A New Year, A New Challenge!

I've been tinkering around with an idea on a new challenge for myself this year. Leading up to the new year, I have been thinking about something that would keep me focused in 2011.

Blogging has always been something I have wanted to do, but has never stuck. I tried a reality TV blog with a friend once, and that lasted only though one summer. I tried a food critic blog, and well, that adventure almost broke the bank. Friends tell me that I write well, and have an odd but appealing sense of humour (as per all my Facebook status updates), so blogging should come as second nature. I've just lacked commitment (warning to all potential suitors out there, I have commitment issues).

So - done, blogging. One challenge added to the list. Now, what to blog about? Of course, it has to be something interesting, something with content sustainability, and something that will motivate me to do something new everyday.

This led me to the idea of a 28 day challenge. For 28 days in a row, I will challenge myself to doing something and sticking to it. Why 28 days you ask? 1) It accounts for the shortest month in our year (February); 2) Since it's Jan 3, I've already lost a couple of days this month; and 3) It'll give me a few days to recoup from the previous month's challenge.

Giving it even more thought, I said to myself, okay, while these 28 Day Challenges can't be super crazy or time consuming (I do have a job that is already quite time consuming), they can't be super lame either. After brainstorming, I came up with 2011 (somewhat) planned out:

Phase 1 (January - May) - Improving Myself

January - Give up alcohol

February - Eat healthy

March - Tossup: Learn one new thing / Revisiting faith and spirituality / Do one nice thing

April - Train for the Sporting Life 10K

May - Give up watching TV (during sweeps!)

My friends will likely doubt that I'll even get past January, but I have done 24 days without drinking, and that was when I was working at Saatchi - now all I need to do is to make it to 28 (days, not years to live). As for eating healthy, the goal is to stay below my daily intake of calories, sugars, fats and sodium. March is still a toss up between the three listed up there, well, I still have two months to decide. April will be all about physical fitness as I gear up for my annual Sporting Life run in May. And I am sure in May, my biggest challenge to date will be to give up TV for a month, and it's the worst month to give it up, it's during sweeps! Yes, this will include not watching TV via the internet.

Phase 2 (June - September) - Discovering New Things

June - Travel

July - Going to small restaurants in Toronto and ordering something new

August - Take one photo on an interesting thing I see in Toronto

September - (aligned perfectly with TIFF) One new movie everyday

I thought Phase 2 should be all about discovering new things. With plans to attend a wedding on the West Coast, it might be the perfect time for me to also take a vacation elsewhere in June (pending approval from work, of course). July will be interesting for my stomach as well as for my wallet. With my other passion of photography, August will certainly be a great month for me to take and comment on a photo each day. And with TIFF happening in September, one new movie shouldn't be that tiring.

Phase 3 (October - December) - Up in the air

October - Helping out my community

November - Making a new dish

December - TBD

Phase 3 is still a bit up in the air and with it being ten months away, likely subject to change in regards to topics.

Overly ambitious, you say? Yes. It is. That's why it's a challenge. Will I trip and fall along the way? Probably, and I'm sure unforeseen circumstances might force me to drop one or two challenges. But this is a learning experience. Rather than not doing anything for 2011, this will force me to do something, anything than just wake up, go to work, come home, watch TV and go to sleep.

If you choose to follow me (http://tinyurl.com/35swgp2) - I ask that you be encouraging and while I always like a joke or two, know that I'll be taking these challenges seriously - try not to be discouraging or mean. Here's to a new year with a host of new challenges! Maybe you'll think of doing one yourself!