January 2011 Resolutions

The beginning of the year is all about setting resolutions.  I’ve done my fair share of resolution setting (and breaking) in years past but this year I decided to take a different approach.  About a month ago I started reading a book called The Happiness Project.

Gretchen Rubin (author) writes about the year she decided to focus on becoming happier.  She wasn’t necessarily unhappy but she thought she wasn’t as happy as she could be.  This book discusses the philosophy, scientific research, analysis, and real-life experiences as Gretchen talks about what worked for her and what didn’t.

I haven’t finished the entire book but I like the approach the author takes of setting a goal each month of the year.  This is the approach I decided to take for my 2011 resolutions.

My 2011 Resolutions

My January resolution is to work on removing clutter from my life.  Every aspect of my life is filled with clutter which makes my life a bit chaotic at times.  So, by January 31 I will have done the following:

  • Get rid of all the clutter in my house
  • “Spring” clean each room or area
  • Organize what’s left
  • Create a space for the fun things I want to do (blogging, reading, photos)
  • Blog 1 time a week about my experience
  • Organize personal computer (emails, photos, desktop)
  • Organize office space (files, email, desktop)
  • Complete nagging tasks
  • Apply the 1 minute rule – Don’t postpone a task I can do in 1 minute
  • Evening tidy up – Take ten minutes at night to do simple tidying up

This seems like a ton of stuff to accomplish but I think I will be able to accomplish it with the help of The Happiness Project Toolbox.  You should check out the site if you need help tracking the progress of your resolutions.

Question:

Did you set resolutions for 2011?  If so, what are they?

8 Comments

    • Tracey

      Hey MacKenzie! Thanks for the website love 🙂 I have to say I’m really liking it and Patrick did a great job with the design 🙂

      I’m going to shoot you an email about Zumba, so be on the look-out!

  • Beth @ DiningAndDishing

    I love your evening tidying up goal. I always get so annoyed with the amount of clutter that builds up during the week but insist I have no time to take care of it! Ten minutes a day is totally manageable and is sure to make a difference :).

    • Tracey

      Yeah, the “10 minute tidy-up” has been working really well. Like you said 10 minutes a day is a manageable amount of time 🙂

  • emily (a nutritionist eats)

    Ooh, that sounds like a great book! I love the idea of setting goals each month…I may need to revise my 2011 goals into monthly goals….

    I JUST cleaned out my office space (well, still in the process) and have a new and improved way of sorting emails and files and it feels WONDERFUL!!!!

    • Tracey

      It has been a good book (still reading it). I think the monthly goals is a great way to accomplish resolutions. I tend to put off a goal when I think I have an entire year to accomplish it but if I give myself a month I will more likely get it completed.

      I’ve started working on cleaning up my computer and you are so right, it feels great to sign on and see an empty inbox and clean desktop!

      Good luck with your 2011 goals!!!

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