The Non-Writing Goals for 2015

Fitness:



Know what I've realized? I haven't been truly fit since I started writing. Don't worry. It's not you, it's me... and what I mean by that is I am capable of total and utter obsession, but with a limited number of things. And fitness, to my poor addled brain, requires this obsession. I've never been able to do it unless it is the THING I am doing.



This has to change and I know I need to figure out how, but in the short run, I think I really need to allow the obsession in January so I can get some habits formed. I followed Weight Watchers SO CAREFULLY and SO SPECIFICALLY in September and October and lost a grand total of two pounds. That is a lot of work for a whole lotta nothin... I'm thinking this time around I need to do something I've thought was taboo since I was about 16. I need to get drastic. I'm thinking I will start with a cleanse. I've never done one, but hey, why not? I will look for one that is said to be a nice metabolism re-set.



The other trick I plan to mix into following low-end Weight Watcher points is NO REFINED... no white flour or sugar, no highly processed anything, no fake sugars (really the only sugar source I''m going to permit is fruit and the bit of brown sugar I can't skip on my oatmeal). I think the chemistry ban may help... a bit caveman-ish, but NOT skipping the fruit. Anyone who tells you cavemen didn't eat fruit doesn't understand hunter/gatherer culture. I DO get though, how carbs can prime you for hunger, so I think I may segregate fruit to the early hours of the day (fruit and carbs before noon, none after? Still working on this)



The final eating trick I learned from my friend Leslie... mini-fasts, she called them... confining all food to an 8-hour period. Our bodies, biologically, expect feast famine cycles and work most efficiently this way, so I intend to eat all my food between 10 AM and 6 PM...



Part of that trick ALSO wants you to exercise while your body is depleted to burn of the last of the prior day's food, but walking to work sets me up for this—though I will need to add something weekends.



The gym is also going to make a reappearance. Hell, I'm paying for it already and haven't been since October... And that Flex and Strengthen thing... I need to work it in... I will spend some time New Year's Day hammering this out...







The Day Job:



I know I grumble about this because it interferes with my writing, but I honestly consider what I do very important. I do research geared at reducing health disparities and making my med school and health system a more equitable and welcoming place to work and study for people of all backgrounds. It is stuff that matters.



And I've struggled since our office became this big behemoth. I went from being the single researcher for a physician with disparities interests to being part of a 20-person team with a cubicle. I am an introvert who needs to dive into my tunnel to be productive and I feel like I've really fallen down on this, so this year I pledge to work out a system whereby I can be more productive at this important work—productive enough by day that I can leave it at the office, which is something I've struggled with this year.







My cousins and our families rafting this summer

Family:



Some of this has to do with HWMNBMOTI so does not belong online... suffice it to say we've talked and have a plan that I am committed to. The other is my kids. At 19 and 16 they often seem to not need me, but I feel like my daughter has spun her wheels a bit this year and needs some help finding traction and my son is just entering the 'get that application ready for college' part of his life, so they deserve my diligence.





Reading:



Remember my pledge for one book a month by a blog buddy? If NOT, you can join this, TOO. It is HERE. I really encourage you to--it is a great way to be mutually supportive. I ALSO intend to read a classic every month. And then a third book (when the classic isn't super long) that falls into the genres I try to write in so I can keep up a bit. Three books a month seems about right for my reading speed when I consider I also read a book of my own most months as part of the editing process...





Blogging:



Man, has my blogging commitment fallen off. Part of this is the stress of that reciprocity that I KNEW with the day job I couldn't do as well. And I think that is right. I really can't keep up several days a week if I intend to do it right. So I think my plan is this: Twice a week, plus a guest here and there (maybe twice a month). Monday and Thursday seems to make the most sense (except the first week of the month where Insecure Writer Support Group would move me by a day). That gives me three days to do my reciprocity attempt, eh? That is the part I really need to be diligent about—visiting a few (6-10) blogs EVERY day instead of just the days I blog. I should probably clean up my blog roll, too, to better reflect who is still visiting ME regularly so I see your new stuff as it goes up and not just when I am “back-visiting”







Balance:



This is the trickiest part and I know it. I am STILL suffering burn-out from that serial and the shifts at work. I haven't found my balance yet, but by-golly, I MUST. For me this means getting a bit rigid about a schedule for a while, I think. I can't seem to fit it all in if I haven't given it a place. Everything takes more time than it seems like it should, unless I've set the timer and said “it only gets this today”... So January I am going to SCHEDULE my balance, tweak that schedule in February, and hopefully by March I will have fallen into it more naturally.



So that's the PLAN *BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA*