'09 begins.....them changes (Part I)

With the arrival of the new year comes the annual season of personal review and analysis. And it's the season of course adjustment, although often unintentionally temporary. The cliche resolutions are, of course, lose 30 pounds, exercise, spend less-almost universally doomed to failure. Maybe all such life change goals are doomed to failure, but it seems appropriate nonetheless to evaluate oneself at this calendar change time and list some desired repairs. So here goes...
A.) I want to make better use of the hours in my day. I've always noticed certain people seem to get more done than me. They finish projects much faster (I am hesitant to even undertake projects since things seem to take me longer, and I lose interest before completion). They finish books in much less time than me. They have regular recreation activities built in to their weeks (notice how I avoid calling it "exercise"-too traditional a resolution and too likely to be short lived.) They seem more "involved"-school and church committees and functions, memberships and volunteer service. It seems some people have 28 hours in their day, or they don't sleep, or they have clones. And it is very easy to pursue this particular goal and run head-long into contradiction with one of the next goals-to destress! So the answer seems to be to use the 24 hours I'm allotted each day better, more wisely. That's not the same as stuffing more things in. There are constants-sleep, work, eating, bathing, getting my kids up, fed, and out on school mornings, and variables. And, as I think about this, the constants aren't so rigid and inflexible after all. All the items that follow this one on my rather lengthy list of desired change become more realistic if I get this first one right. So I must...1.) Chisel in stone at least 7 hours of sleep-ideally 8. Everything one does throughout the day either benefits or is handicapped by how well this goal is met. 2.)Go to bed earlier-9:30ish, at least on school/work/church nights. If, for whatever reason. the next day allows a sleep-in,then this becomes more flexible. And accomplish this by.... 3.) by turning off the TV! (or not turning it on) The time spent flipping past infomercials and shopping channels alone may account for the difference in my day versus the 28 hour per day folks. My TV time waste is not only at bedtime. I have chiseled it into my morning routine, weekend routine, and day-off routine. As this wish list of changes grows and adds desired activities, most of the necessary time can be gained through less, much less, mind numbed channel flipping. 4.) As much as I relish the unhurried pace of my morning routine, I can fairly easily gain 45 minutes or so each day by condensing and abbreviating those morning activities. I once knew a fellow who could shower, groom, and dress in 10-15 minutes-a skill leftover from his Marine days. I take at least an hour, not counting the coffee and remote time, and breakfast with my boys time. So a simple change, but one dependent on on items 2 and 3 above, is to get up earlier, spend far less time in the bathroom, and be dressed and "ready" by the time I get my boys up for school and start breakfast. Again, the items that follow on my '09 plan seem far less...lofty... if this part of the plan becomes my new norm. I may not grow my day to 28 hours, but I will get more out of my 24.
It is now 9:59 pm. Bedtime. More to follow.
jls