Focusing on the Plan

5 Pounds of Nasty Fast Plus 1

I am winding down to the end of my first full week of not smoking and it seems that I have gained four pounds. Yikes! I know it’s all a matter of self-control but I feel like I am running into self-control overload. I am currently trying to not smoke cigarettes, not overeat, not go out and buy a cam, not use the company internet for personal use, and not drink too much. That’s a lot of not doing things going on here. In addition to all that not doing stuff, I want to exercise more, give the dogs longer walks, work regularly on my blog, organize my bills, and clean up my bedroom. So, where am I successful?

I certainly have stopped smoking and I haven’t bought that stupid cam. I am NOT having a drink tonight although I’ve had some the past few nights. I was doing well with not using the company internet until I started the blog. I am constantly finding myself standing in front of the refrigerator all night long, although so far tonight I have resisted eating anything after dinner. Of course, it’s only 9 pm. The night is young.

In regards to doing things, I am much less successful. I haven’t started exercising or walking the dogs longer. My room’s a mess and I have only half-heartedly started organizing my bills. I am pleased to say that I have been able to bang out a post to my blog almost every day. So my two big success are blogging and not smoking. That’s not too bad.

I think it’s a matter of priorities, planning, and focus. Just like a jack-of-all-trades is a master of none, focusing on too many changes all at one time reduces the chance of having success with any of them. So my focus is on where I am most successful now - not smoking and blogging. As those become easier and easier, I’ll select another change to focus on. If I slip on one of the other “non-focus” items before that time, like overeating, it won’t matter that much because I’m keeping it all in check--one focus at a time.