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Saturday, January 30, 2010
Since my first month of the Happiness Project was a FAIL, I've been figuring out how I can restructure my plans to go full steam ahead in February! I'm lacking the motivation and the energy so I HAVE to do January's tasks. I think maybe doing January with February's task might work. I know you might be thinking it is quite a daunting task. However, the way I see it, is that all the things I hate to do (exercise, clean, etc.) are in January and it's hard for me to focus completely on all the things I hate to do all in one month. The balance of February being all about my relationship with the boy (something I definitely love and will be easy!) and January's hellish tasks will work out just fine.
0 cheers & encouragement Thursday, January 28, 2010
realized how much satisfaction a clean floor would bring me. The room is getting there! Slowly but surely. It makes me a whole lot happier when I walk into my room!
1 cheers & encouragement Monday, January 25, 2010
This is more reflective more than anything else..So, it's been a while. I had pretty much given up on this whole Happiness Project thing because things have just been rather unpleasant lately and happiness was just eluding me. I just didn't want to keep trying to pursue happiness any longer when I felt like it wasn't going to happen. I guess I need this now more than ever. And really, when it comes down to it, it's not like me just to give up so easily. I don't know why I would start getting in the habit now. Anyways, I had this realization not to give up today. My mood and the weather have been matching lately. A little too much. I tend to be more down in the winter but never like this. So today it was pouring allll day so I figured it was a good day to continue cleaning my room( I made a HUGE dent in it!). All of a sudden I noticed it stopped raining and then the sun came out!! I was ecstatic. I opened my windows and sat on the ledge of my window for a good 15-20 minutes while the sun was just shining and the temperature was almost 60 while listening to some of my favorite music. I needed it. I really did. I needed the sunshine and the warmth. I needed the breeze coming through the windows. Then, out of nowhere, it got really dark again and I decided to shut my windows. The next thing I knew..monsoon outside my window again!! I was bummed because I was enjoying the sun. However, I was so grateful for that little moment in my day that I could be alone and enjoy the few moments of sunshine that I needed. It gave me hope for some reason. In the midst of a really nasty, rainy day, there could be this little block of time where the sun was able to shine through and actually be quite beautiful. I cannot explain the logic behind why this gave me hope but it did. I felt like even though things have been rough lately, there would be little brief moments of happiness that I need to cling to right now and be grateful for. My happiness project just started and I can't expect to have this surge in happiness. My life just isn't like that right now. But I know that I can cling to these little moments of happiness and they will just have to keep me going for a little while until things get better. So, onward. I don't like that I missed out on a lot of the first month of my happiness project so I'll have to just do both during February but not stress myself out about January too much. 2 cheers & encouragement Thursday, January 7, 2010
Ok..so maybe I lied. Being able to see the floor again does make me happy. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I realized the huge mess on the floor was basically all clothes. I just started sorting them..things that were dirty, things that needed to be ironed, things to hang out, things to go in drawers. Then I just hung all those things up..which is a task I have been dreading for a while. I always feel like it is going to be so horrible to hang a huge pile of clothes but it barely took any time at all! It's nice to get rid of things too particularly things that I was hanging on to for a while..socks with no match or underwear that I haven't worn in a few years. I have practically a mini Victoria's Secret store in my drawer so I don't know why I didn't ever just throw away all those old ones!I've been doing really great with the nagging tasks resolution! I paid my credit card bill that I had been dreading to pay, paid my doctor's bill, returned the sweater I got my stepdad because it didn't fit, renewed my AAA membership, and went and got my eyes checked so I could get the new Burberry glasses I wanted! It feels good to do these things. They were not that much effort but I just kept pushing these things off. I mean really..how hard was it to go online and renew the membership? It took a whole 30 minutes to do everything with my eye doctor and my sister came with me and we made a lunch date and shopping date out of it. I'm feeling a little better. Not getting