2013 Resolutions, Anyone?

Did you make them? Have you already broken them?

Here we are nudging up on the second month of the year and I thought it would a good time to check in on the old resolution list. I did make a couple resolutions this year though none of them were terribly earth shatter. You see I don't have too many vices that cause me problems.

I didn't need to stop smoking because I've always been to stingy to pay for those things. Same goes for drinking. I do indulge in some wine or wine coolers now and then but just aren't willing to "waste" the money often enough to become much of a lush.

So what did I have to resolve about? Plenty. I've always known I have plenty of room for improvement. So I don't find it hard to make goals or resolutions. Now keeping them or achieving those goals can and often does prove to be a might sight more difficult.

The last couple years have been filled with less than successful attempts so his year I decided to put more planning into it. First I gave serious thought to my own personality and what actually works for me. Well… I do have a successful diet (down 37 lbs and counting) and it's based on a reward system. Cool. I can work with that. I broke down my resolutions into goals and then busted those down into steps that can be completed in one bite at a time. At first the resolutions looked a tad scary but in the bite sized form it looked very do-able.

Now for rewards with the open ended option of adjusting to hit proper reward potential. I'm starting of with my goal to complete 3 bite sized tasks each day. If I complete 20 tasks in one week then I reward myself with my choice of iTune downloads.

Remember earlier when I mentioned how cheap I am? Spending .99 to 1.29 on something frivolous is something I just wasn't willing to do too often. Silly but hey it’s the real me. LOL So a weekly purchase that I've "earned" is actually a pretty good reward for me. Today I downloaded my first reward, IT'S TIME by Imagine Dragons. I've loved this upbeat song since I first heard it. You can hear it at http://youtu.be/sENM2wA_FTg Oh and don't you love the band name too? That alone caught my attention.

Back to the resolutions… Now that I have the goals broken into tasks and the rewards all set up so I'm actually excited about the "job", I can't wait to see just how far I can go this year. Just to add more heat to the fire I'm thinking about adding a monthly reward to the system. Maybe if I complete 75 of those tasks I'll get something bigger and better. Maybe a night out with hubby? Wonder if I can talk him into paying for that reward?

If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them. What works for you? What doesn't?

Just for you, the 2013 Top Ten Red Neck Resolutions! http://youtu.be/uTSHeRg5Y0I  I'm happy to say only one of those applies to my life.LOL I'm not telling which!

Now I'd better go check off some tasks.

Productively Yours,

Shannon