Weekly Resolutions
[ 17 February 2008 ]
Every Sunday night, I plan the week ahead: appointments (always v. serious, like getting a manicure or picking up something from the tailor), articles I’m going to write, emails I need to compose. I grab my Moleskine diary & a pen & start plotting it out. It’s always the last thing I do on a Sunday, & it makes me feel really good because I can go to sleep knowing my schedule for the next 7 days. Of course, it is always open to interpretation & alterations, but having a rough outline means I don’t have to panic about writing subjects or deal with that dreaded “I have to do something but I don’t know what it is!” feeling.
Last night, as I did it, I realised that there were a few things I wanted to do this coming week. Not on a specific day, just generic aims. As I recited them off to my boyfriend, I started to ponder the concept of having weekly resolutions. I know that New Year’s resolutions can be quite daunting to a lot of people, which I’m sure isn’t helped by the fact that we are always expected to set great hulking goals for ourselves (like “Solve world hunger” & “Organise closet”). But if we could break down the time-frame, surely that would make it easier?
With this in mind, I present to you… my weekly resolutions!
Explanations:
I ate lots of rubbish last week. Consequently, my skin broke out like mad. I also became overwhelmingly bored with salads & smoothies. This week I resolve to eat more fresh, raw treats, guzzle lots of water & fuel myself properly.
Vogue UK is running a “young talent” competition, open to anyone under the age of 25. It doesn’t say anything about needing to be a UK resident, but as I am a UK citizen, I figure I’m probably okay. The prize — a month’s work experience at Vogue — would be truly amazing.
I am going to jump on my miniature trampoline every morning before I start working! I have made a playlist in iTunes called “jumping!”. Hee. Just to get the blood pumping & to amp me up for the day ahead.
Kind of self-explanatory. But I want to be up at 7.30 every morning. I feel so much better when I wake up early & get into the day! This also means not staying up too far past midnight (unless there is something very fun going on).
My email can be a bit beastly at times. I receive a lot of it. It is very overwhelming if I leave it for too long. Ergo, I resolve to deal with it every day, rather than leaving it for a week (etc.).
I’m going to put my resolutions on my desk, next to my keyboard (where I have another index card with some more specific goals). I’m expecting that having something so focussed in easy view will help me stay on track.
I asked Audrey if he had any resolutions for the week, & he said his are:
To go to bed at a reasonable hour every night
Pick a random interstate friend and make them a care package
Do SOMETHING every night this week, not just go straight home
So, what do you think about the concept of weekly resolutions? Do you think that they might help you? One thing that people always say about goal-setting (big, small, long- or short-term) is that if you make your goals public — i.e., you share them with others — you are more likely to achieve them. Sharing an ambition makes it real, & helps commit you to the cause. With that in mind, I invite you to write about your weekly resolutions here. Hopefully we can all lift each other up to make them happen!
Love letters & feather headdresses,
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I needed this today!
My weekly resolutions are:
1. Work on my novel for at least an hour every day
2. Take exploring walks—the icky weather has been keeping me inside lately
3. Make a doctor’s appointment about that physical thing that’s been worrying me
4. Spend quality time with my bf every night.
1. Eat healthier (I ate lots of junk too last week and as a result was always hungry.)
2. Work on my music video for two hours every day
3. Go to Spotlight and buy material to make myself a tutu.
Love your work, Gala! A month’s work experience at ‘Vogue’ would be an amazing opportunity, and I shall keep my fingers crossed for you!
My weekly resolutions (for this week!) are:
x Exercise! I was really slack with exercising last week and I felt sluggish all week – although I do exercise to maintain my weight, I also exercise because I feel so much better after I do and ready to take on anything! I just find its important for my moods as well as my body and because I didn’t exercise last week, I really just didn’t feel 100%.
x Waking up early! Waking up early allows me to dedicate some quality time for walking, sorting my wardrobe and planning my day, so I really need to do it more often!
x Taking time to relax – reading a book, laughing with my boyfriend, rolling around on the floor with my puppy, calling a friend – work can be stressful and sometimes I let it consume me! Making sure I take time out to relax makes me feel positive and reminds me to put things into perspective!
x To purchase a trench for Winter and a fabulous sparkly party dress for a girls night out in a couple of weeks time!
:)
Smoothies and salads would get monotonous after a while. I made this, last week, and it’s raw (i think?) and vegan:
www.taste.com.au/recipes/17157…
I make weekly resolutions, if only to put my week in some sort of doable order, at times.
