Schedule...Duh

Schedule...Duh

So, I've been kind of beating myself up lately because I've been slipping on my New Years Resolutions already. I was all like How is this happening?!?! I started blogging to keep myself on track and I'm still falling behind!!! Then I realized that I'm never going to do something if I don't make time to do it. It's so easy to just come home from work and sit on the couch for the rest of the night. So I made a schedule for myself. 

Sunday-Apply for jobs, Yoga, Guitar lessons, History Class, Finances

Monday-Yoga, Apply for jobs, practice guitar, class/read

Tuesday-Workout/Marathon train, apply for jobs, practice guitar, class/read

Wednesday-Yoga, apply for jobs, practice guitar, class/read

Thursday-Workout/Marathon train, apply for jobs, practice guitar, class/read

Friday-volunteer (at least once a month, hopefully every other week)

Saturday-Apply for jobs, workout, practice guitar, class/read

Rules/guidelines to making a schedule: 

1. Pick a few things you want to focus on. I would love to invest some time in photography classes, cooking classes, sewing classes, etc. But I chose 3 or 4 things that are important to me right  now, at this moment. Eventually I will be able to replace the time I allotted for applying for jobs for something else. Or I will be able to take a class on something else (right now I'm taking history classes to strengthen my teaching content area). But for now, this is what I want to focus on. 

2. Remember there are only 24 hours in a day. Obvious, but if you are like me, you want to do all of these amazing things, but what you actually end up doing is over scheduling yourself. When I was making my daily schedule, I figured out how much time I actually had by adding up the hours I had between the end of work and bedtime. I also accounted for time for dinner, getting ready for bed, etc. I also left the time I actually do these activities pretty open. If playing guitar is helping me relieve stress, I'm okay with focusing more on that than applying for jobs. Or if there is a really desirable job I'm applying for, I'm okay with spending less time reading in order to get my application turned in. 

3. Give yourself a day of rest. I learned this when I started working out regularly. It's important to give yourself one day away from busy, so you don't burn yourself out. Go out with friends, go on a date, or stay in and be a bum, whatever you want to do. It's a you day type thing. Also, it will be easier to keep true to your schedule because you won't feel like you are falling behind if you have one day to do nothing. 

4. Be realistic. Another one that seems obvious, but is easily forgotten. Am I going to want to do a million things on Saturday and Sunday...nope. But that's okay. I'm honest with myself, and only gave myself a few things to focus on for those days. The same with volunteering. I originally thought that I would volunteer once a week, but then I started thinking that I love having very "unscheduled" Saturdays and Sundays, which means I would have to volunteer sometime during the week. I probably won't want to go any where after work Monday-Thursday, because I work later those days than I do on Friday. But do I want to give up every Friday night to volunteer? No. Selfish, but true. So I set myself a goal of at least once a month (which I think is very reasonable), but really trying to aim for every other week (which I think is also reasonable once things get settled around here). 

5. Kill 2 birds with one stone. Yoga and Marathon training complement each other very well. Also, I know I will be able to listen to class lectures while on the treadmill at the gym. Perfect! More time to do other activities or relax if I chose. 

I'm not sure if anyone is actually following my blog at all, but this has been a great way to keep myself tied to my New Years Resolution. You, imaginary audience, are all contributing to making me follow through with what I say I'm going to do. 

Oh, I almost forgot. FREEBIES! I'm not actually paying for guitar lessons or history lessons, etc. The wonderful thing about the modern day internet is all the free resources. 

• Guitar lessons: http://www.guitarlessons.com/guitar-lessons/
• I would give this site 5 out of 5 stars. This guy is really good at explaining technique, segmenting lessons to different guitar styles, and incorporating actual songs while teaching skills. Of course nothing really compares to the real thing, but he will also give you feedback if you send him a video, and he's not too bad on the eyes. 
• History Courses: http://academicearth.org/history/
• I have just started using this site, but I would give it a 4 out of 5 stars so far. I've looked at other sites, where it's like an actual course with papers, tests, quizzes, etc. But there was no lecture, and that's the main source of interest for me. I prefer lectures with possibly some quizzes in there to hold me accountable for the information I learned. I figured that I could also hold myself accountable for the information I learned by making it into a PowerPoint that I could possibly use for future classes. Or maybe I could put it on teachers pay teachers. . . to be determined. Also this site is completely free, and these lessons are coming from reliable sources, like the Berkeley History Department. Hell yeah. This site also has different categories if you click the "courses" tab, but I haven't checked them out yet. Let me know if you run into a particularly good course :)
• Marathon training: http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51137/Marathon-Novice-1-Training-Program
• There are A TON of marathon training schedules and everything online. I tend to use these schedules as a guideline to make my own schedule. The reason I do this is because I'm going to be more likely to follow a schedule I designed rather than some run-of-the-mill schedule because it works better for me...of course, it was designed by me. Obvious, but true. 
• Yoga: Youtube/Google Videos
• Honestly, there are a million of videos for yoga online. I usually use youtube and google videos. If you are looking for a particular time, you can go into the search settings and adjust your results to give you a particular length. Otherwise, I subscribe to different channels and see what they have to offer. Let me know again if you find a particularly good video.