Top Five Things that Help Me Actually Get Out the Door to Run

I posted yesterday about how I’m trying to start running again, and how this always seems like such a vicious cycle. I explained a little bit about why I bother, even though it seems like a resolution that doesn’t ever last very long.

Today I’m going to share with you practical things that help me get out the door and run. Hopefully, some of these might work for you, too!

1. First, as I shared yesterday, I have several reasons for wanting to run. My husband supports me in this and has been trying to run with me, as well. I couldn’t make myself get out & run several times a week without plenty of reasons that can hopefully outweigh my excuses. J

2. I try to set realistic goals. I'm trying to begin by building up to being able to run 30 minutes without stopping. I researched different plans and thought that, for me, setting goals as to how long I'd run vs. walk in a given "run" was the most realistic. I know I'm much more likely to continue something if I push myself some, but also have the satisfaction of reaching a goal.

3. I work running into my weekly schedule – way ahead of time. It's literally on my calendar, which means that I'm committed.

4. I try to get plenty of rest, since I like to get up and run first thing in the morning. I've found that if I wait until later in the day to run, I'll come up with a million excuses - it's hot, I've already showered, I need to go to the grocery store, I just ate... the list goes on. First thing in the morning is by far my favorite time, which means I have to go to bed a little bit earlier.

5. I measure my progress. The website WalkJogRun.net lets me calculate the distance that I run. (Even though my goals are in minutes right now, it's still nice to see how far I run.) Then ActiveTrainer let me create an online plan. It even emails me reminders and has a pretty detailed running log. Both sites are free, and are big motivators.

Do you have a goal you're currently working on? What helps you accomplish that goal?

Feel free to check out my older Works for Me Wednesday posts, or mosey on over to Kristen's blog for more today.

Works for Me Wednesday: Remember the Milk

Following along the lines of my last WFMW post, I'd like to tell you about another favorite online tool: Remember the Milk. This is an online to-do list that I've enjoyed using over the past month or so. I first heard about it from Simple Mom, who says she uses Remember the Milk strictly for her online tasks.

Here's why Remember the Milk works for me:

• It's one convenient place to keep track of multiple to-do lists.
• It lets you add notes, due dates, priorities, and personalized list categories.
• You can share lists or individual tasks with others.

Just a side note - it may take a little bit of exploring to learn a few of the "advanced" features, like sharing. The basic features like adding tasks to lists aren't too bad, but personally I feel like there are a few aspects of the site that could be more user-friendly.

Overall though - I LOVE being able to see all my tasks in one place. My husband & I share a "This weekend" task list so we can both add to-dos before we forget, then we're able to look at the list together & discuss which ones we want to/need to do.

I hope this works for you, too! Check out my older Works for Me Wednesday posts here for more ideas, or hop on over to Kristen's blog to see all of today's WFMW posts.

Works for Me Wednesday: Keep Track of Your Reading

I used to read A LOT. Like, I would get in trouble for reading when I was supposed to help set the supper table, and my punishment would usually be that I wasn't allowed to read for a certain amount of time. My sisters & I were about the only kids I knew who had this problem. :)

Now I don't have quite the time I once did to read, and often I go to the library with no idea of a book to check out. I come home with some duds - I read a few pages then try to figure out why on earth I checked that book out. 

A few months ago, I found Goodreads. While I won't exactly say it's changed my life :), it certainly has helped me find my love for reading again. With Goodreads, you can keep track of books you've read, are currently reading, and ones you'd like to read in the future. You can also find your friends on it, (similar to Facebook...) where you can see what they're reading or have read in the past. You can post reviews and rate books. 

So, why is this so great? If I hear of a book that interests me, I add it to my Goodreads list. I also see what my friends (who happen to have pretty similar book tastes to me) are reading and if any of those are interesting. Just having a list of books that I want to read and somewhere fun to keep track of them (that I won't lose - I've tried regular old lists before) is super motivating!

To see other things that work, check out my other Works for Me Wednesday posts, or mosey on over to Kristen's blog to see all of today's WFMW posts.

