30 for 30: Part 2

Last week I blogged about decluttering 30 bags of stuff in 30 days or 30 things in 30 days or decluttering for 30 minutes a day for 30 days. I still think it's a great idea and I still pal on decluttering 30 things in 30 days. But I've been thinking ever since then that if decluttering isn't your thing, there are other things you can do for 30 minutes a day, or in 30 days.

Over the weekend, I compiled a list of 30 things you can do in 30 minutes or 30 days that I feel could have a positive impact on the quality of your life. I hope you will read over this list and see if any of the ideas speak to you. If so, pick one or two. Pick several if they are not going to overwhelm you. These ideas are meant to enhance your life, so please do not attempt to do all of these in one month. Do what makes sense for you this month and save other ideas that interest you for the future.

30 Things You Can Do in 30 Minutes or in 30 Days

1. Exercise . Health experts say that just eating healthy isn't enough to lose weight or keep weight off, especially as you get older. We need to move! And if weight isn't an issue for you, consider strength training. Or add walking for 30 minutes to your daily routine. If smaller increments fits into your schedule, walk for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening. Whatever exercise you choose, if you're out of shape, start slowly and stretch your muscles first. Walk, swim, dance, play tennis... just move!

2. Go to bed. Getting enough sleep is a vital part of good health and most people do not get enough sleep. I suggest going to bed 30 minutes earlier than you currently do each night. And if you start moving more (see #1), chances are good that you will start sleeping better. And get yourself into a good evening routine and step away from the TV and computer about an hour before bedtime.

3. Get up. Since you are going to bed 30 minutes earlier, try getting up 30 minutes earlier. "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise". I think Ben Franklin was right on the money with this one. I am not a morning person, but I do know that I am much more productive when I get up earlier. I feel a weight lifted when I get chores done in the morning instead of having them weighing over my head all day. With any luck, it will also help you get out the door in the morning without feeling rushed. And if you don't need the extra time, simply enjoy the solitude.

4. Reduce. How many of us spend countless minutes or even hours each day in front of their computer, TV, tablet, smart phone, etc. Guilty. Be more mindful about how much time you spend and waste there throughout the day. Try to cut 30 minutes of this time out of your schedule. Maybe even limit yourself to just 30 minutes per day. (gasp!)

5. Add. Remember those 30 minutes you just took away from your daily TV/computer time? (See #4). Take those 30 minutes and convert them into 30 minutes of quality time with someone you love. It can be a different activity everyday if you want. Call your mom. Play a board game with your child. Catch up with an old friend. Chat with your spouse. My husband calls me on his lunch hour almost every day and we talk anywhere from a few minutes to 30 minutes. Some days it's the most time we have for each other, so we really value this time.

6. Read. Do you have a passion for reading, but can't seem to find the time? Or have you always wanted to read more but didn't know where to start? Carve 30 minutes out of your day and make reading your new priority. When you can, read in front of your children- it sets such a great example. Read to your children and when they are old enough, have them read to you.

7. Meditate. Or pray. Or read the Bible. Or do yoga. Do some sort of quiet and centered activity that helps ground you and gives you peace for 30 minutes each day.

8. Go outdoors. Walk, sit, run. Garden. Eat your lunch. Bird watch or people watch. Slather on a little sunscreen, slap on a hat and just enjoy the great outdoors. Make this one a minimum of 30 minutes each day!

9. Count Feeling stressed by your kids, spouse, neighbors, in-laws, co-workers or boss? Develop the habit of counting to 30 and letting go of the stress while you do. Ask yourself if the issue is worth the anger or stress you are feeling. Put things into perspective. Try looking at the issue in a new way. Will this matter tomorrow? Practice patience. Develop tolerance. Count your blessings.

10. Practice doing random acts of kindness As you go about your day, mindfully try to be more helpful, more thoughtful and more caring at least once a day for 30 days. And it doesn't have to be a big thing. Sometimes the smallest acts of kindness yield the biggest results. And be anonymous when you can- it keeps you humble and reminds you that the good deed was about the other person, not you.

11. Revisit a hobby or passion Do you have a hobby you have neglected or are you passionate about something and you want to get back to it? Just spend 30 minutes a day with that hobby or passion. Draw, paint, write, sing, dance, build, play, create, sew, craft... the possibilities are almost endless. Think of the fun you can have, the masterpieces you might create using only 30 minutes each day. If your particular hobby requires more than 30 minutes per day, then set aside the necessary blocks of time, such as an hour or 2 a few days or nights a week.

