My 2015 Resolutions

2015 is going to be a pretty epic year. It would be hard to top 2014 for me personally, but we already know that 2015 is going to do it. So, in an effort to get myself to feel somewhat together, I'm going to create some resolutions for the year that I think can help manage all the major changes and life experiences headed our way.

Waste less time

I admit it... I waste a lot of time. I will sit on the couch and watch tv with a blank, stupid expression on my face for hours. It's shameful. I will sit and stare off into space instead of doing a simple task I set out to do. I lose interest in hobbies as fast as I discover them. I go to bed a lot of nights knowing that I wasted my day and didn't do all that needed to get done. I can't stand it.

I've battled what's been suspected as ADHD for decades. In college, I was told by a psychologist and a learning support specialist that it appeared that I had a pretty good case of it, but because of my academic achievements, it was obvious I had learned to compensate for it somehow. I still don't know exactly how I overcome it, but I recognize the need to work more to pay better attention. Another doctor actually theorized that I have OCD tendencies (perfectionism) and the anxiety over doing something not perfectly leads to procrastination and wasting time. An interesting thought! Whatever the reason, I intend to better this year about doing more with my time. I'm adding a major job to my resume - "mom" - which inspires me to put even more effort into making the most of the time available.

To help combat the overwhelming tendency to get distracted and get NOTHING done, I have returned to using a planner. Months ago, I ordered an Erin Condren Life Planner and carried that around for a while. Not gonna lie... it's a beast in terms of size. It also has a poor layout that doesn't work for me (professionally or personally) and it has somewhat of a juvenile feel to it. So, it was back to the drawing board. I decided I wanted a luxury brand planner, but wanted to make sure this, too, wasn't just a phase, so I busted out an old planner of the same size I wanted to buy and used it for a couple months at the end of 2014. Well, it seems to be working, so I took the plunge and purchased this baby (the Louis Vuitton Medium Ring Agenda [MM]):

I'm using the two-pages-a-day format from Franklin Covey, and it's working very well so far! If any of you are interested in a tour and how I'm using my agenda to stay on track and waste less time, let me know!

More positivity

I've worked on this one before, and have made a lot of improvements, but I want to keep going. More kindness, more empathy, more support for people around me. Less back-biting, less complaining, less judgment of others. I'm calling this my "Elle Woods Plan." Focus on blessings and happiness and being yourself... less concern on what others think. Believe in yourself. Embrace the girliness. Have faith in people. Smile at people. Be confident... or at least fake it. Use more glitter and be unapologetic about it.

Focus on health

I am anxious to challenge myself to lose this baby weight... after the baby gets here, of course! I learned a lot from my personal trainer and the nutritionist I visited a few years ago, so I plan to use that information to get back into shape and start our son's life off in a healthy home with a focus on good, balanced food and lots of activities! I am actually thinking about blogging our meal plans and some of my recipes as we get started. Is that something that is of interest to people? Might give you ideas. I know I love seeing other people's meals and snacks throughout the day, especially if they're healthy and delicious, so maybe that's something I should share?

So, those are the three big resolutions I have for 2015. Nothing specific on losing weight, spending less, whatever... I believe resolutions should lead to lifelong changes, so I kept to this list. What are your resolutions? Happy 2015!