I’m not sure I ever thought I’d write another blog post. That sounds a bit odd, considering where I work, but when placed among all the other priorities and shifting whims of life, that’s about where the notion ended up: nowhere. But! Some friends and colleagues were taking part in Bloganuary this year and, well – here I am.

Hello, 2023. I hope you’re not as weird and unrelenting as 2022, but I realize that’s not something I can really ask of you since you’re not even sure what you’re going to bring. At the very least, I wish you (and by extension, me) a largely pleasant experience, with tiny splashes of drama and euphoria for colour, and a bit of variation. Because of this, and my recent ADHD diagnosis, I think the thing I’d most like to achieve this year is: a sense of inner peace.

But, what does that mean, exactly? Part of me is resistant to even putting it into words, since that feels like trying to quantify something that can mean an innumerable amount of things. I’m not sure that I even can. I do think, however, that I’m taking steps to get there, and discovering what different feelings of peace mean to me. Whether that’s finally hiring cleaners to fully kick myself out of the clutter-induced paralysis that’s haunted me my entire life, or realizing that I’m actually not as kind to myself as much as I preach to others, I’m working to accept and learn things in a way I haven’t before. Maybe that’s how I’d sum it up.

All that being said, there is something I want to try, and that’s a modified Project 50 challenge (example here). I’ve seen it pop up quite a bit on social media, and it got me interested. Not all of the items really apply to what I want personally, but I was already in the process of (or thinking about) doing some of them, so I’m going to change it up a bit. My goal is to do the following for at least 50 days:

1. Wake up before 8am and get at least 6 hours of sleep
2. At least 1 hour of no phone after waking up
3. Some kind of intentional movement for 15+ minutes
4. Write 500 words

Habits and routines aren’t generally something I do well with in the long-term (which I now know is down to brain things! I hate and love structure and rigidity in equal measure! This was a truly wild year lol), so I go into this with the understanding that I may not be consistent across all 50 days. I get thrown off a routine very easily (thanks, brain), but, here’s to optimism and hoping for the best!