*By the way, I am in no way affiliated with Goodreads - I just happened to find their site one day and enjoy using it!

Works for Me Wednesday: Garage Sale!

Not to sound obvious... but what works for me this week is our garage sale! No, we have not made any money on it yet because we're not even having it until this Saturday. So, why does it work for me?

Because the house feels the cleanest it's felt ever.

When we got married and moved our things into our house, there were certain items that never really made their way into use in our new household. Two people combining lives and things just meant too much clutter! We also received a lot of nice wedding gifts that replaced some of old kitchen items.

So, we've teamed up with two other newlywed couples to have a joint garage sale. We set the date a few months ago so we all had a deadline to work toward, and it will be much more fun this Saturday with our friends as well! We couldn't back out, either, because we had already committed - so yes, last weekend we spent going through every room & closet looking at anything that wasn't in use.

If you haven't scrutinized your house like this anytime recently, have had some big move, or gotten married in the past few years, I'd highly recommend a garage sale! I love knowing that most everything in our home right now is here for a reason!

For more great tips, check out Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer.

Works for Me Wednesday: Keeping a Dust Ruffle in Place

The Problem: Every time I would change the sheets on our bed, I would fight with the dust ruffle to keep it from sliding waaay off the end of the bed. Sometimes I'd try to fix it, other times the dust ruffle (or bedskirt if you prefer to call it that...) would just stay out of place until the next time I'd change the sheets.

The Solution: My mom told me about these amazing things - TWIST PINS. (I think she might have called them upholstery tacks, but this is what I could find that looked like she described.)

You just twist them into your dust ruffle & box springs, and the head on them is nice and flat. This second picture shows you a little bit what it looks like from the side - all you can see poking out of the box springs is a little clear head. Ever since I've done this, there's been no more fighting with the dust ruffle!! Definitely works for me!

For more tips & tricks, check out Rocks In My Dryer's Works for Me Wednesday. Or, take a look at some of my older posts.

Works for Me Wednesday: Being Intentional

My husband & I are like most of you: busy! We've had lots of conversations about how to manage our time better, how to get things done more quickly, etc, etc. Sometimes this can be draining, and might even wear us out just talking about how we'd like to be more efficient at the everyday things in life.

So, what worked for us this past week was getting out of the house, getting some coffee, and having great conversation! We were amazed at how much better our conversation was when we could focus our attention, not being distracted by the clutter on the kitchen table or any number of other things.

I think we both knew that being intentional was important for our relationship - but we were definitely made aware of the importance again this past week!

Go here for more great tips at Rocks in My Dryer, or check out my previous Works for Me Wednesday posts.

Reusing Listerine bottles

This Works for Me Wednesday trick comes compliments of my husband! Earlier this summer, we got some Listerine SmartRinse free after ECBs from CVS. Now, one thing we loved about this SmartRinse was how you could squeeze the bottle and exactly 10 mL of rinse would fill up the top & you'd use just the right amount every time.

When we finished the first bottle, Javier figured out that you can pry the top off & refill it with the mouthwash of your choice! It works best to use pliers to grab the little top, but now we can always measure out just the right amount of mouthwash and get to recycle the SmartRinse bottles!

Check out Shannon's blog for more tips!

Works for Me Wednesday - Freezer Storage Question

Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer is hosting a BACKWARDS edition of Works for Me Wednesday today! I was so excited... because I'm super curious about everyone's best suggestion for freezer storage.

Currently, if I buy a large-ish quantity of meat, I'll subdivide it into meal-sized portions and freeze. Ground beef gets frozen in Ziploc bags, chicken breasts usually get flash-frozen then all stored in one big bag. My dilemma really comes with other types of frozen items. For instance, I made chocolate chip cookie dough & froze some - just in a piece of Gladware. I have no idea if this will keep well or not.

Please let me know your best tips for freezing things (especially meal-type items or things other than just plain meat!). We also have relatively few containers that I can use for freezing things, so I may purchase some soon - any suggestions for this, too?