text: . Have You Seen My New Year's Resolution? | House of Order
  . Have You Seen My New Year's Resolution?
  Posted by Marie Ricks on Mar 23rd, 2010 in 01-January, New Years, Planners, Time Mgmt Practicalities, Using Calendars | 0 comments
  I always get a bit lost by the second week of January. The firm resolutions which I had settled on seem to be slipping away and I wake up the same old person as before with less and less desire to keep to the commitments which I so recently made.
  How do you hold on to new habits which seem sure to change your life for the better? Three steps will help insure success…
  1) Have several visual reminders to keep you on track. (I hate to say it, but we get very easily distracted in the midst of everyday responsibilities.)
  2) Have a specific IF-THEN response to help remind you of your commitments. (Nothing like a game to keep you interested.)
  3) Tell someone important to you (and that you trust not to make fun of your "bad" days) about your new goals and encourage their involvement in your change.
  Let me share an example. One of my students desperately wanted to get her laundry under control. It was always the last thing she thought about doing and was often postponed until there was no clean underwear anywhere in the house, at which time, of course, she got angry at herself for slacking off and did a marathon laundry. At the end of last year we talked of ways to make the new year one of "Laundry Heaven". After learning about the three steps to success, she settled upon the following:
  1) I will put my shoes on the washer when I go to bed. When I get dressed in the morning, I will have to go to the laundry room to complete that process, thus reminding me to get a batch of laundry going. I will also make up a note for my bathroom mirror which says, "Have you done the laundry yet?" which will be a back-up reminder.
  2) I will not eat breakfast until the first batch is in the dryer. In other words, IF the wash has made it to the dryer, THEN I can eat breakfast.
  3) I will report my laundry progress every day to my oldest daughter (who has suffered the most from wearing two-day old underwear and has the most interest in my change). This will work great, because my daughter will very encouraging at the slightest progress I make.
  Now, it has only been eight days since Marilyn (name changed to insure privacy) began her new "Laundry Heaven" program, but when we talked yesterday, she was delighted at her progress. "I can do it, I really can!" she said. You can, too!
  So, return to your New Year's Resolution list. Pick one item and resolve on three steps of success. Write up severalc small notes to put here and there as reminders. Decide upon an IF-THEN response. Get someone to encourage and prompt you on your way. Soon your laundry will be done, or you will exercise every day, or you will get dressed first thing in the morning, or any other small, but important New Year's resolution you have set will become a firm habit to enhance your life.