2014 New Years Resolutions

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It’s that time of the year to talk New Year’s resolutions.  While I like to set myself things to achieve throughout the year, there’s something special about New Year’s resolutions.  I think because it’s a brand new year, it’s a fresh start, a clean slate. Psychologically, everyone is full of good intent for the year ahead. We want want to put the year behind them and get a fresh start. January 1 is a significant date for goal setting so embrace it! Here’s some things I want to work on in 2014:

1. OrderlinessOne of my resolutions this year is to be more organised and orderly.  If anyone had peaked in my spare bedroom or the shelves in my wardrobe they’d agree that this is something I need to work on. In my head, I want to be one of those people whose cosmetics drawer has the lipsticks lined up in colour order, and the paper tray on my desk actually stacked into proper piles, not just a big pile of disorganised papers – but it just doesn’t come naturally to me unfortunately.  I think half the problem is I’m impatient and always in a hurry which means I don’t take time to keep things organised. Anyway…  one of my work mates had this lovely pack of “virtues” cards, one of which was orderliness.  I’ve copied it out to stick on the fridge at home to remind me to be orderly.  I’ve already started at home by going through some of my old things and donating them. Plenty more work to be done though on this one…
2. Fitness2013 was the year of the marathon, so I have to say I was pretty fit (for me) at an endurance level.  Since the marathon though I haven’t kept up the distance running, which I’m ok with, but I do want to make sure I keep running a part of my life.  I have to say that 2013 I’ve felt the best I ever have mood wise.  In the past I’d go through what I’d call “low patches” of feeling a bit down in the dumps for no good reason. I’d eventually be my normal self again, but there was definite high and low patches.  On reflection of 2013, last year I didn’t have these lows. While I’ve always been active, I think the longer runs, challenging myself and being active 5-6 days a week was great for my mental well being.
   
   So, this year, I don’t think I’ll do another marathon (it’s a whole lot of time and running!), but I would really like to run a half marathon in under 2 hours.  This would be a big challenge for me as I’m not a fast runner.  My best half time so far is 2 hours 7 minutes so I’ll have a bit of training to do!I’d also like to continue to build on my strength so I want to go to Cross Fit 2-3 times a week and run 2-3 times a week. Hopefully this combination can help me with the under 2 hour half marathon goal!
   

   I’m not having a coffee here! I’m grabbing some water

3. Be a better food buyer

   
   I love good food.  This often makes for expensive grocery shopping. I get so tempted when I walk down the isles and see a new product that looks yummy and those extras add up pretty quickly. When it comes to planning meals, I also got a bit slack last year.  This meant extra trips to the supermarket and more money spent.

   This year my food resolutions are: to stick to my food budget, PLAN meals each week and eat a vegetarian meal or two each week.  I got Alison and Simon Holst Ultimate Vegetarian cookbook for Christmas so I’ve got plenty of inspiration for vege meals.

   I’ve recently started doing my grocery shopping online with Countdown and  I have to say I’m in love!  It’s so easy and there’s no temptation to throw extra things in your trolley and it helps you stick to a food budget.  The first time I did my shopping I thought I must have missed something major as it was so much cheaper than normal!  Plus if it’s more than you want to spend, you can review your list and delete things that you might not really need.  It also saves me a whole  hour on Saturday morning.  I do my shopping on a Thursday night online and pick up on the way home on Friday after work.  For $5, it’s a bargain.  I must say the personal shoppers do a fabulous job too – you get top quality produce and you can leave little notes like “please pick me an unripe avocado” so they get just what you want. 

   My resolutions this year are pretty simple and achievable – the way it should be!

   What are your resolutions for 2014?