Today is the last Friday of this very first month of 2019.
How’s it going?
Are you keeping up with your intentions? Building new habits? Meeting your goals? Doing all-the-things you promised yourself you would do starting January first?
Most important…are you having fun yet?
You may have charged out of the gate with your head down determined to stay on track, stick to your schedule, and succeed at all cost (to yourself)…but if you are feeling a little grumpy or worn out just 25 days into the new year, you may have sacrificed something very basic:
Some good, old fashioned fun!
Unstructured play time isn’t just for kids…for adults with routines that run like clockwork and demands that never let up, it may be even more important to make time to do…(GASP!)…nothing!
Nothing of significance, that is…like cleaning the house, or walking the dog, or balancing the budget, or paying the bills, or making dinner, or picking up the kids. Oh how we love these high-return activities!
And then we veg out in front of the TV or Facebook for an hour (or more) because we just can’t bring ourselves to do one…more…thing.
But unstructured play time pays big dividends…it refreshes us, grounds us, and may even slow down time a little!
So schedule some play time…it’s not just for kids anymore!
Your Happyness Challenge for the Week Ahead: MAKE TIME TO PLAY! It might not be every day…but look at your schedule and try to find some regular time in your week (or month) to play. If you’re not sure what to do…link arms with someone else in a similar situation and make a pact to schedule some play time together. Start small with just a few minutes or an hour of unstructured time and build from there (or build some before/after margin into an existing activity). Believe me, I know how difficult and uncomfortable it is to “do nothing” (that’s why I’m challenging myself to do the same)…but I also believe it’s totally worth it!
So…what do you do for fun?
Spread Happyness — and tell me about it in the comments!
We’re now halfway through January 2019 — and the holiday hubbub is officially over!
(That said…can I get an amen from anyone who still has their tree up, like me?!)
Maybe you’ve set some resolutions, goals, or intentions for the year. Maybe you’ve packed up and put away Christmas 2018. Maybe you are now in hibernation mode, counting the days until Spring…or Memorial Day…or the Summer Solstice.
Or maybe you’re just licking your wounds from too many obligations over the holidays.
The first few weeks of January are a popular time to clear out all that holiday and end-of-the-year clutter. But the post-holiday “winter” months (and I put it in quotes because I know not everyone is under a pretty blanket of fresh snow) are a great time to reconnect with your “very best-est” friends.
Because after weeks of expectations, obligations, and over-scheduling…it’s high time to refuel and put a little back in the tank.
In hospitality, I see it every day. Ladies are lunching, couples are reconnecting, and groups are getting back to their regularly scheduled meetings.
This is a great time to reconnect with your “tribe” (whomever that is).
So if you’re bummed that the holidays are over, or you’re feeling a little isolated or cabin-fevery, don’t go it alone! Phone a friend…and reconnect to your tribe!
Your Happyness Challenge for the Week Ahead: PHONE A FRIEND! The post-holiday gap is a great time to reach out to people you may have missed during the holidays — or the ones you didn’t get to spend enough time with. Plan a post-holiday lunch, celebrate missed birthdays, help each other take down those holiday decorations (Anyone? Anyone?), or get out of the house for a long, linger-y lunch or late afternoon coffee. Bonus points for helping each other set goals, build dreams, or make plans for the year ahead! 😉
Week #226 – Spread Happyness: PLAN AHEAD! (And USE those calendars!)
Happy Friday, Everyone!
Today is Friday, January 11th — and this is your annual reminder to unwrap and USE those cutesy calendars you received over the holidays!
By now, I hope you’ve had the chance to process and celebrate the year we just completed — and set some new goals or visions for the new year ahead. (If not, click back to Week #224 and Week #225 for some ideas about how to do that.)
Maybe you have cleaned your slate for January and are focusing on “Big Rocks First.”
What next?
What do we do with all those goals, dreams, visions, aspirations, and insight?
Plan them!
It is well-documented that planning ahead is directly related to happiness. And not only that — scheduling your goals and commitments increases the chances that you will actually follow through with them.
There’s a lot of discussion about the virtues of paper calendars versus digital calendars. Digital calendars have great portability and a low profile — but rarely are they in your face. A password, and then one, two, maybe three clicks — not to mention competition with all those other apps once you’re unlocked. They just don’t give you much information at a glance — or much time to really plan ahead.
A paper calendar, hanging on the wall by your bathroom sink or on your refrigerator in the kitchen, may not be all that high tech — but it is certainly high-profile. It also gives you (and whomever you are sharing it with) time to ponder, compare, contribute, discuss, and yes — even plan ahead!
And many people are boosting their outlook by using FULL-YEAR wall calendars to track all the major events, holidays, appointments, and deadlines that are already set by the time we turn the calendar to January 1st — not to mention their personal goals and commitments.
I’ve long been a 90-day outlook-er myself: three months seems focused, manageable, and it fits nicely with the seasons…but this year I’m trying a full year calendar. I have to admit, it’s a little intimidating. Three years after a series of major life changes (a job loss, a death in the family, and then a cross-country move)…I finally feel like I’m able to look up a little bit. But I do so carefully, because I know that anything can happen. Still…a full year’s calendar reaffirms that time is moving, the year will pass, and I may as well try to make the most of it from where I stand today!
