The Cup, The Chart and The Money Jar

I do want to make this year different, even if it the changes are small.  I proposed to myself that meeting 12 goals might be a challenge but doable.

Making a commitment to myself, though, might not be incentive enough for me to complete these goals.  Letting the rest of the world know about my attempts, well, that just might be the motivational kick in the pants I need.

I thought about which 12 goals I might like to accomplish.  But I immediately started to get overwhelmed thinking about twelve.  That's a lot, twelve, isn't it?  It is to me.

One.  One at a time.  That's how you eat an elephant, one bite at a time.  At least, that's what I've been told.   I will plan and document one goal a month, to be revealed at the beginning of each month.

So here is Goal Number One.

2016 - January's Goal

Water.
According to the Mayo Clinic website,  I don't drink enough water.

"So how much fluid does the average, healthy adult living in a temperate climate need? The Institute of Medicine determined that an adequate intake (AI) for men is roughly about 13 cups (3 liters) of total beverages a day. The AI for women is about 9 cups (2.2 liters) of total beverages a day."


I figure I can start my goal's dozen with drinking more water.  Easy, right?

Not so much for me.   I've tried before.  But now I have devised a plan.   To tell you the truth, spending the time to devise the plan may have been a procrastination technique.  Yeah, probably, it was.

Anyway here's my motivation plan for drinking more water.

Step 1:  The Cup
                    A personally meaningful one.

A Past Christmas Present from Anne

Step 2:  The Chart.
                       I have to be accountable


Step 2.  The Incentive - The money Jar

                  For each cup of water, I drink I will pay the Money Jar (AKA Me) 16 cents.  That means if I drink all required 8 glasses by the end of the day, I will make $1.28.  At the end of the week,  $8.96.  At the end of 4 weeks, $35.84.   I'm not sure what I will do with my windfall.  Perhaps I will add it to next month's goal.

According to the website Science How Stuff Works:

"The reality is, habits are easier to make than they are to break. If you repeat a behavior often enough, those synaptic pathways are going to get worn in. The human brain is a very adaptive piece of machinery. But does that take 21 days? Who knows? Everyone's brain is different, and habit formation also relies on aspects of experience and personality."

I'll let you know how my brain works at the end of the 28 days.