I believe in setting resolutions, I just am not 100% on board that they should only be set at the beginning of a new year.
Prior to setting the resolution the firm decision, as defined above, should be made to commit to the success of the resolution.
If you are not going to follow through what is the point of starting? If you start and quit, won't that leave us more disappointed in ourselves? If we have the radio station playing in our head “I never follow through on anything.” You'll predict your future. Our minds are just looking for ways to make us right.
Mindset is the Key
Personally, I believe in setting resolutions when we are in the right frame of mind to go along with the resolution.
If you set a resolution you better be on board mentally. If your mindset is not ready for a life-changing commitment, will you actually be successful?
For me, I need to understand the why and be all in mentally. Otherwise, I will struggle to believe in setting the resolution and following through with the commitment.
Flossing is a Great Example
Flossing my teeth is a great example of a firm decision to do something. When I was younger flossing was not a daily habit.
Many years ago I set a New Year’s Resolution to start a daily habit of flossing. I understood the benefits and my why, it was for better overall gum health and of course to proudly answer “Yes” to the question if I floss daily.
I was successful because I believe in setting the resolution and was all in mentally to my life change and understood why I was committed to my New Year’s Resolution.
Why should we wait until the New Year to set resolutions?
Setting resolutions or goals to better ourselves can be done at any time. It doesn't need to be based on a calendar. Why not set resolutions to improve yourself during the year too?
When I made the firm decision to commit to exercise five days a week, this was not done as a New Year’s Resolution.
I committed to this healthy habit in the middle of the year. At first, this was not my favorite thing to do. I am not kidding, when I say it probably took five years before exercise became the highest priority on my daily task list.
It is unbelievable to me that at one point I would prioritize cleaning the house higher than exercise. However, that has changed as it is very rare that I dread my workout or do not work out six days a week.
Here are a couple of items, I’ve made a firm decision to
make a higher priority on my task list.
Write 30 minutes a day about anything, just write
Spending time in prayer with daily devotions.
A morning walk, even when it is freezing with our dogs before I start the day.
Do you believe in setting resolutions only at the New Year?
Get writing this is what I have been telling myself all week. Just start and an idea will come to you. I sit down and still I am not getting any grand ideas to write about this week on the blog. Do you run into those roadblocks? If so, how do you overcome them?
I repeat to myself, just start and the rest will follow. But the very next thought is Oh, but I really should ____.
Procrastinate, me?
What is your go-to method? Just start or do you procrastinate until it is waaaaaay too close to the deadline or past the deadline? We all have ways of handling these situations and some better than others. How do we grow out of these habits that get the best for us? How do I force my mind to just start when I do not want to get going? It's not that I procrastinate on much, but writing is one of those things that I can find something better to do. I will believe whatever I tell myself right? If I listen to that voice that says this can wait, I would never have a word written.
Shh… Procrastination voice
What did I do to overcome the procrastination voice? I instead listened to the voice that was telling me to just sit down and do it. I made it a bit easier by setting a timer for 10 minutes. Typing whatever came out of my head. Easing into this and setting the timer helped to stop my feeling of overwhelm that was causing my procrastination. It just started with 10 minutes to see what would come out. If I am not a fan of what I wrote, whatever it was 10 minutes I got this. Besides that is be better than staring at a computer screen for an hour.
It's okay
When it comes down to it, I give myself permission to do this once in a while. Not day in and day out. Boy, I won't get anything done if I listened to my procrastination voice creating the schedule. Next, to try the 10-minute timer on, oh yes the list of all the things I need to get done around the house.
Does opening your email turn into a time drain? With so much of our communication revolving around email, it is easy to watch your time go down the drain as you work in your inbox. I completely understand as I too get into that situation. I open my inbox and next thing I know I have lost two hours with little to nothing to show for my time.
Do you receive a large amount of promotional emails? Do you still want to receive these emails? Is the offerings from the company no longer valid to you? I understand as my children grow so do their interests.
Here are a few simple things that I have put in place, they may work for you too.
Unroll.me
Unroll.me is a service that lets you unsubscribe in on click to various emails! It also gives an option to have those emails rolled up into one email and sent in a group message for easy skimming in a central location.
Watch here for an explanation.
Cleaning and Organizing your Inbox
This one is a bit more time-consuming and overwhelming if not done correctly. Do you have folder and categories set up in your email? If not, you may want to consider creating folders for the items that you may need again.
Are you combining to fewer inboxes? Over time I have gathered four different email addresses. I have all of these combined into one email client. Giving me only one inbox to go through.
Instead of having my email open all day, I spend time morning, midday and evening going over email. Still, I will have days that I spend too much time with email. It just happens.
Dave Crenshaw is a great resource for email management ideas. He is an author, speaker and business coach. If you have a Lynda.com membership, he has a number of training courses that are worth watching. If you don't have a Lynda.com account no worries, he has a great blog too! Here is one on How to Detox your Overstuffed Email Inbox.
I am working to bring my email inbox to zero as Dave encourages once per week. It may be only for a split second, but that split second feels wonderful! I wish for you to also feel this split second of joy. I hope these suggestions help with the email time drain. Good luck.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here:
Cookie Policy
Email a Time Drain?
You must be logged in to post a comment.