#Nerdlution 2016!

A few years ago, several of us participated in #Nerdlution.  If you missed it the first round, you can read about it here. And here. And here.

I wasn't so successful with #nerdlution and hadn't thought much about it, but a few days  Niki Barnes tweeted out:

I figured it was a good time to revisit some goals and think about what I wanted to focus on in the next few months. Our original #nerdlution was 50 days so we set the 2016 #nerdlution to run from January 4 (tomorrow!) until February 22.  I don't remember why we settled on 50 but that seemed like a good timeframe again.

My first instinct was to set the goal "Pull myself together". But Colby Sharp is serious about goals and he reminded me that it needed to be more specific with this:

Colby also shared this article on goal setting.

And I found this one that was interesting.

And then I read Chris Lehman’s post about his hopes for the year. 

So I thought hard about what I meant when I said I needed to "pull myself together". How would that be measurable? Niki Barnes suggested a Before and After picture but that seemed a little stressful!  What was keeping me from feeling "pulled together" on a daily basis.  It's taken me a few days of thinking but here is what I've figured out.

I plan too much for a day or a weekend or a chunk of time. My to-do list is always impossible and I like it that way.  I like the work I do and I like to be busy. But because my to-do list is never-ending by choice, I have gotten into the habit of trying to get finished with my to-do list even though it isn't mean to be finished. So I end up feeling a big overwhelmed by all that I have to do. (even if I don't have to do it for weeks).  I end up rushing in the morning and rushing in the evening and then living a bit chaotically because of it.  Because I am trying to check things off my list, I don't make time for things that help me to feel organized. Whether I am put together or not, I don't feel like it because I have started to feel frazzled in the morninsg and in the evenings.

So to help with this goal, I have a few things I am going to try to change in the next 50 days. These are things I will do no matter how long my to-do list is (because it is always long, by choice remember:-)

-I will take the time to wash my face and use moisturizer every morning and night.  (This is something that I often skip because I try to check things off my to-do list and work "for just one more minute" until I am so tired that all I can do is fall into bed.)

-I will pack healthy lunches and have healthy breakfasts on most days (which means I will have to take a few minutes to plan and prepare these.)

-I will exercise 5 days a week.  Anything for 25+ minutes will count. (My to-do list will no longer be an excuse).

-As a family, we will spend 10 minutes every night picking up stuff in our family room and kitchen.  We tend to put things on the tables and the island as we go about our business each day. This become a bit overwhelming after a few days so we are committing to doing this each night before we go to bed.

None of these things are very hard and none of these take a long time but I think they will help me feel like I am more put together and less frantic about things.  I think this list will also give me permission to put my to-do list aside for a chunk of time each day.  Dropping daily routines has become a bad habit and I use my to-do list as an excuse too often.  Building these habits back into life   seems doable and very worthwhile. I am actually looking forward to it.  I may not look any different at the end of #nerdlution (which is why I did not take Nikki's advice to measure my #Nerdlution with a before and after picture:-)  but I am hoping that I feel more put together, more balanced and less obsessed with my never-ending to-do list (did I mention that I love everything on my to-do list!).

We hope you will join us!  If you have some new thing you are trying to commit to, join us with the #nerdlution hashtag on Twitter and on our Nerdlution Facebook Page!

Time to Begin: #Nerdlution15

Another Fabulous Logo Created by Kristi Mraz!

Last year, we had great fun with our #nerdlution goals. We had an idea. Colby (@colbysharp) created a hashtag and Kristi (@MrazKristine) created a logo.  And lots of people joined in! If you missed out, you can get the scoop on Chris Lehman's blog. He posted Nerdlution and So Can You (FAQ) which is everything you want to know about it!  

Last year, we had 2 rounds of #nerdlutions. Each was 50 days long and each person set his/her own goals.  You can read Colby Sharp's Nerdlution Round 1 goals and also the posts of other bloggers who joined int he fun.  Nerdlution? What Kind of Word is That?, Jumping on the Nerdlution Bandwagon, and My #Nerdlution: 50 Comments/50 Blogs/50 Days.

My #nerdlutions did not go so well. Actually, my public goal setting never really produces the desired results but I do meet some goals. My goals from last year can be found at #nerdlution: When Mr. Sharp Creates a Hashtag, You Know He Means Business! and how it worked out for me at Thanks to the Nerdlution Community!

