One-Week Resolutions
Wednesday, December 18th, 2024 12:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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goals_on_dwThis time of year, I usually write something about New Year's resolutions. Here I'm going to cover the idea of one-week resolutions. If you're daunted by the idea of longer-term resolutions, but unsatisfied by one-day resolutions, then one week is a timeframe worth exploring. Let's look at some ideas...
While searching for inspiration online, I found this gem of advice:
"Don’t commit to doing something for a year if you haven’t done it for a week."
Break down a longer resolution into one-week segments. For example, if your goal is to eat healthier, you could feature a different fruit or vegetable each week. If your goal is fitness, choose a different type of exercise per week. You can do this for as many weeks as you wish, and each one only lasts seven days. The variety helps maintain interest and minimize the tendency to wear out.
Buy yourself a 5-piece French Wardrobe in a current fashion color. Every year, a handful of colors are designated "in" so they're easy to find. These are some for Autumn 2024/Winter 2025, then Spring 2025. Here's a look back at Autumn 2021/Winter 2022. When you buy a bunch of them together, you can make sure they mix and match well: for instance, a sweater set, bottoms, scarf, and a piece of jewelry. Here's an example of a warm-weather core wardrobe and six clusters in accent colors. This is a great way to update your wardrobe without breaking your budget or winding up with clothes that don't match.
Change your wardrobe. Start by using clothes you already own, just rearrange them differently. Make a capsule wardrobe and live with it for a week. 4x4 and Whatever's Clean 13 are good choices, or two different Stress Dress sets that mix and match well. Do you have a Common Wardrobe or some other set of basics? You could also choose a particular color, pattern, or other accent cluster and see how you feel when you wear it regularly. At the end of the week, if you've discovered something you wish to pursue further, you can go shopping with a more focused goal.
Date a diet or lifestyle. A diet typically has lots of specific details; a lifestyle is something like the Mediterranean, flexitarian, or climatarian approaches which are more fluid. There are many options to improve what you eat, depending on your goals. Here is a list of diets ranked by quality.
Date an exercise. Choose a new type of exercise, preferably one that requires few or no supplies so you don't lose a ton of money if you hate it. Often you can find a class to get you started, or if you prefer, there are many free videos online. Try it out for a week to see how it goes. You have no obligation to keep it if you decide it's not for you. This list has basic exercise types. This list has lots of formal styles. Here are some individual exercises to try.
Date a hobby. Choose a new hobby, preferably one that requires few or no supplies so you don't lose a ton of money if you hate it. Alternatively you can look for a class, community center, or craft store that offers opportunities to explore a hobby using their equipment -- a good choice for things like spinning that require specialized equipment. Try it out for a week to see how it goes. You have no obligation to keep it if you don't love it. Here is a list of 1000+ hobbies to consider. These are cheap and free hobbies.
Date a meditation. Mindfulness is relaxing. There are so many interesting options to explore. Unlike many goals that require tools and supplies, this one doesn't. It's free and you can do it anywhere. Here are some tips to get started.
Date a worthy cause. Pick any current issue and study it for a few days. Then choose at least one activity toward that goal. Volunteermatch has a list of causes. Here's a list of social movements and one of global issues.
Date a virtue. Focus on improving one positive trait for one week. This is a great choice if you want ways to feel better about yourself. Here is a list of virtues and some ways to practice a virtue of the week.
Do all your plant shopping. This is best done in late January to early February, so you've got a good stack of garden catalogs to choose from but all the good stuff hasn't sold out yet. If you prefer ordering online, you can do it earlier just by searching what you want or visiting your favorite websites. The big advantage to cramming it together like this is that you can cross-reference which place has what items and who has the best prices. You can space out the actual purchases if your budget requires that.
Family focus week. Take a week to concentrate on your relatives and relationships. Put them first; if there's a conflict with other activities, politely decline and explain you're focusing on family. Spend as much time together as possible. Look for meaningful activities like face-to-face conversation or cooking. You might pick a theme for each day, like dance night or game night. You can also do this one with friends.
Get to know your town. Drive, bus, bike, or walk around your town. Shop at new stores. Eat at new restaurants. Watch for flyers announcing classes, concerts, flea markets, or other activities that might interest you. At the end of your week, share your discoveries with friends and family if they haven't joined you already.
Give up something for a week. You might skip television, social media, meat, soda, shopping, driving -- anything you'd like to reduce because it has drawbacks.
Make gratitude notes and pass them around. This encourages you to notice good things more often. It also helps uplift people around you. In relationships particularly: "for better or for worse, never for granted."
Make seven days of topics for your blog posts. This way you don't have to think about what to write every day, it's already set up.
Meal prep for the week. Do most or all of your food planning, shopping, and preparation in advance. This can save a lot of time and money.
Read a new cookbook and make one or more recipes from it. This is a fun family activity, and a good choice if you have food-related goals like a more healthy or Earth-friendly diet.
