What Will 2010 Hold For Me?
A person I was friends with in high school has a unique, clever, and best of all - easy - way to come up with New Year's Resolutions. He developed the N-Y-M-L method. "What is this method?" you ask? Well, as I said, it's easy! Just follow his instructions:
N = NO
A category for behaviors you want to stop; habits you are adamant about quitting; guilty pleasures from which to abstain.
Basically, anything you give up that will make your life better. If your resolution sounds right preceded by the word "no," it's in the right place. Examples include: (no) smoking, (no) eating junk food, (no) buying coffee, (no) gossiping, etc.
Y = YES
A category for practices you want to start; dreams you wish to achieve; goals to accomplish; promises to keep.
If you're enthusiastically saying "yes" to a resolution, this is the right category. For instance: lose weight (yes!), pay off credit cards (yes!), learn Spanish (yes!), get a new job (yes!), etc. Oftentimes, these resolutions are measured with tangible, one-time results.
M = MORE
Typically, a category for anything you'd like to increase the frequency and/or amount of.
Most of the time, this is already a part of your life -- you just want more of it. For example: read (more), exercise (more), call mom (more), etc. Generally, these resolutions can be measured over time, throughout the course of the year.
L = LESS
A category for anything you don't want to totally eliminate from your life but need to significantly reduce.
For many, television and junk food often make the list. Other examples may include: (less) shopping, (less) Internet, or (less) shopping on the Internet.
You can have as many entries per category as you want. Last year, he had a combined total of over 30! But for the novice, he advises to choose one per category.
So this year, I'm following his method, and these are my resolutions:
NO
[] Sleeping past noon (even on weekends, especially in summer!)
YES
[] Breakfast
MORE
[] Keeping in touch with people. (eg: Parents- initiate call at least once every two months; Tomoko- initiate call at least twice; Priscilla- initiate call at least twice; Paul- e-mail at least once)
LESS
[] Taking things personally
[] Goofing off at work (ie: updating my LJ -.-)
N = NO
A category for behaviors you want to stop; habits you are adamant about quitting; guilty pleasures from which to abstain.
Basically, anything you give up that will make your life better. If your resolution sounds right preceded by the word "no," it's in the right place. Examples include: (no) smoking, (no) eating junk food, (no) buying coffee, (no) gossiping, etc.
Y = YES
A category for practices you want to start; dreams you wish to achieve; goals to accomplish; promises to keep.
If you're enthusiastically saying "yes" to a resolution, this is the right category. For instance: lose weight (yes!), pay off credit cards (yes!), learn Spanish (yes!), get a new job (yes!), etc. Oftentimes, these resolutions are measured with tangible, one-time results.
M = MORE
Typically, a category for anything you'd like to increase the frequency and/or amount of.
Most of the time, this is already a part of your life -- you just want more of it. For example: read (more), exercise (more), call mom (more), etc. Generally, these resolutions can be measured over time, throughout the course of the year.
L = LESS
A category for anything you don't want to totally eliminate from your life but need to significantly reduce.
For many, television and junk food often make the list. Other examples may include: (less) shopping, (less) Internet, or (less) shopping on the Internet.
You can have as many entries per category as you want. Last year, he had a combined total of over 30! But for the novice, he advises to choose one per category.
So this year, I'm following his method, and these are my resolutions:
NO
[] Sleeping past noon (even on weekends, especially in summer!)
YES
[] Breakfast
MORE
[] Keeping in touch with people. (eg: Parents- initiate call at least once every two months; Tomoko- initiate call at least twice; Priscilla- initiate call at least twice; Paul- e-mail at least once)
LESS
[] Taking things personally
[] Goofing off at work (ie: updating my LJ -.-)