Style N Season: One Resolution Per Month: June

Hi Lovely Friends!

Here's an update of my one resolution per month project. You can read about what I'm doing in this post here, but in summary, it's programming yourself to do one, - yes, just one, so it is very feasible and achievable - resolution per month on a consistent, daily basis; thus within a year we will have accomplished twelve resolutions in total, which doesn't sound too shabby, ain't it!

My resolution for May is going to bed by 11 pm on weekdays and 12 midnight on weekends or off days.

So how did I do?

Wonderful. Limiting myself to stick to just one resolution really helps me to do it everyday, because it doesn't feel like an overwhelming burden or a list of long things to do.

My new habit of going to bed early and rise early also result in many unexpected benefits:

I feel physically better and more productive.
I am calmer and no longer in a rush, cranky mode in the morning like I have always been in the past, well, 37 years. No rushing, no stress.
The extra time in the morning enables me to even develop new morning routine: reading my Bible and say my morning prayer first thing in the morning after I wake up, when I'm still in bed. Yes, every morning I basically just turn off my alarm, open the windows, read a passage from the Bible app in my iPhone, then pray. It gives me so much mindfulness, peace of mind, serenity, and positivity to start my day in the right way. Right now I even incorporate doing some sit ups after my quiet time.
I have more time and better mood when leaving my son for work. I even have time to drop him off school twice a week, because I no longer rushing around in a hurry like a crazy person!

Did I fail the resolution often?

Because I only have one resolution to remember, it's pretty easy to do. Still, I think I was being "bad" once or twice on the weekends when I fell back to my old night owl habit and didn't go to bed until 3 am in the morning!

If you want to join the One Resolution Per Month project, here's several tips:

Just stick with ONE resolution

It's very tempting to attempt doing two or three or four at a time, but trust me, just stick with one. It will be much much easier to remember, to stick to, to commit yourself to do it on a daily, consistent basis, because one resolution doesn't feel overwhelming, like a lot of sacrifice, or a burden.

Make it a REALISTIC resolution

For example, if you never work out, setting a goal of working out for two hours, or even one hour everyday, is not realistic. And most likely, if it's not realistic, you will feel like you will never be able to achieve it, or you will be lazy to commit to your resolution. Just set a goal for working out for twenty minutes, or ten minutes, or even five minutes, but do it every single day. More likely you will really do it because it sounds easy enough and realistic!

Make it MEASUREable

Don't just say "I'll eat healthier everyday." That's not measurable. How would you know whether you are successful or not? Instead, be more specific, like "I will eat one portion of fruit every day." Or "I will eat one meatless dinner every other day." That way, you can measure your success.

Use helpful TOOLS to remind and measure

SInce I started this project, I set my phone alarm ten minutes before my supposed bedtime. That way, there is no way I will be too occupied with reading a boo, or watching YouTube videos, and suddenly it's past midnight. When the alarm rings, I know that I have ten minutes before having to go to bed, so I can stop whatever I was doing at the moment, and do my before bedtime routine: brushing my teeth, put on my night cream, etc., then go to sleep.

Another example, if your goal is to drink two litre of water everyday, get yourself a one litre water pitcher, fill it up and drink from it. Throughout the day, you will not have to wonder, "Have I drunk enough water today?" All you have to do is seeing how much you have drunk from the pitcher, and that you're supposed to refill it once after finishing the first litre. Or you can carry around a 500 ml water bottle with you if you're mobile, and remember to refill it three more times. It's an easy enough way to monitor your water intake.

You can also document your resolution in your journal or agenda in order ro remind and motivate yourself. I'm a journal and to-do-list kind of gal, so I always carry a journal with me everywhere. Summer is here and I'm so in love with this beautiful, cheerful, summery, absolutely adorable LIlly Pulitzer journals. My favorite is the light blue one with all those cute pink flamingos. But I like the smaller size of the pretty pink one, easy to carry in my purse, and the price is half of the blue one. Well, who am I kidding, actually I won't mind having them all! Writing down my resolution in this pretty journal at the beginning of the month really inspires me and I love looking back at it at the end of the month.

If you fail one day, just CONTINUE the next day

I also failed several times this month, and I just shrugged it off. If you don't stick to the resolution once, is doesn't mean the project is no longer valid or you can just abandon the rest of the month altogether. Just continue and restart the next day.

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Monday, June 1, 2015

One Resolution Per Month: June

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