March is here! I never recapped January or wrote about my February goals, so this will be a winter update and an overview of my goals for March. Although I haven't been writing about it on this blog, I have still been doing the work for My Happiness Project. At the end of this post, I will review my January and February lists of happiness, but I would like to begin by looking ahead to March.
For this month, many of my goals include a continuation of previous goals - both the goals that I want to continue to uphold and the goals that I did not yet meet (I even modified some goals). March is a special month. We spring forward with our time, which means we lose an hour, but this loss will bring longer days. It is hard to remember what it is like to still have daylight at 7pm. This month also brings the first day of spring - the season of rebirth and rejuvenation. March sounds like a great time for fresh starts and new habits.
All in all, I am pleased with my progress. I have definitely created and maintained new habits that are good for my mind, body, and soul. For instance:
- I get up earlier - often before 6am.
- I write daily morning pages (you can read more about this practice in this post under "Something else I want to try) which help me to reflect on where my head is, what my heart wants, what I want to do, and how I want to be.
- I write in my journal almost every day; I also read a daily passage from The Book of Awakening, which often inspire my journal entries.
- I run a couple of times a week.
- I am taking classes (1 to 2 each week) at my yoga studio.
- I am reading more.
- I am writing more.
These are seven things that I was not doing at all when I started My Happiness Project. I would say, that's a reason to celebrate.
Without further ado, this is what I would like to achieve during the month of March...
My March List of Happiness
1. Spend more quality time with my daughter including daily creative play, story time, art activities (even just coloring), and a weekly adventure (e.g., a trip to the bookstore, a walk to park, a trip to Nonna and Poppy's, etc.).
2. Write my morning pages and journal entries daily.
3. Write creatively for 20 minutes every day.
4. Create something for work every (week) day for at least 20 minutes.
5. Read for pleasure for at least 20 minutes every day.
6. Run two times a week (run for at least 35 minutes on one of those days).
7. Take a yoga class at the studio once a week (go to one class that is not the usual), and take two classes a week for 3 weeks.
8. Do yoga at home at least once a week and TRX once this month.
9. Organize my bedroom (closet and drawers).
10. Organize my photographs.
11. Update my little one's baby book.
12. Clean something and tidy up every day.
13. Make my bed every day.
14. Catch up on budgeting (I love the Daily Budget App that I wrote about here).
15. Rise before 5:30am for the majority of the week (rise before 5 on one of these days).
16. Be kind, patient, and light - try not to be so rigid, particular, and serious.
15. Rise before 5:30am for the majority of the week (rise before 5 on one of these days).
16. Be kind, patient, and light - try not to be so rigid, particular, and serious.
That's all of it, I think. It's a pretty full list, but I'm already doing several of these things, so a lot is actually about maintaining.
What I really need to figure out is how much of this is really about making me happy. Am I really tackling the core issues that will help me to feel joy? Playing with my daughter no doubt brings me tremendous joy. Too often I let myself feel guilty. Did I stimulate her enough? Did we laugh enough? Did I check my phone too much? Was I too distracted? How can I be more present? It's hard to be present when you overthink.
When it comes to the other areas, I mean, exercise and organization should have positive effects on me. Creating and being productive bring me feelings of satisfaction. Balance is just something that I still struggle with. I so often find myself in that "all or nothing" mentality. Once I get started, I tend to get consumed and sometimes even obsessed, and then I ignore other areas of my life. I get behind on work, laundry, cleaning, reading, exercising, budgeting...you get the picture. Fitting it all in is difficult for me. I want time to do everything: play with my daughter, spend time with my husband, write in my journal, write a blog, write for pleasure, read for pleasure, exercise, do a good job at work, clean, organize, and, of course, have fun.
Thinking about these things and trying to make positive changes is at least a start. I just want to try to make this more about play and less about an obligatory checklist. It is easy for me to get so wrapped up in checking items off my list that I forget about taking in the experiences. I want to be curious about what will happen when I make time and more importantly make space for these goals in my life. I will celebrate each goal that I meet, but if something is left unachieved, I will evaluate whether this is something that is really worth doing. Will it bring me joy in some way? If so, then try again next month. If not, would modifying it make it a better fit? If yes, modify and try again. If no, let it go.
This actually sounds like some pretty good advice. Maybe even words to live by. Okay, March. I am officially ready for you. Even though we are already ten days in, there are still three weeks left. There is plenty of time, and I am looking forward to what this month will bring. Although they may be small, I have made some wonderful changes, and I am very curious about what's ahead in this Happiness Project of mine.
