On this week’s “Happier’ podcast, Gretchen and Liz discussed the fact that September 23rd starts the countdown of the last 100 days of 2023. They reviewed their “23 for 23” lists to see if there were any neglected areas they need to focus on before the year is over.
That’s a good idea! I pulled out my own “23 for 23” list, which unfortunately only has nine things on it. Oops. But let’s review those nine:
- Go to the gym regularly (2-3 days a week.) – CHECK!
- Run a 50K – CHECK!
- Increase my protein intake- CHECK (I’m doing great so far!)
- Read 50 books- Still possible unless I fall off the schedule in November-December as I usually do.
- Participate in NaBloPoMo 2023- Oh yes! More on that below.
- Organize my closet- Absolutely not.
- Fix foot- hahahahahahahaha! That’s a good one. I’ve had plantar fasciitis in my left foot for three years and it’s still going strong!
- Focus on getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night- Er. More on that below as well.
- Send Christmas cards.
I like that last one- obviously when I made the list I was feeling guilty because I only sent out three cards last year. I did buy a box of cards in January, so I’m cautiously optimistic that this one will happen.
Let’s go back to #8, sleep. After a lot of big talk and small actions, my sleep is pretty much where it was a year ago. I do go to bed earlier now, but I also get up earlier. It’s very rare that I get eight hours- it’s usually between six and seven, and there are always a couple disastrous nights thrown in there of five or less.
WHY?
The good news is, I normally turn off all screens at least an hour before bed. The bad news is, I use that time to read and sometimes I stay up too late reading. I love reading at night when everyone else is in bed, but it just doesn’t fit with going to bed early. That’s problem #1.
Problem #2 is that once I get in bed, sometimes I have trouble falling asleep. This can be for various reasons, and doesn’t seem to correspond to anything in my life. Sometimes I have to pee several times. Other times, I drink an entire can of sparkling water before bed and sleep soundly. Sometimes, I have the “moveable itch” phenomenon (this is probably self-explanatory.) Sometimes I’ll sleep really well after a long run or hard gym workout, but sometimes I’ll toss and turn for a couple hours. AND, when I’m up late reading, often I don’t really want to go to bed because I’m not sure if I’ll fall asleep, or just lie there miserably.
SIGH!
There are still a lot of things I haven’t tried, and I’m going to renew my focus on sleep for the last 100 days of the year.
Let’s move on to a more pleasant topic: NaBloPoMo 2023! Oh yes, I’m doing it again. Not only am I doing it, but I have a THEME for this year, and some potential NaBloPoMo “projects.” Ooh! Exciting and mysterious! I can’t wait.
Did you make a “23 for 23” (or any list of goals) this year? Is there anything you want to focus on especially for the last 100 days?
Who’s doing NaBloPoMo with me this year???
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
28 Responses
Okay, so I decided I WASN’T going to do NaBloPoMo and then my blog got deleted and now I think I might do it because a) I miss blogging so much and should have things back up and running before November AND b) I plan to “cheat” a bit and repost some old posts from earlier in my blogging history 🙂
My sleep is so hit and miss lately. I have just made the switch to decaf coffee though, and I hope that helps a bit?
I made 23 goals for the year; a few I’m abandoning completely, but most I’m THRILLED with my progress. This was definitely a good year for goals, and I’ve started my 24 for 2024 and am trying to make them really fun this time!
Increasing my protein intake wasn’t a goal for the year, but I’ve definitely done this! I’m fully on board the protein powder train and make protein balls each week and have one for breakfast and generally one for a mid-afternoon snack. They are SO good. Oats, peanut butter, coconut flour, protein powder, some oat milk, cinnamon, pumpkin seeds. My mouth is watering just typing it out 🙂
Wait- I need that protein ball recipe! I’m emailing you once again.
Yes! I hope you do NaBloPoMo. Just think- you probably have all these blog posts just waiting to get out. You can publish them all in November!
