How to daily: Reflect on at least 5 things for which I'm grateful (Happiness Manifesto #2)

"By writing down things I'm grateful for I learned to think about being grateful."

How I did it: Every day I spent some time thinking about things to be grateful for, and wrote them down here. On days that I did not have internet access, I saved them and posted them later.
In the beginning there were a few days that I had skipped, but it soon became a firmly entrenched routine, the last thing I did before I switched off my computer.
It was a rare thing to be able to sit down and rattle off five things to be grateful for. Most days it took some thinking.
Knowing that there would be a quiz at the end, I started paying attention to things I could be grateful for. I made a mental note of the things I noticed, but usually by the end of the day I had forgotten what it was. That did not matter much, because I had already felt grateful, and that's the important thing.

Lessons & tips:

• It is easy to be grateful in the style of "I am grateful for ... despite ...", but that still contains some negativity. Focus on pure gratitude.


• Do it every day.

Resources:

• 43 Things.


• Other people's gratitude.

It took me 999 days.

It made me grateful

See more progress on: Daily: Reflect on at least 5 things for which I'm grateful (Happiness Manifesto #2)

Sweet sleep

NaNoWriMo this year contained a lesson in sleeping habits. I wrote after dark, which meant that I wrote into the time where self-control is lost, so that I got to sleep very late, being ‘busy’ on the web trying to wind down.

Getting back to good sleeping habits is taking more time than I thought it would, but I’m slowly getting there.

See more progress on: do NaNoWriMo 2009

Sleep

Gretchen Rubin alerted me to it, but of course we all know it. Getting enough sleep is a cornerstone of happiness. It is not only that lack of sleep makes me cranky and unproductive, it seems that lack of sleep actually interferes with self-regulation.

In my experience this is exactly the case. Lack of sleep means loss of will-power (which often leads to late nights, setting up a vicious circle.) It interferes with accuracy and speed. (The interesting study on Canadian road accident statistics on the days that summer time get switched on and off proves this.)

Earlier this year I slept well. This November I’m doing NaNoWriMo again, and it’s taking its toll on sleep. Although I’m not changing into a raging monster of unhappiness, I can feel that I need more energy to keep myself happy.

See more progress on: create my own Happiness Project

Admit it

I have to admit it: I like sorting things.

I like taking a jumble of things and bringing order to it. I like unsnarling rope or cables. And it’s not only the idea that I like, I like getting my hands on the things, and I would willingly spend hours sorting them.

See more progress on: create my own Happiness Project

True Rule

If you smell smoke or hear water running when you shouldn’t, investigate. You might prevent a lot of damage.

See more progress on: create my own Happiness Project

Sleep

Gretchen Rubin suggest that doing things that gives one more energy will bring one more happiness. Lately she has been stressing sleep as a source of happiness.

I totally agree with her. Since I stopped drinking coffee I stared getting to bed earlier, and with deliberately going to bed ridiculously early I find that my happiness has increased.

See more progress on: create my own Happiness Project

Area of Refuge

Today I re-read an old post of Gretchen Rubin, and I realized the value of an “area of refuge.” Exercise and relaxation is good for eliminating residual stress, but for the present stressor distraction is probably a better option.

I’ll need to think a bit about what I can use as an “area of refuge.” I don’t think I’ve used one accidentally before.

See more progress on: create my own Happiness Project