Mountains of laundry. Piles of dust. Lumps of toys. Jumbles of books.
No matter how you put it, my house is a mess.
Home from Christmas. Suitcases exploding everywhere. Joy abounds.
Going into the New Year I am tempted to make a New Year’s Resolution I can’t keep, like: Clean Up EVERY DAY. Or: Be Organized. Or: Follow a Strict Cleaning Schedule.
But I know myself too well. I know what I can do. I know what I won’t do.
And I know what I don’t want to do.
What I don’t want to do: spend an entire year chasing after the elusive clean house found in Real Simple magazines and Pottery Barn catalogues.
When it comes down to it, though it seems like a good idea to resolve to have a clean home, at the end of the year if I haven’t kept the resolution I’m not going to care. Besides, having such an ambiguous goal as “clean” or ” organized” is not attainable. When will the house be clean? When the children have stopped dragging in dirt? When the dog learns to pick up after herself? Sounds like perpetual frustration for me.
Which means my resolution would be just one more resolution to die by January 3rd.
If I’m going to make a resolution, it’s going to be one I care about. It’s going to be one that’s possible. And it’s going to be one that I can measure. On December 31, 2015, I can look back and say, “See? I kept it. I liked it. And look what’s different because of it.”
With that said: my resolution for 2015 is to Write at least 500 words every weekday of this year.
Boom.
It took me the majority of 2014 to embrace myself as a writer. To acknowledge I love it. To believe I can do it. And to actually refine some goals and dreams. I went to my first writing conference, participated in a blogging challenge, and gained a few followers on my blog here and there. Offline, I also wrote my first book proposal, received valuable feedback, and have an accountability partner to move forward with the book.
I want to write. I want writing to be in my future professionally. And in order for that to happen, I need to learn to be disciplined.
So there it is: Write at least 500 words every weekday of this year. Online or off, it doesn’t matter. It just needs to be done.
What’s a resolution you will make that you care about, is possible and that you can measure for 2015?
good advice! Measurable makes it meaningful. 🙂
What a great post! As I was reading it – the first part about cleaning house – I remembered The Nesters’ photo’s of what the REST of the room looks like when she posts a DIY blog and features a picture! Not all of the homes in those magazines are real – and the ones that are, have a mess just out of frame! 😉 While reading the second half of your post, I was reminded of Lisa-Jo’s post yesterday on making Resolutions that matter!
I appreciate that you encourage us to make goals that are doable and measurable! I am looking to find a routine once again now that we are several months into this new season of being empty nesters! I gave myself grace to adjust but now I must find discipline once again to create a schedule that is structured, but loose enough to be spontaneous! (That is a benefit of being an empty nester… less bossy calendars!)
Happy New Year and Happy writing!!!
Thank you for your encouraging words and thoughtful feedback! I missed that post by The Nester. I need to look for it. 🙂 I hope as you adjust to this new stage in life you can find the schedule that works for you. Scheduled are always the challenge, whether they’re dictated or flexible, they can make or break the day. Happy New Year!
Good for you! It’s great to find your passion and set a goal to encourage it.
Wow!! I so hope you stay encouraged and motivated to write every single day!! I only chose one resolution for the coming year as well, so I could focus on Christ rather than lofty trends. Blessings & best wishes to you in the new year!
I read a quote years ago that goes something like this, “If you want to be a writer, then write, write every single day.” Your resolve sounds on target! Stay encouraged.
I don’t really make resolutions any more. I’m kind of a One Word girl when it comes to the big life stuff. But I can see where this would be really good advice for setting some writing goals for the new year. I’m going to sit with it a bit today and see what I come up with.
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