2022 – The Year of Finding You
What I’ve Accomplished So Far
So here I am. In January, I said that I would start working on two things that I felt would make me feel more like my old self and find more internal happiness: journaling and using a planner. A month into 2022 and I have successfully incorporated one of my two tasks while completely neglecting the other.
So which seemed to stick and which fell by the sidelines? Using my planner has become old hat while the prospect of journaling has apparently become a lost art. I’m not giving up hope that I will start journaling again, but I am also not going to chastise myself too hard for having a blank journal at the moment. I do know that when the time comes for it to be my main focus, I will plan time in my schedule to commit solely to it.
I think January taught me that I need to focus on one thing at a time. That way, I can devote my focus to it and allow it to become a habit before moving on to the next area of change. So what’s on tap for February?
Expanding My Planning
Since planning went so well, I know exactly where I will focus next, MEAL PLANNING. If you ask anyone that knew me 5-7 years ago and they would tell you that I was an unwavering Type A when it came to meal planning. Calendars would be printed and meals would be planned a month in advance. I refused to repeat the same meal within that month and tried new recipes all of the time. As most of the readers at The Basic Moms have figured out during my three and a half years as a contributor, I absolutely love cooking. I truly feel like it (doing acts of service) is my love language.
What I am Doing to Implement My New Task
One of the most important things to know about meal planning for me is that I must write my plans down. I feel like if they are just floating around in my head, then they are just “ideas”. Not truly plans. I started my meal planning initiative by printing off a few meal planning sheets that I created. But then it hit me. If I printed off one of these sheets each week for the rest of the year. The paper and ink are going to get costly. So, to go along with my planner that I ordered in January, I have also ordered a meal planner.
A quick search on Amazon will give you hundreds of options. If you like to be completely in control down to the last little snack that you put in your mouth, this planner by Clever Fox is definitely the way to go. There are also magnetic magnetic options that can stick to your fridge. The possibilities are endless when it comes to meal planners.
Photo Cred: Amazon
As much as I like to plan, I am a creature of habit when it comes to breakfast and lunch. So I feel like writing those down would just be a waste of my time and ink. After looking through everything Amazon had to offer, I settled on a spiral-bound meal planner by Eccolo World Traveler. I love that its weekly pages have a spot for the one meal that I am looking to keep track of. Those pages also have a “grocery list” section that easily tears away when it is time to go shopping. A big draw for me was the “events” section in the back. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I need more space than the normal rectangular section would give me. Especially for holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or even the Super Bowl.
