Goal 65. Be in bed by 9 one night

So as the title suggests last night I was in bed early. Record-breakingly early. The last number I saw on my clock was 7:34. I think the last time this happened I was about 6 years old.

Source. 

Honestly, I am a night owl. As much as I know that having a good morning makes the rest of your day flow smoothly, I often feel physically sick in the morning and NEVER want to eat breakfast. Since I usually work evening shifts that go until midnight, a bedtime can easily by 2 am. So for me to have gone to bed at this ridiculous hour means something. It means I was exhausted.

With the new year has come all sorts of blogs on resolutions and choosing goals for the new year. As a "procrastination-by-obtaining-information" expert I usually spend hours and hours looking through these goals, carefully thinking about mine, thinking about the end goals and designing the plan so I can get there as fast as possible, rarely thinking about the work this will actually entail. I always imagine myself having lost 50 pounds and being able to run a marathon in just 5 minutes a day!...... so you can see why my goals and resolutions don't usually work out. And after a few weeks when I realize they aren't working out I re-adjust and then eventually they just get forgotten.

So this year I am doing something a little different. Since I already have a bunch of goals I am working on  I don't need to add any others. But I have made a few resolutions regarding my goals, so that I can keep the momentum going.


1. DO. Instead of just planning, writing lists and dreaming I want to actually take steps to perform my goals. This especially includes my goals that have multiple repeats within them. I need to start tracking these items, so I actually know if I have completed them, or if I am about to break a streak and have to start again. So for that reason I am avoiding any new goal-setting strategies, or even setting any new goals.

2. LISTEN. This part goes with the goal I completed last night. One of the problems of having an overly planned and strategized life is that there is no margin. There is no extra time to make changes or do anything differently. I have never really had the problem of not having a margin, I just have generally not used it well. So for this year I want to really spend time listening to my body. One of the ways I am doing that is by listening to myself in terms of when I feel tired. If I am tired, go to sleep when I have the chance. Don't stay up till a certain time just because that is the plan. Just DO it!

3. THINK. Another way that I am focussing on this resolution is to think about what I am eating and drinking. As I have been trying to lose weight and become healthier I have been focussing on portion control and have realized that in the past my portions were way out of control. I can remember a time when I would order a Big Mac Meal and be so afraid that I wouldn't be "full" that I would also order another cheeseburger!! I am incredulous that I felt that way, especially since last week we went to McDonalds where I ordered just the burger and had a few sips of Charming's drink and was stuffed. All I have changed is my perception and have begun listening to my body instead of my psyche and already changes are being made.

So that's it. Those are my big plans for this year. Maybe it's a little boring, but its working. And so far the results of it aren't that boring. I guess we'll see where it takes us.

Are any of you focussing on resolutions more than goals this year?