History would say, probably not. I get distracted easily, and I have no sense of time. However, I have read a few books and a few emails from people I truly admire and right now I’m motivated to at least try.

I want to write, that is the truth…yet, I do not do it – what is up with that? I have blogs, I have journals, I have planners and notebooks galore, yet I spend most of my time sitting in front of my computer either playing a game or watching some YouTube videos. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram are all time syncs. You enter in at 8:00 am and exit somewhere around 10:00 pm not really sure where the time went. I want to eat healthy, I want to live a life that was actually worth the resources I consume.

I enjoy researching; I love to read about and watch videos on things I’m interested in, yet I do not actually do these things. Lame. I need to implement the changes I’ve learned about. I need to put action to my thoughts and my faith. Even if I do not write a book worth publishing, if I never crochet a blanket someone would want to display, even if I never actually get meal planning down to a fine art, I will never even produce mediocre results without actually doing these things.

So my question is, can I be consistent? Can I actually schedule out my day to make learning French, living healthy, crocheting, and writing activities that I do on a consistent basis? Can these things be my new habits instead of mindlessly eating as I watch other people’s videos of them living their dreams or reading other people’s thoughts? Can I make this my ‘job’?

We are about to find out. Even though I have a lot of activities coming up, I need these things to become part of my life, not just my latest research projects. I need to devote time to them, daily. Change does not take place on its own – there is no magic that causes it to be instantaneous. So how is this going to happen and will it go down in flames like many of my other personal challenges? I am going to layout my plan here, and although there may be a few bumps in the road, I do feel rather optimistic about this challenge. The reward for ending 2018 with being able to look back and say, I wrote something nearly every day, even if I’m the only one that reads it, we ate well 80% of the time, I crocheted lots of single strands and now my stitch is consistent, and to be able to say more than just “merci” in French…all of those things will give me a sense of pride and accomplishment and I will feel better. Those are my rewards.

Plan:

• Daily activity: I do not have to run a marathon, it can be just doing some simple stretching, but it is more than just getting up only to sit in front of the computer for hours on in.
• Eat 80/20: eventually that will change, but with some of the things I have planned, I just want to be able to reign in my desire to eat all the things. I am trying to make the switch to low-to-no salt, oil, and sugar, that’s where the 20% comes in. By the end of the year, I hope to have that even lower, but for now 20% is doable.
• Write: I love doing morning pages, and although that is extremely helpful for getting random thoughts out of my head, it is not actually writing. So along with morning pages, I want to add in daily journal entries and creative writing. I will use writing props, some days, and some days I will work on my book. Good, bad, horrid – does not matter, there will be writing.
• Blogging: I have multiple blogs, yet I hardly blog anymore. Time to get on that. The entries do not have to always be amazing, but you do not get better at doing something unless you continue to try.
• French: I will do my daily Duolingo steps, and I will continue to wager my Lingots (you have to be in Duolingo to understand those), to motivate me to continue my ‘streaks’. I also have a book, in French, that I am reading. It may be a higher level than I’m ready for, but it is what I have so I will continue to work through it and my French in Action series.
• Crochet: I will take 15 minutes a day, minimum, to practice this. I get frustrated because I am not able to do it consistently or without looking. yes, I expect myself to be able to do that without really knowing how.
• Read: I have gotten so behind on my reading! I owe way too many people reviews for their books, and I have a ton of books that I want to read just for my enjoyment. I am going to devote 30 minutes a day to reading, it will turn into more, but I plan to ease back into it.

I will be updating these items in July, and I will post progress here and there. No one may ever read this, but I am using it as a place to keep myself accountable.