Life Plan 2010

"He who fails to plan, plans to fail"

At the beginning of this year, I sat down to write my New Years' Resolutions. The process goes as follows:

1. Take last year's resolutions

2. At the top of the page stroke out 2009

3. Write 2010

4. Ta-da!

Realizing this wasn't going to get me anywhere, I came up with something a little different. I called it my "Life Plan for 2010." It was five paragraphs that outlined where I wanted to be/what I wanted to do in 2010 in the following categories: physical me, emotional me, family, career and money. I've looked at the plan regulary (not daily as I intended) and I've done a really good job of living the plan. As a result, I'm feeling really good about my life these days and can point to a number of things that are making a difference.

In no particular order here's my Top 10 List:

1. I'm exercising nearly every day. I've made this a priority and make no apologies for it. To find the time, I've just cut out a lot of bad TV.

2. I'm eating good, healthy foods. I'm also using fitday.com to track my calories, so I know when I'm eating more than I should.

3. I'm reading. No, not Corporate Communications textbooks, I'm getting lost in some great reads. 30 minutes a night at bedtime is another priority (see cutting out bad TV).

4. I'm turning off my BlackBerry. Not only has this made me more productive with my school work, but my overall mental health is improved (insert joke about Rick's mental health here). I needed this mental break and didn't realize it.

5. This wasn't on the Life Plan, but I told myself winter was only three months. Somehow that kept me from ever getting too depressed about cold, grey days. I knew they would be over really soon.

6. I'm playing with my kids. The BlackBerry is off, my school work is set aside and I'm all theirs. In the past I haven't always done a good job of being with them when I'm with them and I'm making more of an effort. It's so much fun for all of us!

7. I took the kids to their first hockey game. I don't want to be one of those dads that can't make time for special little things like that and will look for more ways to expose them to new things together.

8. I'm really enjoying "the little things." A short coffee break, a glass of wine or a little bit of time to read the newspaper. I've known for a while that I don't need a lot to be happy, but even then didn't appreciate some of those small rewards that I already had.

9. I'm getting excited about my job search. It's easy to let the thought of possible joblessness (after graduation) stress you out, but I'm choosing to view it as the next great challenge. I'm focused on networking and building my brand and feel like I'm going to make something big happen.

10. I'm writing. I love to write and this blog has been a great outlet for me. I think I'll be blogging beyond this program.

That's me. How about you? Doing anything different in 2010 to be happy?