Hey, Y’all!
I have been focusing on self-improvement all year in various aspects of my life. But September, especially, is Self-Improvement month. I’ve been doing a 12 month better you challenge where each month focuses on a different thing you can do to improve your health; like drink more water, eat fruits and vegetable, take a walk. Funnily enough, September is going to be the only month I fail of the challenge. It’s Find a Workout buddy and I don’t know anyone to be my work out buddy, even from afar to simply be an accountability partner.
I’ve also focused on different challenges each month to improve different aspects of my life, from health, doing my hobbies and things I enjoy doing more to actually live and not just exist, to saving money and cutting my debt. I’m making progress, slow progress but progress.
I’m focusing September on two things I need to do better. I’m going to workout for at least 1 hour five days a week for at least 3 weeks this month. I’m working out an hour as I was working out for 30 minutes five days a week and instead of losing weight, for whatever reason I haven’t been able to figure out, my weight was going up. I’m hoping focusing more on my portions along with working out more will help. I’m doing Muscle burns Fat (Day 18 today) and Morning Meltdown 100 (Day 44 today) on Beachbody as well as a 30 day squat challenge. I don’t expect to keep this rigorous workout permanently, it’s too much. But if, with more portion focus, I could at least jump-start my weight to going back down again. I refuse to work out on weekends, I give my body the time it needs to recover on the weekends while still watching my portions. I’m also working on only eating when I’m truly hungry, not just eating on the schedule my body is accustomed to.
I also make a schedule for myself each week, and then at the end of each week, I more often than not don’t feel like I’ve accomplished anything, even though I did check things off my to-do list. I’m working on separating my days into blocks of time where I can focus on pieces of my projects and really feel like I’m making headway. Some of my projects are careers, like my pet care business, this blog. Some of my projects are personal passions, some of my projects are personal projects that I want to make into something bigger but need a lot of work yet. But alongside setting aside blocks each week for business, personal hobbies, education, I’m trying to be easier on myself.
I grew up in a time where it was expected that you would go to college, which I didn’t mind, but to go to college, you had to have a fleshed out resume, you had to be well-rounded, you had to be constantly productive in the views of society. I was at the lead of the over-pressured, be constantly productive generation, but I was an older child when that lifestyle came into play. I still remember playing outside, not constantly being on technology or needing to constantly prepping for college so I can prepare for adulthood as so many are expected to do now.
But even though it’s been a while since I graduated college(I have a reunion later this year-hint hint), I still feel like I’m wasting my time if I’m not constantly productive, if I take time for a hobby that doesn’t make money or even to just do nothing. I’m working on that mindset this month. If I’m in a time block that’s not set aside for something specific, I’m allowed to not do anything or to do a hobby/passion that not’s a career or that others may consider a waste of time and yet, at the same time, if it is time that’s set specifically for something and I don’t accomplish what is on my to do list or my 5 year plan, then that’s okay. It’s a 5 year plan for a reason, I did my best to leave flexibility so I’m not constantly pressured. I’ve always marched to the beat of my own drum but even then, I still felt like I had to be productive by society’s standards rather than simply relaxing and feeling like it was okay to spend hours on one thing like reading or playing video games or one of my craft hobbies.
So September has special focus on my health as it’s only worsening despite my best attempts, focus on accomplishing to-dos without feeling like I’m only constantly working and going easy on myself if I’m not doing something ‘acceptable’ by society standards or even doing nothing at all. So self-improvement as well as self-care. I’ve burnt myself out twice this year already where I then feel set-back as I cannot work on anything except my pet-care business as I’m too tired and we’re not even going to go into last year.
What is it you would like to improve in your life? Comment below if you’re comfortable doing so. I’d love to hear from y’all.
See Y’all Later!
Crofoot Cottage 