The Good Girl Gone Blog

Week 3: 15 minute cleaning May 16, 2010

Week 2 recap:

Unlike Week 1's epic fail, Week 2 went surprisingly well! Because I left my goal pretty open ended and vague, I ended up completing it. I made sure to drink water for at least one meal a day and it definitely wasn't too difficult. In fact, I think I'm going to try to make this goal a permanent part of my daily routine.

Week 3 overview:

This week, I'll be moving into a new apartment and starting a new job. Even though I'm going to be very busy, I need to make time to keep my new home looking tidy and beautiful. In general, I tend to organize rather than clean, meaning I'll dump out the entire contents of my closet and slowly put pieces back in an organized fashion. This tends to leave my room messier than before.

I don't think that cleaning has to be painful- if  I do a little everyday, I won't end up driving myself crazy having to clean the entire apartment at once. Plus, I'm sure a lot of people will want to come visit, and I don't want to come off as a slob.

So, here's what I propose:

This week, I'm going to make it my goal to designate 15 minutes a day for cleaning/tidying my apartment.

This could include small tasks such as emptying the dishwasher, keeping the bathroom organized, etc.  I don't want to make it super specific, because I'd like to succeed!

Anyone want to do it with me?

Week 2: drink more water May 08, 2010

Week 1 recap:

Well, I'm slightly ashamed to admit that last week's goal didn't work out as well as I thought. Though I tried to walk/jog 2 miles a day, I didn't make it past Wednesday. You see, the thing is, I ended up hurting my back (most likely due to being pulled by two very strong dogs) and didn't feel up to exercising for a few days. After that, I just decided to give up. I know I'm not off to a good start, but the truth is, we can't all do everything.

Last week's goal was a little too much for me- I should have made it more vague and told myself to "do something active for 30 minutes a day" so that I could vary my workouts. Walking got old after just a few days, and I'm the kind of girl that needs to make exercising as exciting as possible. Hopefully last week's failure will help push me to take some of the free fitness classes at the Owings Mills JCC.

Week 2 overview:

For this week's goal, I thought I'd try something a little more manageable- drinking more water. Water is great for you- it helps flush out the bad things in your body and makes up for all the fluid you lose daily. I'm definitely guilty of choosing sugary drinks over water most of the time, and after my last trip to the dentist, it definitely wouldn't hurt to start making better drink choices.

So, here's what I propose:

This week, I'm going to make it my goal to consciously choose water over other less healthy options.

I'm not saying I'm going to eliminate everything else (please, with my late night juice cravings, I can't go cold turkey on this one) but I'm definitely going to try to drink more water.

So, who's with me?

A new blog series: weekly goals May 02, 2010

In general, I think I work best when I'm busy. When I don't have anything specific planned, I tend to ruminate on things I have no control over and take way  too many naps. I've been home for just over a week now, my things are all unpacked and my rooms are clean. I've even been making my beds at both my mom's and dad's houses, which says a lot for me.

The thing is, even though I desperately wanted to come home, I'm finding that I have a ton of down time. Sure, I could watch all the TV I want, but that gets old really fast. With graduation in two weeks and the uncertainty of whether or not I have a job for the summer, I find myself thinking about things rather than doing them.

As a result, I've decided I need to motivate myself. I've always believed in taking small steps, in challenging yourself to do your best and not pushing yourself too hard. That's why I wanted to try a new project. I want to give myself small, attainable weekly goals. Although I only have to perform these tasks for one week, I hope to incorporate many of them into my every day routine.

This week, I thought I needed to give myself a kick start to getting active. The weather is nice and I've been spending too much time inside eating junk food and watching TV online. I think that walking (or maybe even jogging!) two miles a day wouldn't be too hard, especially if I can walk one of the dogs or jog on the treadmill and catch a half hour TV show, which is precisely what I did this evening.

Guys, these may seem like a small goals, but I need all the encouragement I can get. I'm really looking forward to this project and can't wait to come up with more goals for the upcoming weeks. Of course, you're more than welcome to participate and I'd love to get your feedback and ideas.

So get off your butt and go outside- the weather is gorgeous (at least in Baltimore) and it's time to get active!