I started this year by asking, “Should I make resolutions?” Then I reviewed my list of resolutions from last year and noticed I can put a gold star of achievement next to a grand total of zero of them. Sadly, this is me every year. Making resolutions feels like the right thing to do, but for many of us, it’s actually counterproductive. When we make resolutions, we are typically adding things to our heap, and we do this without dropping any of the things we’re already carrying. Maybe we can make it a few months with a heavier load, but eventually, it becomes too much!
Making resolutions feels like the right thing to do, but for many of us, it's actually counterproductive. Click To TweetSo a few months in, we inevitably find ourselves shaking some of it back off, and since the newly added resolutions are at the top of the pile, they’re usually the first to fall. This year, I’m ditching the resolutions and trying something new. Instead of making a list of things to add to my pile, I am choosing to drop some of the things I am already carrying. I am calling it my “New Year’s Drop List.” Here are 8 things I’m doing away with this year. Could you stand to drop any of them, too?
1. Doing Laundry Every Day
Yes, I actually am the person who runs a load daily. And yes, it totally is exhausting, hence making it to the top of the list! Instead, I’ll choose three days a week to tackle the piles in my laundry room.
2. Cooking Six Nights a Week
Let’s make it five this year! One less thing to stress about at the end of the day. Each week, we’ll have a night of Mustgos, as in, “everything MUST GO!” Simply put, leftovers. Five nights of cooking, one night of leftovers, and one night of takeout or dining out as a family!
3. Grocery Shopping Every Week
There’s an app for that now, so why not let someone else give it a go? Some argue that groceries cost more when ordered through an app, but it also eliminates impulse purchases, so I think it comes out even at the end. Bonus: I’m less likely to grab extra bakery treats from my couch, right?
4. Saying Yes to Every Volunteering Request I Receive
Volunteer burnout is a real thing. It’s OK to decline a request to volunteer if volunteering doesn’t work with my schedule. This year, I am only giving my best yes.
5. My Reading List
I love curling up with a good book, but my list of “books to be read” is ever-growing. As a toddler mom, the list just looms over me whispering, “You don’t have the time or energy to read any of these!” So why stress about it? Audiobooks, this might be your year.
6. One Extracurricular Activity
I have way too much going on and I need more white space in my calendar for intentional rest. Should I make resolutions to create more downtime, or do the smart thing and just nix an activity and then bask in the glow of an obligation-free evening? Yep, one of them is getting the boot.
7. Dairy Products
Yes, I’m looking at you, milk and cheese. We’ve never had a good relationship anyway, so I’m breaking up with you this year. There are so many dairy-free products to fill my shopping list with instead.
8. Making Lists
I know. The irony is staring me in the face. That’s why this item is at the bottom of my drop list. I’m done with to-do lists. They overwhelm me. I find it more manageable to work these “to-do’s” into our family calendar instead. Clean the bathrooms on Saturday, order groceries on Wednesdays, and so on.
There you have it—my New Year’s Drop List. What are you putting on yours this year? What resolution do you make and break year after year?
