Habits & Projects

This blog is about eliminating guilt.  Guilt over habits I can't form or can't break.  Guilt for projects stranded for months (and even years!) on my to-do list.
 
I am making a list of the habits I want to add or subtract from my life – and I am going to decide once and for all if I’m going to adopt these new habits.  Each habit I will try for one week. If I like it, if having that habit makes me happy, then I'll keep it and actively work to make it a habit. But if I do something every day for a week, and it adds more stress to my life than happiness, I'm dropping it - and I'm dropping the guilt.

Habits:

• Flossing (started 11/09/2009)
• Wash face nightly (started 01/04/2010)
  
• Yoga
• Running
• Exercise classes
• 30-minute clean-up
• Budgeting
• Drink more water
• Write letters
• Journal
• Read (2010: 1)
  
• Moisturize
• Anti-aging skin routine (started 01/01/2010)
  
• Meal planning
• Make bed
• No dishes in the sink (started 12/28/2009)
• Mail processing routine
• No procrastination
• No back cracking
• No gossiping
• El fresco living
• Cuddling
• Scientific article reading
• Uncluttering
• Chore schedule
• Blogging (started 01/01/2010)
  
• Prep produce the day purchased
• Send birthday cards
  

**For the majority of the habits on this list, it is implied that I wish to do these things daily - or at least highly regularly as I would like them to be, in a word, habits! I'm sure I forgot a few. What habits have you always wanted to create or break?

I often find myself not fully enjoying my relaxation time.  Whether I am watching reality TV or going on a hike, my to-do list is always lingering in the back of my mind and making me feel guilty.  Is it possible to have an empty to-do list - I'd like to try!  But first, I'd like to have a to-do list that isn't full of items that are over a year old!  I'm going to dedicate a week to each of my projects.  If at the end of the week the project is incomplete, I will make a decision to remove the project from the list or finish it immediately.   It is no longer a to-do list if items never get done.

Projects:

• Home
• Dining room (paint, hang photos)
• Nightstand and dresser for the bedroom (void: moving)
  
• Seal granite (void: moving)
  
• Paint, paint, paint (void: moving)
• Finish trim and paint for shelves (void: moving)
  
• Clean out fridge
• Clean out freezer
• Organize laundry room
• Clean out bedroom closet and purge old clothes
• Clean out entertainment stand
• Decorate (void: moving)
  
• Clean out storage closet
• Create annual chore list(void: moving)
  
• Car
• Get oil changed
• Check brakes
• Fix door lock
• Get ipod dock removed
• Sell car
•  Wedding
• Get wedding dress preserved
• Make wedding albums (in-laws, grandparents, parents, us)
• Write letters
•  Health
  
• Dentist
• Ob/Gyn
• Dermatologist
• Plastic surgeon (mole)
• Rheumatologist
•  Computer
• Scan old documents
• Scan old receipts
• Scan old photos
• Work/School
• Defend dissertation
• Finish writing dissertation
• Publish dissertation
• Other
• Visit grandparents

**Like everyone else, new items appear on my to-do list every day.  But I'm not going to list items such as "buy Christmas presents" because these items come with deadlines and rotate on and off my list without difficulty.  I am going to initially focus on the projects that have spent way too much time on my to-do list.

What habits have you always wanted to make or break? What projects have taken up residence on your to-do list?