Hitting the Pavement of the New Year

Last year, as I was showering (all good ideas can either be traced back to 3am or the shower in my opinion) I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. I swear there are little gremlins in my house that are forever leaving things, adding to the piles, dirtying the clothes, stacking the dishes, etc. My office space also has a very busy look - part of this because I am a very visual person (not visual as in "oh doesn't that look nice" but visual as in if you can't see it, it doesn't really exist) and it is also partially due to the fact that my job takes a lot of stuff. I live in and out of boxes. I pack the boxes, pack my car, unpack my car, unpack the boxes, set up the room, have event, pack the boxes, pack my car, clean the room, return to office unpack the car, unpack the boxes and it all begins again. Wow, just saying it makes me tired!

Anyway, back to the shower - there was a plastic bottle that had been empty there for a few days - who's counting it could have been weeks. And the brilliant idea came to me - I need to stop trying to do EVERYTHING (which always fails and makes me feel more like doing nothing) - and just start doing SOMETHING. And if the only "extra credit" I got for the day was getting that plastic bottle out of my shower and into the recycling - then at least I'd be that much closer to "together". And that became my resolution - to do one small thing everyday to make the situation better.

I really didn't keep score - but overall, I did see more of that "just do it now" attitude develop. I also let others "do more" by encouraging my son to do a few simple jobs everyday- there is a chart involved - it hasn't gone so super, mostly due to my lack of "following up". So I'm considering adding money to the mix - I know, I have mixed feelings about payment for chores - it's part of your job as a family member to help take care of things. But I think a minimal amount of money won't be too bad - and we always have the deal where if you want money you are welcome to do some odd jobs to earn it. So while I can not say that the project was a 100% success; I'm sure that my small attacks didn't hurt my house / office situation.

I have already committed to some changes on Does This Blog Make Me Look Fat? Which, you should totally visit - if you haven't already. But since this is about all the other things "Me". I've decided to try to set 10 minutes each day (both at work and at home) to tackle some non-daily routine. Prepare to hear many times that all this included was sorting / deleting / shredding the mail. This seems to be a serious source of trouble for my counter tops. But each day I'll do something to get my Sh%$ together. I plan on encouraging (read as: forcing) my son to join me in this challenge. And on being a more mindful TV / video game police for myself and for the family- more on that later.

I realize that my goal for 2010 isn't going to win the noble prize - but isn't that part of the reason that most resolutions fail? They are unreasonable? It's not too late, you know? If you've over-committed yourself with a lofty resolution...let's face it, no one gets started until the world returns to "normal mode" after the holiday - so there 's still time to jump on the simple yet effective train. Small or big - all goals get you further up the mountain. What are you changing for 2010?