For 2017 I didn’t set any resolutions, just a mantra, a goal to live by, and that was “stress less“.
“This is the year I keep to a budget, manage my homework load, stick to a workout schedule, work part time, and manage my household without losing my mind. I’ll do all this by repeating this mantra, staying in a positive mindset, not stressing so much over all my homework, careful planning, and emotional support from the hubs.”
So how did it go? Pretty good actually!! If I were to grade myself, I would give myself a 70% on stressing less during this hectic and trying year.
Many of my family members credit my pregnancy with the fact that I took life a little more calmly this year than I have in the past. I don’t know about that, but I know I made much more of an effort to look at the bigger picture and not obsess over things.
Sticking to a budget– We did a much better job of this in 2017. Money has been even tighter with my not working the last four months but thanks to a scholarship and my blogging, we’ve been able to make ends meet. Anytime it looked like we weren’t going to make it that month, I took a deep breath and told myself we would work it out next month.
Manage my homework load- This was a tough one! During my second practicum, I spent 6 weeks of constant planning and working and summer sessions were tough because so much was due in such a short time. But I made it work without losing my mind.
Stick to a workout schedule– I did a really good job of this for the most part in 2017. During my 6 week practicum in March not so much and those first two months when I was SO sick with early pregnancy nausea I didn’t either. Besides these two periods I did pretty well. 2017 was when I found the stress busting power of a good workout and even now, when I’m feeling stressed, I just want to get out for a lung burning run to melt it away.
Work Part Time- I did this for all of the year except September- December during my teaching internship. I made this part time job a little less stressful by putting myself and my school work first instead of worrying about the hours. If I felt too overwhelmed to work, I talked to my boss and made up the work another day. This made working so much easier than in the past when I felt I had to stick to certain hours no matter what.
Manage my household– This also went really well in 2017. I started doing a load of laundry as soon as the washer was full instead of waiting for the weekend to tackle a mountain. Ryan and I made more of an effort to clean up after dinner rather than leave it all out for the next day. All in all, my house has been cleaner which has made me calmer.
Teaching has made a huge difference in how I manage stress. That first month of teaching in September was hard (and not just because I was scared of puking during class). I found the only way to keep me from becoming overwhelmed and panicked was to take life one day at a time. I would literally only focus on my lessons for that day until the bell rang. Then, I would only focus on the lessons for the next day.
It wasn’t easy for me to stick to such a small focus, but it really did help reduce overwhelm and I think it made me a better teacher for the laser focus.
So I’ll take that 70% and continue to live by the habits and lessons I learned in 2017 throughout my life.
Did you set any 2017 goals or resolutions?
How did they go?
I was trying to find some shots through the past year on my phone of my happiest moments and there were SO MANY that I HAD to create a a short video for them!
