I want to finish 2023 strong, but this year has been an absolute nightmare. Yes the news cycle is hell, and that certainly doesn’t help, but personally this year has been really hard. I know it may seem silly to talk about my struggles while everything else that’s going on in the world is happening. I struggled with whether I wanted to post this. But struggling is not a zero sum game. Just because someone has it harder does not mean that I or others can’t acknowledge the struggles we have to overcome.
I’ve spent most of this year some level of sick. I have been chronically fatigued with a cough that just won’t go away. I have been stressed and felt like I could not keep my head straight. Finally, I started to lose large chunks of hair and I couldn’t seem to get myself into any sort of routine. No matter how hard I tried. Finally, I was diagnosed with diabetes. Things made sense, but that doesn’t mean things magically changed. I know why I am constantly fatigued, but the fatigue hasn’t stopped. My blood sugar is still out of whack; until I get it under control, I will continue feeling like crap. So I have decided to finish 2023 strong with some goals and planning.
Get my blood sugar under control
This probably speaks for itself, but I really need to take steps to get my blood sugar in a healthy range. Most of my other goals will support this as my ultimate goal for the rest of the year. I will prioritize the items below but also meal planning foods that support a healthy blood sugar range, taking my medication and testing my blood sugar regularly. This also includes adopting circadian fasting and tracking my food in MyFitnessPal. This goal is a no brainer for me. It isn’t particularly exciting or fun, but it is the key to fixing everything else.
Calm and cozy mornings
I want to be the person that has calm and cozy mornings, but I am frequently the person who rolls out of bed, gets ready in about 15 minutes and runs out the door or to my first meeting of the day. What that means though is that my stress levels are increased which can increase my blood sugar and cause focus issues for my ADHD. So I am going to focus on waking up at 7:00 a.m., brewing a mug of tea and just spending at least an hour reading, writing, and meditating. I recognize that waking up with the intention of working out first thing just does not motivate me to get out of bed. A promise of reading, writing, and tea are much more likely to get out of bed.
Exercise
I am not a regular exerciser and that has got to change. I recognize that daily exercise will help lower my blood sugar significantly. So I will be doing this more frequently moving forward. The important thing that i need to remember is that it can happen at any time. I joined Planet Fitness and can go any time of day, ideally, going to the gym to work out 3-4 times per week. Going to a pilates class 1-2 times per week will help with my flexibility and helps with stress reduction. Finally, each day I want to take a walk for at least 30 minutes, either outside with Remington or inside on my walking pad. Walks are great to lower blood sugar and stress. Two things I need direly.
Goal Planning for next year
I bought the Cultivate What Matters power sheets this year for the first time since 2020. 2020 was not a great time for those since all my goals went out the window as COVID wreaked havoc on every part of my life. However, I loved the planning process that was apart of the power sheets and plan spend some serious time getting real actionable goals ready for 2024. I also want to be better about dedicating some time to planning each week.
So to get that routine started now, I will spend an hour or two each Sunday getting planned for the week. I will pick out my outfits, decide when I am going into the office, meal planning and prepping, and getting a prioritized to do list written and integrated with Sunsama. Sunsama is great because it integrates my personal to do list (which I keep in Notion) with my work to do list (often in Asana). I am excited to work to align my tasks with overarching weekly, monthly and quarterly goals.
2023 has been a less than enjoyable year, but I know that I can finish 2023 strong. By doing that I am setting myself up for success in 2024.
