Being Cognizant: New Year's Resolutions

A series about the ways I work towards being cognizant through decisions that make me more mentally engaged with various facets of my day-to-day life.

Cognizance (noun): Awareness, realization, notice, knowledge, perception.

----

It's that time of year when small talk turns to the question, "So, did you come up with any new year resolutions?"

I like this time of year, because people often take some time think about themselves in a positive way, or at least with a growth mindset:

"I am going to start exercising regularly!" 
"I am going to have a green smoothie every day!" 
"I am going to stay on top of my readings this semester!"

(That last one was a joke, of course.)

While I do love goal-setting - a post on that is upcoming - I am not personally a fan of New Year's Resolutions due to the way that they are typically approached by the goal setter.

"Why, Katie, would you not support one's desire to make positive changes?" asked Seriously Irrelevant Holiday Cat.

Well, the thing is, I think that setting a goal with such a specific start date and not creating measurable steps to achieve it can be a dangerous activity, at least by way of achieving your goal and feeling confident in yourself.

New Year's resolutions often involve making a significant change right away at the beginning of the year, on the first day, and making that your new standard to meet (e.g., no more candy, or 30 minutes on the treadmill three times per week). This, in my eyes, is a recipe for disaster, for a number of reasons.

The dawn of the new year: What are your goals?

Firstly, you are not easing into your goal.
You may be introducing a change in your life without gradually doing so, and this can make it difficult to stick to in the long-run (or even the short-run). If you choose to go with a 30-minute treadmill jog for the new year, you might find that it is incredibly difficult to accomplish this even once if you are not regularly doing something in this realm already. It can be disheartening to feel that your goal is not accomplishable because you were unable to achieve it right away. Creating a plan that involves building up to your goal over time using baby steps is a more sure-fire way to eventually attain a specific goal with a measurable outcome.

Secondly, you have decided to start achieving this goal regularly on a particular date.
It's great to set a deadline for yourself to begin working on a goal, but if your goal is lofty or something you are not accustomed to, you might find that once your deadline has passed... the motivation to pursue the resolution has also passed. Setting a deadline to begin working towards a goal is a better idea, rather than setting a deadline to begin achieving this goal on the regular. Reframing your thinking to, "Over the course of this year, I hope to work towards X," is more powerful than, "Tomorrow I am going to begin regularly achieving X."

Thirdly, your goal may be based on a perceived defect in yourself.
I am particularly wary of any resolutions that involve appearance, such as losing X number of pounds, getting a six-pack of abs, or attaining a size 0 in clothing (for women's clothing, because apparently women should aspire to be nothing). These goals will lead to a sense of failure or incompetence if you are unable to achieve them and are based on physical attributes that may be outside of your control, which is a sign that you should not set the goals with this sort of language (or perhaps avoid setting these goals at all). If your appearance is going to be a part of your resolution at all, the goal itself should be within your control (such as healthy eating and exercise), whereas a change in appearance may be a by-product of that goal (such as increased muscle tone or loss of unhealthy fat). Further, any goals that are attempts to improve yourself for others? Make sure that you setting goals for yourself and that you are intrinsically motivated* to achieve them in the long-term.

If you are making New Year's Resolutions this year, consider these three common barriers to achieving goals that you set for yourself and take the time to make a plan of attack for eventually succeeding in making the changes that you want to see in your world.

---
*Intrinsic motivation: Motivation that comes from within oneself, that originates from the individual, rather than coming from an external source (which would be extrinsic motivation).

Being Cognizant: Scheduling

A series about the ways I work towards being cognizant through decisions that make me more mentally engaged with various facets of my day-to-day life.

Cognizance (noun): Awareness, realization, notice, knowledge, perception.


----

My memory for dates and significant events is strong - I even remember the minor details and events that would probably be best to forget. However, when it comes to remembering to bring something to a friend or not forgetting to attend a spontaneously-planned meeting, my memory has a tendency to fall short.

Cue: Calendars, to-do lists, reminders.

I am not sure if my love for scheduling has resulted from my affinity for organization and efficiency, but I do know that seeing a week of scheduled events, meetings, and study times really helps me focus myself and prioritize what needs to be done more effectively.

While I do not advocate for scheduling every minute of each day to accomplish what needs to be done, I do advocate for the use of visual cues of goals and tasks in order to make one accountable to oneself in accomplishing those items. Visual cues may come in the form of:

Calendars (digital or physical)

I have begun using Google Calendar in tandem with my computer and phone iCalendar to track my daily schedules. During the weekdays I find them particularly useful because, as a student with a part-time job and extracurriculars, I have a lot of unstructured time. I need to use that time for studying and self-directed projects for my extracurriculars, and I may neglect it those items if I do not structure them into my calendar and make myself accountable.

