Those of you who follow Twice the Mum will know that Nat and I have been considering giving something up – or stopping something for October. While the “Stoptober” campaign itself is designed for people giving up smoking, this October it does seem to be motivating people to stop a variety of things. Earlier in the week, I posted about my options for what I might stop. In the end, I couldn’t decide which to go for and took the plunge to actually accomplish them all!
The things I’m stopping include; eating Chocolate, Sweets & Cake, eating/ordering Takeaway, Drinking (alcohol), Spending (like a spending ban), Being Lazy and Using Tiredness as an Excuse. I will be doing all of them for the whole of October and as it goes on, I’ll be updating you as to how I get on.
There are some obvious reasons for some of them but basically there is a logic to each. For chocolate, sweets, cake and takeaway -the advantage is mostly weight loss, but also to help with finances. I don’t drink an awful lot anyway but I figured I’d throw it in for good measure – that said I will be drinking on 31st as we’re having a party and its the first one in months! The enforced spending ban is really to help me save and get on top of finances (especially with Christmas and Florida coming up fast) though I won’t be including anything I buy for Christmas. That said, I will be trying to postpone Christmas shopping, just to get on top of what I have already and what I still need to get. Finally, with regards to not being lazy and not using tiredness as an excuse, I plan to get more on top of things, spend less time procrastinating and hopefully get some organisation into my life! I also want to make the most of my spare time, instead of sitting around thinking about how tired I am.
When I mentioned my plans to the kids a few days ago, I was greeted with a great response. In fact, both of the girls wanted to participate too. Though they were unsure what to do, they finally decided on giving up sweets and chocolate as an after dinner treat. Megan says she’ll be giving up sweets altogether. I have promised them both that if they actually accomplish it, I’ll give them £10 each at the end of the month. As well as that, I’ll be moving them both up their reward chart one spot for each successful day.
Although its only “Day One”, I’m feeling good and I’m feeling motivated. I’ve behaved myself at work and while I haven’t eaten dinner yet, I’ve got no intention of eating junk! As well as that, I’ve gotten on with today’s post early on (that’s this one!) and I plan to spend the rest of the evening writing out a meal plan for the week, then a sort of blog schedule so I know when I’m working on my blog and when I have spare time. Finally I’m going to make sure I use my spare time to spend time with Chris and the girls (preferably not just watching TV), catching up on household jobs, reading and getting on top of everything I’ve been saying “I’ll do it soon…” to. I’m pleased to say that today was a good start, as before I even headed to work I managed to get all the washing hung out!