Two Fit Girls was MIA last week as we tried to squeeze in the last bit of summer: Jill had a friend in the city, and I headed north to spend the week celebrating my birthday, kayaking, swimming and biking. It was lovely, but I’m excited about September, about cooler weather, book season and routine.

September, for me, has always been a time of renewal. A time to set goals and start a-fresh. Combine the back-to-school feeling with the fact my birthday (August 27) is only a week before fall begins, it’s a great time to reflect and assess.

So, in mind with my happiness project (see my happiness commandments here!), I’ve decided to set goals. But this time, I’m doing it a little differently. I’m going to set monthly intentions (which I’ll share with you here) that cover all aspects of my life: work, fitness, home and overall happiness.

 

1) Eliminate clutter.

I’m a clutterbug and so is Matt. We’re not too messy (okay, we’re a little messy), but the volume of stuff we brought from our old house to our new house — and have yet to use — is astounding. I want to remove this and make the drawers and cupboards in our house functional. I want them to hold every day items, not just crap we can’t or haven’t gotten rid of. (“Be light” and “be fit” for my house!)

My plan of attack? To take this room by room. Thinking about the entire house is overwhelming. But this week — the first — is all about the living room.

My timeline? I want the entire house done by the end of the year.

 

2) Lose 10 pounds.

Weight isn’t something Jill and I talk about a lot on Two Fit Girls. We’re both relatively healthy and active people and felt that discussing weight wasn’t beneficial to ourselves and our audience. But I’ve been feeling slow and sluggish lately. I’m not recovering from runs as fast as I want to. I think weight has something to do with this, but also lifestyle. Having a concrete weight goal will have me thinking more concretely about what I’m eating and what I’m doing. I think it puts a goal like “eat healthier” into focus. (This helps me “be light” and “be fit” for my body!)

My plan of attack? Less carbs, less sugar, less alcohol.

My timeline? I want to be 10 pounds lighter by Thanksgiving. That’s 5 weeks. Ambitious, but realistic.

 

3) Wake up earlier.

Gretchen is a big advocate of the early am wake-up and I have to agree. On mornings I get up earlier, I feel more productive and happier all day long, whether I work-out or clean the kitchen. Why not make this a regular occurrence? (If I “show up” in the morning, things will get done.)

My plan of attack? Set the alarm for 6:30. I have the Sleep Cycle app alarm clock and plan to use it more regularly. The goal for September is to just get up. Every day. Once I’m used to it (or realize I’ll never get used to it), I’ll think more about what I’m going to do with my extra morning hour.

My timeline? This starts today!

 

4) Do yoga 3x a week.

I’m a happier person when I do yoga. Despite being a reluctant yogi, it has become an essential part of my fitness routine. When I don’t do it (like on vacation this past week), I get stiff and grumpy. My lunch time yoga experiment in August was a success. Now that it’s September, I know it will be much harder to sneak away in the middle of the day, but I’m going to do my best. If I can do one lunch time class, one pm class and one weekend class a week, I’ll be thrilled. (“Be fit.”)

My plan of attack? I’m going to do a better job of scheduling my workouts into my life. At the beginning of each week, I will sit down and map them out — and do everything I can to stick to it.

My timeline? This starts now and will be an on-going thing. If 3x a week turns into an impossibility, I’ll reassess in October’s goals!

 

5) Make a skirt.

I have a sewing machine and grand visions of wearing all hand-made clothes. I’m not a terrible sewer, but I’m not a great one either. But I haven’t pulled the machine out in a year. This is a problem. Instead of imagining myself as a fancy, creative type, let’s just do it (“Make good, do good, feel good”, right?) Again, I feel that setting a concrete, specific goal for this one will mean success will be that much easier!

My plan of attack? Find a pattern, find fabric, make a skirt. I’m waiting for a rainy weekend afternoon for this one.

My timeline? I hope to be wearing this skirt to work the first week of October!

That’s that! In October, I’ll assess how I did and set five more goals for that month!

 

 

What are your goals for September?