Welcome back to Austen Promises and the Writer’s Journall!
This is not really what I intended to write about when I sat down today, but it’s a topic that is foremost in my mind right now. It’s also one I keep coming back to, because I have yet to manage to actually take care of myself.
What got me thinking about this? Posts in a writer’s group on Facebook, my unexplained tiredness this past week, and the new calorie counting/exercise logging app on my tablet all brought the idea of taking care of myself to the fore.
Why is taking care of myself (or yourself, if this resonates with you) so important? In my case, I am my sole provider. All I have dependent on me is two dogs, but still, no one else is going to take care of them for me. If I get sick or suffer an injury or affliction of some kind and can’t write, none of us eat. Well, I like food too much to not eat, but we may end up eating while we live in a cardboard box somewhere. So, I know in my head that I must eat right, exercise, get enough sleep, and have God time every day.
Earlier in the month, I sat down and listed three areas that I wanted to improve on. Most folks do this in January, but I was a teacher for a lot of years, and as a teacher, August was the beginning of the year. Therefore, instead of New Year’s resolutions in January, I have always made them in August. Works for me. 😉
What three areas are you working on, you ask? They are pretty basic: my relationship with God, myself (self-care), and work. My goals and objectives for my relationship with my Savior I will keep to myself. That’s between Him and me. J The rest, however, I want to talk about. I think that maybe talking about them like this will cement them in my head and help me stick to them. Maybe I’ll even give you all some updates on down the road. 🙂
My self-care goal has three objectives: re-institute the daily God time that fell by the wayside this summer, exercise (daily walk plus light weight lifting three times a week), and having a “spa day” every Friday or Saturday night to do things like my nails and other beauty-related tasks. You know, girly stuff. 🙂
My work goal has two objectives: write 1,700 words per day, every day, and do two to three posts for my side-job every day.
None of the goals and objectives sound difficult. The problem comes in with the implementation of them. Remembering to do them, and planning time for them, is the issue. So far … well … I am not perfect. I did have a bit of a spa day this past weekend. I did take a walk with each of my dogs, I did write over 1,700 words one day last week, and did one post. This is progress, but not enough to please me. I will probably have to redo my planner to make sure this stuff is all listed every day, so I can check it all off.
Really, none of these goals ought to be difficult to achieve, right?
Come back next Wednesday for another peek into my journal! <3
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