the job I wanted sort of made me snap a little. I have to remain calm and remember it takes time. 3 cheers & encouragement Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Dear Happiness Project,I am in a foul mood and I apologize in advance for my rant. You are doing nothing for me. I know that I haven't been completely faithful in all of my resolutions so far but you can't even budge an inch? Plant a little bit of happiness in my life? Even if it is only to make me feel like 2010 is going to be a complete waste of time like 2009. Yes, there were some good times but overall it was miserable. Please do not do this to me. I was inspired & now I'm just failing with most of these resolutions. Cleaning my room is not making me happy. Yes, I know it will in the end..but it is NOT now. Getting up the courage to go to the gym and then disappointing myself when I don't is no fun either. And trying to get 8 fucking hours of sleep is a joke when I can't even fall asleep because I'm so unhappy and I'm thinking about all the messed up things in my life. You and I have to make it work somehow, Happiness Project. This is a joke so far. 0 cheers & encouragement Sunday, January 3, 2010
I definitely failed yesterday in my attempt to tackle my closet. I was way too ambitious so I modified it to just going through my clothes and getting them into the different piles. I have such a hard time figuring out what to get rid of. I know obvious things that should go but there are some things that I just can't figure out. I could SEE myself possibly wearing something but I'm not sure. Today I'm going to be trying on alot of things to figure out if I can incorporate it into my wardrobe for 2010. I really wish I could hire a professional. lolI've also been working on tackling my "nagging task." I like writing lists by hand but I always end up losing them so I've been looking at options for online list making sites just to see if it would be something beneficial to me so I can keep track of these things. I'm liking Zenbe.com. It's pretty simple & you can add plenty of lists. It would be nice if I had an IPhone because you can update your lists via their application. I always think of things on the go. I used to use Remember the Milk and that was pretty useful when I was in school because it was extremely detailed and you could put deadlines and such. It's too complicated for what I need now. Ta Da lists are decent too. Although it's very simplistic. Are any of you list makers? Labels: closet, clutter, nagging tasks, to do lists 1 cheers & encouragement Saturday, January 2, 2010
"Order is Heaven's first law."--Alexander PopeI'm taking baby steps in my whole clutter outlook. The reason I used to avoid cleaning was because it seemed so overwhelming. So my strategy for this is pretty simple--break it down and tackle something everyday. On days when I feel like doing more, I will. However, I'm going to schedule a little part every day to do. Last night I cleaned out underneath my sink. It's amazing to see some things that I've kept. Makeup I haven't used in a while or diffusers to blow dryers that caught on fire. Yes, true story. My blow dryer burst into flames while I was using it. So, baby steps it is. I felt good about doing that last night. I realized that I left my stuff out on the sink because of the clutter underneath the sink. I wasn't using the space well that I had. I also got a new cabinet for the bathroom so I'll have plenty of space for all my makeup and hair junk. I've realized how anxious clutter makes me feel. Do any of you feel that way? I've just let myself live with it for so long and avoid it but it really makes me have bad anxiety and just makes for clutter mentally too! I don't HAVE to be worrying about something that I have control over. On a side note, I've been watching the show Hoarders (and while I am NO way near that bad) I want to nip my disorganized nature in the bud so that I DON'T end up like those people when I get older. That show makes me so sad. One thing that I've learned while reading about clutter and trying to find some helpful tips is that organization shouldn't be the principle concern. First you need to get rid of things/declutter and THEN you can organize. It makes so much sense to me. Organizing will be so much easier when I rid myself of all the things that I don't need. So, I'm going to try and resist the urge to organize first. I can do that later. My game plan for today will be to tackle my closet. This could take more than today to be honest. I could possibly clothe a small army with the amount of clothing I own. This is going to be the hardest thing in the world for me. I'm always incorporating old things into new outfits so I cringe at the thought of getting rid of clothes. I actually might cry and I realize how absolutely pathetic that sounds. It brings me back to the days when my mom said that having 50 Barbies was absurd and I need to get rid of half of them. You want me to WHAT??! How can I choose to get rid of half of them?! It's like choosing between children!! So, I will be creating 5 piles: -Favorites --Things I wear often and absolutely love. -Recycle- Things I know I should give away because they don't fit or I don't wear them. -Garbage--Clothes that are just way too worn or homemade t-shirts. I mean really..why have I held on to all the t-shirts I made in high school for sports and other things?! -I don't know-- Things that I can't let go of for whatever reason but that I'm not really sure if I need it or will wear it. I have jeans that I don't really wear except for when I'm all out of jeans and I'm too lazy to do laundry. I have clothes that I think I might wear but I'm not sure. These clothes I'm going to put on the left side of my closet (away from the things I know I want) and if I don't wear them in 6 months from now they are GONE! - Excess: I don't REALLY need 5 white tank tops that are all basically the same or 4 black skirts of the same basic style. Pick the best and get rid of the rest! And now I'm off! And if you are bored, what are some of your most cluttered spaces in your house? What do you tend to hold on to? Any de-cluttering tips you've learned along the way? Labels: closet, clutter, order, organizing 1 cheers & encouragement Friday, January 1, 2010
EnergyMore often than not, I don't do the things I want to do because of a lack of energy and motivation. So, naturally, this month has to be about boosting my energy level and motivation! I thought this was a brilliant starting point that Gretchen used in the book. So I thought about all the things that keep me from having energy and motivation. I realized that a big part of my lack of energy and motivation is clutter and mess. My room, bathroom, car, purse, etc. are always cluttered and messy. It's not something I like about myself but it's just the way I am. It does keep me from doing alot of things because it's all so overwhelming. I also realized that I needed to exercise (because obviously that boosts your energy in general), eat better (I eat really crappy..and I feel it. I might be really skinny but I'm not healthy.) And the big driving force is my sleeping habits. I can never fall asleep and I never get enough sleep. Sometimes i wake up so late that my whole day is shot. I've decided that these are the areas that I need to look at while making my resolutions for this month. It's all about energy and order for me this month. I know that order and a better routine will boost my energy and I know that when I have alot of energy and get things accomplished I become extremely happy! :) My Resolutions for this month (I have a little handy check off sheet for each day): -Purge, declutter, organize & maintain: I am going on a crazy cleaning spree that could possibly take all month!! This includes: my room (closets!), bathroom, basement, car, computer/bookmarks, & email. -Tackle a nagging task: I always have these dumb nagging tasks that I put off for some reason. I'm going to make a list of these and get them done one by one. They are dumb things like: order new contacts, buy new glasses, resubscribe to Triple A. etc. -Keep a food diary: I want to be more aware of the things going into my body and I've done this before and it's made me realize the crap that I'm eating! -Follow the one minute rule: I'm such a procrastinator so this is a must! If something takes less than one minute, do it RIGHT now! Don't put it off! Things like folding a blanket, putting a dish in the dishwasher rather than putting it in the sink, etc. -Observe the evening tidy-up: I have a tendency to throw clothes on my floor and what not. Every night I will spend 5-10 minutes picking up. -Exercise: I never exercise. Ever. I'm not trying to lose weight with this resolution because I don't need to. However, I want to just get in shape and be ready for when my metabolism decides to stop working. -Sleep 8 hours a night: I have the worst sleeping habits. I don't get enough sleep. I go to bed way too late. I can't wake up. I feel lethargic alot. I was going to say my resolution is to go to sleep earlier and wake up earlier but the reality is--I'm young and I can have a crazy schedule! But on the nights when I can, I want to be sleeping 8 hours and getting to bed earlier. I can't commit to going to bed at the same time because that just won't work for me..so I'm just going to really make sleep a priority but let myself live! 3 cheers & encouragement  It all starts today!! I woke up this morning listening to "This is The First Day of My Life" by Bright Eyes because I feel like it really is the first day of my life! That sounds super corny but so be it. And as a point of clarification, when I mean I "woke up this morning" listening to that song..I mean, after the hangover wore off and I could handle hearing noises! I'm off to work on my Happiness Project now!! 0 cheers & encouragement |
about me
Jamie. 24. Unemployed college grad.
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