GREAT resolutions for October

I had a lot of ambitious ideas for the month of October, but when I stopped to think how busy I’m going to be, I decided not to get too crazy. The only major task on the list is to Kon-Mari the kitchen (actually, it turns out the Internet-approved verb is “to Kondo”), which is probably something that was going to happen anyway.

But here’s the October list:

• Goal: Find a new recipe to add to our regular rotation
• Rule: Take a few minutes every morning to plan the day
• Errand: Kon-Mari the kitchen
• Affirmation: “Warmth comes from within me”
• Theme: Coziness

I like how the theme of coziness ties everything together in a little bundle of fall-embracing domestic wonder, but I’m especially excited about the rule I came up with. For a while I’ve been bemoaning the fact that, even though I really thrive when I have some sort of regular routine, my erratic job prevents me from ever keeping to a schedule. So, for example, because I can’t commit to getting to the gym every morning at 8, I almost never go.

What I can do, though, is commit to five minutes a day to figure out what kind of exercise I want to do that day—and how to make it work with everything else I need to do. I guess when you can’t have a schedule, the next best thing is a list?

Plus, what a great way to use this notepad I found while cleaning my office last month!