Ooo that’s a great idea! I’ve never thought of it, mmm I wonder why??
Anyways mine would be:
*Study for Physics exam. *Sleep at a reasonable hour (after all, I wake up at 5:10 am everyday) *East as less junk as possible *Make lasagna *Start doing my homework when it’s assigned. *Got to the movies
Kisses.
Hi Gala,
I think your resolutions are good; definately do the Vogue thing :D
Mine are
- Go to bed earlier
- Don’t drink any caffeine after 8PM
- Eat a proper meal before I go out drinking on Thursday
- Buy the Sex & the City shoebox :)
It is £54 on www.Play.com
- Do some Artwork for my College interview portfolio.
Have a lovely week Gala,
Lucy
I started writing down weekly resolutions after school finished because i found myself cruising through whole weeks without getting anything accomplished. Usually, my resolutions are similar every week.
+Post at least 2 blog entries
+Add something to my novel-in-progress
+Some form of exercise at least 3 times a week
+Buy/make friend’s birthday present
+Look/apply for a new job
+Email a friend i havent spoken to in awhile
Oh, and Gala, good luck with the Vogue competition
Yaye for the UK competition!!!!!
Excitement _
Good idea having weekly resolutions…..will get my moleskine out and have a little plan for my week ahead i think…..
This week I’m going to do my best to focus on enjoying the moment rather than getting anxious about things which may or may not happen in future. I’m going to try hard not to think about things which aren’t helping me. If something is stressing me out I need to find a solution or stop dwelling on it.
1 do five pieces of work for my art course interview
2 stop freaking and start planning going up to scotland on my own
3 get my friends birthday presents that will be genuinely useful to their planned careers or hobbies
(or a dvd of the royal tenenbaums :p)
I’ve just realised how addicted I am to your site, first thing I said to myself was ‘Oh my god I will die without my regualr fix’ but if you win that teen vogue competition I will defo send you a congratulations card + present! good luck! you’re amazing!
desert_rose — Have you read The Power Of Now by Eckhart Tolle? If not, you should :>
lolarose — I wouldn’t stop writing for here, don’t you worry!
Great idea Gala! You know, I usually have weekly resolutions but I never write them down so they lost as the week progresses. I should set some time aside for myself on Sunday evenings to plan the week. Here are my week’s goals:
~ Sew two decorative pillow cases
~ Finish reading two novels (I am reading two at the same time, don’t even ask why :-P)
~ Don’t eat meat this week
~ Go for a hike
I like this idea very much indeed! Here are some of my weekly goals:
-Finish up all of the errands I’ve been meaning to do (get my taxes filed, make eye doc appointment, etc…)
-Make some actual plans re: the fun night of having some friends over to play Wii I’ve been wanting to have!
-Exercise and eat better (I’ll work out the specifics later) – Do anything and everything to embrance my innate nerd/geek! And not to hide it in any way, shape or form.
My goals for this week are (and I really really like this idea!):
-To clean my bedroom.
-To get my sleeping patterns back on track (I am currently operating backwards of how a human should)
-To finnish all of my school work, and not leave it all till next Sunday night.
-Resume looking for a job
-To start practicing driving again because I am basically the only 18 year old without a license (and I need it before April 16th, eek!)
Hee, I thought everybody did this! It’s called my ‘diary’. Open on the desk 24/7, with a week to a double-page. And that leftover eighth bit is for my grocery shopping list. On Sunday nights I . . . Turn The Page. And there it is. If I have a non-date-specific task I write it down on Monday, and if it’s still there at night, I write it down for the next day, &c until it gets crossed off. This week I need to finish and send in an article for the local paper, catch up with a book-keeper friend vis-a-vis my ballet-teaching empire, and go and buy some ballet-teacher clothes.
And I LOVE making goals public. It’s really effective. If you tell everyone your plans, you’ve got to follow through. And you can also count on people for support, too. I’ve done it for huge things like, ‘I’m planning to have a baby next year’, etc. (But don’t get too excited, my baby-having days are DONE.)
And I love that ‘February’ cleavage-scrawl in the picture.
Kelly — I am 24 & don’t have one! So you’re not alone ;D
This is a really great idea, and something I’ve been doing a lot of recently (wasting as little opportunity as possible, amping up the activity from week to week) since this past year my mother has been dying and I’ve had to spend a lot of time off and on taking care of her. There’s nothing like looking mortality in the face (and being marooned in rural Texas for weeks at a time!) to stir you out of the doldrums of inactivity when its in one’s power to do things.
