Stay motivated with list making

I'm determined to make 2009 the best year ever. I have already publicly committed to spending more time with Mom, taking the dog on more walks, appreciating my husband Jack and renewing my faith. But there are so many more ways in which I'd like to improve myself -- and even more things I need to get done today, this week and this year.

Item number one last weekend: Hip hop. Friday night's aerobics class was the perfect way to transition back into the gym after taking a couple weeks off to be lazy, overeat and gain weight. Check.

Item number two: Find rest, my long lost friend. Jack and I drove the treacherous 20-hour drive to see my family in New York for Christmas. Upon our return, I went to work -- without reserving any time for rest and recovery from the long trip. Rest was a priority, and I was sure to schedule it in Friday night -- about 15 hours of it, in fact. Check.

Item number three: Unpack. Yes, I had been home for more than a week and still had not unpacked my suitcase. I barely had a path from the kitchen to my bedroom, so this was also a must. Check.

Item number four: Run. I had made the transition back into the gym Friday night, but Saturday afternoon was reserved for a long, slow run. Luckily, Top Gun was playing in my gym's cinema room, so the nearly 5-mile run came easy. Tom Cruise equals ... easy check.

Pay bills, call Mom, do laundry, take Lizzie for a walk, yada, yada, yada -- all checks. I was doing great, and even treated myself to a movie about a journalist who writes a bunch of columns about his dog. Sound familiar? In any case, "Marley and Me" is a must-see.

On occasion, I suffer from migratory joint pain. I haven't heard from Mr. Arthritis in quite a while, but he wanted to make sure I didn't forget about him Saturday night. It's amazing how lack of sleep affects my production levels.

Sunday was a big, fat "uncheck." The only thing I managed to do was shop for groceries, after being teased by Rachael Ray's recipe for fish tacos with vegetarian orzo pasta with chick peas.

I made the oh so healthy -- bland -- dish and it was OK, but it's too bad I ate nearly a whole package of buffalo chicken wing-stuffed pastry puffs as an appetizer.

So by weekend's end I was one out of two, with Saturday being a complete success and Sunday being a complete flop. At first I felt depressed ... only a 50 percent success rate on the first weekend of the New Year, I thought Sunday night.

I may have had to go to the movie store to rent "Top Gun," along with all of the "Rocky" movies, to regain my motivation, but I did, and I've decided I'm still going to make my lists.

I'm going beyond the daily to-do list, with lists almost completed for goals for the week, month, and year. And even though I might not get everything done on those lists, I'm quite certain that a 50 percent success rate is better than the alternative.

Item number 101: Stay positive ... check.

-- Sadie Fowler is a staff writer for the Times-Gazette. She can be reached at (931) 684-1200, ext. 214, or by e-mail at sfowler@t-g.com. This column is scheduled to print every Thursday.