31 Steps for Feeling Happier, Steps 15-20: Planning ahead

Did you commit to volunteering or make a donation? I did. I committed to volunteering twice per month in my daughter’s classroom. This was the best choice for me for a number of reasons, the least of which is that I have to go to the school every day anyway (I drive my daughter to school. We both have our own issues with buses). Might as well spend a couple of hours helping out. I start next week because…

Tomorrow I leave for FinCon13, or the Financial Blogger Conference. Although I don’t write a primarily personal finance site anymore, I agreed for my mentoring program, Bloggers Helping Bloggers, to run a session at the conference. I’m excited to run a one-off session on such a big platform (even if the time is at 8:15 on a Saturday morning) as well as see my blogging friends (new and old).

But that means I won’t be able to write daily. I’m terrible at time management lately and while I planned to have a new post scheduled in advance for each day, that plan fell through. So I came up with a different plan. This one involves giving all of the tasks for the next 6 days (including today) at once. Feel free to do them all in one day or spread them out over the 6 days or use some other method. 

Here’s the list:

• Day 15–Do a good deed for someone else. This kind of goes along with volunteering but it’s also sort of different. For instance, you can feed someone’s expired meter. You can offer to run an errand for a coworker if you’re headed somewhere close. Help an elderly neighbor with their trash. Since it’s pregnancy and infant loss awareness day, my good deed will be lighting a candle at 7:00PM in honor of the babies my friends and family have lost. I know it’s a rather unorthodox good deed but it’s the best I can do today.
• Day 16–Finish a small task. Today’s the day you’re going to balance your checkbook or throw out the leftovers that are quickly dissolving into an unidentifiable mass or answer those emails you’ve been putting off. Look at your to do list and cross off one item that keeps transferring from day to day because you just don’t want to deal with it. You’ll feel so much better once you do.
• Day 17–Do something thoughtful. This one is inspired by my husband’s birthday, which would fall on day 17 (if I were writing each day). I know we all get busy and writing “happy birthday” on someone’s Facebook wall is often all we think we have time to do. But it’s not. We have time to spend a few minutes being thoughtful. Today, pick up the phone and call your grandmother. Mail a real birthday card. Handwrite a note to your significant other or sibling or child. Bake cookies for your family just because. Whatever it is, take 30 minutes and think of someone else first. (Note: I can’t disclose what I’m doing for this day since he reads the blog and I don’t want to ruin any surprises)
• Day 18–Laugh. This is free, it’s easy, and sometimes, there’s nothing like a good laugh to make you feel better. Since I’ll be at FinCon with some friends who do nothing but make me laugh, this is an easy one for me to finish. It should be easy for you, too. If you’re at a loss for something to make you laugh, browse BuzzFeed, watch a Big Bang Theory rerun, listen to Adam Sandler’s Ode to My Car, or spend 5 minutes on the internet. Something there should be funny.
• Day 19–Turn off social media. There is almost nothing that can ruin my mood or my day more than Facebook or Twitter (well, Facebook more than Twitter). We all know those people who love to show off about their seemingly perfect lives or post unintelligent rants about politics or religion or are just plan obnoxious and offensive. No matter how much we try to turn a blind eye to it, we can’t help but letting it in. But not today. Today we’re going to turn it off and realize that the world won’t end if we don’t read the details of everyone’ else’s children’s teething or bathroom habits. And we will feel so much better for it. If you really can’t turn it off, then just hide the feeds of people who bug you the most. I did that recently and it’s wonderful. 
• Day 20–Praise your good choices. We all love to talk about our regrets, mistakes, missteps, and failures. And that’s fine. There are lessons to be learned in all of those. However, for today, we’re going to focus on all the things we’ve done right. Make a list of the good choices you’ve made over the years. Keep them in the same place as the other lists you’ve written (on Day 3 and Day 4) so you can look at them on the days you’re feeling like you never made a good choice in your life. You have made them. Give them their due.

Good luck with your tasks this week! It’ll be challenging for me but I’ll be working on them right along with you. Can’t wait to hear about your progress!