12 Months to a Healthier You: November 2014

12 Months to a Healthier You is a monthly challenge I’ve decided to take on. By taking on small challenges every month I’m hoping to make lifelong changes in the way I live.

12-Months-to-a-Healthier-You

I think I start off every one of these 12 Months to a Healthier You posts with some sort of surprise that a new month has begun.  I was going to start this post the same way.  Time passes by so quicky.

Now that the chagim are over, I want to spend this month taking a step back.  I want to stop rushing all the time.  I want to have more patience.  I want to be thankful for what I have, which ties in perfectly for this month’s challenge.

As a reminder, here are this year’s focus areas:

12 Months to a Healthier You

Focus Areas for 2014

January: Exercise Regularly
February: Eat More Fresh Fruits & Veggies
March: Drink More Water
April: Cut Back on Sugar
May: Get More Rest
June: Create a Morning Routine
July: Read More
August: Go to Bed Earlier
September: De-clutter Your Home
October: Cut Back on Caffeine
November: Keep a Gratitude Journal
December: Simplify & Say No

November Goal: Keep a Gratitude Journal

Honestly, I’ve never kept a journal before.  This should be interesting.  My goal is the write down one thing I’m grateful for each day.

thankfulHeart

Here’s a free printable for those of you who prefer pen and paper: November Gratitude Journal

November_gratitude_journalFor me though, pen and paper just won’t cut it.  I figured this would be the perfect thing to do on my way home from work after along day.  So, I created a new note in Evernote.  All I did was add a title, then I pressed “numbered list”.  Everyday, I will just add another item.  The great thing about this is that I can update it from anywhere- phone, iPad, or computer.

November_gratitude_journal_Evernote

Past Months In Review

October Goal: Cut Back on Caffeine- well, considering that I don’t usually drink a lot of caffeine, I did pretty well this month!  Remember, the tea I got?

tea

Well, I haven’t had any yet.  My office is just too hot, but I hope to try making some iced tea pretty soon.  I think that will be better for the climate in my office.  It will also help me with March’s goal to drink more water.  I should just drink more in general.

September Goal: De-clutter Your Home- Well, I’ve been keeping up my paperless kitchen counter.  I’ve also begun working on de-cluttering my bathroom counters.  More on that to come- once I finish it all.

August: Go to Bed Earlier- did not happen. Insert frowny face here. I must try again this month.

July: Read More– no books… only my weekly Binah magazine.

June: Create a Morning Routine– Mornings have been going fairly well. We don’t always leave the house as early as I would like, but so far, I haven’t missed the train!

May: Get More Rest- I got some rest over Succos.  The kids have been sleeping a bit better in their own beds, but it doesn’t help that I go to sleep too late!

April: Cut Back on Sugar- I plead the 5th on this one.  Again.

March: Drink More Water- Still no water bottle, but paper cups are doing the job. Just have to make sure to fill them up more often.

February: Eat More Fresh Fruits & Veggies- I’ve been taking fruit to work with me and have resumed making my roasted veggies.

January: Exercise Regularly- I wish! Does running up and down the stairs count?

I’m going to keep plugging away. I have to work on de-cluttering my bathroom counter.  All the toothbrushes, toothpastes, and brushes are getting out of hand!  I have a plan in place, just need time to implement it.

Have you ever kept a journal?  What do you like about it?  What do you write about?  (I’m not being nosy, just curious)

Until next time,
Shaindy

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