It's That Time (Again) . . .

To make plans for a new year. 

Notice that I didn't say the "R" word, resolutions, because as many of us well know, there are the standard ones that are prone to failure within a few weeks.

According to statistics, as many as 80% of folks do not keep their New Year's resolutions by February. Only 8% of people successfully stay with them for the entire year. 

While most folks start strong, studies have shown that almost one out of four quit within the first week of a new year. Most quit before the end of January blaming failure to fulfill resolutions on a lack of time, resources, or motivation. 

There's always a core group of resolutions plans. Among the top ones are: exercise more, eat healthier, lose weight, save more and spend less. 

These are followed by a few more:

Get organized

Learn a new skill or hobby

Enjoy life to the fullest

Spend time with family 

Contact friends more often

Take care of mental health

Pursue a new interest

Be more environmentally aware

Look for a new job

In recent years, there's been more unusual ones: Get your photo taken in five interesting places, learn a decent party trick, break a record, make a new friend a month, learn something not learned in childhood, try a new food each week, and make the usual "unusual" (my favorite).

While I haven't written any 2023 goals (again not the R word), here's a few I've been considering in no particular order:

Turn off the PC at least 1 day each week

Stop contacting folks who never respond

Walk around the neighborhood

Dine out weekly with Grenville

Listen more, talk less

Sort through photos

Back up my PC monthly

Consider a bucket list 

Say thank you often

Compliment often

Do something nice daily

Buy flowers randomly

Read more nonfiction

How about you — any goals, plans, resolutions for 2023?

Speaking of saying thanks, BIG thanks to all who left comments on our recent holiday posts. Grenville and myself read and appreciated all of them, but more so, all our blogger friends.

Resolver or Not?

This post could have been titled "Resolved or Not?" but, it refers to the one doing the resolutions, so it is aptly named.

After posing the question on my 1st post of 2020, many bloggers replied that they no longer make New Year's resolutions. Like most who commented last week, neither do I. That's not to say, I don't have some non-resolutions. Many were started this week, which is why blog posting and reading has lagged a bit.

Here's a few of my intentions, not resolutions. 
Since posting and reading comments from some fellow bloggers, I've added a few more.

Continue to halt unsolicited junk/donation requests. Easier said than done, many of you are thinking, but it can be done, only if you're willing to invest some time, here's HOW I do it. Whenever we receive a mailing or catalog from a place we haven't donated to/bought from, I call the customer service number (or any other number in the mailing) and politely and directly request (no yelling/threatening) that my/our names and address not only be removed from their mail lists but never to be provided to any other organization, no matter HOW worthwhile its cause; we prefer to select our own organization to donate to and prefer local ones. 

Does this work? Yes, it does, and it may take persistence with repeated follow-ups that come with a standard reply of: it will "take a few weeks until your name is removed. My just-as-polite response is: That's fine, unwanted materials will be recycled until they stop. And, trust me most of ours have stopped. We do not receive much junk mail, aside from ones addressed to Occupant/Residential Customer. (If anyone knows how to stop those, please share.)

Delete unused apps and podcasts from my phone/tablet. It may have seemed like a good idea when these were downloaded, but if I'm using/listening to certain ones now, delete works very well and gives me more time to focus on the ones that remain.

Read a magazine or paper within 2 days after it is brought into our home, then recycle it. No more letting them pile up until the next month's issue.

Call or write long-distance friends more often, and not wait until a month or so has gone by. It doesn't matter who was in contact the last time.

Keep photo albums current. Today, many rely on social media and don't order photo prints, or put them in photo albums. I still do both as online sharing isn't the same will never do for me. 

Backup photo and document files regularly, at a minimum of once a month. This week, all files on my desktop and laptop PCs were backed up to external drives. All photo files were then backed up to separate external drives. 

Discard old statements, once a current one is received as file space is limited and we need to organize paperwork for 2019 tax filing.

Check out/download only 1 book at a time and read it instead of checking out several books at one time. If the single checkout isn't to my liking, I can return it and check out another. The local library is within walking distance and has a LOT of (free) choices.

Clean the oven on a monthly process. Yes, it's a self-cleaning model, which makes it so much easier than years ago. No self-cleaning ovens then and I used those foul-smelling chemical sprays.

Deodorize the dishwasher every couple of weeks. This appliance isn't used daily as we often hand wash and air dry dishes and utensils. Consequently, it can have a foul odor when opened. Vinegar and baking soda are easy "fixes" and no scrubbing is required, just run 2 separate cycles with an empty dishwasher.

Statistics have shown that many who make popular resolutions (loss weight, exercise, save money, spend less, etc.) have an expected failure rate of up to 80 percent within 6 weeks.

As for me, I'm not planning on becoming a statistic, since I don't have any resolutions. 
And you?

Thanks for your comments on the view in the first 2020 post. We never tire of looking at the Nashua River from our apartment windows. 

Here's a different view taken on a walk around the mill apts this week. The series of reflections intrigued me on a day filled with cloudy skies and snow flurries.

Resolved or NOT?

By definition, a New Year's resolution is a tradition in which someone resolves to change an undesired trait or behavior, to accomplish a personal goal, or otherwise improve his/her life.

