New Year, New Habits

Bad habits don’t disappear.  They are simply replaced by new ones.

One well-known observation is that fitness centers tend to be the most packed the first two weeks of the New Year, but then the numbers start to peter out until only the regulars are left at the end of the month.

I’ve never been a big fan of New Year’s resolutions myself, but they are a good starting point.  The difficult part is seeing it through to the end (of the year, at the very least).  

However, for 2014, I do want to improve my health and study habits/time management skills so here goes.  I think the key is not to be too rigid in what you can/cannot do.  Cold turkey works sometimes (it certainly did for my reading addiction), but sometimes I find that it’s more effective to tackle things less ambitiously.  

Note: This post will most likely be a work-in-progress.

• Decrease Junk Food Intake 

How? Don’t buy any.

• Decrease Salt Intake

How? Measure out how much salt, soy sauce, etc. I’m putting in my cooking.  Do without if I can. 
Avoid salty foods such as potato chips and fries (see #1) as well as canned spaghetti, microwavable meals etc. 
Read labels when shopping to check.

• Lose ~10-15lb over the year

How? Decrease junk food/salt intake
Drink more water
(Exercise is not on here because I know myself too well; it will have to be purely incidental exercise for now)

• Decrease screen time

How? Monitor time spent on computer to <5 hours a day if possible (…baby steps, people)
Take frequent breaks to rest my eyes

• Increase both quality and quantity of study time for major

How?   Follow study plan.

            Have a goal of how much to accomplish each day.

            Pick up the pace the next day if I end up slacking one day.

            Make good use of productivity tools such as LeechBlock and ManicTime

            Start using a planner again

• Improve my Chinese reading knowledge

How?  Continue as planned.