15 things I will do differently in 2015

I used to make resolutions when I was younger. All the way until I was in university.

Then one day, my brother asked, “Why do you bother to paste up your resolutions on your cupboard when you’re not gonna keep them?”

I shrugged and swore I’d keep them.

I can’t remember if I eventually did – I’m pretty sure I didn’t keep all of them, but I think I ought to have managed some, or a few. But after that year, I stopped making resolutions.

It’s the second month of 2015 and here I am, trying to start making some sort of resolution again, some ten years later. These aren’t really resolutions per se, but I hope to make some changes in my life in 2015 so here they are and I’ve grouped them into various areas of my life:

1. Exercise more

Ever since I got back to my pre-pregnancy weight, I’m sad to say that I got conceited and stopped exercising regularly and after a major binging period of time during the mid-autumn festival in 2013, I haven’t managed to get my weight down and it has only increased over the years. This year, I hope to do more yoga, cycle more often on my stationary bike, and I may even consider signing up for Zumba classes at the nearby Community Club.

2. Make wiser food choices

As mentioned in my first point, I made very poor food choices back in 2013 (I ate one mooncake per day for at least 14 days!) and I haven’t been eating very healthy food most of the time, unable to fend off the temptations of chocolate, ice-cream and cakes. Coupled with a less-than-healthy lifestyle of not doing enough exercise, it has led to excessive weight gain. 🙁 Hence, I shall be eating less sweet, indulgent desserts and less deep-fried foods.

3. Eat at regular intervals

It seems almost impossible that a glutton should suffer from gastric and hyper acidity problems, but it’s true. I started the year badly by trying to skip a tea break in the afternoon so I could reduce the calorie intake but I ended up hurting my stomach instead and the problem lasted the whole of January. Looks like eating small meals at regular intervals would be the way to go for me.

4. Better utilise me-time

This point is actually linked to the next. I actually spend quite a bit of time at night playing games on my phone after the kids have slept. Hopefully I can cut down on playing and do more meaningful stuff like reflecting on the day and planning for the next.

5. Sleep earlier

I’ve been sleeping late because of my preference to game or hang around Facebook aimlessly. For a more rested day ahead, to ensure a less grouchy me, and for better health, I’d have to adjust my sleeping time. This one’s gonna be tough!

I’m continuing with homeschooling my boy and he’s supposed to be in N2 this year.

6. Be more disciplined

I really need to be more disciplined as sometimes it’s really easy to just decide not to do any formal schooling for the day due to lethargy or a late night. I need to work on having the discipline to follow through what I’ve planned.

7. To be more organised

Truth be told, I’m quite a disorganised person. But as a first step to becoming more organised, I have worked out the list of teaching aids I have at home and will be rotating those in my teaching! I also need to work out schedules and follow through. I have planned to do the main part of teaching while my girl is in school and I’m still learning to multitask teaching both at the same time at night as my boy likes being involved at night while my girl is working on her homework or extra practice given by me. It’s tough because both crave my attention and I’m still figuring out the best way to go about this. I’m also still wondering if I should revive the workbox system to get even more organised – I shall see how it goes.

8. Act rather than just plan

I can plan pretty well, but am super lousy in executing my plans. I shall have to get my act together!

9. Revive lit-based learning with my boy

This year, I shall be embarking on the Before Five in a Row curriculum and hopefully Five in a Row with my boy. I used to do literature-based learning with my girl and she loved it so I think I shall also use this approach to teaching my boy but this time with more structure with the guides (click on the link to read about why I recommend literature-based learning).

Above are just a few examples of what we’ve done (click here and scroll down to see the posts classified in that category; click on the pictures to bring you to the post).

10. De-clutter more

I’m glad to say that I’ve been quite in the mood to declutter and I’ve thrown out and given away a fair bit of stuff but there’s still more to go! It’s actually quite therapeutic to see the house with less stuff and knowing that the items are with someone who needs the stuff more than we do makes me happy and more motivated to clear more.

11. Be more prudent in spending 

I’ve made some impulsive buys over the years and I’ve come to realise that if I can just exercise more control over the spending and buying, there’ll eventually be less to declutter.

12. Carve out more couple time

With our kids becoming less dependent on us, I’m pretty glad we can finally spend more time together as a couple as they love to go over to my mum’s. This year, we watched Joe Labero’s amazing show – and I hope there’ll be more opportunities to just go out for a show or a meal together.

13. Be more patient

My girl just started Primary one this year and there are lots of changes in our routine and lives. It of course significantly affects her most since she is the one who’s going through the major adjustments: learning to cope with early waking hours, longer school hours, stricter rules and environment, learning to deal with finances, learning to become more independent. Hence, I know I need to exercise more patience this year with her to make her transition to Primary school as smooth as possible. (Please follow us on the Journeying through Primary One series as I share various aspects of transitioning to and coping in Primary One)

14. Spend more quality time with loved ones

With a better organised life and routine, hopefully there’ll be more time to cuddle with kids! Also, I will make it a point to chat more with my mum.

15. Stop to pray more instead of rushing about my ways

Without this point, probably all the planning will go to waste! 🙂

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Next on the ’15 Things I will Do Differently in 2015′ Blog Train will be Lynn.

Lynn is (mostly) a SAHM who loves to spend time in her kitchen cooking and baking. Apart from that, she also devotes her time to planning and creating teaching resources for her daughter, Faith, and to organize playdates for her. She believes that play matters for children and adults alike and tries to spend time in the outdoors as often as she can. Making lists is nothing new to her because she finds it fun to ‘tick’ each item off the list. Let’s find out what she would do differently in 2015!

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