Caffeine-fueled, obligatory New Year's post

Today is the first day of 2012. This year I would like to learn about balance in my life. The last 6 months -- no, 18 months -- have been all about pushing myself to the next deadline. Everything that was not work or family got seriously squeezed out. Like exercise. And friends. Not good. This year I'm going to do things differently.

There are two reasons to change in 2012. The first, and obvious reason, is I need to exercise and see friends to be healthy. Period. The second, and less obvious reason, is because I am nearing the end of my degree and starting a new phase of my life. This next year needs to be an "experiment" in how work should look within the entirety of a balanced life, giving me good information on how I should shape my career.

The importance of this task is especially fresh in my mind. This holiday "break" has been anything but. The new quarter starts on Tuesday, and instead of refreshed and ready, I'm exhausted. I've spent every free moment reading, writing and stats-ing for a mid-January deadline, sacrificing time with family, sleep, household upkeep, etc. This is not acceptable. I really don't mind this level of intensity sometimes, but it has persisted for FAR too long.

This must change immediately. Overall, I am going to get way more cozy with my calendar. First, I am scheduling time at the gym like I schedule everything else in my day. Two one-hour sessions during weekdays, and one on the weekend. Second, I am riding the bike at home for 30 min on 2 other days during the week. This should not be that hard to do, right? Second, I need to start scheduling times with friends, even if it has to be weeks out. This can start with some email blasts to friends with some potential dates. Third, I am refocusing on cutting out most white sugar and flour. This has been pretty successful lately, but I want to continue and improve on it. Oooh, thought of a fourth: I need time for some creative pursuits, like writing, or creating things, or seeing things other people have created. I can double up this items with the friend time often as well.

So, those are the things I'd like to add, and now for what I'd like to take away: First, I want to decrease email time to just a few times a day. Second, I want to decrease Facebook time to just once a day. These are time sucks, which while they help keep in touch with people, are not usually terribly productive.

One other thing I want for this year, like every year: a made bed every day. Wish me luck.