Why not try it?
There is an old proverb: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is the tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:13) Don’t allow your daily or weekly schedule to rob you of the joy of planning ahead! Start plotting your year today!
Your Happyness Challenge for the Week Ahead: PLAN AHEAD! Perhaps someone gave you a cutesy calendar during the holidays — or you grabbed a freebie at your bank or pizza place without really thinking about where or how you’d use it. I challenge you this week to HANG IT UP! If you don’t like the pictures, tear out the calendar pages and arrange them in months, quarters — or the entire year at a glance. Then open your personal daily planners, pull together all those school and activity calendars, queue up Google to search holiday dates — and start plotting your year!
Start with the big holidays and three-day weekends, birthdays, and major events (like weddings, graduations, important anniversaries).
I also like to mark the solstices/equinoxes, full moons, and time changes.
Then move on to some of your goals. Are you running a marathon? Writing a book? Growing a business? Saving for a house? Planning a vacation or next year’s holiday travel? Start plotting your desires on the calendar by asking: where and when will this take place?
Spread Happyness — PLAN AHEAD! Share your favorite calendar tips — but most important, share your calendars with the ones you love!
New Year’s Day – Manhattan Beach, CA (photo credit: Grace Church)
Week #225 – Goals, Resolutions, Reviews, and Habits (Are you wading out or plunging into 2019?)
Happy New Year, Tribe — and Happy First Friday of 2019!!!
As I mentioned last week, I hope you made some time over the holidays to look back at 2018 and CELEBRATE the things that went right.
And, I hope you have a plan in place to keep track of the good stuff that will come your way in the year ahead. Because we are on our way!
I just returned to Los Angeles after a quick trip home between Christmas and New Year’s — and back to a calendar that hasn’t even flipped to 2019 yet! (And an email-box full of sales pitches and programs for making the most of the year ahead!)
DELETE, DELETE, DELETE! I don’t know about you…but I’m barely unpacked, let alone un-Christmased! I may have missed the plunge, but if you’re a little behind too — join me this week as I wade out into the first week of 2019 using some of my favorite tools:
YOUR “ONE WORD” — A few years ago I ran across a little red book called The ONE WORD That Will Change Your Life. The gist is this: while contemplating the year ahead — and working through a few questions (in the PDF on the website: www.getoneword.com) — you come up with ONE WORD that encapsulates what you want the year to mean to you. Then, you make a plan to keep it front and center to live out daily. What ONE WORD would you like to make your focus for 2019?
YEAR-END REVIEW — David Allen (author of Getting Things Done) offers a series of “Year-End Review” questions on his website (and, more recently, in a podcast episode) that prompt you to “complete and remember” the year behind — and “create” the year ahead. (The links are from previous years so just modify the years to 2018/2019.) You can move through this list quickly with first thoughts — or spend lots of time really unpacking things. What would you like to create for yourself in 2019?
CLEAN SWEEP — Another favorite is the “Clean Sweep Assessment” — a more mathematical measurement of personal satisfaction in four key areas of our lives: physical environment, personal well-being, money, and relationships. How do you tally up?
GOAL SETTING — There is always traditional goal-setting — take a dream and use the “SMART” acronym to break it down into: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound action steps. Just remember to put a little WHY behind your WHAT — and consider an even SMART-ER approach by adding EMOTION and RESULT to the mix by asking WHY? (“So that I can FEEL…” and “So that I can achieve/accomplish/acquire/arrive at/accept…etc.”)
FIRST 90 DAYS — A dear friend turned me on to the idea of quarterly goal setting/reviews when I first made the move to Los Angeles, and it seems to be the thing more recently. Rather than set goals for the entire year — especially when we’re uncertain about what an entire year will bring — set short-term goals for the next 30/60/90 days and reassess at regular intervals.
BIG ROCKS FIRST — This is an idea that resonated with me this year as I am committing to making more space for new things to come into my life. We’ve all heard the story of the teacher who challenges his/her class to fill a jar to maximum capacity using rocks, sand, and water. The best strategy, of course, is to put the big rocks in first. I’m starting January by just putting the biggest, most important rocks into my schedule — and adding as I go.
HABITS — And for all you compulsive types trying to build a daily habit — check out Jerry Seinfeld’s excuse-busting “Don’t Break the Chain” method! It’s not just for writers!
Your Happyness Challenge for the Week Ahead: If you haven’t done so already, take some time this week to reflect on the year past — and to think about the year ahead. What are your goals, dreams, aspirations, and visions? Where do you want to be next year this time? How are you going to measure your success? What are your big rocks? And what is your WHY?
If you have a favorite reflection or goal-setting tool that you use, please share it with me in the comments or via email. And if there is some way that I can help you set a goal that will Spread Happyness to you or someone you love in 2019, please let me know that too!
Spread Happyness — share your dreams, goals, aspirations, or favorite tools in the comments! And best wishes for good health and abundant Happyness in 2019!!!
