Thank God It's Labor Day!
For the majority of Americans, Labor Day is a sign of the end of Summer or a harbinger of the upcoming stress of school. Cooler weather, shorter days and snow are on the way once you hit Labor Day and many people hate the holiday because of the sadness it brings to their life.
I, on the other hand, welcome Labor Day. In a job that requires 6 day, sometimes 70 hour work weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day, this holiday signifies the return to some sort of normalcy. The ability to see my family on a regular basis, the time to actually put together a semi-regular schedule, the knowledge that for the most part I can count on plans/events/schedules not being interrupted by work.
Am I overstating the time my job takes up over the summer? Possibly - but when you are on the back end of the summer I have had - it's not unusual. It has been a rough season of issues, challenges, roadblocks, a ton of hard work and many sacrifices. Sacrifices not only made by me, but my family as well.
Here I sit - on the eve of 7 months of semi-normalcy, thinking about what I want to accomplish in that time. Tops on my list are the 5 original goals that I have laid out for myself:
1. Become healthier (i.e. Lose Weight, Exercise more, etc).
2. Be a better Daddy (spend more quality time with the kids, be a better example)
3. Spend less time in front of a screen (TV, Computer, phone, etc)
4. Consume less, Save more (I, like many, have fallen into the credit trap - need to get OUT!)
5. Keep work at work and home at home (sounds like a given, but believe me - it's not)
I have realized the need though to develop strategies to accomplish these goals. So over the next few days I will develop a plan of strategies and tactics to accomplish these goals. The first strategy that I will enact to meet goal #1 is diet plan. One of the tactics I've chosen is to go back on a modified version of the South Beach Diet - starting tomorrow. Last time I started the diet (January 1, 2011) I lasted 4 weeks then went on a "day off" that never ended. I had lost over 20 lbs, and now I've gained that, and more, back. Another tactic that I plan to use in the battle of the bulge is the Lose It app. The app makes weight loss a social activity and helps keep track of your eating habits and supplies great tips and information to help your diet along. I'm hoping that through the combination of the two, my diet will be semi-successful.
As I develop other strategies and tactics, I hope to flesh them out on the blog. I've also decided that I need to do a better job of planning out the blog and developing content for it. While sitting here in my living room at 11pm each night hammering away at the keyboard is the easiest way to do it, it is not the most effective, or successful. I hope to look through some other self help, health and development blogs to find not only content, but like minded bloggers that I can interact with.
If I am going to achieve my goals, I need to hold myself accountable and hopefully thinking that other people may hole me accountable as well, might help me keep myself in check.
Happy Labor Day!! :-)
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