Resolution, Singular

Every year I spend quite a bit of time deciding what my NY resolutions are going to be. I think about it for several weeks, I formulate them in my head and eventually I announce them to DH. Within 3-4 days, I promptly forget them. This year, determined not to make a fix-it-and-forget-it resolution, I decided to think a bit more seriously about it all.

The problem with most resolutions is that they're not really accountable, are they? You don't stick to them because nobody is really checking up on you. There is no test for 'being a nicer person' or 'calling my Mom once a week' or 'eating healthier.' So like most goals, resolutions just end up wafting away into thin air, never to be heard of again.

I started my resolution think tank by considering what things in my life needed improvement. The areas of my life which need more attention, or which I've just not put enough effort into over the last 12 months. I ended up with:

- My weight and overall fitness
- My "me" time, where I don't think or worry about family or work
- My friends, who sadly have been neglected this year
- My general stress levels
- My emotions, which have been a bit erratic of late

So I started to think about how I could improve all or really ANY of these, by way of a resolution. I considered blogging every day, in a more journalistic style - as a way of improving my writing and 'releasing' my thoughts. I considered taking up (or re-visiting) a few hobbies of mine which I miss. I considered a few other things, but all of them just seemed to require too much time or money or effort.

In the end, I decided that I could kill ALL those birds with one stone with a very simple, very easy resolution. One that did not demand a lot of time, was easily achievable, and which I could be held accountable for. One which would help me improve ALL of those things above. The resolution is this: Every day, come hell or high water (both possible with Melbourne's crazy weather, let me tell you), I'm going to spend a minimum of 20 minutes exercising. Walking, trampolining, biking, swimming, whatever. 20 minutes a day. That's it.

I may (and likely WILL) choose to do well in excess of 20 minutes, because I'm competitive like that. This way, though, I am basically forced to find that minimum of 20 minutes...and who, really, can claim not to have a spare 20 minutes in an ENTIRE DAY? Plus if I have a really bad day, where I can only find that minimal amount of time...at least I'll have achieved my goal. A low goal, an achievable goal, a goal which I can actually DO. Is it perhaps a bit, you know, easy? YES. Absolutely. It's really easy, and that's the whole idea. I have ZERO excuses for not being able to do this.

I NEED to improve my eating, do something about my clothes, be a nicer person, call my Mom etc etc. Those too I suspect will come with time, and with each day going past where I am managing my small daily resolution. In my experience, bigger things often happen once the smaller things are in place. My 20 minutes a day of exercise is time when I can just stop thinking, stop stressing, stop worrying. 20 minutes a day of quiet contemplation will surely reduce my stress levels, lower my weight, improve my overall fitness, contribute to a happier me. All that's left is my friends, and improving my communication with them.

Here is the genius of the plan. I've got a mobile phone...mobile as in, you know, you can TAKE it with you. So if I've got one of those days where I really don't want to walk, or I'm just in a shit mood overall, I take the mobile with me and I phone a friend. My motor-mouth self can easily have a 20 minute conversation without blinking an eyelid ... heck, 20 minutes is a mere chat in my world! Time goes by a LOT faster when you've got someone to talk to, plus talking uses up oxygen (hence making you work harder)...so you see? The plan is pure genius (thank you, thank you...I know I'm brilliant.)

My friend N.N. heard about this plan and she came up with an improved version. If SHE goes out to exercise once a day for 20 minutes, and *I* go out at the same time, we plan it so we call one another. That way two fat chicks in Melbourne are getting exercise AT THE SAME TIME...but it doesn't require one or the other of us to drive across town to do it together. Teamwork for the new millennium!

No crazy diets. No unreasonable goals. No stressing about scales and whatnot. Just 20 minutes a day. That's it. Simple, really.

Anyone want to join me?