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New Year’s Resolutions – The Five S’s…

January 5, 2011 · 63 comments

in Life

Ok, so I already wrote about my goals for 2010.  However, Sandy at First Gen American issued a challenge to bloggers to state their New Year’s resolutions, but with a twist.  There must be 5 resolutions, with the focus being either increasing income or saving time.  Oh, and each resolution must start with an ‘S’.  (I am so glad she didn’t pick ‘K’ or ‘V’…

So, here are my ‘S’ resolutions for 2011, with the goal of saving time:

  1. Schedule. I function best on a schedule, and I have really enjoyed trying to implement a schedule for 2011 thus far.  If I schedule my tasks and plans for the day, I will be less apt to waste time on the internet or whatever.  This will be a huge time saver for me.
  2. Sleep (less). I didn’t used to be someone that slept in, ever.  However, I think with a lack of schedule, it made it easier to just sleep instead of getting up and accomplishing things.   Now, with a bigger plan for my days, I intend to sleep less, and get more done.  (Keep in mind, it isn’t like I sleep all day.  But I feel sleeping in until 9:00 a.m. is a waste of time and I get mad at myself if I sleep that late on weekends.)
  3. Streamline: I need to find a place for everything.  I need to organize.  I need to streamline the entire house.  I finally have a key ring up again for my keys, so that was my start!   This is a goal not only for myself, but one I have for the kids too.  I don’t want to tear up the house an hour before a soccer game wondering where the shin guards are.  When the house is organized and everything has a place, I won’t waste time constantly searching for things.  The house will look better too.
  4. Spend: I may have to spend money in order to save time.  I may spend on organizational items.  I may spend on bagged lettuce instead of washing and tearing a head of lettuce myself.  I am allowing myself to spend a little extra if it will make my life a little easier and save some time.  In some ways, spending can actually save money.  For instance, maybe I will spend a little extra to buy a cooked rotisserie chicken instead of buying a raw chicken and cooking it myself.  But buying the pre-cooked rotisserie chicken is  a lot cheaper than eating out, and most likely a healthier alternative.
  5. Simplify: Not everything has to be perfect.  Quite often, I will end up going the extra mile to get a perfect result over inconsequential things.  Instead, I need to step back and accept that simple is fine too.  It’s ok if  I order pizza instead of making a big meal for company, so what?  It will give me more time to enjoy my visit and make the day less stressful.  I need to accept that easy is OK too.

What would you choose as a good resolution or goal for yourself that starts with the letter ‘S’?  Did I miss any good ones?  I bet I did!!

To read some other great Resolutions that start with the letter ‘S’, check out these posts:

First Gen American – Coffee Talk-Gaining Time + Income
Invest It Wisely – New Year’s Blogging Resolutions
Molly on Money – Working 25 Hours a Week is Wonderfully Wicked
Budgeting in the Fun Stuff – New Year’s Resolutions brought to you by the letter S
Single Mom Rich Mom – The 5 S Resolutions
101 Centavos – Five S’s for the 2011 Spring Garden

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{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }

First Gen American January 5, 2011 at 6:31 am

I love your streamline and simplify goals.

With the kids, I always feel buried and overwhelmed by the amount of stuff we have. I mean when we come in from sledding (and I don’t have a mudroom) there are wet snowpants and boots and gloves everywhere. I think I actually need to put a bigger clothes line down the basement to hang this stuff so that the house doesn’t look like a tornado went through it. I’m planning another big purge of toys/clothes too.

If I could tackle the incoming paper from school/mail, that would also be great.

Thanks for participating. I really enjoyed your article and it gave me some fresh ideas for myself as well too.

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Kris January 5, 2011 at 4:49 pm

First Gen, I am planning on adding a table or two to my foyer to put the paper, mail or whatever so things don’t just get whipped wherever.

Wet winter clothes are a huge problem for us too. I have started just throwing all wet clothes into the dryer because it just drips and makes a mess if I don’t.

