SLN January

Seven Lakes News January Edition Section B 3
2018-2020
Economic Development Plan
35th Annual Kiwanis Pancake/Sausage Breakfast
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35th annual Kiwanis Pancake/Sausage breakfast
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New Year’s Resolutions
Eat Up Time
On an average day, the average
person: works for 8.8 hours,
sleeps for 7.6 hours, eats for
1.1, does stuff around the house
for 1.1, invests 1.2 hours into
their relationships and spends
1.7 hours doing “Other”. Here’s
what a typical person’s day
looks like, compared to a typical
day of mine since I’ve started A
Year of Productivity:
Hidden Costs of Making New Year’s Resolutions
For the project, I added more elements
to my life. Adding these
has a cost: time. I love working
out but on average I’m at the
gym for 1.5 hours. After I meditate
(30 minutes), invest in my
relationships (1.5 hours), I have
a total of 30 minutes left over.
It takes time and emotional labor
to switch between the elements,
so I don’t have any extra
time at all.
That’s okay, because I love what
I do, and love the challenge
of turning myself into a better
person. But shows it is important
to make resolutions for the
right reasons. New Year’s resolutions
eat up time; more than
you think.
If you already have a New Year’s
resolution, now is the time to
stop and think about:
•Whether you like the idea of
making the resolution more
than you would enjoy the results
of it.
•How much time it will cost,
compared to how much time
you have, and are willing to dedicate.
New Year’s Resolutions
Suck Up Willpower
Studies show that how much
willpower you have is not a character
trait. Willpower is a depletable
resource, and chances are
you will expend a lot keeping
your resolutions.
You start every day with a fresh
tank of willpower, but over the
day your reserve depletes. Forming
new habits can suck up a lot
of willpower.
Depleting your reserve is costly
if you don’t expend your willpower
on the right things. I think
draining your willpower is a cost
of making New Year’s resolutions
that most overlook.
Results are Often
Invisible at First
Your brain is wired to respond
to cues in your environment,
because it has grown to expect
rewards for behaviours. That’s
why you tap on the ‘Email” icon
on your phone when you see
new messages, or start walking
toward the laundry room after
the dryer sounds.
Having clear, specific rewards
for your behaviour is the key to
making new habits stick, but
with most resolutions you might
not notice results at first.
Not having clear rewards can be
discouraging and make a new
habit more difficult.
A good way to make new habits
stick: reward yourself after completing
something that doesn’t
have immediate benefits. This
helps solidify the cue-routine-reward
habit sequence in your
head and makes things easier
the next time.
Being mindful of how much
time, willpower, and motivation
your New Year’s resolutions will
cost is something that not many
do, because it’s more fun to fantasize
than to think about what
you need to do. But doing so will
help you become more realistic
about how keeping New Year’s
resolutions impact your life.