Farewell, January 2010!

January. As a whole I have to say that this is probably the best January I have ever had, in recent memory at least. Normally, January is filled with broken resolutions and waning hopefulness but this year was different. I have made a real conscious effort to accomplish everything I set out to do. Of course, these accomplishments were achieved with varying levels of success but the fact they were achieved is what matters. In the past, my perfectionism has gotten the best of me, standing in the way of my success. However, this year I’ve decided to be kinder to myself and not allow that nagging “not good enough” self-talk to sabotage me. And this one seemingly little tweak in attitude has made an enormous difference in my day-to-day happiness. Voltaire was quoted as saying, “Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien” or roughly translated to “Perfect is the enemy of the good.” And really do any of us strive to have a “perfect life?” No, a good life is all I’m after.

So here are the things that colored January 2010 for me:

Writing Everyday. This was the first habit I hoped to accomplish in the new year. Using the 6 Changes approach, I have four more weeks to greater solidify my new “Write Everyday” habit. I am so pleased that I choose this as my first habit to form. It came much more naturally to me than I ever thought possible. The four weeks of January have been filled with expressiveness. Not only have I blogged everyday that I set out to, but I now write nightly in a small Moleskine daily planner (it’s pages are so small it’s sort of the equivalent of a nightly Twitter on paper,) and I now keep a private, hand-written journal. The surprise favorite has been my private journal. There is something so intimate about sitting down with a blank page and a pen in hand. It reminds me of when I first started writing. Also, in today’s world of everybody-shares-everything via blogs, Facebook, and Twitter it is so refreshing to have a place meant just for me.

Finished two books. Admittedly, I am not a speed reader. I like to take my time with my books. I feel like it allows me to soak in as much of the story as possible. It also helps me retain many more details than if I read more quickly. Another one of my new habits for 2010 is to Read More. According to the 6 Habits each-habit-gets-8-weeks method, I am not due to tackle this one until late summer. Hopefully, by the end of the year I will have upped my average. I read solely for pleasure so it is difficult to find any time other than just before bed and depending on how tired I am I may only get through a couple of pages. Reading is also imperative to good writing so it needs to serves me more than your standard leisure activity. With all that being said, I am pleased that I finished at least two books this month. Both books were part of the Jill Kismet series written by Lilith Saintcrow and I am enjoying them quite a bit.  I also took the time to update my collecting-dust-until-now Goodreads account.

The PERFECT journals. I have to say this was a major thing for me this month. I have been buying and/or making journals for as long as I can remember and never has any journal served me as perfectly as my new Ecosystem journals. I cannot say enough good things about them. They have enough sizes and page formats to probably suit just about anyone’s needs. I love them so very much. In the last three weeks I have filled about 15 pages in my private journal and 10 pages in my Shadow Ridge journal. The newer blue journal is still blank but I have great plans for that one! =)

Health care. This is more suited for My Mount Everest but it belongs here too. I have started taking the steps to find a new doctor that will help take control of my health. This is a huge deal for me and in just doing the act of making appointments and not settling I am really facing a lot of fears. My search will continue into February so I am sure there will be more days filled with anxiety over it but there is freedom in facing fears so I say, “Bring it on!”

Got Organized! There were several things that I did this month of help me keep things in place or to keep me on task. Some things I’ve already shared here like my obsessive addiction to my journals and Moleskines (yes, I know, technically, these are also journals but they are so special I have to call them by name. Also, while I am indulging in a tangent, one of my pet peeves is when people call things by brand names when they are not really that brand: Not all tissues are Kleenex, not all photo copiers are Xerox machines, and not all DVR’s are TiVo’s! OK, I’m done.) Hmm… where was I? Oh, yes… organization. Ha! Other things that have helped me immensely are is my Google Tasks, getting ahead on a year’s worth of birthday cards using a fun accordion file, and using small cosmetic bags inside my handbag to tidily keep the plethora of small items I always want at hand and rainbow of gel pens I always have on me. I also got some tiered shelves to house my growing OPI Nail Polish collection and decorative hooks for all of my necklaces. I will including photos of these some time this month, just to share some snapshots of my life.

Stormy weather. California was hit by some pretty heavy storms in January. I adore the rain. I also get very lazy in the rain. So, these storms served as a great test to see if I can stay focused and motivated enough to accomplish some of my goals. Glad to report I passed.

The passing of J.D. Salinger. “The Catcher in the Rye” is one of my all-time favorite books. It touched me in a way that other books have not. It may have been the time in my life or any number of reasons but it’s story has always stayed with me. I am embarrassed to admit that I haven’t read any other Salinger works besides Catcher. I ordered “Franny & Zooey”, “Nine Stories”, and “Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters” to further my Salinger “education.” He was a true talent, may he rest in peace.

Hooray for Organization!

Each year during the last week of December I prep my new planner for the next year.  I like to look back on the events I attended, the appointments I made, and the copious amounts of notes I took on various subjects that warranted a place in my book.  I also go month to month and transfer over everyone’s birthdays and mark holidays.

It’s usually at this time I realize that I have to get birthday cards out for those last end-of-the-year birthdays and I sigh a disappointed sigh when it becomes clear that I didn’t send out nearly as many cards and thoughtful notes as I intended it.  It’s at this point that I also prep all of my January birthday cards for mailing in an effort to get a jump-start.  Sadly, I think that only the late December, January, and possibly February birthdays get cards from me.  That is unless I attend a birthday party to which I always bring a card.

I decided this year would be different.  I was determined to find a way to organize myself to ensure that everyone that I care about at least gets a warm birthday wish in 2010.  So, I started looking up greeting card organizers and all I could find were cheesy, grandma-inspired boxes to store a year’s worth of cards in.  I couldn’t be the only youthful person with a need to organize birthday cards, could?  Well, now that I think of it… maybe I am.

Well, based on the amount of money I was willing to spend on this little passion project and my hard and fast rule on not buying anything I would be ashamed to walk around carrying, I decided on a simple, fuchsia accordion file.  It is divided into twelve sections with tabs signifying each month of the year.  I got home early on NYE and decided to spend a couple hours filling the file with cards.  I made address labels in sequential order of birthdays, affixed them to an envelope, and placed a card ready to be filled out inside, then popped them into the month it will need to be mailed in order to reach the birthday-reveler in time.  Forty-five cards later I now feel confident that everyone will have a little something in the mail for them come their annual day of aging.  =)

Those few hours spent getting together my super-happy-fun card organizer works twofold for me.  Two of my resolutions are keeping myself better organized (yes, I do believe it’s possible!) and to be more thoughtful in the new year.

What is your favorite way to let people know you are thinking of them?