Sounds ambitious don't you agree? Most of us have made resolutions in the past. Many of us or at least some of us have actually stuck to a few during years past, myself included. By the same token, some of us, myself also included, have not. If thinking about them counts, then I've mentally succeeded; however most of those have not been kept for even a month week.

What is it about these New Year's Resolutions that dooms many to failure? Maybe there are too many to keep within a year or maybe it's the "title" that's a bit daunting or unnerving and dooms many to fail not follow through.

I'm sure you know about many "standard" ones that repeat annually, such as: lose weight, exercise more, sleep more, eat healthier, read more, spend less, save more, pray more, think positive, enjoy life, spend time (with family/friends) and so on. It seems that many (if not all) of these should be done without fail. Years ago the list also included stop smoking, but that goal is not as prevalent these days.

For 2019, here's my short to-dos, more or less, as above.

• write more
• listen more
• look more
• talk less
• finish projects

Short is good and maybe more do-able too.

How about you — made any to-dos of your own ?

Oh No, Not Again

Yes kids, its that time of year again. Christmas is past. Many of the toys are broken or at least missing parts. AND some of us are running out of notches, and leather, on our belts.

So What Does All This Mean?????

Its RESOLUTION TIME AGAIN. Yes, that dastardly deed of making New Years Resolutions is upon us. Now be truthful here, How many of you kept your Resolutions from last year? Let’s see those hands!!!! Be honest. So how many at least made it to the end of the first month? I thought so.

Well maybe you went about this Resolution making thing the wrong way. And I don't mean keeping the resolutions. Maybe you did not choose your resolutions wisely grasshopper! So, this year, instead of a list to possible resolutions, I’ve developed 

“Grenville’s Guide to Making Resolutions.” 

An inspirational guide should aid in making sustainable resolutions. Resolutions that, when kept, will make you look like the hero you really are. So here goes.

Grenville’s Guide to Sustainable Resolution Making

1. Only make Resolutions that are FUN. Let’s be real here, getting up 2 hours earlier than normal so you can go to the gym and sweat, strain, and over exert yourself IS NOT FUN. No matter how you sugar coat it, stuff like that is no fun, and therefore doomed to failure. Face facts, some of us could spend 24/7 at the gym and the only 6-Pack Abs we would have is if we held that 6-pack in front of us coming through the door.

2. Only make resolutions that are easy. Growing a beard is easy. Well if you’re a guy that is. And its kind of fun. Losing 50 pounds is not. Taking a nap every day is not only easy, its really healthy. Naps are so under rated in our hectic world. Consider that extra 50 pounds “Cuddle Material.”


3. Only make resolutions that you really want to make. Do you really want to be nice to that person who always mocks you in front of others. The person who does this just so they look better that their usual disgusting selves. Come to think of it, weren't they the one used to stuff you into your school locker after taking your lunch money? How ‘bout turning down that promotion so some undeserving, ineffective person get a little ahead. Of course. if the prime objective was getting rid of them, like a transfer to Siberia, then it might be OK. Or to watch them utterly self implode would also be acceptable.


4. Resolutions should have an expiration date, like milk. They say that fish and relatives begin to smell after 3 days. I’ve always found that to be also true for Resolutions. They always sound so good at the beginning. Then the boredom sets in. Next, you start seeing the difficulty involved. Then the realization that this may drag on forEVER. All Resolutions need a Sunset clause.


5. Never make a resolution that involves a challenge, especially with someone else. Why would you want to tie yourself down to another person. What if they are an over-achiever. You're never going to catch them. Depression will begin to set in. Or worse, if they are an under-achiever, they will be dragging you down, down, down. Like a drowning person who holds you under to stay afloat. Then you will both be losers. No No No. Resolutions should be singular with lots of options, like the next one.

6. Always incorporate a RESET option. There is nothing like a good reset. This is not

just true in computers, but resolutions also. Sometimes, you need to reassess a situation. Drop back 5 and punt. Get a new perspective. Wait until the urge to succeed wheres off.


7. Surrender Clause. This may be the most important. If the reset didn't work, the expiration date is too far in the future, AND you come to your senses and realize that this is not fun, not easy, and you really never wanted to do this, then the Surrender Clause is for you. Admit your abject failure and drown yourself in fudge while you wallow in self pity.



So you may be asking, What has he resolved for this coming year?

1. Bring the Princess her coffee in bed every morning, by candle light in the winter. (something I’ve been doing for 16 years)


2. Cut down on smoking. (i have not had a cigarette in 16 years, but have inhaled going         past the Cigar Store )


3. Take one day a week and do something i really want to do.


4. If something doesn't work, take a nap and think about it.


5. Try to limit any challenges with others (except making the Princess happy) to a minimum, superficial and half hearted at best. (I missed the competitive gene)


6. Reset all of the above. That punting option i’m going to leave to NFL guys. Instead, I will refer to #4 above.


7. Keep the home fires burning, so the fudge doesn’t get too thick.

So, Kids, that’s what I’m thinking of and considering the possibility of looking at the many options that these Resolutions could or maybe could not hold for me this coming year. I’m exhausted now and need a nice long nap while the snow continues to fall outside. Now where did I put that RESET button?