happiness project: may

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wow wow wow, what happened to may?? all of a sudden i realize it's halfway gone and i still haven't posted about my happiness project goals. let's be real for a second though, i have definitely lost some momentum for keeping up with my goals. how do you stay motivated when it happens to you? i'll do some research and post about what i find.

april's goals went alright--find them here. i focused on being more cheerful, which has been easier as school finished, i graduated from college and i've moved closer to my man. so...success.

here are my goals for may (and here's to pushing through!):

be a better blogger--improve my content and be brave enough to be more personal

write more

spend more time reading and less time watching grey's anatomy

want to read more about our happiness project goals? january, february, march, april.

cheers, 

jane.

what jane wore // green for spring

It's the beginning of April and time for a Happiness Project update. Last month was all about going back to the basics. I was feeling overwhelmed and my routine was suffering. When the routine suffers, so does everything else. 

I've decided to focus April on lightening my mood (inspired by Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project). Here are the goals:

Be easy to please

Crank up my energy

Look for ways to help

Speak with good cheer

The four are taken from her November Resolutions, since they seem to match what I need right now. We've got a full and exciting month ahead! Only two weeks left of college, graduation, and then I get to move into the apartment Jess and I will live in after we get married in June. Jess and I haven't lived in the same town since we were seniors in high school -- five years ago. Hopefully we'll know what do do with ourselves when we live so close.

What goals will you make for April? It's spring, the perfect time to refocus your energies on something. Do it right now! Here are some ideas if you need help in pinning down a few goals: January // February // March.

xo,

Jane

happiness project: march

I revamped these mounted antlers (found secondhand), and I love the way it turned out. Jess isn't as excited because he's worried about having to tell everyone he's not the one who shot it. Oh well, I say. It's going to look fabulous in our front room.

Remember the Happiness Project? My February goals didn't go as well as I hoped, and I felt like it was because of a lack of regular routine. I thrive on routines but they haven't been very consistent lately, so I wanted to focus on rejuvenating those routines during March. Here are my goals:

Write in my journal every day.

Read scriptures every day.

Do something special on Sunday to set it apart.

Don't do homework on Sunday.

Work harder to make prayers more heartfelt.

Pray every morning.

So far it's been going really well. Have you set any new goals lately? If you haven't, just set one for the week and tell us what you're doing!

xo

Jane

march: making time for the things that are important

If you don't know yet, Jane and I are making goals all year long. We were inspired by the book, The Happiness Project, to set monthly goals. You make a new goal every month and try and build it on to your last months goal as well. January went extremely well for me, February not so much. 

My goal for February was to pray and read my scriptures daily and it just didn't happen. In other words-- I didn't make it happen. #mileaday from January also disappeared. The only thing that I was able to keep consistent was decluttering  When something starts stressing me out I just throw it away. (I also organized my Husbands closet. He actually hangs up his clothes now!) 

I guess I am a little disappointed in myself. 

On the upside, keeping track of goals monthly allows refresh and start over every 30ish days. My goal for March is to make time for important things. My important things are: 

1. Husband/Family- quality time

2. Spiritual Learning- prayer and scripture study

3. Music- guitar playing and singing 

Here is how I am going to tackle making time for each thing. I find that the more specific I am the more likely I am to do it. 

1. Husband/Family- Spend more QUALITY time

When I get home from work I am going to spend 1 solid hour with my Husband without any type of technology. Goodbye cell phone and computer. To me quality time needs to be spent engaging with the other person, watching TV while we are both on our phones checking Facebook doesn't count. Instead we can spend that first hour engaging each other in conversation, playing games, making dinner, etc. Also reaching out to extended family. Calling my Mom once a week, texting my sisters daily, and keeping in touch with my Grandma. 

