Effort

Can you believe we're in March already?! It's actually scary to think how fast time is going.....

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Observations

So following a month of Focus, here's what I've observed:

 - I've adopted a poor sleeping pattern. I've been going to bed after midnight and on several occasions towards 1am; I then have the cheek to be tired an grouchy in the morning!
 

 - I spend too much on food. Not necessarily on meals out; in fact I didn't eat out during February. However I often buy more than I intend to when I go shopping and I pick up snacks on the go, often after a workout when my stomach rather than my brain controls spending. It's easy to forget that all the small purchases
 

 - I'm having issues with what I actually eat, especially during lunchtime. I work in an office situated on the High Street, which is over flowing with cafes, chicken/pizza/kebab shops and that can lead to poor food choices.

 - I procrastinate too much these days! Because of this I have missed out on a couple of deals and opportunities in the last few months.

 

So what am I going to do about it?

 

I spent the last few days of February trying to find ways to improve my situation. Focus is all well and good but it can be futile unless the observations made are dealt with. So here are few actions I have taken/will be taking:

 - In February I purchased an annual magazine subscription; luckily there was a Groupon deal floating about so I've paid £12 for 12 issues of Cosmopolitan magazine, saving 74% on what I would normally pay for the magazine in a year.

 

 - I've been making an effort to be in bed by midnight during the working week. It's been hit and miss so far; but I hope to regularise this over the coming weeks and maybe start turning in earlier.

 - with the days getting longer (I can't wait for British Summer Time to begin!) I find myself rising with the sun. I hope that rather than have a regular lazy lie-in (I'll reserve that for the weekends and Bank Holidays) I'll be up and about, whether it be reading a book, completing a couple of vinyasa flows (yoga) or going for a short run/workout. I'm a morning person and I believe that I can be more productive with the (not to) early starts.

 - I'll be making a greater effort to combat procrastination by moving my to do list from my mind on to paper (via my diary). I want to try setting time limits for matters that need to be dealt with -

 

 - I will be allocating a monthly budget for eating out. This way the foodie in me can be indulged, and I can blog.  This will be on a trial basis, but I feel that this could be successful. I'll also be allocating a daily budget for food, covering lunch, snacks and post workout bites.

 

 - I need to get smarter with money; this is reflected above with regards to magazine subscriptions and probably my biggest goal. I used to have somewhat of a budget which gave me boundaries, but that kind of flew out of the window in the last year. I want to earn more, I want to save more. I have an idea of how to achieve this, I'm already acting on this and have been for some time; however I think I have to face up to certain realities and really sit down and create a specific plan. 



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The actions (I'll be intending to take lol) look rather minor; not exactly major life changers! But it will add up and ultimately, with effort it will create a positive 'snowball effect' in my life. As I've mentioned before, I don't expect immediate results. In fact I'm sure that I will falter along the way to improvement; however that doesn't mean that I shouldn't put in the effort. If we want to have a better year than last and ultimately and better and successful future, we must be prepared to put in the hard work and effort (there's that word again!).

Feel free to share your thoughts/suggestions on this post and also your own progress/struggle to improve your year, yourself, your life x

3 comments personal, ramble, thoughts

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