Where's August?/September's Happiness

Soooo I started a new job in August and my happiness project was put on hold. I was full throttle on my new teaching job. I looooove my new teaching job but it did eat up my time for a whole month. I am back on track with my happiness project for September!

In July, as part of my try something new, I started recording my first few podcast episodes with my BFF Hilary. I had to take some off in August to concentrate on my new job but we are planning to launch in September. I also listened to the latest Death Cab for Cutie album and pretty much memorized all the words to the songs(and learned one on uke!).

Yay! September! Fall is in the air. September is Wesley month. He chose all of these activities. So here's what I'm doing this month: keep track of everything I do for one week, hike 2 times, and create a memory scrapbook.

July is in Full Swing

June was so fun! I finally learned ukulele after owning one for three years and finally learned how to braid my hair after basically wanting to know how to do that my entire life. Check out my Instagram for my interpretation of I Will Follow You Into the Dark with some cute hair braids. I also planned the classes I am going to take in cake decorating once I have a little more $$$ in the bank from when I am teaching again.

July was supposed to be travel but I don't think I am going to be able to do that(and not sure I have it in me as I have made several 3 hour trips to the beach house and back with moving and such). I am going to do November's theme instead, which is try something new!

In this month, I am going to start a podcast(yep, really! This has been in the works for a little while now in preparation for completing this within the year I do my happiness project and it's looking like it will become a reality very soon), try a new athletic activity, and listen to new music. I am thinking I might try an aerial silks class or rock climbing. I also want to listen to some new Indie music.

June Here We Go!

I cannot believe we are already in June! This year honestly feels like it is flyyyyying by! I am happy summertime is here though!

I didn't formally do a May month. I originally wanted to focus on career and business. I wanted to take a course, set up a dedicated distraction free zone, sign up for a new certification, and redo my website. I actually finished my website in April and I started a new course on Instagram. I decided not to sign up for a new certification because I am actually going to go back to teaching so there's no need right now to start something new. May was a super busy month for me, both professionally and personally. So, that's where a lot of my time went this past month. I am going to be moving in about a week back to Raleigh so I will be setting up my distraction free zone there(I'm getting a new desk! Eep!).

For June, my goals were to take two new classes, learn one new braid for my hair per week, and learn ukulele. Since I am moving and there will be expenses in that plus a month without salary, I may not have enough funds to take two new classes. My goal is to at least plan two classes I will take within the next year. I have always wanted to learn I Will Follow You Into the Dark by Death Cab for Cutie so that is my goal to learn on uke this month!

Braids I'm learning:
French
Dutch
Fishtail
Headband

Whew! March was a tough month but I made it. My computer is clean. I deleted over 25 gigs of data just out of my downloads file. While I didn't quite put the cleaning schedule in place that I thought I would, I did read the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and it is indeed changing my life. But I realized that the process from that was going to take longer than the month of March for me. I am glad I seem to have found something that is finally going to work!


In April, I am going to focus on relationships. My goals are to contact an old friend, call my family more often(I am going to aim for more than once a week with my mom and call my pop-pop and sister on the phone at least once), write someone a hand written letter, and develop a system for remembering birthdays.

March Mid Month Update

Whew! This has been a tough month for me. It's definitely area I struggle in but I am making progress. I have officially gone through all of my downloads on my computer and freed up 20 whole gigs of space. The last half of the month I am going to work on more organization(and more clearing) of my computer docs. I got the recommendation of a book titled The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and I'm starting to dig in. It seems like it is going to be super helpful. I've done tried cleaning for 10 minutes after work(rather than marathoning it on my day off) and that has seemed to help.

March - Organization

February has come and gone! Even though my goals for February were a little ambitious(seriously, what was I thinking?! - I didn't even write 10 good poems in one semester in college), I gained a lot from it. I wrote for the first time in forever, played my flute, and even painted, something I've always wanted to do but never did because I didn't want to be graded. It was fun to focus on my creativity, something I've neglected since being out of college.

I painted this myself! :-)

In March, I am going to focus on cleaning/organization. I skipped this month to do something "fun" in February to recharge but I am ready to get my life organized. My goals are to set up a cleaning schedule, use the one minute rule (anything that can be done in under a minute, do it right away), and clean up my computer files. I'm going to use this weekend to research and set up my cleaning schedule and then implement the rest of the month.

This area is definitely one of my weaknesses and I'm excited to take it on and develop new habits.

P.S. My morning routine and daily yoga practice are still going strong from January. :-)

Mid February Update

My creative month is going pretty well. I have started a few poems - I realized that 10 in a month was kind of ambitious seeing how I barely did 10 in an entire semester in poetry class. I am going to finish what I can without forcing anything. The main thing is, I am writing again and it feels great. I have been practicing my flute and making steady progress on my beat box piece. I have scheduled a wine and design painting for the 27th and I am super excited about that. I've always wanted to paint but never took a class while I was in school or college because I didn't want to be graded. Feeling the creative juices flowing this month!

