How is that resolution going?

Readers with long memories will recall that my 2010 resolution is to spend 15 minutes per day working at my desk. The order of operations is: banking, inbox, blogs. I printed each month out and I get a star each day I met my goal. You can see how well January went.
A funny thing happened as the year progressed. I started using the calendar to keep track of other things I had accomplished too. This came about because of an excellent connection of the dots. Often times, self-improvement suggestions make the point that if you have done what you want to do to improve, you should reward yourself. I tend to struggle with the “reward” part. Every single reward I can think of either costs money or takes up time I would rather spend doing other things. So the reward concept, though I’m behind it, is something I never really do for myself. I enjoy my life and at the same time have to complete a number of tasks to ensure my life runs smoothly. Then, I read the advice that marking a star on a calendar could be the reward.

Holy cannoli! I think making stars on calendars is the most excellent reward ever. So the stars for the 15 minutes of desk time were next joined by a circle when I practiced my guitar. Then by a triangle if I swept the house for five minutes. Then a square if I spent time looking for a teaching job. And on and on. Now my calendar is full of rewards and I am one happy camper.
Here’s a key for everything that can appear on my day:
5 = Get up at 5:00
M = Meditate
G = Garden
Circle = Guitar practice
Square = Teaching job search
Triangle = Sweep the house for five minutes
b = blog
V = cook a vegetable
e = exercise for 30 minutes
E = exercise for 60 minutes or more.
I don’t hit my desk time every day, and I think I’ve only been able to put everything down for the day once, but this is a great way for me to track what I’m doing and seeing how well I’m staying on track.

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