This year, we invite everyone to join us and to use the hashtag #nerdlution15 on Twitter, FB, Instagram, etc.  Feel free to revise any #nerdlution pieces that need revised for you--number of days, start date, etc.  I think I will do the traditional 50 days as Jan/Feb is usually a good time for me to meet personal goals since the craziness of fall at school has ended.  50 Days Takes us from January 1- February 19 which is FABULOUS timing because I will be seeing Chris and Colby the next weekend for the Dublin Literacy Conference. We can celebrate our successes!

So, it is 2015. And 2014 was not my favorite year. Needless to say, it wasn't a great year for meeting goals. So, this is my thinking for #nerdlution15, Round 1.  No apples for me this year.  Instead, here are my 4 #nerdlution goals--starting January 1 and ending Feb 19. (well, not ending--hopefully becoming habit by then!)

#nerdluton 1: Water

I saw this amazing post about a woman who drank a gallon of water a day and I decided I want to give it a try.  Not only does she look better, but she seems to feel better too. A gallon of water every day for 50 days.  So I am going to try that.  And I am thinking I'll go for a gallon but anywhere between 64 and 128 oz a day will be acceptable.

#nerdlution 2: Exercise

I would like to exercise 6 times a week (maybe 5 different days). I am going to try the Galloway run/walk method this time as I think it will be more doable for me and it seems to have good results.  So I am thinking I'll do walk/run 3 times a week and some kind of a yoga class 3 times a week. 

#nerdlution 3: Fun Times

I need to have more fun. Sometimes after a week of work, I am too tired to do anything fun.  So I am going to try to do at least 2 fun things a week. Fun things with family or friends that isn't part of a regular day.

#nerdlution #4 is actually a #nerdlotion. 

Last year, putting on lipstick for 50 days was one of my #nerdlutions. It didn't go so well. I am going to try again but this year with face moisturizer.  Preferably 2 times a day for 50 days but at least 1 time a day . You see, I go through phases when it comes to beauty products.  No real habits and hoping to build some back in. So lotion every day. 

So, follow us to see how we are doing and join us with your own #nerdlutions!  Ready to go tomorrow!

#Nerdlution Round 2: Lipstick?

As we get ready for Round 2 of #nerdlution, I thought long and hard about #nerdlution as a way to change habits a bit.  Even though I was not successful at Round 1 of #nerdlution, I learned a lot.

#Nerdlution #1
Since I am not so good at doing things every single day (I love days of nothingness:-), I've decided to make exercise 5 days a week part of my #nerdlution goal.  Last week, I ran/walked 3 times and went to 3 yoga classes.  6 is a great week but I know some weeks won't allow me to fit in 3 yoga classes and 3 runs, so 5 seems reasonable.  Right now, I am all about running and yoga but in 50 days, that might change and when I think about big goals, it is about consistent exercise, so I will leave it at that.

#Nerdlution #2
My OLW is "TODAY" and I got a bracelet that I love to help remind me to live in the moment just a little bit more.  I've done a much better job of slowing down in the classroom and I can see more (and happier) learning because I am not always in a rush or rushing the children.  I find that I am a little kinder and more willing to be helpful when I am not in such a hurry and not always moving to the next thing.  I need to continue to live this word a little better outside of school.  The word is making me a kinder person and I like that. So my second #nerdlution is to continue working on this idea of Today.

My bracelet from Hands Free Mamma  http://shop.handsfreemama.com/products/only-love-today-bracelet-classic-brown

#Nerdlution #3
Lipstick. I will put on lipstick (yes, lip gloss counts) every day for 50 days.  This sounds a little shallow I know but it is about taking the time for little things that I've let go slowly over the years.
I've learned that there are times in our life when we have to let things go.  When my kids were little, I stopped wearing earrings for a long while because babies seem to pull at earrings.  When I got Plantar Faciitis a few years ago, I stopped wearing shoes with heels because they hurt and made the injury worse. When I got my concussion last year and was off work for 6 weeks, I started to wear yoga pants and sweatshirts every day.  When life gets busy or things happen that require that I take care of something--family, work, writing, house, etc.--I tend to drop little things that aren't the priority.  Like putting on lipstick in the morning.  When we drop little things, over time though, those little things add up if we don't build them back into our routines.  This is what happens to me and exercise. To me and healthy eating.  To me and lipstick.