One of my personal pleasures is writing physical schedules in my agenda - I enjoy pen-to-paper writing and like to cross-reference schedules this way and generally write specifics about school assignments in there as well.

To-Do Lists

http://www.computertimes.com/boogieboard_files/image004.jpg

Have you ever heard of the idea that if you write down your goal and put it somewhere that you will look at it every day, you will be more likely to accomplish it? I like to think of my to-do lists as miniature versions of this, in that by writing down the tasks I want to accomplish that day, I will see them and feel more accountable to myself to finish them. My favourite part of physical to-do lists is, without a doubt, crossing items off or putting a check mark next to them upon their completion! It is worth trying a to-do list out for that reason alone. 

The device I use for lists is my Boogie Board by Brookstone - a gift from New York I received last year and have used time and time again ever since. It is a digital notepad that you can clear with the push of a button once your list is done. When I am not using my Boogie Board, I am a huge fan of sticky notes being placed in locations that will catch me at a time when I am most able to accomplish my task. For example, writing "UPDATE YOUR BUDGET!" on a note and sticking it to my computer so that I see it when I next use my laptop.

Reminders

Unfortunately, I have become all-too reliant on my phone for providing me with reminders about tasks and meetings and all of those little things that don't DEMAND to be remembered. However, I do appreciate that I have such useful tools to lean on! The iPhone Reminders app is one of my more frequently-used tools, but I also set notifications on the events I create in my Google calendar to pop up on my computer and phone so that I don't miss out. 

My rule with reminders is: Never say that an item is complete until you have ACTUALLY completed it. Sometimes my notification pops up and I think, "Right! I'll do that in a few minutes," only to forget to do it within a few minutes, thus leaving it entirely incomplete. To avoid doing this, I "snooze" reminders until I have 100% completed the task.

Being Cognizant: Alcohol

A series about the ways I work towards being cognizant through decisions that make me more mentally engaged with various facets of my day-to-day life.

Cognizance (noun): Awareness, realization, notice, knowledge, perception.

----

I've had a fairly active social life over the past three months.

This is a significant change of pace after a good two or three years of going-out dormancy, for the most part. I took pleasure in the recluse lifestyle and recoiled at invitations to stay out past 11:00pm - 11:00pm is when one should be lying down in bed, not getting down on dance floors.

Three years ago I took full advantage of the part-time employment schedule and spent many a night out on the town, and experienced little distress when this changed. However, these past months have reminded me that I have a dancing bug inside me that infects me with pleasure and wiggling hips when it is awoken. Often, this bug is triggered by a few drinks in preparation for going out.

I consider myself to be a health-conscious individual: I go to the gym regularly, I eat my fruits and vegetables and protein and all of that good stuff, I drink whole lot of agua, I avoid overly sugary things (80% of the time). However, alcohol is something that defies all of these other principled decisions I make for my body and mind - it is not healthy in any way! So, if I am to consume it - especially in more-than-just-social quantities, I take care to do it with cognizance.


1. WATER. I drink water most of the day every day all the time - I do not stop when there is alcohol. At least every two drinks I throw back a full glass to keep my body hydrated and to prevent terrible headaches and nausea the following day. Alcohol does not exactly quench thirst, and water helps to counter its effects to a degree.

2. MOVE. Most of the time, I don't want to bother having any alcohol if I am not going to do a great deal of moving around - walking all over the place is one way to do it, but my favourite is to dance. Sitting down and drinking can be fun, but it often leads to unexpected levels of intoxication and it just sits inside you and doesn't go anywhere! With water and movement I keep the alcohol moving through me and often avoid rough mornings. Plus, dancing is basically leg day at the gym AND cardio combined - I actually refrain from exercise on days when I am to go dancing later, because my muscles will be sore.

3. STOP. Eventually. There comes a time when I can just ride on the energy level that I've reached, and drinking anything additional will make me sleepy or sick. It is a rare scenario when I don't recognize that I have reached a certain point, so I am usually in a perfect position to stay pumped throughout the evening and then fall quickly asleep upon arriving safely home.

4. OBSERVE. Keeping an eye out for weird or dangerous people is a key component of drinking alcohol, in my opinion. People might assume you are vulnerable if they recognize you've been drinking, and may try to take advantage of you in any number of ways - so watch out. For yourself, your homies, and even that stranger across the street/dance floor/parking lot that you notice is in a situation that doesn't look comfortable or normal.

5. REST. Take a day! I give myself at least half a day after a night out to drink water, eat a good breakfast, and just sit or lie around before I do anything too strenuous. Sometimes I'll take a whole day off from doing anything too demanding, just to give my body time to recharge. However, going for a jaunt to the gym or a jog around the neighbourhood is a way I like to burn off any of the grossness (greatness?) from the night before.

Those are the ways I stay cognizant when I'm thinking about drinking.

