Overcoming Busy

3 in 30 Progress

January 14, 2011 by Marci

I love the concept of breaking goals down into small bite sized pieces. Last year, I read Power of Less by Leo Babauta. It is a book about achieving your goals, but more about working on the right goals and in the right time frame. The author suggested determining what is really important in our lives and what goals are most important. Then, work on one goal at a time for 30 days.

What a refreshing concept! Concentrated effort rather than 5 minutes here on one goal and 5 minutes there on another goal and then wondering why our goals are not achieved. It just made since to my overcoming busy mind.

Concentrated effort is what appealed to me about the 3 in 30 project. Work on 3 goals for 30 days. Not a huge laundry list of goals for the year. But, goals that can be attained in that amount of time. I posted my 3 in 30 goals last week. Today, I need to be accountable and check in.

Goal #1 – Eat more veggies

When I was in college, I played sports and tried to eat a really balanced, energy packed diet. So, I kept a food journal. I wrote down everything I ate during the day and at night I would calculate how many carbs, protein, fat, veggie and fruit servings I ate during the day. Nothing like seeing the truth in black and white to slap you into reality! That journal motivated me to eat well.

So, I started journaling my food intake. I was surprised by the fact that I really don’t eat very much these days. But, I could eat a little better quality and better variety. I have to say that eating veggies in the summer is no big challenge in the summer, but in the winter it is a challenge for me.

Goal #2 – Schedule blog posts

I sat down one day last week and planned out this week’s posts and took another block of time to write them. Wow! Much less stressful and better content! The key here is setting aside the time to schedule and to write.

A huge help to me has been my friend and blogger Teri Lynne Underwood. She is great about scheduling writing time and blog posts. She shared some great tips at GatherInspirit.com last week.

Goal #3 – Have lunch with a friend

This goal was to get me out and connect face to face. I see people all the time. I run into people at church and my son’s school, at the library and at ice skating lessons. I chat daily with friends on facebook and twitter and email, but it’s no replacement for that live interaction and connection with friends.

A few days ago, I facebooked a couple friends and asked them to lunch. We had 2 hours of uninterrupted adult conversation and laughter. How refreshing! We all decided we need to make this a monthly occurrence.

What’s next?

There is still some work to be done with adding veggies to my diet and I need to be consistent with the scheduling the blog posts. This week, I plan on keeping with the food journal and looking for some veggie-filled recipes for my menu.

As far as blog scheduling and writing, I can sit for an hour while my daughter has ice skating practice tomorrow and work on the schedule. Sunday afternoon might be a quiet time to write.

How are you doing on your goals? Link your goals up to others at 3 in 30. It really helps to be accountable to someone!

If you don’t want to link up but want to discuss your goals, visit my friend Rachel at A Steady Rain. Her “Friday Feedback” questions are Have you made any New Year’s Resolutions this year? and How do you plan to follow through with those goals?