12. Try something new! Perhaps there is something on your "bucket list" that you have always wanted to try. Have you always wanted to learn how to draw, paint, write, sing, dance, build, play, create, sew, cook, craft... ? Well, there's no time like the present. Set aside the 30 minutes a day, or 2-3 hours per week, and give it a try. Experts tell us more and more about the health benefits for the brain when we keep learning new things as we get older. You never know, you might discover some hidden talent. Think of Grandma Moses.

13. Take on a household project. Have you always wanted to paint your dining room? Remodel your bathroom? Build a bookcase? If you have the skills to do these things, or the ability and desire to learn these skills, try setting aside 30 minutes a day or a few hours each week. Household projects take prep work and clean up time, but doing these projects yourself can be so rewarding. And can be a huge money saver when you do it yourself. Think of how great you will feel when you don't have the thought of these projects weighing you down anymore.

14. Save. Save 30 cents a day, 30 dollars a month. $30 a week? Whatever you can do financially. Look at your household budget and see where you can cat back a little or a lot. 30 cents a day equals $2.10 cents a week. 30 cents over 30 days equals $9.00. 30 cents over 365 days equals $109.50. Or save $1 a day for 30 days. 30 dollars a month equals $360! 30 dollars a week equals a whopping $1,560!!! Save for something special, give to your church or a favorite charity or pay off some debt. Even a little bit everyday adds up over time. Become a saver.

15. Trade. There's nothing like an old-fashioned barter to save you time and money. Perhaps you and a friend or a group of friends can trade off 30 minutes of babysitting for each other. Or a 30 minute service for another 30 minute service. One friend trims or colors your hair, you do her nails. Or try doing a swap, such as books, movies, toys, clothes. Everyone bring 30 things, do a swap and then everyone leaves with 30 new things.

16. Develop a good habit. They say it takes about 30 days of doing something before it becomes a habit. After our last dental appointment, flossing is the new habit being developed in our house. Find something you want to get better at and put it into practice every day for 30 days.

17. Break a bad habit. This can be anything from biting your nails to gossiping to smoking to eating junk food. Most of us have some habit they wished they didn't. Take this time to really examine this habit and what it will take to break this habit once and for all. 30 days could really change your health and your life.

16. Put away, everyday. If putting things away right away isn't your thing, try it for 30 days instead of letting things sit around or pile up. File or recycle those stray papers. Put that dirty glass right into the dishwasher. Toss those dirty socks straight into the hamper. Try using the OHIO Method- Only Handle It Once. Once you get the hang of it, teach it to your family and lead by example.

17. Donate. I'm betting that everyone has 30 of something they can part with and donate. Go through your pantry, your books, your clothes, your toys. I bet some of you can find 30 things in many categories. These are things that you no longer want or need that can be useful to someone else. Just the act of donating to a worthy cause will make you feel great, but trust me, lightening your load will make you feel better, too.

18. Pare Down. Many people are collectors, which is fine. But be careful that your collection doesn't lead to hoarding. Keep that collection in check. Find 30 pieces of your collection that you can purge, or pare it down to 30 items. Whichever makes the most sense. For example, if you have hundreds of books that you will probably never read again, pare it down to your favorite 30. Or if you have a CD collection that is growing too large, give rid of 30 CDs you never listen to anymore. And to keep these collections contained, use the One In, One Out rule. Everytime you buy a new book or CD (or whatever you collect), get rid of one. Always keep what is truly important to you and let go of the rest. It will make your collection that much more special.

19. Organize. Spend 30 minutes each day organizing a shelf, a drawer, a bin, a closet. Purge as necessary. You can also do 15 minutes each morning and 15 minutes each evening. I actually do 10/10/10 throughout the day. Once in the morning after the kids leave for school, once in the afternoon after the kids get home/before I make dinner, and then again before I go up to bed each night. I call them my 10 Minute Tidies- it's a combo of decluttering, cleaning and organizing- and it really helps me stay on top of stuff.

20. Finish. Do you have projects that you have started- but never finished? Any unfinished projects lying around are clutter and keep you from starting new ones. Go through your crafts or other projects and pick out the ones you want to finish. For example, finish that scrapbook you started. Or, if scrapbooking is no longer your thing, donate your crafting supplies to someone who does enjoy it. Keep going through your projects until they are either finished, donated or recycled.