I had some rough months of sleep earlier this year and happy to report that it’s going much better. The first thing I do every morning is check my sleep stats on Oura ring. Of course, I love to get a good grade lol and I get some fab feedback on my sleep stages etc. Looking forward to seeing your daily blog posts. Not sure I have enough to say everyday…
Last year I definitely had a few too many posts that were, well, kind of lame. That’s why I’m starting earlier this year and already making plans!
I’m glad your sleep is going better, and it’s good to know that these things can improve!
Sleep is a complicated thing, isn’t it? I do generally get around 7.5 hours of sleep/night. If I did much below 7, my body lets me know THAT IT NEEDS MORE. I wish I was one of those people who needed less sleep. But I have come to accept that I need sleep. This will be challenging when my kids are older and go to bed later. Right now, our bedtimes/wake times are really well aligned. I am definitely the early morning parent and usually let Phil sleep in. But I figure eventually the tide will turn and Phil will be the night parent and will stay up to usher the kids to bed, etc. So his time is coming. 😉 Ha. I have had terrible insomnia in the past but luckily it is mostly managed now.
I have never done NaBloPoMo and probably never will – which is ok! And I did not make a 23 in 23 list. I am very weird about setting goals/making lists like that. It puts more pressure on me and that’s something I don’t need right now. I know that sounds like a total cop out! I did make a list in 2019 and I accomplished more than I would have if I hadn’t made the list, but it was sort of this thing that hung over me during the year! Maybe when I am out of the trenches of parenting, I’ll be more drawn to challenges like that!
And re: a visit to FL. I will definitely let you know if I am coming to Florida! Chances are I will be in the Miami area for work at some point. And our sales conferences tend to alternate from California to Florida. 2024 is in Cali but 2025 should be in FL! We are planning to take a family trip to FL in the spring but will probably be very far north of you – we are looking at Destin or going back to the Tampa region. We really love the Gulf Coast! But I am going to meet you some day!!!
Overall I think sleep gets easier as the kids get older- especially when they’re teenagers, you don’t need to be up to usher them into bed! There is an in-between phase where it gets a little tricky, but you have Phil there to help you out. I can definitely function on less sleep, but I know it’s not optimal. A lot of days I feel really sleepy during the day, and it’s not good.
I always think I’m going to make a big goal list for the year but it never happens. I think this 9 was the best I’ve ever done, although I’m laughing at myself a little, because the list is clearly labeled “23 for 23.” Ha.
Yes, you’ll be pretty far from me, but I can see why you’re going to Tampa- I love it over there.
I like the idea of doing a goal push for the last 100 days of the year…and may I say that I also like having a goal list of 9 things instead of 23 things cuz…23 is a lot to keep track of. And also as someone who comes from a family with long life spans, I don’t see doing a “75 in 75 list” when I’m 100.
If it helps, I have the exact same experience with sleep. Either I need to get up one million times to pee or I can sleep through the night with no correlation to my water intake. A hard workout might mean a great night of sleep or it might mean a disastrous night. My go to is listening to sleep meditations, which usually work but every once in a while my brain just won’t shut off. So I dunno…
I think that NaBloPo was a one and done for me. My goal for this year is to be a better commenter.
Well, it’s a little comforting to hear you have similar issues! Although I wish we both didn’t have them.
Yes, when will this goal/year matching end??? It’s going to get crazy. Well, I couldn’t even come close to 23 so I doubt I’ll be attempting 24 next year.
You checked off a lot of things on your list, so go you! The sleep thing is tricky for sure. I hope you can figure it out. It’s hard to be underrested.
I won’t be doing NaBloPoMo but I will be cheering on everyone who is!
Nicole, you were an AMAZING cheerleader last year!
I am so excited that people are talking about NaBloPoMo already. Yay! I am so thrilled you’re already committing and you even have a theme and some projects lined up… Jenny! You’re ahead of the game. I need to start giving it some serious thought myself.