PS. I’ve found your energy and vibe incredibly comforting and inspiring ever since I started reading a few months ago. And xoxo to raw foods!
My Resolutions:
1. Eat healthier, meaning: stop eating everything that’s not fixed down
2. Stop worrying about something that will occur five months from now especially when it’s inevitable
3. Read 2 Agatha Christies
I usually do a To-Do list but I like the idea of resolutions so much more!
* To eat vegan for a week. Just to see if I like it.
* Go to the gym every morning and try harder in Pilates
* Do some quality writing
* Make a fabulous outfit for the awards ceremony that I am going to on Saturday. I’m going straight to Vinnies!
Amazing idea; Gala! I’m going to post my weekly goals on my blog every Sunday night (I have yet to buy the moleskines that I need!).
And good luck with the writing contest — you definitely deserve it. Ah, I wish we had something like for US Vogue…
This was just what I needed today! I just went and got a blood test done that I’ve been putting off for three months!
Lately,I don’t make weekly resolutions so much as day to day. Before I go to bed I usually try to write down what I have planned and things I want to do the next day. It helps me remember my schedule and focus instead of sitting around all day and then realizing that I didn’t get anything done.
I’m planning on entering the Vogue competition too, someone at uni reminded me about it. I’m not very hopeful about winning – I read a winner a couple of years ago when my sister bought an issue and it was really boring to me, so I think they might not be looking for something like what I would write.
I always make weekly resolutions, I’ve done it since I was in secondary school. I used to set myself three goals every week. They were usually 1. do more exercise 2. practice piano and 3. make more friends. If I managed to complete any of them it was very rare!
Lady Julianne le Fay — Hmm, interesting about your goals! I think there’s a reason why you don’t (or didn’t) do that stuff. Do you believe that exercise is boring, piano is pointless & making friends is hard? If so, of course you wouldn’t bother; what’s the point?! :D Maybe if you broke them down more, they’d be more achievable. Like, “invite one new person out to coffee” or “study sheet music” or “do 10 push-ups”?
Yay, I’ve made basic plans for my week on Sunday evening as far back as I can remember! I also like to make a weekend to-do-list on a Friday afternoon/evening. As someone who works a traditional 9-5 week, I like my weekends to pack a real punch! So prioritising what I’d truly like to get accomplished over the weekend really helps me feel like I get the most out of them. My resolutions for this week:
~ keep up my no-caffeine life!
~ not eat any meat this week!
~ develop the new business idea I have a little further!
~ start a “look-book”!
~ buy myself some new DJ quality headphones & do some calculations to see whether I can afford to buy myself a MacBook & a Serato Scratch Live set-up this weekend so I can start learning how to mix & be one step closer to being a superstar DJ! hehe!
~ finish the book I’m reading (Alain de Botton)!
~ confirm what I’m doing for my birthday party celebrations & book the venue this week!
I think that’s about it this week. I have so much going on at the moment I’m being really careful not to overload myself. It’s all about the quality of what you can achieve, not the quantity!
x
PS: The Vogue UK opportunity sounds freakin’ AMAZING & I think you would kick some serious Vogue ass! Good luck gorgeous! Let us know how you go! x
Oh, those were my goals when I was about 15! They were goals I wanted to achieve, but I preferred to spend my time reading books, and making friends was really difficult for me. I do still have the same problems with my goal-setting now I think about it – I make them too big and not focused enough, and then I just get depressed because I meant to achieve them in a week but they’re still on the list two months later. I’ll definitely try to break them down more, thanks!
And I actually do need those three goals again, I think, strange but true…
best idea ever!!
well it’s my birthday on friday, so i’ve decided i’m going to have a good week no matter what. i’m not going to let anyone get to me!
i will also:
-do my nails – finish organising my party (the theme is france! and i need to make my dress still!!) – do yoga + rowing machine-ing – eat about 70% raw – be happy!!!
xoxoxo
Such a good idea! It’s a good way to do things: breaking down something good in concept but difficult in practice (resolutions) into managable, bite size pieces. While I do this to a certain degree for academics, having more fluid and personal goals is something I need to start doing. Thanks for your always useful articles!
My goals for the upcoming week:
-Go to bed before midnight every night
-Get up at 9 – I have this week off of school, so this is a big goal for me!