February - Creative

Whew! I made it through January. I cannot believe how fast it went! This month was really tough for me because I was traveling or not at home 10 days out of the month. However, I did come out of the other side with some new habits - my morning routine and a consistent yoga practice. Starting the day right(and without social media as the first thing I check) has really made a difference. I am looking forward to month two - my creative month!

February's theme is creativity. I have three tasks for February: play my flute every day, write 10 poems, and paint something. I have some new flute lit to keep me motivated and my goal is to learn the Inspector Gadget beatbox flute piece up to near performance level. I am planning to spend some time in nature to clear my head for poems. I am really excited about this task because I used to write a lot of poetry and just haven't made time for it since I graduated college. Lastly, I'm going to try to make it to a painting class(maybe wine and design?) to paint something new! I'll be keeping track of my progress in a Google spreadsheet and I'll check in mid-February to let you know about my progress.

January Mid Month Update

I am half way through my first month of my happiness project! I decided to write a post half way through each month to assess my progress so far, celebrate my wins, and adjust course for my opportunities. To recap, my January focus is health. My goals were to do yoga daily, complete a morning routine, drink green smoothies, keep a consistent bedtime, and go screenless an hour before bed. I have been keeping track of my progress in a Google spreadsheet.

Wins
I did yoga every day except one so far and I've done my morning routine every morning except for two. I've also had green smoothies most days. I can already feel a huge benefit from practicing yoga daily, even though it's only been a little more than two weeks. It's also been really great to have a set routine in the morning that happens before I check my phone and social media. Waking up and checking in is not a great way to start the day and having this morning routine has curbed the desire to do so. 

Opportunities
I am having a really had time going screenless and keeping a consistent bedtime. I have been on and off the entire month. To prevent this from happening in the future, I added a nighttime routine to my January happiness project. I am also going to use the strategy of setting an alarm to signal bedtime that's recommended in an episode of Gretchen Rubin's podcast. My nighttime routine will start with showering promptly at 9:30 to signal time to go screenless and get my brain relaxed and ready for bed. I'll clean for 15 minutes, do some light stretching, and read.

Other Thoughts
I think I am going to swap April's month, which is creativity, with February. I have enjoyed these healthy changes but I think it will be easier for me to keep going if I have a "fun" month next. February was supposed to be organization but I think tackling it after health would not be to my advantage.

Project Outline

Hi there! Welcome to my 2017 Happiness Project! This past summer I read Gretchen Rubin's book, The Happiness Project. I picked the book up on a whim when I was browsing through the non-fiction section of my local library. It was such a wonderful read. I love all of her research and I also listen to her podcast, which she hosts with her sister. In their most recent episode, they challenge their listeners to write their own Happiness Projects. Each month has a topic with a handful of habits or new things to do within the month. Inspired to do more than just make a resolution this year, I wrote out my Happiness Project on NYE and now I am ready to dive in. I'll be using this blog to keep track of my progress and adventures.

January - Health

• Develop a morning routine (hydrate, meditate, affirmations, journal, and exercise)
• Practice yoga daily
• Keep a consistent bedtime
• Go screenless an hour before bed
• Drink a green smoothie daily

February - Organization

• Set up a cleaning schedule
• Use the one minute rule (anything that can be done in under a minute, do it right away)
• Clean up my computer files

March - Relationships

• Contact an old friend
• Call my family more often
• Write a hand written letter
• Develop a system for remembering birthdays

April - Creativity

• Write 10 poems
• Practice flute every day
• Paint something

May - Career/Business

• Take a course
• Create a dedicated distraction free zone
• Sign up for a new certification
• Redo website

June - Learning

• Take two new classes
• Learn one new braid for my hair per week
• Learn ukulele

July - Travel

• Be a tourist in my own town
• Take a 3 day trip
• Visit a far away friend

August - Outdoors

• Visit a new park every week
• Do a 24 hour electronics cleanse
• Take a post dinner walk

September - Wesley(my boyfriend chose these activities for me this month)

• Keep track of everything I do for one week
• Hike 2 times with Wesley
• Create a memory scrapbook

October - Gratitude

• Volunteer
• Thank people daily
• Tip extra generously once per week
• Buy someone else's coffee

November - Try Something New

• Start a podcast
• Try a new athletic activity
• Listen to new music

December - Food

• Learn 4 new cooking techniques
• Take a cooking class with Wesley
• Learn how to make sushi
• Try a new recipe each week

I'll be posting at least monthly to keep you updated on my progress. And let me know if you are going to be doing your own happiness project! I'd love to chat.