Living a Fertile Life: January Recap

I feel like I blinked and January was gone.

Why I’ve Been Somewhat Off the Radar

To say it’s been busy around these parts is kind of an understatement. Between building a new website for RESOLVE New England and building two more of my own, I’ve had a lot on my plate. Not to mention I’ve picked up some new writing gigs and have been working on some social media projects for Words Empowered. Oh, and I’m writing a non-fiction book proposal I hope to be able to have finished by the end of March and plan on writing and self-publishing 3 – yes 3 – eBooks this coming month.

Did I mention I’m moving this blog and starting a whole new website & business on March 1st too? The Infertility Voice – y’all should check it out and join my e-list for updates as I move to launch.

Jesus, I’m exhausted just writing about all of this!

And yet, in the middle of it all, I made a promise to myself for 2012. I made a commitment to live a fertile life in 2012. It was simple: 12 months, 12 challenges.

Checking in on January’s Challenge

I made January’s challenge a relatively simple one: eat a solid food breakfast every morning by 10am.

So… how did I do?

I’m very proud to say that I managed to accomplish this challenge every day in the month of January! Some breakfasts were light: perhaps just a muffin or a piece of toast. I took a little liberty with weekends, since I rarely get out of bed before 10am, but made sure to eat as soon as I got up.

There were a couple of hectic days where I inhaled breakfast at 11:45am, just because in my head, anything after noon is lunch. But those days were the ones I ended up eating lunch at 3pm and dinner not until 8 or 9pm, so it all worked out.

Lasting Impact

It’s kind of ridiculous how much difference eating breakfast every day has made. I feel like committing to this one simple act has had a profound effect on, well – everything.

You see, I went from a regular 9-5 office job to working from home. I cannot stress the importance routine must play in making working from home productive. I lost one routine: rushing out the door, sitting in traffic for an hour while listening to NPR – and replaced it with another. Getting up a little later, getting showered and dressed for the day, grabbing a bite to eat and firing up my computer for a day of work.

Breakfast became my morning constant, to help me adjust to my new working environment.

But it also made me think about everything else I put into my body for the rest of the day. If I was carb or grain heavy in the morning, it made me reconsider lunch. Should I grab a slide of pizza or make myself a salad? The same thought process goes for dinner: what didn’t I have at lunch or breakfast I want to make sure I incorporate at dinner time? Eating breakfast made me more aware of the nutrients I was putting into my body and what I needed to add throughout the day.

One of the better lasting impacts is that by putting my own health and nutrition at the forefront of my brain each morning, it made a ripple effect throughout the day in thinking about what I can do best for my body each day.

All this from toast, bagels and clementine oranges. Crazy, right?

But this just speaks volumes to the power of turning resolutions into goals, and breaking them down into Bite-Size Chunks of Attainability^(TM) – suddenly it’s less of climbing a mountain and more of going on a power-hike with a rewarding view at the end.

It’s amazing how one simple thing like eating breakfast every day has changed my outlook on life and made me think proactively and positively at the start of each day!

Coming in February

Pardon my crassness, but wow, what a poorly worded section header. In short: me. February’s challenge is a little more… intimate.

I plan to (insert euphemism of your choice for sex) with my husband every day.

I will go into more detail (but not THAT kind of detail) about it all tomorrow. But suffice it to say, if I’m not answering my phone or responding to your email next month, well… I might be busy 😉

How are your resolutions and goals coming along for 2012? How are you committing to living a fertile life this year?