New Year's Re-Evaluation

I'm typically not a new year's resolution type of gal. I guess I just figure if it's a change that needs to be made, I shouldn't wait until the 1st to make it. Plus resolutions set me up for failure since I’m the queen of big ideas without the gift for follow through.

That being said, I’ve got to admit that the end of the year and beginning of a new one is the perfect time for reflection. You just can't help but look over the past 365 to see how far you've come and look ahead to where you'd like to be. Plus, with the handsome hubby out of town for the next 3 weeks, I have plenty of time to focus solely on myself and maybe even switch things up a bit. There's nothing like a little free time and some solitude to provide incentive to improve one's life. Actually, my natural inclination would be to curl up in a chair with a book, the remote, my computer and a bag of Chili Cheese Frito’s until he returns... But onward and upward. It's time instead for some re-evaluation and self reflection.

When I went to rehab one of the first things they had us do was account for our time on a daily basis. It's an exercise that has really stuck in my brain. We were challenged to write down exactly what we did with each 15 minutes of our day. Everything. Nothing was insignificant ~ what we ate, what we thought about, who we spent time with, and exactly what we spent time doing. They were all about balance, and they wanted us to see just how out of balance our lives had become.

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After starting the exercise I was totally shocked.

See, I always felt like I didn't exercise or cook healthy (shoot, cook at all) or spend any time in prayer because I was just too busy. Once I started keeping track of all the important tasks that filled my day, all the stuff that kept me busy, I realized how much time I wasted. It was downright incredible how much free time I really had. Plus, being the people pleaser that I am, it took me no time at all to rearrange things in my schedule. When I am accountable, I’m a whole new woman. Suddenly, it didn't make sense to spend 4 hours in front of the television when I knew others were going to be looking at that big block of wasted space in my day. And those extra 90 minutes a day spent lying in bed stressing and feeling bad about myself disappeared. I was magically able to make it to the gym. I ate better, I prayed and most importantly I diversified.

The simple task of writing things down allowed me to change the way I lived my life.

So, 5 years later I’ve recreated the dreaded time sheet. Over the next week I’m going to keep track of every minute of my day. I'm even going to track how I spend time at work. (If I can figure out how to post an excel spreadsheet, I’ll share the good the bad and the ugly with you guys.) It's just a little experiment. I'm curious just how out of balance I am right now. And what better way to re-evaluate?

If you're interested in taking part in the experiment let me know.

I’ll get you a copy to play along.