I’m closing out winter break with an unfortunate cold (which I HAVE to get rid of before the Read 650 event at Lincoln Center on Saturday!) but overall, it was a great break, and my manifesto helped me stay motivated to take care of myself. I didn’t do perfectly, but I think I did better than I would have without a manifesto. Here are the results:
Did I….
Eat a vegetable and a lean protein at every meal? Almost 100% execution here. There might have been a breakfast or two that I missed eating a vegetable (but hey, breakfast is hard).
Get my heart rate up for at least 15 minutes every day? Yes! On two of the days I accomplished this with cleaning and vacuuming instead of exercising, but I had my heart rate up so it counts. On other days I usually did much more than 15 minutes.
Take a gym or yoga class? I went to one Fight class, one yoga class that was a dismal failure (new instructor; not my preferred style) and a training session at the gym for their new X-Force strength machines. I would have liked to go one more time (my goal was 4 classes) but then this cold hit me. I used the elliptical at home almost every day that I wasn’t at the gym.
Eat dessert only after 8:00? This one was a failure. I think I only accomplished this 4-5 of the 11 days. I guess that’s better than zero, which is what it probably would have been if I hadn’t made the resolution. I don’t do well with Christmas cookies in the house.
Meditate for 5 minutes a day? Yes.
Write every day? Yes.
Schedule time for reflection and planning for Q1 of 2020? Yes, this was one of the best years I’ve ever had for new year’s planning. The blog reflection posts got my brain in gear, and I spent a beautiful hour and a half in my favorite coffee shop writing the 2020 commandments and my Q1 goals/routines.
Map out each day the night before? Yes, to the extent that this is possible with 2 young kids and an unpredictable husband as variables.
Read 4 books? I did it! I got to my Goodreads goal of 85 books by 8PM on 12/31. Phew. The last few books were really good ones, too. I’ll be writing about Atomic Habits by James Clear soon.
Do a puzzle? Yes, my sister and I started a 500-piece one… but we realized it wasn’t good for conversation because we were too busy hunting for pieces, and we abandoned it. That still counts, right?
I’m reasonably satisfied with these results, and I think writing and posting the manifesto was very helpful. I can see myself doing it again over spring and summer breaks.
What else did I do over break? A good amount of decluttering and filing; playing with my kids; visiting with family; seeing Rise of Skywalker (incredible!). We had a wonderful holiday season.