Good luck on your streamlining!

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101 Centavos January 5, 2011 at 7:19 am

Glad I wandered over here this morning. I forgot that the challenge was today. Organizing is a worthy goal. I just have to turn my head slightly to the right to see closet doors that hide a mountain of hidden “stuff”.

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Kris January 5, 2011 at 4:49 pm

I am always glad when you wander over 101!

I am guilty of whipping things in the closet and shutting the door. But not this year. I am a new me!!

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Jaymus (RealizedReturns) January 5, 2011 at 7:36 am

Sleep less? I’ve got to say that is the first time I have heard of someone making that sort fo resolution. Just make sure you are getting enough rest.. I sleep in on the weekends too, but I sure do enjoy doing it. nothing beats laying in bed with on compelling reason to get out. 🙂

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Kris January 5, 2011 at 4:51 pm

Jaymus, I don’t want to get 5 hours of sleep or anything like that. I just want to get no more than 7 on most days. 9 makes me feel awful, and I find that on Saturdays I am sometimes getting way too much sleep. There is so much I would like to get done instead.

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Money Reasons January 5, 2011 at 8:14 am

Sounds like 5 sounds stables to me!!!

Right now, I’m more inclined to try and sleep more though 🙂

Hmmm, I wonder if you could put down “Scratch Pad” for another name for journal…

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Kris January 5, 2011 at 4:52 pm

Everyone is voting to get more sleep! I am an enigma.

I have scratch pads all over the place. I need to write down all my exciting thoughts as they pop into my head. I would die without a scratch pad in my purse. 🙂

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Moneycone January 5, 2011 at 9:08 am

I’m gonna go with simplify. I hate clutter! And that helps me think better on the rest of the Ss! 🙂

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Kris January 5, 2011 at 11:43 am

Moneycone, you are right- clutter can really affect your mindset. I love when something has been organized. I go back and revisit it and just look at how great it looks. Then a couple months later, I need to reorganize again. Gotta fix that…

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Miss T @ Prairie EcoThrifter January 5, 2011 at 9:30 am

Great list of goals. Best of luck in reaching them. I think I have to agree with Jaymus… I could use a bit more sleep.

As far as a goal for me that starts with S I would have to say “stay put”. I tend to have a bad habit of keeping myself very busy, always taking on new projects. I enjoy them but sometimes all of this business catches up to me and I get tired. I really could work on staying put on just chilling out once and a while. A break is good for the soul.

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Kris January 5, 2011 at 11:42 am

Miss T, you are so right in how beneficial a break can be. Although sometimes when I go on vacation, I don’t want to go back to work and such! But the brain does need that rest. It is so easy to get overwhelmed with everything going on in life. One thing I really miss about my kids being little is the simplicity of our lives back then.

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Jeff @ Sustainable Life Blog January 5, 2011 at 10:03 am

Oh man, I totally agree with sleeping in on weekends. I feel like if Im up even at 8 it’s a waste of time, and I’ve kinda been slacking in that department – the holidays really take a toll on me!
Also, good luck with the organization, and I hope that you share some tips! (I could use some at times)

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Kris January 5, 2011 at 11:39 am

Jeff, the holidays have killed me and my routine. I had trouble falling asleep, and then I would sleep in. My whole sleep cycle got messed up!

I will definitely share some tips as I come across them. I need to really take a couple days and just attack the house. I will do it!!

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Lola January 5, 2011 at 10:25 am

Wonderful list, and clever, too. I will borrow some of your S factors (maybe I should say “Steal” in keeping with the letter of the day), although my plan is to Sleep Soundly (and if it takes longer, ha ha, so be it!).

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Kris January 5, 2011 at 11:39 am

Oh I would love to sleep soundly! That would be a great goal, but I wanted to make mine attainable…

Glad you are stealing, enjoy!

