Zenhacking My Life, 2012

I don't make New Year's Resolutions — never have succeeded. I tried a few times when I was younger and I had the success that all articles about the futility of resolutions predict: zero. But there are a couple of sites I follow — one always and one sometimes — that have ideas for changing one's life without resolutions or goals. One of the sites is zenhabits.net; the other is LifeHacker.com. and both offered up a true gem for me to use to change my life into what I want and need it to be.

What I need in order to change my life (YMMV) is new habits. And among the ways to help me make the changes is to implement the placebo effect.

Of course, the habits I'm changing aren't all physical fitness habits. Those are some of them, but I have three categories of changes for this year: healthy living; getting and maintaining a clean, organized home; and developing a fulfilling and creative life. I have 12 habits to initiate and I'm going to use Jedi mind tricks/cognitive work to achieve them. And to make other things work for me too, such as making aspirin work on my fibromyalgia pain (it requires belief, which is going to take some doing for this issue).

Here is my list of habits to create, in order, one month at a time:

1. Exercise for just 5 minutes a day, adding 5 minutes per week. Make it a fun exercise: walking, dancing, ....
2. A place for everything and everything in its place.
3. Write every day for > one hour.
4. Replace simple carbs with fruits and vegetables.
5. Sort and handle mail immediately; set bills to be paid in a special place.
6. Contact friends & family on a schedule.
7. Eat fruit and nuts for snacks.
8. Wash dishes right after every meal.
9. Draw every day for > one-half hour.
10. Eat lean protein, including plant proteins, daily.
11. Clean apartment on a schedule.
12. Crochet or do some other creative handwork > 3 hours a week.

How am I going to pull off making changes of this magnitude and quantity? Post-it notes with affirmations and reminders. Assistance with #2. Accountability. Telling myself that each of these things is something I can easily achieve and that it gets me much closer to what I want and where I want to be: more fit, more organized, and more creative.

Want to come along? Let me know — I need some accountability friends, for sure. And this blog works, especially as long as I report in regularly (maybe weekly) and stay honest. Keeps your fingers crossed: I have a history of self-sabotage and quitting. BUT ... I am now committed to self-success, self-health, and following through (see what I did there?). 

Cheers!