Habits for March 2014

Remember last month I said I was going to make resolutions monthly instead of yearly?  This gives me a chance to revisit last month's resolutions and figure out what I am doing OK on and what still needs work.



Habits that are going pretty well:

• Walking with Kevin daily.   We don't walk every day, or always for 2.5 miles, but it is a solid habit.   And it's nice. 
• Chaplet of Divine Mercy at 3 pm.   I usually still forget at 3, but I've gotten into a habit of working at it whenever I have a few minutes of in-between time, like driving in the car.  
• Quick-cleaning sprints.  I divided my daily times into "hours" and I tried to attach a focus to each hour.     But some of these hours don't take a real 60 minute hour, like, say, preparing breakfast and tidying the kitchen.  So whatever time is left over, I spend on working through my chore list.
• Working on Lesson Planning daily.   This was something that just needed to be legitimized in order to find a place in the day.   I really like planning.   Now I just need to work on implementing plans ;-).
• Making a learning environment for the children.   Having that reminder really helped me be more intentional in looking for library books, bringing out things put away, and helping them with their projects.

The other habits are in disrepair at the moment.    I started paying less attention to Flylady when I started doing more lesson planning.   Those things seem to occupy the same space in my brain.  My Whole30/No S habits got a bit battered while we went on vacation and then got sick.  Let's call it a whole series of "S" days, S for special and S for sick.  

March brings Lent.    I always spend Lent pruning whatever branches are growing too luxuriously, and simplifying my eating , spending and time-spending patterns.   I choose a couple of specifics -- this year I decided to cut out alcohol for Lent.   

I usually try to do some extra spiritual reading. 
This time I am thinking of rereading I Believe in Love. 

But the main thing I want to focus on as a theme is focusing on the half-full element of the glass rather than the half-empty part.  I have spent the past few years concentrating too much on what I haven't done, what didn't happen.   It is my default way of thinking, and I realize it has become a bad habit because it doesn't really help me do any better.     I noticed that when I pay attention to what IS working at least partially and then try to figure out what the next step is from there, I make more progress.    Or at least, my brief trials with the concept have been hopeful enough so that I think Lent is a good occasion to work on it some more.