The 12 Days of New Year’s Resolutions

This is Day 4 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 4: Fun & Recreation in Get Organized Wizard for Smart Women. 

Day 4: Organize your Fun & Recreation

If you’ve read Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People you’re probably familiar with ‘sharpening the saw’. If not, the idea is a simple and powerful one: you need time out for refreshment and rejuvenation (sharpening your ‘saw’ – yourself!) or you become stale and ineffective.

There are two aspects to this idea.

The first is making time and space in your life for saw-sharpening.

But the second, often overlooked, aspect of recharging your batteries can be the more important one. It’s finding activities that refresh you.

Why? Because once you decide to start an activity, hobby or project, it finds a way into your life. There’s a softball match on Saturday afternoon, a writing group on Friday nights, a project that takes on a life of its own, a holiday booked. It becomes part of life and you just turn up for it.

This is the time to organize some saw-sharpening for yourself. Think about what you like, what you always wanted to try, what makes you excited or envious when you see someone else doing it. And enjoy!

• Activities
  Most of us have things we’ve always wanted to do or try. Why not list them and start tackling them. Ikebana? Art galleries? Sushi making? Kickboxing? Ballroom dancing? Scuba diving? Choose anything that sounds like fun to you.
• Hobbies & Interests
  Most of us explore so few of the things that intrigue us – what a loss! Start developing those forgotten desires. Psychology? Film? Art history? Religion? Politics? Quantum physics? Aircraft modeling? Bonsai? Puzzles? Knitting?
• Expressing yourself
  Creative expression can be a way to recharge and escape daily stresses. You might even uncover hidden talents or bring joy to others. Consider journal-writing, song-writing, musical instruments, pottery, watercolors, calligraphy, dance or novel–writing.
• Projects
  Interested in long-term or self-directed activities like creating a family tree, organizing photos, or writing a book? Don’t limit yourself! Be sure to note down your individual project ideas, resources, contacts, supplies, tasks and steps to help you stay organized.
• Holidays & travel
  List all the places you’d like to visit – whether short sojourns or longer adventures. Note website information, places to stay, activities, locations of interest, local friends and contacts, and medical, visa and insurance details.
• Reading for pleasure
  Remember the delight of a good story, beautiful language or sheer escapism? Keep a list of titles you want to read. See an interesting review or hear a great recommendation? Add it to your list.
• Movies
  Don’t let the wrong film spoil movie night. Start a list and keep track of the good ones from recommendations and reviews.

Question: What area of Fun & Recreation will you work on in 2009?

Note for users of Fun & Recreation 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.

Tomorrow – Day 5: Managing Technology

Picture adapted from image by Aldon.

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Related posts:

1. Fresh Start: 12 Days of New Beginnings [Day 4: Fun & Recreation]
2. How to be Organized in 2009: The 12 Days of New Year’s Resolutions
3. How to be Organized in 2009: Day 12 – Family