Three Outcomes for the Year.

I am feeling inordinately pleased with myself for coming up with a system to organise myself for the year. Actually putting it into practice will be a whole different ballgame, but hopefully it will at least give me a push in the right direction. I pondered the Rule of 3 and came up with three outcomes I would like to see at the end of the year:

1. Be thinner and fitter - really I am more concerned with fitter than thinner. I lost about 30lbs over the course of a couple of years by changing my eating habits and ideally would like to lose another 7 to 10lbs (plus the small amount I put on over Christmas and the New Year, though I know that will go easily enough). That would take me officially into the healthy BMI range, although I am not sure I am truly overweight despite having a BMI of 26. I wear size 10 to 12 (UK) clothes - one reason I would like to lose a few pounds is to be a comfortable size 10, rather than sometimes finding I fall in between sizes. I did pretty well with exercise last year, mostly doing either circuit training or weights at the gym and yoga at home (though I now try to do a class at the gym most weeks). It did slip over the last couple of months though, and I need to get back into a good routine. 

2. Be enjoying more productive leisure time - lots more reading, listening to music, watching more films and TV (I typically watch very little, maybe 1 or 2 hours a week, and end up missing things I would like to see), spending time with my daughters, doing things that leave me feeling calmer and more relaxed.

3. Have a cleaner, less cluttered house. Badly needed! Living in the same house for 22 years and raising three children here has meant more and more stuff has accumulated. Getting it all truly under control is more than I can manage in the short term, but if I can at least turn things around so that they are getting better rather than worse I shall be happy. My plan is to try this 52 Weeks to an Organised Home challenge. 

For the first month I came up with the following three goals, one for each longer term outcome I am aiming for:

1. Get my eating habits under control - getting back to exercise too, but healthy eating is going to be my main focus for January.

2. Develop the habit of reading regularly - because I have got out of my reading groove.

3. Get kitchen and food storage organised - the first four weeks of the 52 Weeks to an Organised Home challenge focus on the kitchen.

More about how these break down into smaller steps later. Time to go and do some yoga!