Five Things for a Happier and More Productive Scott

Call it an addendum to my New Years Resolutions, call it just a little list of things that I think will help me overall if I start doing them everyday, but I came up with these over the course of the weekend and told myself that I would put them to work for the greater benefit of, well, me! Hopefully this list will be a little simpler than most, and thus I’ll be able to actually follow it once in a while. Any other helpful ideas for a happier well-being???

1. Put dishes in the dishwasher the same day that they are dirtied…
…to avoid another 30+ minute scrub session like the one I endured this evening. Dealing with the messes while they’re fresh should also prevent having to soak things for an otherwise unnecessary amount of time to loosen three-day old cooking remnants, plus in the event that I ever do have actual female guests coming over sometime in the future, well, I’m sure that they’ll appreciate the kind gesture, too…

2. Start getting up half an hour earlier in the mornings.
Of course, the main reason for this is because I’ve been late for work a little too much recently and I want it to stop before someone opts to make it an issue. I like to argue that I wouldn’t be late if we’d have moved already and I’d only be five minutes away, but that’s a tough argument to make when you’ve been commuting downtown for nearly three years already.

Also, I’m too rushed in the mornings and it leads to unnecessary stress, so hopefully allowing myself a little extra time will help to alleviate that as well. I’d like to make my bed every morning because, hey, for some reason beds that have been made just sleep better at night, it seems; a little time for more to eat than an instant breakfast or a bagel would be nice; and also, I’m told that plants are the most receptive to being watered first thing in the morning, so that would be a good bonus, too. It’d give me time to read the headlines, take in the morning air, or even do a few sit-ups … you get the idea…

3. Follow my exercise schedule to the nose!
I want to do it, but for some reason I just keep missing the ball here and there, and frankly, it’s got to stop. I’m usually good for a couple of days, then I end up slipping for three or four, and then back on again, and I even know myself that it would be easier to just stick with a consistent schedule, so here it is: forty-five minutes on the elliptical every other day – period.

I’m also looking to fit crunches, lighter exercise (like walks through the park), and swimming in there as well, but for the time being, these no longer count as a substitute for my regular aerobics.

4. Write at least one article every day – no excuses.
My on again, off again habits seem to extend over to the realm of writing, too, so here’s another area that needs to be broken. It’s not a lack of topics to write about, either – some of it, I think, is self-imposed writer’s block, some of it is just being lazy, but unless I’m ready to take being a writer off of my list of things that I want to do (and I’m not!), I need to break this cycle.

P.S. And for the record, blog postings don’t count. Articles, columns, short stories, or book chapters are all ok.

5. Take at least fifteen minutes to just relax.
Maybe in the morning during that “extra time” that I mentioned earlier, maybe at the end of the day once everything is done and I’m ready to just unwind, but taking some time to just clear my head and kick back certainly can’t be a bad thing. With my garden out on the balcony almost done and the temperatures at night being quite inviting, I’m looking forward to spending a little more time outside taking in the air and enjoying the Floridian lifestyle for all that it’s worth…

1 Comment

  1. hahaha… writing. Wow. I’ve pretty much stopped doing that one. It frustrates me to no end, because I know I’m good at it, other people know I’m good at it, but I don’t have the contacts and the time to build said contacts to actually establish a writing career. Hopefully once the baby’s born I’ll have some time at home (that I’m not taking crap out of her mouth) in which I can write, especially if Dani’s taking afternoon classes and I’m at home, watching little baby ____.

    Of course, I’d have to figure out what to write about; that’s always my biggest problem. And the normal “being a dad” shite pisses me off. The only guy that ever got it right was Jeff Foxworthy:

    “And you gotta be careful with ’em, too: you play with ’em to hard and they will spew like a can o’ beer! I like to shake ma daughter up’n hand ‘er to people I don’t like. ‘Here, hang on ta her a sec, wouldja?'”

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