2. Spiritual Learning- Prayer and Scripture Study 

This one is IMPERATIVE for me right now in my life. I just got a huge new calling at church (a calling is a position that you volunteer to serve in- my new calling is head of the women's organization at church). And I feel completely in adequate for this job, but know that with the Lord's help I can succeed. Enter daily prayer and scripture study. No excuses this month. 

3. Music- Guitar and Singing

I have been taking a guitar class for the last 8 weeks and have loved every single second. This month I really want to focus on pushing myself. I need to practice a minimum of three hours between every class in order to improve. In addition, I also want to record one song cover and get it online by the end of March. I am sick of spending a million hours surfing youtube watching all these super talented people and envying them. What a waste of time! I can only imagine if I would have turned those many many hours into guitar practice how good I could be right now. Have you heard the rule of the 10,000 hours?

And that is where I am at. Bring it on March! 

What are you March goals? Leave a link in the comments! We would love to read them.

xoxo-
Harley

february happiness project: love

I got to go home for this little guy's birthday this weekend--he's turning 9. Hard to believe it's been a whole year since he was baptized in the freezing cold river! Also, don't fret...he was completely in support of this dramatic pose.

I haven't had a chance to officially post my February goals, so I better do it before I lose any more of the month. Hopefully our Happiness Project updates don't become repetitive--we're posting about them a lot, partly as a reminder (hopefully an inspiration!) to keep track of your own new year resolutions, but mostly for ourselves. It's a way of being accountable. 
How are yours coming? If you've fallen off the wagon, jump back on! That's what's so great about the Happiness Project, each month is the chance to reset goals and start fresh.
My February goals are based around love and relationships.

1. Answer texts right away. Don't ever not text back.
2. Don't multitask while on the phone with anyone. Be fully invested in the conversation.
3. Be the initiator and call or text people first occasionally.
4. Do something sweet for Jess (specifically every day that I'm with him). 
5. Try to cater more to others' love languages.
6. Don't gossip. Don't judge. Don't criticize.
7. Give compliments when I think them.

xo

Jane

january: decluttering & exercise

My main goals for January were 

#1) Decluttering and 

#2) #mileaday

Decluttering is something that I struggle with. I, by nature, am a pack rat. The idea that I can always use something later makes me hold on to ridiculous things. The amount of magazines, clothing tags, and fabric scraps I keep around could qualify me for an episode of hoarders. I still have some clothes my my junior high days that I am carting around. What?! For this new year I gave myself the simple goal of getting rid of one article of clothing each month. I also implemented a one in one out policy. 

Do you know how liberating it is to just throw something away?! I never knew. To just put something in the trash with no strings attached. 

Michael accidentally shrunk one of my wool sweaters. Normally I would have held on to something like that because I could use it for future crafts or whatever, but this time I just tosed it. So far I am feeling really great and I haven't regretted throwing away anything yet... I also took the liberty of cleaning out all of my craft supplies that I haven't used in years. Now I only have a couple boxes for crafting/journaling and I know what is inside every single box. 

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#Mileaday is super simple. Every day I try to walk or run or elliptical or bike or anything one mile every day. In January I missed a few days but I am still chalking it up to a success because I netted over 40 miles for the month. Sometimes I got to the gym and just kept going until I hit like 5 miles! If you know me, then you also know that this is a rare rare occasion. I love the idea of mile a day because even if is has been an exhausting day anyone can walk a mile. It just takes 15 mins. If I have enough time on my lunch break I walk around the city at lunch. I can see my health improving and I have even dropped a few pounds.

I have been mostly using the gym to get my #mileaday because it is so cold here is Chicago. I can't wait for the summer months when it will be warm and I can go exploring around the city while still getting my exercise in.

*****

So that is it for January! I am really loving keeping track of goals monthly instead of yearly. It makes it so much more manageable. My Goals for February include building on the two stated above and adding daily scripture study and prayer. I'll let you know how it goes in 25 days!

Do you have any goals that you are working on? Please share the link! We love to read goals. 