Oh man, just the sound of you putting out a number and a list of goals kind of makes me itch to commit to something! However, I am definitely not doing NaBlo; I find it hard enough to write one or two posts a week AND respond to comments AND comment on other people’s blogs thoughtfully; I think something would suffer if I tried to post every day. It would probably be my sleep, speaking of sleep. I get about 6 hrs and 40 mins on average, sometimes 7 hours, and it is probably not enough. I don’t fall asleep at work or anything, but I definitely have a night once in a while where I fall asleep while reading my book at 6 pm!
Yes, the hardest part about NaBloPoMo is keeping up with everyone else’s posts- it’s definitely time consuming.
NaBloPoMo is going to be the last month that I do this dumb write a post every day project I’ve set up for myself and I can HARDLY wait. Also, I love how abundant blog posts are in November! It makes me so happy!
I know!!! There’s never a shortage of things to read. And, I can hardly imagine your blog at this point without the daily prompts. It’s been a long time!
You’re making great progress with your goals.
I’m going to be away for all of November so no NaBloPoMo for me this year., which is disappointing.
Not being able to sleep is awful. I need pretty perfect conditions to get a good sleep but for some reason the last few months I’ve been sleeping pretty well(for me). But I have had multiple colds and am feeling really tired so I think my body is needing it. I hardly ever spend less than 7 hours in bed but most times it’s over 8 hours, I think I just really need a lot of sleep.
I’m sure my body would be VERY happy with your sleep schedule! It sounds awesome, and I’m glad it’s been going well for you. I also need conditions to be right to sleep well- mainly, I need the room to be cool enough, which is hard in South Florida.
100 days! I’ll be doing a review of my 2023 goals next month and we’ll see where I’m at. I’m happy with how I stand with the majority of my goals, but there are a lot of financial ones that I’m not going to hit, which is upsetting. But oh well!
I’m sorry sleep has continued to be so wretched for you! I’m starting to realize my afternoon naps are affecting my sleep SO MUCH. Argh! I used to take a short power nap (45 mins – 1 hour; yes that’s short for me, ha) on weekdays, but gave them up last week and slept SO WELL at night. Now I have to think about giving up my LONG weekend naps. I love them so much, though!
I usually take a 30 minute nap in the afternoon, and I don’t want anyone to tell me I can’t do that anymore! I love my naps so much as well.
100 days! That makes me feel like I should set a goal for the rest of the year.
FWIW I think New Year’s cards should be more of a thing. They are non-denominational and you can get them out in the aftermath of the holidays instead of the mad lead-up.
I did send our New Year’s cards one year, and it worked really well- I just sent a New Year’s card to everyone who sent me a Christmas card.
Have you already done a post on how you increased your protein as a vegan– and what you target per day? If not, would you? we are struggling with this ourselves, and live in a place/country without access to a lot of vegan premade foods (think: veggie ground round, veggie burgers, seitan, veggie sausages)… which also has it’s plus sides (they can be really… not great for you, as you just wrote about). On the plus sides, we have a lot of beans, lentils and usually access to great tofu…
Okay, I’m probably due for a “protein update” post. Beans, lentils and tofu are probably the best options! I also usually have a protein drink for lunch, which is just protein powder mixed in water (the one I use right now is called Upnourish which I order from Amazon.) I haven’t been focusing on it as much lately, so maybe I’ll do an eating “day in the life” post where I track my protein.
That would be amazing! In the meantime will look up that protein powder– thanks!!
I’ve seen a few of the 100 days left in 2023 posts on social media and it definitely intrigues me. I know we’re under 100 days now but I feel like i want to make a list of things to do so that i end the year strong!
Yes, it’s a good idea- because the other option would be to just get really lazy, start celebrating holidays and end the year pretty “weak!”
I think you’re doing a great job on your 9 for 23. 23 goals is about 22 too many for me… I do not do well at tracking them. I can barely remember a word of the year. (umm… hm…) 😉
Ha ha, last year I couldn’t remember my word of the year. Finally I remembered that it was “start.” Start? That seemed like a good idea in January but made no sense in July.