The 12 Days of New Year’s Resolutions

This is Day 2 of The 12 Days of New Year’s Resolutions for Better Personal Organization

I’m spending 12 days posting ideas for new year’s resolutions you might like to choose for yourself. Each day focuses on a different life area.

Remember: go for progress, not perfection.

Following is an edited extract from the introduction to Module 2: Health & Fitness in Get Organized Wizard for Smart Women. 

Day 2: Organize your Health & Fitness

It’s a rare person who has the health and fitness aspects of life all sorted out. For most of us, there’s always something we’d like to improve – poor eating habits, lack of exercise, niggling health concerns, aches and pains, low energy, high stress, no time for self-care – the list goes on!

We know how neglecting health and fitness undermines us elsewhere. Without energy we can’t achieve the things we want. Too much stress distracts us from our work and relationships. Persistent aliments hold us back. And looking or feeling less than our best casts a cloud over life.

This one body has to last us right through life. So let’s organize ourselves to make living in our bodies as comfortable and pleasurable as we can. With a little planning and a little self-love we can make big, positive changes to nutrition, movement, health, body awareness and self-care.

Make 2009 the year you get your health and fitness ‘into shape’! It’s time to look, feel and be your best.

Ideas for Health & Fitness New Year’s Resolutions

• Food habits
  Take stock of your food habits and note changes you want to make. Get organized to cut down on fatty food, sugary food, alcohol, sugary drinks, portion sizes or night-time snacking.
• Emotional eating
  Think about emotional triggers, such as an unhelpful environment or stress. Consider strategies like keeping a food diary to learn what triggers you, or alternative ways to meet emotional needs.
• Exercise program
  Many people fail at their exercise plans because they fail to plan them properly. Write out your plan and follow the steps to maximize your chance of creating a program you’ll stick to.
• Excuses & obstacles
  Another key to making exercise part of your life is being prepared for the inevitable resistance (it happens to everyone). Plan your strategies and head off excuses before they take hold.
• Motivation
  People don’t get what they want by waiting for motivation to appear. Build your own desire with milestones and rewards that matter to you. For instance, ‘When I [do 3 workouts a week] I’ll reward myself with [a manicure]’.
• Looking good
  Stop! What expression is your face making right now? How’s your posture? Are you poised? Focus on having a pleasant face and body as you move through your day. You’ll feel better too!
• Energizers
  You probably have activities or situations in your life that give you energy. These are treasures! Identify these times and plan how you can get more of them into your life.
• Stress management
  We can’t avoid all stress, but most of us have certain triggers that raise our blood pressure fast, and these are worth managing. Make it a priority to find and try techniques for doing just that.

Question: What area of Health & Fitness will you work on in 2009?

Note for users of Health & Fitness Wizard and Get Organized Wizard for Smart Women

Your Wizard contains guided worksheets for each one of these items, plus others, as well as additional prompts, ideas and suggestions to help you organize each one.

Monday – Day 3: Career & Work

Picture adapted from image by Aldon.

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Related posts:

1. Fresh Start: 12 Days of New Beginnings [Day 2: Health & Fitness]
2. Organize Your Health & Fitness: How to Dodge Gym Germs
3. How to be Organized in 2009: Day 1 – Personal Development