New Year, New Blog

The reason I started a blog is still a little foggy.  I had been overwhelmed by the idea that I needed to get organized, and I had decided a blog would help keep me accountable. Years and years before, I had used LiveJournal and I had also created a blog about a fitness program I was starting.  Writing consistently helped keep me on track and I enjoyed the process. In 2018, when I decided I’d had enough of being disorganized, I naturally thought a blog would keep me checking in and making progress. 

I was wrong. 

This blog ended up just another task on my giant to do list that was constantly moved down on the priority list. Without systems or planning, I would procrastinate and end up writing a post on the day I wanted it done and it would not show my best effort.  I knew if I wanted to provide good content and help others, my blog posts needed more information, more detail, and more care. However, as a busy (and unorganized) mom of two young children, it became less and less of a priority until blog posting just wasn’t on the list at all anymore. 

The nail on the coffin came in 2020 when the pandemic hit and all attempts at improving my organization came to a halt. Before the pandemic, exhaustion was starting to creep in more and more and a feeling of “meh” was starting to take over.  Once the pandemic happened and I found myself working from home and “teaching” both of my kids at home, I was literally just trying to make it through the day.  I know we all felt a sense of “get through this day” as the world changed in so many ways.  Entertaining any ideas of putting forth more effort than bare minimal felt crazy. Can you be exhausted from simply thinking? The thought of trying to do more put me into a panic and really just froze me in place. I was tapped out. 

As 2022 approaches, a renewed sense of optimism and excitement has slowly creeped into my psyche. I am cautiously aware that I have been here before, and am therefore wary of any big lofty plans to overhaul my whole life.  There are buds of motivation here and there, and I am clinging to those as the new year begins its descent.  

As someone that is very interested in personal development, New Years is always a big event for me.  However, I can feel myself gravitating to what I always do for New Years: Make multiple resolutions in every area of life and try to change everything at once.  As if by some miracle, I am going to wake up on January 1st a completely new person who suddenly does not procrastinate, eats perfect, juggles all the balls in the air, and apparently doesn’t sleep (but feels energized!) 

However, this year, as I slowly inch towards the big 4-0, I feel like I am starting to “know” myself better, and to know better. There’s no way I am going to change All. The. Things on Day 1 of this next year. Instead, I’ve decided to take a different approach. 

A few years ago, I read the book The Miracle Morning. It was an amazing book, one that I will review in a separate post.  One of the biggest takeaways from the book was the idea of reaching a Level 10 in every area of your life. Hal Elrod, the author, listed 10 different areas of your life and asked you to rate each area on a scale from 1 to 10.  This is helpful to see what areas need some work and gives you a good goal of reaching a level 10 in each area. 

Last year in January, I decided I was going to complete a review every week and fill out a wheel with 10 different areas that were important to me and what level I rated each area that week. Somehow, I was able to stick with this weekly review (my consistency – sadly – surprises me) and I completed the weekly review 48 weeks out of 52.  I didn’t even realize I had been so consistent until I went back to review my weeks and find my average scores. 

Legacy me would look at all of these areas and choose goals related to each one. Then I would make a long list of tactics and sub-goals and on January 1st I would hit “GO”…and fizzle out quickly. 

This year, I’m going in a new direction. Instead of a long list of goals, I’m going to focus on my Wheel of Life. I am going to have one, single goal for 2022: Increase all of my scores on the Wheel of Life by the end of the year. 

I’m not going to say I will reach a Level 10 in every area by the end of the year. Part of me really wants to say I will reach a specific average by the end of the year, but nope (nice try, me). This time, I’m keeping it simple. Increase my average in every area, and that is all. 

What is a goal, without a plan? I love a good plan. So, how will I achieve this? For this whole year, I will be completing a Wheel of Life weekly (typically I do this on Sundays).  Following this, I will make a few small goals for the week to try and increase some of the lower scores.  At the end of each week, I will reassess, review my scores, determine what worked and what did not, and plan again. 

Tying this back to my plan for this blog in 2022, I will be tracking this journey with my blog posts. I want this blog to be about how to get a Level 10 in every area of your life using planning, personal development, and (since I’m a software developer) some tech.  My hope is that others will want to come along for the ride, but if it’s just me, that’s ok too.  Breaking out of this “meh” feeling is something to strive for, alone or with a community. 

Welcome to 2022.  I am glad you’re here. 

Let’s get started.