-Take a brisk walk in the afternoon – if it’s not raining, that is.
-Keep my nails and hair looking good, even though I’m seeing a lot fewer people this week. I want to look good for me!!
I do to do lists/weekly resolutions all the time. Some are actual “to do’s” while some are general goals as yours are. A lot of them tier up to the year goals that I do at the beginning of the year.
I’m planning for a tea party this weekend, so a lot of this week’s stuff is about getting ready for that.
Plus a pedicure!
Luv
Poochie
Weekly resolutions are the best idea!
I usually get really anxious if I have a list of things I need to be doing and then it gets worse as it slowly builds up. I usually write them on a post-it note (a pink or orange one of course) and stick it to the Monday section of my diary, and gradually cross them off throughout the week. It’s the best feeling!
My resolutions this week I suppose are to catch up with my best friends and exercise.
So I’m calling them up to go on a long evening stroll :)
Dear Gala, this is SUCH a fantastic idea. I find that when I have my goals in mind, the more likely I am to make them a priority.
This week I resolve to:
+ Catch up on reading for my classes by going to the library daily.
+ Eat meals slower.
+ Spend at least 20 minutes everyday reading my for-fun book, The End of Fashion.
+ Call everyone who calls me back.
I made a ‘yoga’ playlist, ‘sleep’ playlist and ‘salsa’ playlist for my iPod!
This week I want to write a job application everyday.
I want to save half of my wages.
And I want to spend a night with just my other half and myself.
I really like this idea! I find it hard to stick to yearly resolutions since they’re on such a broad scale, but breaking it down like this is nice. And since I always have an idea of what I want to do each week, actually writing it down might help me to remember them and stick to them!
- Eat more healthily
- Work out two times this week
- Use my free time more wisely, doing things I truly enjoy :)
- Make a “spring” playlist for my iPod
Weekly goals is a great idea!
I just wrote my list and then I read it out loud to my bf, so now I have to do all the things on it!
My boyfriend actually started making daily resolutions, and I’ve been copycatting him. I’m definitely a girl who makes gigantic, grand, intimidating promises to myself, so breaking them down into concrete daily tasks (or treats) is amazingly productive.
Today, my goal was to catch up on sleep (check! got out of bed at 1:30pm!!) and yesterday, it was to respond to the dozens of emails I got about my new blog (check! I didn’t go to the gym and answered the emails instead, but I’m glad I did).
I think my President’s Day goal for tomorrow will be to actually go to the gym or run around outside if it’s nice…
& I’m glad you thought to write about this tip. So helpful!
I love the idea! I have been doing monthly ones since Nov, every new moon I write a list of goals. But I think the weekly thing is good!
This week mine some of mine are:
*have fun with workmates on Friday (last day at my job) & make happy-face cupcakes for everyone
*eat healthy!
*exercise daily, even if that only means a bike round the block. i swam this morning & i find that i feel SO much happier if i get up early to exercise.
*do eft at least 10min a day. i have been slacking off lately & getting hard-out moodswings
*do something kind for someone this week.
I just want to know how to write this legal studies assignment… :(. It is on TORT law. I want an A for it. I also want to feel well rested and remember to take my multivitamins.
*Sign up & attend one fun class; either Hiphop dance, Bellydance or Pilates!
*Make important doctor appointment & chase up results from specialists.
*Clean room
*Take my lunch to work for at least 4 days (Healthier and cheaper!)
*Commit to (starting today!) moving back to a vegetarian diet!
xxoo
oohhh what a wonderful idea!
Numero Uno. But a present for my dear friend, it was his birthday almost two weeks ago!!
2.Make homework my main focus every night (I was sick & missed a few days of school last week, eekk! Very behind!)
3. Drink more water!!
4. Compliment someone every day (I know I appreciate it when someone lets me know how much they love my shoes, why not share the love?!)
xoxo
p.s. This is the first time I have commented, I love iCiNG so much! Thank you, Gala.
i am going to new york tomorrow (!!!) so here are my new york resolutions:
- spend lots of money (i’ve saved nearly $1000!) – visit lots and lots and lots of galleries and soak up all the beautiful art – visit the village – eat pancakes for breakfast! – not get lost and end up in the bronx.
xx!