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Squirrelers January 5, 2011 at 12:03 pm

Good stuff, Kris. I get each of them but the sleep one…don’t shortchange your sleep! It’s neccessary for health, and you’ll get more done and be more productive with a good night’s sleep. Totally know what you mean about scheduling, it really helps us stay focused and get more done. Really, I’m trying to do the same things you are here…except sleep a little more:)

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Kris January 5, 2011 at 4:46 pm

Don’t worry about me Squirrel, I will still get at least 7 hours of sleep. What I really want is to not get 9 hours of sleep on weekend. I feel so cruddy when I do that, and it is just time wasted.

I am loving my new schedule, although there have been some wrenches thrown into it the last few days. Good think I am more flexible in 2011! 🙂

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Roshawn @ Watson Inc January 5, 2011 at 12:21 pm

This is a very fun post. I agree that sometimes you do have to spend money to save time. It’s about priorities! We often undervalue our time, which is a big mistake. I cringe when I think about how we could have accomplished more but instead chose to save a few dollars.

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Kris January 5, 2011 at 4:44 pm

Shawn- You got it!! Time seems to get more and more important each year. Pretty soon I will end up having every meal catered… 🙂

It is good to be in a position where you can sacrifice a little money to gain a little time, that is for sure.

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retirebyforty January 5, 2011 at 1:28 pm

I can’t believe you missed Saving! I guess that’s too easy for you since you are saving already. 🙂
I like simplify from your list. You don’t need to get everything perfect. The Mrs. is like that too and she gets mad when other people don’t do things like she does.

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Kris January 5, 2011 at 4:42 pm

RB40- Saving was the first thing that came to mind. However, I am a literal gal, and the way I read the rules of the challenge, I needed to write about income OR time, so since I picked time, I didn’t include saving. Make sense?

I am just like your wife. Others that put forth minimum effort drive me insane. I am trying to relax though…

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Jenna January 5, 2011 at 2:53 pm

What a great challenge! I like the streamline one the best. Definitely need to work on that more in 2011.

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Kris January 5, 2011 at 4:40 pm

Jenna, I have been looking around the house to see what to streamline. The basement and foyer are first on the list. The foyer needs some furniture for storage and the basement needs an overhaul, especially the storage room.

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krantcents January 5, 2011 at 4:16 pm

None of my goals start with “S”. After some thought, I came up with “Stop”. Stop procrastinating, Stop X bad habit and stop over analyzing! Thanks for the push, I needed that.

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Kris January 5, 2011 at 4:35 pm

Stop is a very important one, as long as it is applied correctly.

I wish I had thought of Stop, darn it.

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Invest It Wisely January 5, 2011 at 4:19 pm

Haha, K or V would have been tougher for sure!

How many hours do you sleep every day? I seem to require 8, if not I feel really spaced out during the day… the fluorescent lighting in the office probably doesn’t help any.

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Kris January 5, 2011 at 4:35 pm

I am fine with just 7. I feel spaced out if I get more than 8.

Fluorescent lighting doesn’t help anyway, at least it doesn’t help them look well rested!

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JohnG arlington cd January 5, 2011 at 6:43 pm

Streamlining has become the word of the year for me. I can’t get enough of it! just finding little ways to make my day easier and more organized makes me feel happy. Just two days ago I discovered the most uber daily task manager I have ever seen in my life. Each day has its own page, with neatly broken columns for work, home, to-dos, notes etc. I’m still excited about it 🙂 best of luck!

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Buck January 5, 2011 at 8:01 pm

Wow, that was really good! Splendid, if you will. Hmmm, might have to see what I can whip up. But all the good S words will be taken! No excuse, since everyone’s situation is different. Good Luck with your S resolutions! 🙂

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Kris January 6, 2011 at 8:01 am

Oh there are plenty of S resolutions out there Buck, don’t give up. Saving, Sharing, Smiling, Stashing (Away). See, and that only took me 5 seconds.

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