It's the first Monday of the new year. Otherwise known as: The Day EVERYTHING Must Be Done, after taking on a lighter load the past two weeks in order to enjoy the holidays with my family. It was a great two weeks of working just a few hours a day. Now: BOOSH. Avalanche time.
So far, so good. I think. I'll tell you when I come up for air and can breathe and survey the damage. ;)
Did you write New Year's Resolutions or choose a special word or phrase for yourself this year? I'm not choosing a word for this year. I'm not writing resolutions, at least not in the traditional sense.
Instead, I have decided to make declarations to help me live life more simply, more fully, and guilt-free. Little "love thyself vows," if you will. This is, after all, the year I turn 40.
FORTY! About freakin' time, y'all! I've loved my thirties but I have a feeling my forties will be FABULOUS. Next month. Countown is ON.
I have to be honest: I can't relate to the turning-40 or this-is-39 blog posts that keep getting circulated. Some of it, sure. But not most of what I am apparently supposed to be feeling like at age 39. And it's part of the reason why one of my first vows has to do with social media...
Vows for my 40th year:
I vow to:
* no longer read or share posts from BuzzFeed, UpWorthy, and only select posts from The Huffington Post. UpWorthy's headlines are ridiculously sensationalized & the stories are always a let down; BuzzFeed makes money from poor writing, bad GIFs, and our country's love of wasting time; and everybody and their yoga-loving-cat is writing for HuffPo these days, making the quality posts harder and harder to find. I'm done, and I'm liking Facebook a lot more now that I've hidden all of those type of posts. I can actually see REAL updates from my friends and family. Imagine that!
* enjoy every morsel of food that touches my lips and not count calories or think about how many inches it may add to my waist. I love bacon as much as I love kale and quinoa, pasta with rich cream sauce as much as I love raw carrots. Moderation + pure LOVE of the food I'm eating = guilt-free happiness.
* NOT obsess about working out. At my age, I'm noticing that the people who tend to obsess about working out actually look a lot older and unhealthier than the ones who do so in moderation. What's up with that? Is it because of sun damage? Thinning skin showing more of their brittle bones? I'll work out when I can, and I'll enjoy it when I do.
* revel in my imperfections. Okay, I'm pretty good at this already (years of practice being horribly imperfect!), but I have to remind myself sometimes, just like everyone else. Progress, not perfection.
But just because I'm shunning perfection doesn't mean I can't continue to plan and organize to do the best I can with what I have. I've got a TON of printables coming out this year, folks. A lot! Some, as always, will be free. Some will be for sale in my little online shop. I'm excited to share the first one of the year: a blog post planner printable!
BLOG PLANNER PRINTABLE
For all of you lovely fellow bloggers out there, I've decided to share the blog planner that I designed last year to help me plot out and plan my own blog posts.
The PDF file comes with 12 blog post planner pages, each in a different color. On each page, you can write down the topic for each day, and you can see a month at a glance.
I hole-punch these and place them in a binder so I can flip through my year and use it as my editorial calendar. It's super handy.
Also: I write my topics in pencil. Because you know how quickly things change ;)
Each person visually compartmentalizes and organizes info differently, so for those of you whose minds need to see post topics written out a month at a time and in order, this printable is for you!
Click here to download the FREE Urban Bliss Blog Post Planner Printable
Here's to a productive, organized 2014 ahead, my friends!
Have you made any resolutions or similar vows to yourself for the year ahead? I'd love it if you shared them in the comments below!
Dana says
My only resolution is to commit to my blog so this printable will be put to good use. Thank you! I will try not to let bacon grease drip on it while I am filling in my schedule.
Adventures in Dressmaking says
Nice goals for the year! I like how specific some of them are!
Luckily, bacon is just as healthy and important as kale! =)
Susan Finch says
LOVE these and had same feeling about those sites. I'm determined to have pretty arms with 6lb weights in my livingroom 10 mins a day and hooping to old movies. That's as much as I'll commit to. I want to say "YES" more to my children's odd requests.
Anne Roman says
Love the working out comment about people looking older! I've always thought the same thing:). Everything in moderation is my motto. Happy New Year.
Marlynn Jayme Schotland says
Thanks, Suzannah. You're right: bacon is as important as kale -- all in moderation, right? :)
Marlynn Jayme Schotland says
Susan I love your goals! Saying yes to the odd requests -- that's a good one to remember for sure.
Marlynn Jayme Schotland says
Anne - I hope no one takes offense to my comment, but I have seriously wondered about that for some time. Everything in moderation, indeed :) Happy New Year!
Marlynn Jayme Schotland says
Dana - so glad you can use the printables! And, work documents like these are made to proudly bear the mark of bacon grease, and of course, coffee stains :)
Yvonne @ Dress This Nest says
Great printable! I just made one like this for personal use. Wish I had seen yours first!
Marlynn Jayme Schotland says
Thanks, Yvonne!