I really need to get back into the habit of using the 3 in 30 challenge to focus on specific tasks and get things done around here. Habits, projects, you name it. I decided I was going to do this again and even though I haven’t gotten around to write a post about it before now, I’ve already been working on some habits for this month.

What I’m saying is.. I intended to write this post at the first of the year and get right down to business working on my goals.

And then I got sick. Actually I got sick even before the new year began. New Year’s Eve eve found me holding my head in the fetal position while dosing up on allergy meds and decongestants. Apparently cedar pollen is going crazy here and my sinuses were screaming in opposition. I didn’t need weather.com to ME there was something in the air…

But despite the assault on my senses, I managed to pick out three goals for January and actually start working on them a little.

The first one is a “gimme.” Kind of a cheater, I think. But it’s a legitimate goal.

1.) Bring back all the habits that have gone before…

There were several habits we worked on and added into our routine during the year last year that for one reason or another fell by the wayside. I like to blame the holidays. Okay sure, some of them may have disappeared before then, but can I pretend it was just the holidays? Blaming aside, they need to come back. WE need them to come back. So this month I’m gathering the good, harnessing the helpful, rallying the routine. My first goal/habit this month is getting up by 7:30, getting in some quiet morning time and bible study, and starting our bedtime routine at 7:30 to get the kids in bed by 8:30 for a story.

2.)  A new format for an old habit…

Morning family devotions is something we’ve been working on for a while. Last year we tried devotionals individually at the same time. This year we’re using The Jesus Calling Devotional for Kids and the Gospel Story Bible (along with some journals) and doing it together. Right now our morning routine is shot, ruined by too much holiday time and too much tv. My goal for this month is to cut off our morning tv time, and develop a daily morning family devotional time.

3.) A little self maintenance PLEASE?

Okay, I’ve NEVER really been very good at washing my face every night before I go to bed or using moisturizer each day (let alone anything with sunblock in it.) I’ll do great at keeping my nails trimmed for a while and then realize they’re terrible. One of my goals for 2012 is to take better care of myself and that starts with the small stuff, right? This month I’m starting small. Yes, I’m also trying to drink more water and make some diet changes but that’s outside of this goal. This goal is all about self-maintenance. One thing I decided to do to make that easier was put everything in one place. DUH, RIGHT? So this week I reorganized the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, removed some less used items to under the sink and made sure all of my regular items are together.  Hopefully keeping these things all together in one place will help a little bit — when I’m in the cabinet for my deodorant, which I DON’T forget, I’ll see the moisturizer and remember it. Sounds good in theory right? So the first part of this goal was to set up the medicine cabinet – Done. The 2nd part is to USE it and develop a better daily (or weekly for nails, etc.) habit of taking care of myself, starting with the small things. Little things matter, too.

So those are my 3 goals for this month. And even though I’m only just now getting the post up I have been trying to work on them already. Can you believe we’re already a 3rd of the way through January?! Yep! So I’ll check back in at the end of the month and let you know how it went! What about you — working on any goals this month? Or new year’s resolutions or something?

Check out the 3 in 30 Challenge here.

Ah, yes, it’s that time again. Time for resolutions. Or in my case, a self-evaluation and a new list of habits and goals to work on. And when I say “list” of course I mean “LIST.” Or “really-long-and-incredibly-ambitious-list.” Because as I mentioned last year I’m pretty good at making lists. And the way I see it, when you’re good at something you should stick with it, right? ; )

I can’t believe a whole year has passed already since I made the last big list. I ran out of time for some of them but overall I did pretty well, I think. I’m going to leave the 2011 List page up for another week or so and then I’m going to take it down and replace it with the 2012 List. If you’re curious, hop on over there real quick and check out the kinds of things I did (and didn’t do) in 2011. Some of my favorites were:

• Establishing a morning routine. I learned that the secret to getting up early is to JUST DO IT. Just make yourself get out of bed. Even if you end up falling asleep in your chair 15 minutes later that’s the way to start. I also learned that the way to become a morning person and enjoy the morning is to get up A REALLY LONG TIME before the kids do so that you’re all the way awake, coffeed up, and prayed up when they start getting up and needing things from you. ; )
• Developing a bed time/story time routine. OH MY GOODNESS, Y’ALL. It’s amazing how beneficial a good bedtime routine can be. For a long while this year we had the Best. Bedtime Routine. Ever. We got out of the habit for reasons not worth mentioning but we’re getting back into it now, because through doing that we learned how helpful and good it is for our family.
• Finding a good church for us and going to church with James.
• Painting.
• Canning.
• Reading more books. (On my Kindle, too! Woohoo!)