Read something every day. You might focus on a newspaper, a newsfeed, a given topic, your blogroll, whatever interests you that has fresh content frequently.
Schedule a "big picture review" during the first week of each month. This will help you keep on track with longer-term goals and life balance.
While searching for inspiration online, I found this gem of advice:
"Don’t commit to doing something for a year if you haven’t done it for a week."
Break down a longer resolution into one-week segments. For example, if your goal is to eat healthier, you could feature a different fruit or vegetable each week. If your goal is fitness, choose a different type of exercise per week. You can do this for as many weeks as you wish, and each one only lasts seven days. The variety helps maintain interest and minimize the tendency to wear out.
Buy yourself a 5-piece French Wardrobe in a current fashion color. Every year, a handful of colors are designated "in" so they're easy to find. These are some for Autumn 2024/Winter 2025, then Spring 2025. Here's a look back at Autumn 2021/Winter 2022. When you buy a bunch of them together, you can make sure they mix and match well: for instance, a sweater set, bottoms, scarf, and a piece of jewelry. Here's an example of a warm-weather core wardrobe and six clusters in accent colors. This is a great way to update your wardrobe without breaking your budget or winding up with clothes that don't match.
Change your wardrobe. Start by using clothes you already own, just rearrange them differently. Make a capsule wardrobe and live with it for a week. 4x4 and Whatever's Clean 13 are good choices, or two different Stress Dress sets that mix and match well. Do you have a Common Wardrobe or some other set of basics? You could also choose a particular color, pattern, or other accent cluster and see how you feel when you wear it regularly. At the end of the week, if you've discovered something you wish to pursue further, you can go shopping with a more focused goal.
Date a diet or lifestyle. A diet typically has lots of specific details; a lifestyle is something like the Mediterranean, flexitarian, or climatarian approaches which are more fluid. There are many options to improve what you eat, depending on your goals. Here is a list of diets ranked by quality.
Date an exercise. Choose a new type of exercise, preferably one that requires few or no supplies so you don't lose a ton of money if you hate it. Often you can find a class to get you started, or if you prefer, there are many free videos online. Try it out for a week to see how it goes. You have no obligation to keep it if you decide it's not for you. This list has basic exercise types. This list has lots of formal styles. Here are some individual exercises to try.
Date a hobby. Choose a new hobby, preferably one that requires few or no supplies so you don't lose a ton of money if you hate it. Alternatively you can look for a class, community center, or craft store that offers opportunities to explore a hobby using their equipment -- a good choice for things like spinning that require specialized equipment. Try it out for a week to see how it goes. You have no obligation to keep it if you don't love it. Here is a list of 1000+ hobbies to consider. These are cheap and free hobbies.
Date a meditation. Mindfulness is relaxing. There are so many interesting options to explore. Unlike many goals that require tools and supplies, this one doesn't. It's free and you can do it anywhere. Here are some tips to get started.
Date a worthy cause. Pick any current issue and study it for a few days. Then choose at least one activity toward that goal. Volunteermatch has a list of causes. Here's a list of social movements and one of global issues.
Date a virtue. Focus on improving one positive trait for one week. This is a great choice if you want ways to feel better about yourself. Here is a list of virtues and some ways to practice a virtue of the week.
Do all your plant shopping. This is best done in late January to early February, so you've got a good stack of garden catalogs to choose from but all the good stuff hasn't sold out yet. If you prefer ordering online, you can do it earlier just by searching what you want or visiting your favorite websites. The big advantage to cramming it together like this is that you can cross-reference which place has what items and who has the best prices. You can space out the actual purchases if your budget requires that.
Family focus week. Take a week to concentrate on your relatives and relationships. Put them first; if there's a conflict with other activities, politely decline and explain you're focusing on family. Spend as much time together as possible. Look for meaningful activities like face-to-face conversation or cooking. You might pick a theme for each day, like dance night or game night. You can also do this one with friends.
Get to know your town. Drive, bus, bike, or walk around your town. Shop at new stores. Eat at new restaurants. Watch for flyers announcing classes, concerts, flea markets, or other activities that might interest you. At the end of your week, share your discoveries with friends and family if they haven't joined you already.
Give up something for a week. You might skip television, social media, meat, soda, shopping, driving -- anything you'd like to reduce because it has drawbacks.
Make gratitude notes and pass them around. This encourages you to notice good things more often. It also helps uplift people around you. In relationships particularly: "for better or for worse, never for granted."
Make seven days of topics for your blog posts. This way you don't have to think about what to write every day, it's already set up.
Meal prep for the week. Do most or all of your food planning, shopping, and preparation in advance. This can save a lot of time and money.
Read a new cookbook and make one or more recipes from it. This is a fun family activity, and a good choice if you have food-related goals like a more healthy or Earth-friendly diet.
Read something every day. You might focus on a newspaper, a newsfeed, a given topic, your blogroll, whatever interests you that has fresh content frequently.
Schedule a "big picture review" during the first week of each month. This will help you keep on track with longer-term goals and life balance.