Now, I have never been one to refresh my lipstick during the day. I am too busy doing things to remember to reapply lipstick. But there is something about starting the day in a way that is not in a hurry that is good for me.

So, the lipstick is not about how I look really (although I should look a little better!). It's about making a decision to not let little things go because I'm in a hurry and I want to get to the next thing faster.  That the 15 seconds I gain from not putting on lipstick is not going to make me any more productive during the day. If I am going to slow down and enjoy the days, it has to start with the morning, the "getting ready for the day" part.  So, lipstick seems to be a good reminder of that. (And my mother will be oh, so happy at this #nerdlution!)

Looking forward to this round of #Nerdlution. I feel like I learned lots about myself during Round 1 and I am ready to try for some new habits and routines.  And, there is nothing better than the #nerdlution community to cheer you on!

#nerdlution writing for today

Routines and Rituals and Giving Oneself Permission to Veer

I'm eating the last of my birthday cake as I write. There's a trio of unfrosted sugar cookies waiting when I finish the cake. Permission has been granted to veer from the bowl of yogurt-granola-flax seed that is my typical breakfast. This veer feels a little decadent, mostly because I'm telling the world that I did it. Being in a breakfast routine is something that is hardwired for me. Growing up, we had a scrambled egg, toast, milk and juice for breakfast every school day morning. (This may not actually be true, but it's what I remember.) On Saturdays, Mom let us veer -- we could eat whatever we wanted for breakfast. And it was all kinds of fun (plus it felt a little decadent) to heat up a can of Campbell's vegetarian vegetable soup and eat it right from the pan while I watched Saturday cartoons.

So the power of both the routine and the veer were instilled in me early.

That slice of birthday cake I just finished (YUM!) was a veer. The traditional cake that I make for birthdays is a three-layer from-scratch tower of chocolate. Making that cake has turned into a routine. I wanted to try something new this year. Years ago (gasp -- I just looked at the recipe -- in 2004!), I saved a recipe from Oprah's magazine for a cake whose picture made me drool: "Triple-decker triple threat: chocolate, buttercream, and ganache." I think it's fair to say that back in 2004 I didn't have the baking skills to tackle this cake. But now, almost 10 years later, I was ready to try two new things: buttercream and ganache. If you've never made either of them, they are really fun on the first try. You kind of know what they're supposed to be like in the end, but for the longest time, neither of them resembles that outcome in any way, shape, or form. Then...suddenly...the glop becomes creamy buttercream! Suddenly, the melty mass becomes silky ganache!

So veering is good, because when you get off the beaten path, you learn new things, and learning is fun!

Those sugar cookies I just finished were a veer. Thirty (still kills me to say this)...THIRTY years ago, in my first year of teaching (when I was twelve) I made cookies for my students to decorate. Gingerbread people. One of my students revealed that he had never decorated cookies. I promised myself that as long as I taught, my students would decorate cookies every winter so that if ever there was another child in my class who hadn't decorated cookies they would have that chance. For twenty years, I made gingerbread. And used only two of my extensive collection of cookie cutters -- big gingerbread person, little gingerbread person. This was more than a routine, this was a ritual. But even a good ritual can use a veer. Ten years ago, I decided I wanted to use more of my cookie cutters, and make a different kind of cut-out cookie. So I switched to sugar cookies and now my students decorate people (last year a student made JFK and this year we had Obama), and rhinos, polar bears, bats, doves, chickens, USAs, pigs, flowers, and snowmen (just to name a few without getting up to look). I give my decorators bowls of homemade white icing...and food coloring. While many have decorated cookies before, very few have ever made their own colors of icing. Fun, fun, FUN!

So sometimes you need to veer even the most beloved ritual to keep it fresh.

*  *  *  *  *

And now exactly 30 minutes of writing time is up for today's #nerdlution. Here's what I love about the routine of writing for 30 minutes every morning:

1. I often have no idea what I will write about when I sit down and put pencil to notebook page. I LOVE the surprises that come as I write!

2. It was scary to sit down to this blog post and have no idea what I was going to write about until I admitted to my off-the-beaten-path breakfast. But, I LOVE the surprises that come as I write!

3. I actually have the beginnings of a Choice Literacy article waiting for me to work on tomorrow. And even though I have an outline, I know I will still be surprised by the way it turns out. I LOVE the surprises that come as I write!

4. To summarize: I LOVE the surprises that come as I write!