** For a neat article on how to survive a "day drinking" event, check out this article, "How to Drink All Day and Not Pass Out" **

Being Cognizant: Vegetarianism

A series about the ways I work towards being cognizant through decisions that make me more mentally engaged with various facets of my day-to-day life.


Cognizance (noun): Awareness, realization, notice, knowledge, perception.

----

3 years and 3 months ago, I embarked on a 3-week challenge to stop eating meat. It began because someone told me I "looked like a vegetarian", which led to a discussion, which led to an agreement to try vegetarianism for a little while, which led to today where I remain a vegetarian.

These past three (and some) years have been a learning experience for me that I have embraced despite personal struggles with the change in lifestyle and diet, as well as the frequent encouragement from friends, family, and near-strangers to return to omnivorous ways. It has not always been easy, but I have certainly become more considerate of my eating and lifestyle as a result of this change I made three years ago.

When I became a vegetarian, I was in the midst of my first year of university and decided to embark on a fitness journey within months of changing my diet - all of these transitions occurring at the same time led to a few setbacks that forced me to think about things I had taken for granted. For example, my energy levels dropped a few months into my new diet, and my exercise continued to increase in vigor and frequency. With these changes in mind, I was faced with figuring out new ways to acquire certain nutrients in my diet to (a) replace the easily-acquired nutrients from meat I had taken for granted and to (b) be sufficient enough for my muscles to recover from intense exercise. I found many new foods (especially in nuts, beans, and many vegetables) that offered me the nutrients I needed that I had never considered necessary, or even delicious, before! It was a great opportunity to try new foods and learn about my body's needs when it comes to nutrients and exercise.

Beyond these health-related ideas I have come to consider regularly, I have also grown to be more selective with the food I buy, particularly when it comes to eggs, which I still eat. I make an effort to purchase food that is ethically-sourced, and perhaps even locally-sourced, as I know I am supporting people that live in my communities by doing so (see my list of Farmer's Markets!). Without realizing it, this lifestyle aligned with my feminist ideals in that I was caring about non-human animals' well-being and fair treatment as well as making efforts to not support unethical business practices that are exploitative and even dangerous.. Building upon that, I now (usually - I'm still growing) resist the urge to buy inexpensive clothing or goods from stores or brands that I know are not sourcing their products ethically. Vegetarianism has cleansed me of more things than I had anticipated when I began my journey!

Through vegetarianism, I have become much more thoughtful when it comes to my diet, exercise, lifestyle in general, and even the products that I buy beyond the grocery store - all because I started out by deciding that eating other animals' does not currently align with my values because of the way it is produced. Regardless of where my lifestyle journey goes, I am grateful for having become more cognizant of how I approach it.

Being Cognizant: Budgeting

The first post in a series about the ways I work towards being cognizant through decisions that make me more mentally engaged with various facets of my day-to-day life.

Cognizance (noun): Awareness, realization, notice, knowledge, perception.

----

In recent months, I have taken on the task of budgeting all of my expenses along with my income on a monthly basis. A budget (noun) is "an estimate, often itemized, of expected income and expense for a given period in the future." So, to budget (verb) is to plan for certain amounts of money to be earned and spent, and then keep track of what is actually earned and spent (at least that's how I have defined my budgeting experience).

I started my budgeting adventure with an... idealistic... mindset of how much money I thought I would be spending on things such as groceries, school supplies, gas for my car, dining out, etc. However, as some guides on how to get started with a budget might tell you, your expenses might not be so simple to predict. As a student who lives away from home but receives financial support from parents, my budgets are not often too scary to approach because I am secure in knowing that if my job fell through or I had to drop a lot of money on one big item and it set me back for a month, I would not be without help. However, budgeting helps me set realistic goals that align with my desires to save money, live comfortably and independently (to some extent), and to be aware of my spending and do some reflection on how I use my money.

For others that do not have the financial support of parents or other folks, budgeting can be really useful for setting goals to alleviate the stresses of being financially "strapped" (i.e., not having a lot of extra funds once basics are paid off). Creating a budget can help you visualize what money you have coming in, what you need to spend money on, and what you want to spend money on (on a weekly, monthly, yearly basis). Being able to visualize where your money goes can lead to greater monthly savings, more effective allocation of funds (such as phone bills and groceries), and opportunities to treat yo' self!

An example of treating oneself upon realizing that
one's budget is CLEAR FOR EXTRA SPENDING!

If you haven't done so already, take some time to research how to set up a simple budget, and start collecting your receipts! Alternatively, you may want to try tracking your spending by writing down your expenses, keeping an ongoing record on your phone, or using a mobile app - such as Mint - that can break down your expenses as they come out of your bank account.

Take control of your life in this capitalist world - make a budget!

(Or let me know if you have another idea.)