Best,

Harley

happiness project wrap-up // january

In case you missed it, here's what my January Happiness Project looked like:
January (Energy) Go to sleep earlier Work out No sugar Use my daybook Don't procrastinate Act the way I want to feel 
The goals behind Happiness Projects are to keep track on a daily basis of the little things that you're trying to change. I printed a schedule to help me see progress, but I started forgetting about two weeks into the month. That habit alone is a job to remember, so that will be a priority for next month. Keep track, otherwise I slack like crazy. 
Some of those goals are hard to measure (don't procrastinate and act the way I feel). They're a bit more abstract, and I didn't feel like I earned very many check marks for those. The others (earlier curfew, working out, no sugar, and using my planner) were much easier to think about and complete during the day, so I was much more successful in those areas. 
The idea behind HP goals is that you add on every month. It's about developing good habits, not just doing something for 30 days and moving on. I'll keep these six habits on my list and in my head, but my priorities will be my new February goals, which I thought would only be fitting to base around love and service. I'll post those soon!
How successful have your new year resolutions been? If you're struggling, I encourage you to make an Excel spreadsheet to keep track, otherwise you can always download the original printables from the Happiness Project website!
xo! Jane

happiness project update

Image via. It's only been a few days since I posted my Happiness Project goals for January, but Harley and I decided i would be a good thing to start giving updates more consistently--hopefully helping ourselves stay on track and, ideally, inspiring other people to continue their own New Year resolutions. As a reminder, here are my January goals: 
January (Energy) Go to sleep earlier. Work out. No sugar. Use my daybook. Tidy up. Don't procrastinate. Act the way I want to feel.
The measurable goals (curfew, working out, no sugar, using my to-do list, and tidying up) have been easier to remember and keep, but the others are more difficult to remember during the day. I printed out one of Gretchen Rubin's downloads to keep track of my daily progress with a simple check mark or X, which is also keeping me much more accountable than if I were to simply keep my goals tucked away in my journals.
I have not been perfectly consistent on any of them, but an earlier curfew and no sugar have already made a difference in the way I feel, day to day. My boyfriend and my sister came to visit this weekend, and I was exhausted and ready to sleep by 11--not much of a party animal, I am. As far as no sugar goes, keep your eyes peeled for a 5 Tips post. I feel like many of you would love to participate in something like that but don't have the faith in yourself to go that long without sugar. Harley and I have done it so many times, we've come up with a pretty good idea of how to make a 30-day sugar fast bearable. Are you still keeping up on your own resolutions?

happiness project: january

photo via.
Finally, it's Happiness Project time. Currently I am reading The Happiness Project, as well as listening to Happier at Home in my car, so, needless to say, my head is swirling with ideas of how I want to become happy camper this year. The main message I've taken from Gretchen Rubin's experience is that, essentially, we need to be in a state of growth to be happier. 
I plan on doing a 12-month project like she did, but the thought of planning each month now overwhelms me. Instead (and for now), I'll outline one month at a time. My January looks much like hers did; I like the idea of working to find more energy in the first month.
January (Energy) Go to sleep earlier: Shut off the light by 10:45. Work out: Whether it's Zumba, 25 pushups or a walk around the block, do something. No sugar: Once again, I'm cutting out sugar. I've loved it every other time I've managed to do it, plus my mom is doing it this time! Use my daybook: Make to-do lists before I go to bed so I can sleep in peace. Check things off the next day. Tidy up: Before I sleep, tidy up my room. It only takes a few seconds, but it'll keep things nice and orderly. Don't procrastinate: Tackle tasks (...like homework) right away. Act the way I want to feel: Like Gretchen, I think it'll benefit me to act more energetic, happy or calm--even if I don't always feel that way. 
There are printouts on The Happiness Project website to help keep track of daily progress, which I'm already using. I think they'll help me remember and feel more accountable, which is a good way to prevent New Year Resolution Abandonment.
If any of you are still posting your resolutions or Happiness Projects, give us the link!