First and foremost, I'd like to say a belated happy New Year to anyone who is reading this!
Throughout the Christmas break, Ollie's dad was life-coaching Ollie to change his daily routine for the imminent New Year, and then, in the first few days of 2015, I stumbled upon this blogpost which in essence was what the life-coaching entailed. I think the blogpost affected me more than I had anticipated, and was my primary inspiration, along with the advice I had heard for Ollie, in changing my own daily routine for this year, and hopefully for as long as I physically can. I have pinpointed 3 aspects of my life which I would like to change, and that have so far proved successful in making my happier and healthier (I think)!
Waking Up at a Reasonable Time
My problem: I have spent the most part of each year waking up as late as I possibly can - in the past I would spend whole days in bed; wake up, have breakfast, then retire to sleep again; and even indulging in 'naps' that would 'accidentally' last for hours. I feel ashamed typing this now. Naps are not even supposed to last an hour, let alone a few! Admittedly, I'm not as bad as most students, and have had bouts of a good sleeping routine in the past. For example, I was so busy in the summer of 2014 that I was compelled to sleep early, and habitually woke up before 9am. However, I don't want my routine to have 'bouts' of good, but want it to last throughout the year; bouts should be bad not good!
My resolution: I want, as hard as it may be at uni, to sleep before midnight (unless I am out), and to wake up before, or at 10am on days when lectures do not require me to. More importantly, I do not want to sleep for more than 10 hours within a 24 hour time frame. Yes, that includes naps. My famous napping at midday is to be ceased, effective immediately. This first resolution has been the hardest to maintain, because my bad habits are drilled into my mind; I have managed, with great difficulty, to wake up between 9:30-10:30am each morning, but I have been struggling to sleep before 12am. Baby steps for now.
Doing One Productive Thing Each Day
My problem: As briefly mentioned above, I had, over the years, grown accustomed to spending the entire day in bed; I wouldn't have an odd lazy day, but it would in fact happen at least once a week. If you look back to one of my December posts, I had admitted to spending the entire WEEKEND in bed re-watching Gossip Girl on Netflix. Why? I was at home for Christmas break and I live 5 hours away, I should have used my time preciously because I won't be home again for months! I attempted to justify my laziness with the fact it was Christmas time, but really, I shouldn't have. I think the most productive I have been during a single Christmas period was when January exams still existed (during my first year of A Levels), and I was absolutely petrified for my Maths and English exams - I did two Maths papers a day, and re-read Frankenstein 7 times. Ollie's dad repeatedly told him that if he set himself small goals each day, and achieved them, he would destroy the 'little gremlin' on his shoulder (that wants to keep him lazy and unproductive). That's what I want to do. **** the gremlin.
My resolution: Every day I will assign myself a goal, be it big or small. I want to feel as if I have made use of my time before indulging in my leisure activities. My goals have been small this week because although I'm at university already, my term doesn't begin until Monday. So this morning I called a landlord regarding a house viewing for my second-year accommodation, and later hope to reach 'Part Two' of Lolita.
Keeping Active
My problem: This, I think, will be the easiest of my problems to tackle, because it isn't too much of an issue at present. Personally I don't think I'm that lazy when it comes to keeping active, but all the same, I'm not as involved as I could be. All I did in 2014 in terms of fitness was walk up hills (see examples here and here).
My resolution: As the header of this post would suggest, I did join the gym! I'm going to aim to go two or three times a week, in the morning of course. I figured if I committed to joining the gym, I would be able to tie all my New Year's resolutions together - on days I don't feel particularly well I could wake up early, do my one productive goal of going to the gym, and spend the rest of the day recovering/relaxing. That way, at least I would have done something.
Ang
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