Last year on the Happier podcast, Gretchen Rubin and her sister, Liz Craft, introduced the awesome concept of “18 for 2018”. It’s a fun spin on the traditional New Year’s resolution.
Think of it like a bucket list for the year ahead.
Instead of putting all of your eggs in one basket with ONE BIG FAT PRESSURE-FILLED New Year’s Resolution, why not instead create a list of LOTS of things you’d like to do in 2019?
You can sprinkle this list with all sorts of things, big and small, fun and mundane, important and trivial.
Some of the things on my list last year were:
Finally get our front steps fixed (check!)
Read more books (check!)
Get our wills done (nope!)
Organize the basement (mostly!)
Get disability insurance (check!)
Get my car detailed every quarter (mostly!)
Paint my bathroom (check!)
Do @cleanmama three times a week (shaky at best!)
You might consider things like:
Putting your phone away between 6 and 10 pm
Trying a meditation app for 30 days (My favorite is the Calm app.)
Asking your mom to teach you three of her favorite recipes
Making Friday night movie nights
Hugging your spouse twice a day
Hiring a handyman to fix some nagging things in the house
De-cluttering your house (hint, hint!)
I’m still brainstorming my 19 for 2019, but here are some initial ideas:
Get training for our new rescue dog, Lily (Keep your eye out for her photo on Instagram!)
Visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Fallingwater house in western PA
Go camping at least eight times in the pop-up camper
Listen to Michelle Obama’s book, Becoming, on Audible
Write in my 5-minute Journal every day
Try the 4-7-8 breathing technique for sleep and stress
Take a 15-minute walk every day
Use the 5-Second Rule to launch out of bed (especially on these cold mornings!)
So what might YOU put on your 19 for 2019 list??! Tell me, tell me!