Curiously,
Beth
P.S. If you are interested in reviewing my progress for my January and February lists of happiness, please read below. If you are not interested, no worries. I included this more as an accountability tracker for myself anyway.
My January List of Happiness
These goals continued into February, so I am going to describe my progress over the last two months.
1. Write for me every day for 30 minutes.
- This did not happen, but I did write my morning pages for 45 of the 47 days since I started in January (17/19 for January and 28/28 for February). This is definitely a record for me. I also wrote 13 blog posts over January and February, which is certainly better than one post over three months. See? Progress is happening.
2. Write something in my journal every day
- I was close...I wrote in my journal for 42 of the 47 days (15/19 for Jan and 27/28). This may also be a record for me - or close too it).
- I have not met this goal. But I am reading (SEVEN books to be exact). Unfortunately, the Reading Deprivation task got in the way, but I am getting back to reading now. I am really excited about reading Truly, Madly, Guilty. I am only 70 pages in, but I am hooked. If only I had all the time in the world to tackle ALL SEVEN books every day! What seven books you ask? Well, I talk about at least one in my "Some Things" posts for 2.12, 1.29, 1.22, 1.15, 1.8. You also see a picture of the stack of books in my "Some Things" post for 2.19.
- I continue to spend a lot of time with my daughter, but most of our time continues to be snuggling, coloring, reading, taking walks, swinging, playing on playground, going to the bookstore, etc. I love this time, but I still want to make time for playing make-believe. Playing make-believe with your child is pretty special.
5. Run at least 1 time per week.
- I did meet this goal. I even started running 2 times per week before the end of January.
- I started going to a 6am yoga class on Wednesdays, so I met this goal (there were only two Wednesdays left in January by the time I started). I also continued throughout February.
- I did not do this. I need to do this.
- For the most part I did this, but I definitely could do better. For instance, my bathroom sinks, desk, and bedroom dresser are all a cluttered mess right now.
- Definitely not. What is wrong with me? How old am I...eight?
- For the most part, yes. I haven't been keeping track, but I usually clean something such as floors and bathrooms. Most of my cleaning involves vacuuming. I need to do more than just vacuum my house.
- Whoa. This was really specific. I rarely get up by 5am - but there have been a couple of days when I woke up before 5 (those were days when I went to really early yoga classes). Usually I am up before 5:45, so that is a huge improvement from my old habits. I rarely sleep past 7 whereas it used to be difficult for me to get up before 7, so I am at least meeting part of this goal.
- This continues to be a work in progress. I can always be more kind...and patient.
My February List of Happiness
1. Continue working on all of the above.
- Because I lumped my January and February progress above, you can see what I am doing well with (2, 5, 6) and what I need to continue working (everything else). But I still think I am making progress, so yay me.
2. Run two times a week
- I met this for February - woohoo!
3. Do yoga (twice per week) and TRX (once per week) at home.
- I did yoga at home maybe twice for the entire month, and I did TRX a whopping zero times. I should write about TRX in the future. My husband set this up in our "gym". He calls this our gym even though all we have in there right now are TRX straps, yoga mats, and a few dumbbells.
4. Attend two classes per week for two weeks at my yoga studio, and go to a different yoga class.
- I took two classes per week during the entire month of February. One class is a yoga class and the other is a class that combines yoga, weights, plyometrics, and interval exercises. They are both 6am classes, which seem to work best for me right now. On February 26, I attended a Sunday morning class. This used to be a class that I attended pretty regularly pre-baby, but it was my first time back post-baby (yup, that means it's been more than two years). It felt awesome to be back and was a great way to start my Sunday morning.
5. Organize bedroom closet and dresser.
- The closet goal was pushed back to February, and now the closet and the dresser are pushed back to my March goals.
6. Update my little one's baby book.
- This is another goal that is pushed back to March. I know I will feel so much happier when this is done.
7. Organize pictures.
- Doing this while updating the baby book makes sense. I took so many pictures of our little one, and I think this will help me organize the story of her first two years.
8. Write creatively.
- I did post six times in February, so that was a little more than one post per week. But when it comes to writing creatively - not just summarizing my weeks - I did not achieve this. My writing has been confined to daily morning pages, journal writing, and the occasional blog post.
Well, that's a wrap of my progress. Honestly, it is pretty motivating to see it all written out like this. I am certainly not making progress across all areas, but some improvement is better than none, and it still feels pretty good. I have created some new habits that are making me happier, and I am excited and curious to see what I will add to this list.
Have you started any new habits that have made positive changes to your life? If so, please share!
Thanks for reading! :)
~ Beth
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