The 2016 Project

I have never set a resolution before, and honestly think that they're usually just a great way to set yourself up to fail and feel bad about yourself (unless you're my sister, because that woman is disciplined)! This year I'm trying something new based on an idea from a former coworker, not a resolution per se, but mini goals for each month of the year. I figure if I blog about it then I'm more likely to do it because I'm publicly holding myself accountable! So this is me asking you to hold me accountable.

 I didn't want to get too crazy with things I know I'll never stick to (hello intense work out routines or dieting) but I did want to challenge myself to do a few small things for a fairly short period of time to make myself and my life better. I created these monthly goals with the hopes that I enjoy them and will potentially carry them on or do them again in the future. So here goes!

Updated in January of 2017 with the results:

January: Stand an extra hour a day at work. I stand for the first two hours of my work day and then typically sit the rest of the day. For the month of January I'm going to stand for another hour in the afternoon.

I actually hated doing this. However, I stuck to it all but one day when I was in meetings the entire day. Supposedly you're more productive when you stand, but for me, that's not the case. I was too concentrated on how tired my legs were or when I could sit down to focus. I think my standing in the morning works because I'm eating breakfast and getting caught up on emails during that time. Whereas the second time I would stand was after lunch was when I had projects to work on, and I had trouble focusing. 

February: Do a weekend long digital detox. I've always wanted to do this, but I think it requires some planning. It's happening in Feb!

I was really excited/nervous to try this one out, and it was honestly kind of the best. Mark and I had been crazy busy all of February and had one weekend "off" before we were getting ready to move, so we decided this would be the best time to take a little break from technology. We made our own rules which included: no phones, no TV, and no computers. We did, however, go see a movie. So not 100% tech-free. At first it was a little weird because I always reach for my phone if I'm waiting for anything, or just to confirm that it is in fact right next to me. I quickly got over that and embraced the phone-freeness. We kept busy all weekend running errands and packing, so I think that definitely made it so that we didn't get bored without our usual modes of entertainment. It was really refreshing to not feel like I needed to document every moment of my life or like I needed to keep up with every moment of everyone else's life too. All-in-all I enjoyed the weekend, and would recommend it! It's the perfect way to unwind and GSD.

March: No eating out. I think this one will be the most challenging because I don't enjoy cooking and I love trying new restaurants, but Mark thinks it will be a breeze. Wish us luck!

March was a bit of a roller coaster with the new addition to our family. For the most part not eating out was fine and I didn't given it a lot of thought, but after we got Louie I was longing for someone else to prepare my food. The first weekend with him was exhausting and cooking was the last thing I wanted to do. We stayed strong, though! We both did eat out for work functions once though, but we didn't want to be antisocial, so we let it slide :)

April: Go somewhere new. I know this one is pretty ambiguous, but I kind of want to leave it that way. It could be a store I've always meant to check out, or a new city. 

Okay, so I completed this one, but half-heartedly. I never went anywhere new with the thought that it would count for my April resolution. I had hoped to go to a new beach with Louie, but it never panned out. I did, however, go to several new restaurants, a new State (NE), and new parks, but none of them with the intention of going somewhere new. Oh well, we'll count it!

May: Drink warm lemon water every morning. This is always so hyped up and I figure what's the harm in trying it out for a month?

I did a full post about this experience here! 

June: Take a class. I keep talking about taking a cooking or photography class, so June will be the month I make it happen!

My friend Taryn and I took a croissant making class at Sur la Table and it was amazing. It was so fun to make something so complicated and they were honestly the best croissants I've ever had. I would highly recommend taking a croissant class and I loved my experience at Sur la Table. Our chef instructor said it's her favorite class, so I'm glad we picked it. Not sure I'll be making any of these flaky pastries on my own anytime soon, but maybe one day! We're already talking about what class we'll take next :) 

July: No desserts during the week. I did a little editing here and moved some months around because I wanted to add this one in. I thought about doing this when I first came up with The 2016 Project at the beginning of the year, but thought it would be too hard. Well now I want to get my butt in gear and give it a go. I have a major sweet tooth. I'm talking a little dessert every single night and I have to fight hard not to have dessert at work too. So I'm hoping being held accountable here and having strict rules around when I can and cannot have dessert will make it easier to abstain! Wish me luck. 

I'll be blunt: this was a bitch. I have a major sweet tooth and so every night without dessert I was whining to Mark. He probably hated this one more than me because of how annoying I was 😂I was actually successful though! I ended up counting both Friday and Sunday as part of the weekend, and therefore dessert days, but I had to do that to survive. I definitely won't be making this a regular thing, but I'm glad to know I could do it if I wanted or needed to. 

August: Try a new work out class. I'm the type of person who doesn't like going somewhere without knowing exactly what's going on and how everything works, so new work out classes at new places kind of give me anxiety, but I'm determined to give one a shot!

I was pretty proud of myself for trying barre a few months ago, and have started going every week because I enjoy it so much, so I was happy to try another new workout class. I wasn't sure what to pick, but settled on Pilates because I'm not a huge cardio person. I thought it was going to be awful and just an hour of ab exercises, but it actually wasn't bad at all. There was a fair amount of abs, but also a lot of arm and leg work too. I have a few weeks off between seasons of volleyball so I think I may keep going to this class as a replacement workout for a few weeks!

September: No Shopping. I think the last time I gave up shopping was for Lent five years ago, so this should be interesting! I'm sure I'll save a lot of money though. 

This was a tough one! As I'm sure you've gathered I love shopping and I'll be honest it made coming up with blog content a little tricky. I know that's terrible and technically I shouldn't have to spend money to write blog posts, but I enjoy styling new things. That's what gets me excited. I basically had a running list of things to buy once the month was over. Lol. It worked out that I wasn't shopping in September though because I bought an unexpected plane ticket to go home so that extra money came in handy! Definitely think I will need to do more no shopping months in the future.

October: Volunteer. Self explanatory.

The University of Minnesota had an Alumni Day of Service where they coordinated volunteer events all over the country for alumni to participate in. A fellow gopher and I headed up to SF to spend an afternoon helping out at the Marin Food Bank. It was a very similar experience to FMSC if you've ever been!

November: Try a new recipe every week. Doing this one in the hopes that I'll magically fall in love with cooking. Crossing my fingers!

I was actually pretty good about this one. Some of the recipes were extremely simple, but I think I actually stuck to it! Unfortunately, no love for cooking has emerged. 

December: Read a book I wouldn't normally pick out. I consider myself to be a pretty voracious reader (one book a week) but I tend to stick to the same types of books, so I want to try and pick something that's outside of my norm. 

I didn't finish it in the month of December, but I got halfway through (still reading!) Attached and have been devouring it. It's technically a self-help book about relationships and the three different attachment styles that adults fall into. Even though I'm in a relationship, it's still really interesting. It will make you understand yourself and everyone else in your life so much better! Be warned that you'll start assessing everyone in your life to see whether you think they're an anxious, secure, or avoidant!

I will update this page monthly (it's also in the nav bar!) with the status of each goal. I hope you follow along!

xo Catherine