Blueprint for Remodeling

Once we have identified what in our lives needs a bit of remodeling and renovation, we have to draw up the blueprints of what we are going to do. If your goal is to lose weight, what method are you choosing? Want to exercise more, when are you doing it? Want to improve your finances, how are you going to build your budget?

There are tons of methods and advice for how to improve each area of your life, and it can all be so overwhelming. One could get lost in the deep dark depths of Pinterest. (Omg, I love Pinterest so much!)

As you read through advise, processes, and methods of change it is important that you know yourself. Know your triggers. Know your personal style.

I hate to get up earlier that I have to, and I also hate to run. So for me, waking up early to go run is destined for failure. However, waking up early to do something I love, such as writing, has a much higher probability for success.

I could literally eat every single meal wrapped in a tortilla, so going on a hard core carb free diet could lead to some problems. I gained so much weight after going on the Whole 30 plan, because I felt deprived (even though other people swear by it). However, reasonable carb reduction and cutting out dairy is fine for me. Building a budget that has zero mention of fun will trigger me and send me on a shopping spree. However, building a balanced yet flexible budget and watching my funds closely works.

It’s not supposed to be easy to change your life, or we would have done it already. But do we want our lives to be boring, zero joy, snooze-fests? I don’t.

The point of life is to live it.

Pick an exercise plan that is fun. Pick a diet you can stick with, and is full of delicious new food that you are dying to try. Change is scary, but it can also be exciting.

We also have to decide what all we are going to work on at any given time. I know that I have a tendency of taking on too much. I will look at my list of life improvements and decide to jump in with both feet.  A tight budget, a strict diet, a rigorous exercise routine, a new writing project, an organization project, and a deep-dive into the psyche of the modern adolescent. Then, I will become overwhelmed and revert back to my old ways, abandoning the plan of change. I have learned that about myself.

So, now I try to take a more balanced approach. You can shine a light on one particular area of your life at a time. Another method may be to pick a single item from each list.

One thought process is to just change one thing, add something in or take something away for 30 days. A solid month.

This is a fantastic Ted Talk about that very thing. Great stuff!

This is all part of building the framework for our house of change. What is our plan? What are we focusing on, what amount of time are we putting in, and what method are we going to use?

I’m currently doing a mixture of these things. Here’s my current plan.

1. I am trying to write for 30 days straight to get back in the habit.
2. I built a very nice excel spreadsheet budget that works great for me, based on EveryDollar. I made it a bit more flexible and double check it regularly to stay on track or adjust when things get off course. I’ll probably share it here in a future post. The format, not my actual budget.
3. I am not drinking beer for 30 days. I had been enjoying tasting all the yummy craft beers out there, and well, those sneaky little liquid calories snuck up and bit me on the backside (or more accurately, latched on to my backside).
4. I am walking Cosmo three times a day. This helps with exercise for both of us and training for him. It also helps with the writing. I love how ideas pop in my head on our walks.
5. I am trying to cook more and eat out less. This helps with both finances and nutrition. When I cook, I tend to prepare fairly healthy meals. I don’t really fry a lot of foods. I use lots of veggies. When I eat out, I am quickly distracted by the greasy, cheesy goodness listed on the menu.

I am giving this all a solid month before I try to add or change more. Some of this will stick and others will be replaced with a new plan. Some of it will become second nature and I won’t even have to think about it anymore.

Time will tell.

Do you have a plan for something you are trying to improve in your life?

I would love to hear it. 

 

 

 

 

Advertisement