January is one of my favorite months of the year!
The craziness of the holidays is over, there aren’t as many demands on my time, and I enjoy hearing about everyone’s resolutions.
Looking back over the past year, thinking about what we want to improve on, and deciding to make changes is a healthy and mature thing to do. It makes me want to sit up straighter and drink more water.
January isn’t the only milestone moment in the year when we tend to be introspective. If your schedule revolves around the school year, then both May and August also have the tendency to prompt us to say, “Let me try this again . . .”
Unfortunately, new year’s resolutions can get a bad reputation because so many of them turn sour. We have wonderful intentions, and strong motivations, but we fail to follow through.
Resolutions are often abandoned because . . .
- Our goals might be too vague. “This year, I’m going to be healthier!” Sounds wonderful, but what exactly are you going to change?
- Our goals might be unrealistic. “I’m going to exercise for one hour every single day of the year!” Then we get the flu, miss five days, feel like a failure, and give up.
- Our goals might be too far away. “By the end of 2020 I will run a 9-minute-mile!” But December is so far away that we quickly lose sight of that finish-line.
Some of us have failed to follow through on so many resolutions in past years, that we are ready to give up on the whole resolution idea.
Instead of giving up, let’s change the way we do it!
This year I challenge you to determine your own JANUARY RESOLUTION: A specific and concrete goal that is reasonably attainable within the first 31 days of 2020.
You don’t have to plan the entire year; just focus on the first step. If you want to run a 9-minute-mile, then your January Resolution might be to run a mile at least ten times and keep track of your times.
A short-term focus makes it far more likely that we will follow through.
For those of you who are aching to make your house function better, it is sometimes difficult to know where to start. It can be so easy to get lost in the various categories of stuff that all seem to need our attention at the same time.
If that sounds familiar, it’s okay! It is not as important which part of your house you start on; what is important is that you start!
So in this time of new year’s retrospection, I challenge you to choose one specific area of your home, decide to get started, and take the first step.
If you are longing to organize all of your paperwork, then your January Resolution might be to create a routine for sorting and answering the mail.
If you want to train your kids to put their stuff away, then your January Resolution might be to go through the Home On Purpose Toys Series.
If you are not sure which room to focus on first, the House Cleaning Mini-Series (new release!) is the perfect starting point. Not only will it make cleaning and tidying up much easier, it will give you clarity on which categories of stuff need the most attention.
Once you have decided on your January Resolution, download your Freebie (which is waiting for you at the end of this article!), write it down, post it two places in your home, and share it.
By focusing on achievable short-term goals, we make immediate progress and gain confidence, which means we are far more likely to continue. Even if you don’t follow through with your January Resolution perfectly, that’s okay! You can still set a February Resolution and keep moving forward.
For more encouragement, a supportive community, and extra tips on how to make your home function better in 2020, join the Home On Purpose Facebook Group!
We are all thinking about how we plan to make 2020 the best year ever. So let’s make January the month we take our first step!