In with the New...

First day of 2012!! Time to get this thing started...

Each month I will choose a different "area of life" to focus on. For January I will be starting off with....

ENERGY!!
Studies have show that if you have more energy, you will be a happier person. There are a lot of good habits that will make for a healthier life too.

I'm going to use a lot of the ideas from the book The Happiness Project and use them as guidelines.

My first set of guidelines for ENERGY will be:

1. Sleep smarter:

- go to bed at a reasonable hour

- no naps on weekdays

- wind down before bed

- no lights on, no phone... rid of distraction

2. Exercise better:

- walk on the treadmill while watching TV shows

- walk to dog everyday

- morning walk, afternoon walk, evening yoga

- use stairs or walk places more

3. Healthier intake:

- drink more water

- only one pop a day

- no caffiene after 5 on weekdays

- less sugar, more fresh fruits and veggies

4. Toss, restore, organize

- go through closet, guest closet, loft

- cleaning schedule

- empty shelf

- 10 minute tidy before bed

5. Prioritize

- one minute rule

- reply to e-mails right away

- do things now, not later

- don't get to close to the due date, get it done early

As you can see, some of these are rediculously simple tasks... that I just can't seem to get a hang of at the same time. So now I'm making a concious effort to do so. Basically, my problem is that it's just me and the dog at my house. Who is there to care if my stuff is on the couch, or if I leave the TV on all night... etc, etc.? In order to keep a more regimented schedule I will be tempting to complete the above tasks. And maybe in turn I will have more energy, let's hope!

Little bit of happiness: I have been with my family all of Christmas break. Sometimes we butt heads, but some of my favorite moments is just hearing my dad's laugh. Today he was so excited that him and my mom were on ESPN at the KU game... three times! It's great to see that the little things give him so much joy, I need to take notes from him! Love you dad.

Daily quote: "May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some find books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art (write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can) and somewhere in the I hope, next year, you surprise yourself." - Neil Gaiman

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra