If you’ve been planning to give up smoking but keep putting it off then today might be the day to start. Today is the Great American Smokeout – but even if you’re not in the US you can use today for motivation.

So choose to stay smoke free today. Choose to improve your health and fitness. Choose to save money for other things.

Make today a day of positive choice. And if the urge to have a cigarette does get too strong for you, don’t look at it as a failure. Instead really taste that cigarette, think about the noxious chemicals inside it and visualise what it’s doing to your lungs. Smoking a cigarette and really thinking about it can be a powerful incentive not to smoke any more.

So choose not to smoke, whether it be for a day or just an hour. Then make the same choice again. And again, and again until it becomes a habit.

If you’re new to the world of time and task management then you’re probably overwhelmed by the choices available to you. To help you out Sue Shellenbarger of the Wall Street Journal has written this article in Barron’s. She tries out and reviews three of the most popular systems around today: Getting Things Done (GTD), The Pomodoro Technique and FranklinCovey’s Focus.

The result is a very useful introduction of the three systems (I especially liked her description of the GTD workflow diagram!). Shellenbarger concludes:

In the end, I expect I will embrace elements of each of these systems—the approach experts recommend for most people. The essence of good time management is sticking to rituals that make you more productive, and rituals are largely a matter of personal preference.

This New year has been notable for a very high profile media event: the casting of Matt Smith as the new Doctor Who. That’s prompted me to write this post pointing out a previous entry of mine:

Personal Regeneration.

I don’t believe in New Year resolutions, however I do believe in change and improvement. The New Year – like a birthday or other anniversary – can be an excellent symbolic moment to begin a planned process of change and move closer to the ideal you.

The chances are that you aren’t a Timelord, however that doesn’t mean you can’t change significantly whilst still remaining the same inner person. The advantage you have over The Doctor is that you can do it at will.

Perhaps now would be a good time to start designing a New You?

Well, the New Year is almost upon us. I hope you all have a happy hogmanay and a great 2009!

As usual many people will be making their New Year Resolutions, often involving fitness, smoking or relationships.

Not me. I made my last New Year Resolution long ago. What was it? “Don’t make any more New Year Resolutions”. It’s probably the only resolution I’ve ever kept – which is the point of this post.
Read the rest of this entry…

This is probably going to be my last post for a few days as a I prepare for the seasonal influx of friends, family and jolly men in red coats. So I just want to leave you with best wishes for the holiday.

Whether you celebrate Christmas, mark the solstice or – like me – simply use the period as an opportunity to have fun with friends and family, I hope you enjoy whatever you choose to do.

Photo Credit: RcktManIL (Creative Commons)