Happy New Year 2019!

I decided I didn’t want to set myself for failure and make ten New Years resolutions that I’d quit before Presidents Day. Leave it to the internet to come up with a new trend: Word of the Year or #WOTY. I figured why not give it a shot; it would be easier to commit to a word rather than another list. So after going over the most common choices, I decided on DISCIPLINE.

I have an uncanny knack for knowing everything I need to do, but find difficulty in executing my plans. I’m either distracted, lose interest, or merely let that evil voice in my head take over and let the damn self-doubting overtake me.

Discipline – Activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill

I grabbed a pencil and paper and wrote down the six areas of my life where my #WOTY will apply :

Self Care –
I plan to take days off from work “just because.” Usually, if I request time off, it’s because I have plans. Why not take a day off because I have nothing planned? I can read, sleep in, or go to lunch by myself. I stress out at work and earn the time, so I need to consider myself when I use it. Also, I want to be more disciplined with my health and fitness. Kick my bad habits and gain some good ones! Stress is something I’m kicking to the curb.

Personal Relationships:
I want to spend more time cultivating my relationships. Spend more quality time with friends and family. Between my Husbands crazy work schedules, we rarely go out. I may propose a date night at least once a month. My Daughter and I are going to devote one day a month to go to dinner or lunch to catch up since we aren’t together as much as before. My best friend Michelle and I are meeting up at a blog conference in September. We haven’t seen each other In years although we talk almost daily!  I’m planning fun activities for my Midlife Crew to explore this year. Our last event was dinner and a movie before Christmas. It was nice to catch up with them before the holidays. I am also determined to get rid of toxic people. I don’t have time to deal with those that will bring me down, pass on their judgmental attitudes or get on my damn nerves.

Work –
Work is work. I work with a great group of people which makes it easy. Being in the healthcare field is stressful. So many changes in the industry as well as our Corporation. I need to be more disciplined in the way I let the stress affect me. Also working with difficult people can drive you crazy. Not everyone can leave their issues at the time clock even though they need to. I work for a micromanager. That alone makes me want to pull my hair out. We never know what awaited us when we get there, I am making it my mission to do my best and leave knowing that that spent the previous 7.5 hours doing just that. When I clock out, I’m going all the BS behind.

Finances –
I am going to try a savings challenge. I’ve been a few online that sound easy enough. The money that I save I plan to use to take a trip or treat myself to a spa day, or save for a rainy day. I also want to cut down on unnecessary spending. Keep in mind this does not include Marshall’s. Our expenses have increased since our DD started college. She’s looking for a part-time job, which will help her with spending money, and also help her to contribute to all of the costs she’s incurring on our dime.

Blogging –
I need to be more disciplined when it comes to my blogging. That is a post in itself. Blogging is not easy for most. Especially those of us in midlife. I genuinely have a love/hate relationship with it. No matter how many times I want to give up (as recently as last month), something keeps telling me to keep pressing on. Hopefully one of these days I will achieve my blogging goals. I have to remember not to equate numbers with success and know the I am doing something that I have always wanted to do

Home –
I want to cook more, clean more, and relax more. Not necessarily in that order. Working all day drains me. There are days when I’m in my pajamas by 5:30 pm. I plan to be more disciplined in my daily home routines, this way I’ll be able to enjoy my weekends without having to stress about everything that I need to do.

Having a #WOTY might be the best route for me. I’m not planning on making drastic unrealistic changes, instead, fine-tune my life. I’m looking forward to making positive changes, growing, and learning in 2019. Let another year of my midlife journey begin!

What are your resolutions for 2019? Do you have a #WOTY?