A few years ago, I gave up making New Year resolutions. I did them all - eat healthy, get exercise, control temper.... Two days was as far as I would get with any of them. But I did want to work on improving some things in my life, little by little. And so what I decided to do was make a list of things I wanted to get done for the year. Little things that I had a tendency of putting off simply because they were things that could be done at any time, and so were conveniently put off.
My list is divided in simple stuff and more complex stuff (totally by my standards and my way of getting things done). So in my simple list I managed to weave in catching a news bulletin everyday, getting a walk fit into my schedule, spending half hour uninterrupted with the little one no matter what just playing or reading, calling up one long time friend whom I haven't kept in touch with at least once a month, making a list of important birthdays and following it, bookmarking interesting articles online and finding time to read them, starting to bake religiously at least once a week...
In my more complex list were things like applying for our second gas cylinder, which though, silly got put off for years on end, renewing my passport which was invalid for 2 years before I got to it, getting Aadhar done, creating a list of places to visit in Bangalore and discovering each one of them and cataloging them. I basically wanted to dispel the notion that I had built up about Bangalore having nothing to offer the family. I was amazed at the number of things I found.
This year round, my small list includes getting back to reading like I used and reading one book a month. I also want to get a lot more seasonal produce into my cooking. A few years ago I fashioned a summer camp for Anoushka and she loved it, I want to do that again this year.
In my complex list is getting rid of this ugly ring of fat around my belly. Short and flabby is not what I going to be at the end of the year. I also plan to apply for my ration card and hopefully get my husband's voter's ID shifted to Bangalore.
I have this list on my desktop and tend to look at it everyday. The year long time to get all these things done helps. I have always been able to function well with deadlines and get very fidgety when I am not able to meet them. So I felt these more realistic things, which are more me, for me and for my family was better to deal with than resolutions that I would never bother about once the haze of New Year passed over.
My list is divided in simple stuff and more complex stuff (totally by my standards and my way of getting things done). So in my simple list I managed to weave in catching a news bulletin everyday, getting a walk fit into my schedule, spending half hour uninterrupted with the little one no matter what just playing or reading, calling up one long time friend whom I haven't kept in touch with at least once a month, making a list of important birthdays and following it, bookmarking interesting articles online and finding time to read them, starting to bake religiously at least once a week...
In my more complex list were things like applying for our second gas cylinder, which though, silly got put off for years on end, renewing my passport which was invalid for 2 years before I got to it, getting Aadhar done, creating a list of places to visit in Bangalore and discovering each one of them and cataloging them. I basically wanted to dispel the notion that I had built up about Bangalore having nothing to offer the family. I was amazed at the number of things I found.
This year round, my small list includes getting back to reading like I used and reading one book a month. I also want to get a lot more seasonal produce into my cooking. A few years ago I fashioned a summer camp for Anoushka and she loved it, I want to do that again this year.
In my complex list is getting rid of this ugly ring of fat around my belly. Short and flabby is not what I going to be at the end of the year. I also plan to apply for my ration card and hopefully get my husband's voter's ID shifted to Bangalore.
I have this list on my desktop and tend to look at it everyday. The year long time to get all these things done helps. I have always been able to function well with deadlines and get very fidgety when I am not able to meet them. So I felt these more realistic things, which are more me, for me and for my family was better to deal with than resolutions that I would never bother about once the haze of New Year passed over.
2 comments:
All the best with your lists Ruth! I like the simple and complex classification, maybe I should try it too ;).
Good list, Ruth! Lot of which I can relate to, especially the passport renewal and the belly fat, although to be honest, there's a decent amount of fat on the H -T -B area too ;) That's hips, thighs and butt, by the way :)
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