I’ve recently made a few changes in my life that have greatly improved my outlook on the world. They include:
- Started waking up 45 minutes earlier. I’ve never been much of an early bird, but lately I’ve somehow managed to start my day at 7:15 a.m. (or even earlier!) I think the baby is mainly to thank/blame for this change – his sleep schedule pretty much dictates ours. Being up earlier allows me to change the baby’s first diaper of the day, take a more leisurely shower, and eat pancakes at the dining room table instead of scarfing a granola bar at my desk. I hope I can stick with this – I’d like to be more of an early riser.
- Weekly meal planning. My wife and I have started sitting down on Sunday afternoons with a few cookbooks, and actually planning a whole week’s worth of meals. It saves time and money at the grocery store, and cuts down on those occasions when it’s 6:45 at night, there’s no food in the house, we’re hungry and distracted, and so we finally give in and call for takeout. We’re trying to run our household more like a summer camp – set a schedule, everyone knows what’s for dinner, and there are lots of amusing/annoying songs. (OK, I’m kidding about the songs.)
- Going jogging every other day. My wife and I recently started a beginner’s running program. We started running 2 minutes at a time (with 4 minutes of rest) and now we’re running 3 minutes and then resting for 3, for a total of five cycles (30 minutes) at a time. Thanks to our awesome jogging stroller, the baby gets to join us. He seems to enjoy riding in his jogging stroller – he usually just sits there and plays with his favorite wooden spoon from the kitchen.
- Coming home for lunch. I refuse to eat lunch in my cubicle anymore. Instead I drive home. It’s a bit impractical, but it’s forcing me to get outside during the day and get away from my work. If you can manage to do it, I highly recommend it.
That’s all for now. As soon as I discover some other positive life changes, I’ll let you know.