21. Teach. Do you have a particular skill? Perhaps someone in your house or a friend would like to learn this skill. Offer to teach your kids how to cook. Offer to teach a friend how to knit or paint. Whatever it is you are good at, share your gift with someone else. Maybe it will lead to a career change?

22. Learn. Is there something you have always wanted to learn about- or learn more about? You can find information on almost anything online. Check out books from your local library. Learn as much as you can about whatever interests you. You never know where that knowledge will take you. You don't want to obsess, so try to limit your time spent on this to 30 minutes a day or a few hours each week. Pick a new subject when you've learned all you want to know.

23. Discuss. There are all kinds of clubs and groups out there that you can join and discuss things that you enjoy: book clubs, chess clubs, knitting clubs, bible studies, garden clubs. If you can't find the kind of club or discussion group you are looking for, form one and invite people who have the same interest to join you. There are probably discussion groups online you can join, too. Limit your time to 30 minutes a day online and 30 minutes to a few hours per week.

24. Volunteer . There are so may worthy charities and organizations out there that are always looking for volunteers to help them out. If you have a family and/or work outside of the home, your time is very limited. I again urge you to start out by limiting your volunteering to no more than 30 minutes per day or the equivalent of a few hours per week. If you currently volunteer somewhere that doesn't fulfill you the same way it did when you first started, consider volunteering somewhere else where you can be more productive. If you are single or do not work, you may have time for more volunteer work. Do a small variety of charity work that interests you, keeps you grounded, helps you feel valued, and don't let yourself get burned out.

25. Choose. Choose what you do and how you spend your free time each day. And choose who you spend your time with. Often we do things out of sheer habit. For the next 30 days, be more mindful of your choices. Do you really want to watch this same old TV show, or do you want to read? Do you really want to eat something or are you really just thirsty? Do you really want to keep living like this, or do you want to make some changes. Listen to what your thoughts are telling you and choose wisely.

26. Try . And speaking of doing things out of sheer habit, when is the last time you tried something different? Try eating something new and different. Or listened to a different kind of music. Or tried reading a different genre of books. Try a new product, brand or gadget. Try a new hairstyle. Try a new routine. Make a list of different things you want to try and see if you can come up with 30. I think this one sounds harder than it really is.

27. Fix. If you are handy, when is the last time you fixed or made minor repairs to things around the house? Make a list this month and once and for all, spend 30 days tackling that to-do list. Change that burned out light bulb. Tighten those loose screws. Fix that drippy faucet. And if you can't fix those things, ask someone who can and have them show you how to do them for next time.

28. Delete. If it's been a while since you've deleted any emails form your inbox, this one's for you. If nothing else, delete 30 emails from your inbox each day. If you receive 30 emails or more each day, you need to take this one a step further. Choose which emails you no longer wish to receive, then go into the email and unscribe yourself from their email list. Do this now! Get yourself into the habit of reading and then deleting your email everyday. If email isn't an issue for you, spend this month deleting and organizing items you have bookmarked. Interests change so anything that doesn't speak to who you are now, simply delete it. And organize the rest in a way that makes it so you can access all of your favorite websites with just one click.

29. Blog or Write. If you enjoy writing on any given subject, then I encourage you to start a blog. I'm still trying to figure things out and I don't share what I blog about with very many people, but I do enjoy the process. If you're more private, consider journaling. Even a line a day is a great start.

30. Breathe. Let's face it: life is hectic. Life can often be very stressful. Most of us are far too busy than we should be. I hope that these ideas help you add things to your life that will help give it more meaning and purpose, as that is their intention, not just steal more precious time from your busy lives. Often we don't even have time to breathe between activities. I encourage you to take time every day to just breathe. Relax. Laugh. Have fun. Smile. And say no once in a while.

If there are things in your life that aren't fun and do not make you laugh out loud or smile and do not contribute to your well-being, or to the well-being of your family, then please consider removing those activities from your life. Spend more time together as a family. Running from one activity to another is not quality family time. Let something go. It's great to have a family that is active and well-rounded, but you have to know when enough is enough. Your husband will thank you, your children will thank you, and your children's teachers will thank you! But mostly, I think you will thank yourself.

30 for 30. How will you spend it?