Lent & A Deadly Sin

Source

Last year, I gave up my snooze button for Lent.  At the time, I was hitting snooze 5-6 times a morning, every morning, before getting up for the day.  I was setting the alarm for earlier than I actually needed to get up so that I would have the opportunity to hit my snooze button. 

So, for forty days, I didn't hit it once.  It was amazing.  I was either getting up earlier or getting more rest.  Either way, I was traipsing across the bedroom 5-6 times to snooze for 9 minutes a pop.

A year later, I still don't hit the snooze button very regularly.  Rarely do I snooze more than once if I do use the button.  It's been quite liberating.

So, here we are a year later - and tomorrow marks Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.  Again, I'm giving great thought to the "What do I want to give up for Lent for 2011?"

Then it hit me.  I want to go big this year.  I want to give up the Deadly Sin of "Sloth." 

"Whoa!?," you're probably thinking, "How do you give up a whole sin!?"

My thoughts about Lent had me listing the areas of my life that plague me the worst.  My weight.   My consistency with running.  My class for my job.  Getting my house clean.  And, if I look at the core root of all these issues -- it's I'm lazy. So, if I can nip lazy in the bud, then things can only get better.

So, here's my 5 areas of sloth that I think affect me the most negatively.

1. Fast Food / Eating Out:   We eat out a lot.  We got in this habit when the boys played sports and it was easier/quicker/etc to swing through a drive through on the way to 3-4 different practices and have them eat in the car.   But, we're not playing near that many sports any more.  In fact, currently, only one is playing and he's playing for the school (which means he's done most days by 6:30)   So, the eating out -- that's just an excuse for laziness.   To avoid failure if I do "have" to eat out, I'm giving these stipulations:  It's OK to eat out at a sit down restaurant no more than once per week, at least 30 miles from our house.  It's OK to get fast food if traveling more than 100 miles from our house. 
2. Working Out:  I'm going to put together a forty day workout plan.  Put it on my calendar.  And hold myself accountable through this blog and my Daily Mile posting.  If you see me slipping, virtually slap me in the back of the head.  
3. My Class:  I'm going to hold myself to a minimum of 1 hour of study on weekdays and 2 hours of study on weekends.  I'm behind.  I need to catch-up.  This is the only way. 
4. Television:  Oh boy.  This one is t.o.u.g.h.    It's currently the middle of Biggest Loser (guilty pleasure.)  I still watch Bones.  I still watch The Office.  I still watch NCIS.  I'm watching Off The Map.   That's 5.5 hours a week in television.  (Actually, less, since I tend to DVR everything and skip commercials.  I rarely watch anything real-time.)   But, oh, yeah, I tend to watch Jersey Shore.  Heavy.  Too Fat for 15.  American Idol.   All, in all, I sit in front of a television a lot.  A lot more than I want to admit.  And, I can't tell you the irony of continuing to sit in front of a television whining that there isn't anything on.  So, I'm cutting out:  Biggest Loser and all of the other "filler shows."    I'm keeping Bones, NCIS, Off The Map, and The Office, BUT, I cannot watch them real-time.     I'm not sure what to do with the extra time.  Clean my house?  Study?  Workout?  Cook?  Read?
5. XBox.  Most people don't know this about me.  It's like my dirty little secret.  I ♥ XBox.  Only certain types of games and I'm fiercely loyal to those games once I start playing them.  As in, that's the only game I play.  Today's the release of the sequel to the game I've been playing for almost 3 years.   I've been waiting on this game for, well, since it was announced.  This can pose a problem, because I can easily get lost in 12-14 hours a day playing this game (as in it's 2 in the morning, I have work tomorrow, why am I still sitting here!?)   (sigh).   So, I'm going to have to slap a limit on this game.  My limit:  I can only play for up to 2 hours after everything else is done:  Meals cooked; Workout done; Studying done; Household Chores done; Boys activities covered/done; etc.  and I still have to go to bed at my normal bedtime.  

It seems like a lot, but it comes down to structure and time management.  Prioritizing and doing what needs to be done, instead of sitting on my arse being unproductive. 

Wish me luck.