Thanks for the post on the Cupcake blog Gala, its perfect, exactly what I was looking for =)
And also thanks for answering my email, while I had already made the moves I was asking your advice for (is that even English?), your sentiment and sincerity put some sparkle in my day, thank you
xxj
a mini trampoline! that’s so amazing.. now i am thinking of getting one. but is it apartment-safe? as in, is there a chance of a close encounter with the ceiling?
sophie~ — Please promise to hit up Patricia Field in Soho! You will die with happiness!
mari — Haha, they’re great! & it’s very apartment safe. You don’t usually jump very high :> It’s fantastic exercise!
.Do some more dabbling in fake tans.
.Actually attend this job interview!
.Go for my Learners, again. Haha.
Gala do you have any tips on moving interstate! Like renting before arriving ( is that possible) and applying from the state your living in?
Thanks! xxox
bette! — It’s not really a topic I have a lot of info on. I’ve moved internationally before & it was pretty tedious, but other than that… ! It’s typically very hard to rent from a different state, they like to eyeball you & get an idea of what you’re like (or whatever). Quelle drag. You could get a friend to go on your behalf but I still don’t think they would rent it to someone else in your name. The best thing you can have is someone to stay with or a cheap hotel to tide you over while you search for somewhere to live. It can take a while, depending on the time of year & area.
I sometimes have weekly resolutions and othertimes I don`t but I really should start trying to do this every Sunday also…
- No eating after 9:30pm – No coffee after 8:00pm – Go for a walk – At least 2 times – Take photos outside, at least one every day – Write at least three blog posts before next Sunday – Do a minimum of 10 hours study during the week – Eat at least two pieces of fresh fruit everyday
Best of luck with your competition entry and your other resolutions for the week!
Ahh I should do this every week, after 4 months of holidays, I am hopelessly unmotivated.
So this weeks resolutions are:
*Get up earlier: I’m going back to uni in a fortnight, so I want to get my body prepared for my 6am starts two days a week!
*Get over tonsilitis: I tried homeopathic medicine to beat this horrible bug that I have now had for the fourth time in three years, but now I give up. I’m going to the doctor, I want to be well for Soundwave festival next week.
*Buy uni textbooks: I’ve been saying I am going to do this for the last two weeks, and I really don’t want to start uni and realise I still don’t have them, due to my own laziness.
*Exercise more: I want/need to lose weight, and I only have myself to blame for falling off the healthy lifestyle wagon (again and again and again). So this week I am going to start again, hopefully with a litle more conviction than last time!
*See my boyfriend more: We live on completely opposite sides of Melbourne, every day of the week one of us is at tafe or uni, and we both work. Yes it is hard, but I love him to bits, so this week I am going to make more of an effort to see him more, and make him feel loved.
*Make a present: My friend just gave me a homemade Christmas present (yes I know, it is two months late)...but I haven’t finished hers yet. So that is a high priority on this list.
xo
the other week i was the one which wrote people shouldnt buy into beautiful packaging, because “its not going to make you look like a cartoon” in the case of the Fafi mac stuff, its my genral resolution to dress up every week, at least once if not all the time.
So here i sit with massive pink hearts painted on my cheaks at my sister’s uni,looking like a cartoon inspired weirdo and its awesome!
This week i hope to keep dressing up,
find out about somewhere to live in the city
take advantage of how beautiful the place i live at the moment is by the sea and get kite surfing lessons before i leave.
And study for my boring maths course
Hmmmmmm. You have inspired me to buy a mini tramp. (No! Not a 3 ft. high hooker!)
Could you perhaps share your jumping playlist? I’m dying for some new tunes.
Hey gala,
I have a friend who is studying nutrition from raw foodist Natalia Rose – www.therawfooddetoxdiet.com/
Anyways…she advocates using a mini tramp, and I’d been thinking about getting one also, then I read your blog post!! So much fun.
Also, thanks so much for turning me on to Steve Pavlina!
Gala, please post your “jumping” playlist! So many of us have exercise resolutions and music is the perfect motivation.
xx
resolutions for this week
+ listen to at least 50 unplayed songs in my itunes (out of 372)
+ work at least 10 hours
+ catch up to homework
+ exercise at least 3 times
+ revamp my resume
Woaha, super-late but I had to do this (I don’t have internet in the beach so I can’t be update with your site! :()
1-Kiss and love and hug and smooch my sister’s son as much as I can! (first time I’m gonna see him!!)
2-Buy all the stuff I need for the uni
3-Call my friends so we can organize a last-time meeting in my beach-house :D
4-Write long and cute mails to my boyfriend while he’s in Argentina
5-Bike a little bit