Leveling up my Life with a Happiness Project

One of my accomplished resolutions for 2012. I turned a small portion of my home into an art studio and opened up an etsy shop.

Last year I used an informal way (compared to what I’m trying to do for 2013) to  focus my energy on goals. Things I wanted to accomplish. I borrowed an idea from Arlo Guthrie and made some Rulin’s for the Year.

Below is my list of resolutions and how it turned out. Those crossed out mean I feel like I conquered this rule. If it’s italicized, it means I did fairly well, but I still need to work on it. If it’s in bold, I feel like that rule beat me.

  1. Eat healthier.
  2. Exercise.
  3. Meditate.
  4. Floss before bed every night.
  5. Less Facebook, more face to face.
  6. Because of #5, more lunch dates with my friends.
  7. Do my artist date each and every week.
  8. 1,000 words a day (at least 5x a week).
  9. Charming note. 
  10. Read.
  11. Do more book reviews.
  12. Set time aside to play.
  13. Start an etsy shop.
  14. Learn to cut my own hair.
  15. Take my anti inflammatory every day.
  16. Wear my carpal tunnel braces.
  17. Each week spend one-on-one time.
  18. Move every project forward.
  19. Read about your favorite authors..
  20. Get Tank’s scrapbook done Done. He’ll open it at his birthday party tomorrow. I think it turned out cute.
  21. Remember to dance.
  22. Get the urban farm more established.
  23. Done. Couch is integrated into the family and I even trained the puppy girl to only get up on it when there’s a special blanket put down on it for her. She’s been very good about that.
  24. Set up a space for the boys.
  25. Make more and save more money. (
  26. Continue to work on not biting your nails.
  27. Get the Northwest Art Collective established:
  28. Have a “literary salon” every quarter.
  29. Pay off debt as much as possible.
  30. A $1 of fun.
  31. Realize that the housework can always wait in regards to #17.
  32. Continue chipping away at Operation Organization.
  33. Forgive myself.
  34. Practice my spirituality.

Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. Some stuff I nailed. Other stuff where I didn’t make much progress is mostly due to external circumstances beyond my control (like not getting consensus on where to make space for the boys). Others, well, I still need to work on them. Some of it, as I said, may rollover into My 2013 Happiness Project — the more formal plan of improving my life — leveling up as a person, writer, parent, lover, and friend. We’ll see. I’m still formulating things.

Regardless on how it looks on the other side of midnight tonigh, this year I’m going to be doing my own personal Happiness Project based upon the same book by Gretchen Rubin.

On Jan. 2 I’ll post some more on that.

In the meantime, do you make resolutions? Goals? How do you kick off the start of a new calendar year?


Comments

2 responses to “Leveling up my Life with a Happiness Project”

  1. I’m in awe of you, Casz! So many markers reached, so many made headway. May I suggest #33 become your #1 for 2013 and the first one crossed off the list? From afar,I see you doing so many wonderful, creative things, it boggles the mind that that item should even be in bold.
    As for my resolutions? I resolved never (well almost never) to make them in the first place.
    Have a splendid new year!

    1. I’ll keep that suggestion under advisement. ;D Hope you have a splendid year as well.

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