the time I had for that plan! But that's okay, since it wasn't something I needed to do. The dishes got tidied, and both of us got our vitamins, and had something decent for lunch rather than a quick scramble for snacks. And that's better than having a lot of cross stitching finished, or another chapter of my NaNoWriMo novel completed. Even this blog post was delayed in the posting, because shortly after I finished writing this paragraph, little one hopped up in my lap and laid down since he was tired - earlier than usual!
Anyway, that's been the best part of really considering my resolution list ahead of time - making myself realize that there are things that need to be done, and things that would be nice to have accomplished, but don't need to be. So my resolutions this year have been a little more complex than previous years, taking up a few drafts and versions, as well as being written on different pages so I know what needs doing, and what I want to have done. It might be a little weird or OCD, or totally normal among parents and caretakers. While I have had to discover it before I became a parent myself, I don't mind it at all - it's rather nice to have to think about things differently. Back to nap time for me! Perhaps I can get some language audio in after all. (:
~x~
Now 2013 is nearly as old as it will get and it's almost time for a new baby year to arrive. As with any baby's due date, there's a lot to prepare for those about to be parents - or embark on a new year. For some reason, these resolutions and sticking to a new plan seems to be more important than any year before, and it's a little sobering to have a blog up where I can see the things I wrote a full year ago, not even considering the months to come and how one day I would look back on those old posts. Now it seems to be more about looking ahead to the times I'll be looking back on - I think I've watched too much Doctor Who lately. DX
I know what you're thinking - there's an entire month left to be thinking about a new year, two more major (American) holidays to get through before we should even start bothering the new baby. We should stick around with the elderly for a while and see this year through to the end before considering the next. At any rate, that's generally the attitude about another year. Even if it gets totally screwed up and I don't accomplish any of my resolutions, I still approach another year with a lot of thought about what I have and haven't done over the past 12 (or 11) months and what I'd like to adjust there.
I've accomplished about half of the things on my previous year's list - most of which weren't actually 'resolutions.' One of the things I'm adjusting this year is the idea of a resolution and what is a plan. Studying all of the lessons in a certain language program isn't really a resolution - studying a language for an hour a day is a resolution. So I've created two lists, one for a resolutions and one for plans that I hope to achieve in the coming twelve, or rather thirteen months since I don't plan on getting it all set out and then kicking back for a month before 'officially' beginning.
One of the things I've already started using is the checklist. Today, it's already helped me stay on track with what I wanted to do. I suppose a resolution of mine should be to improve my memory! I'm not overly fond of making lists, especially for the planning of a day, since I'm never sure if I've overloaded my day or if I've not gotten enough on. It depends on a lot of factors - such as if there will be enough light in the bedroom while brother takes a nap for me to stitch, or will he be on good enough behavior that I can get my cross stitch out while he plays? Can I plan for a walk tomorrow or is the weather going to continue being drippy (which I like) so that we have to stay inside? Should I think of something else to do with that time? Certain days of the week, sometimes all week, I don't have a solid hour to work on languages because I've got to take care of a very active toddler. Should I plan on listening to my language audio during his nap then? Will he lay down for his nap easily today? So it's a juggling act just thinking of what I want to do the next day. List-making therefore is not easily my friend, and I don't enjoy making them. However, I want to have lists, especially of the checking-off kind, so that I can remember to do the things I need to have done before the day's end, and have the things I want to have done in a separate place so that I can add to my day as I need. Supplement lists for activities rather than vitamins!
So while other people's lists can be 'vacuum, dust, do the laundry, stretch before bed,' mine is more like 'wash breakfast dishes, remember vitamins, make such-and-so for lunch,' with a side column of 'Plans' with things like 'cross stitch - Mirabilia today, pick out the 12 non fiction books for the next year, and review list of unfinished K-Dramas so I can pick the one I want to watch in the evenings' - but all of these are possibles. They don't have to be, and often won't be, checked off, because other things happen. Toddler rips all the labels off the sewing thread - baby powder poured everywhere requires extensive cleaning - bathroom break on my part results in food everywhere on his part. There goes the time I had for that plan! But that's okay, since it wasn't something I needed to do. The dishes got tidied, and both of us got our vitamins, and had something decent for lunch rather than a quick scramble for snacks. And that's better than having a lot of cross stitching finished, or another chapter of my NaNoWriMo novel completed. Even this blog post was delayed in the posting, because shortly after I finished writing this paragraph, little one hopped up in my lap and laid down since he was tired - earlier than usual!
Anyway, that's been the best part of really considering my resolution list ahead of time - making myself realize that there are things that need to be done, and things that would be nice to have accomplished, but don't need to be. So my resolutions this year have been a little more complex than previous years, taking up a few drafts and versions, as well as being written on different pages so I know what needs doing, and what I want to have done. It might be a little weird or OCD, or totally normal among parents and caretakers. While I have had to discover it before I became a parent myself, I don't mind it at all - it's rather nice to have to think about things differently. Back to nap time for me! Perhaps I can get some language audio in after all. (:
~x~
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