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From Mike Collins of Raleigh:

A few years ago my resolution was to get more organized in my home office…I did two things that have helped me keep the resolution. First, I went out and spent $8 on a manual, crank-around, baking timer. Now, whenever I need to clean up the office  I simply crank it around to 15 minutes, do as much as I can until the bell rings, and then I can quit. It’s amazing how much you can get done in short periods of time if you stay focused, and the ticking sound the timer makes creates a sense of urgency.
 
The second habit has made a TREMENDOUS difference. It is called The 30-Second Secret. I never leave my office in the morning and at lunch without taking just 30 seconds to straighten a few things up, put a couple of books away or put some files back in their places…just 30 seconds…I do the same thing at the end of the day. The cumulative effect of those 30-second chunks is amazing…I’m able to stay pretty organized using the strategy…The 30-Second Secret really works!
 

From Marrianna H. Osolin-Putnam of Pittsboro:

It is that time of year again - making those resolutions for the new year that come back to haunt us in April, or maybe even sooner! I find myself often making the same resolutions year after year - and usually not keeping them very well.

Last year I made four resolutions:

1) To stop talking about losing weight, and actually do something about it, not for vanity reasons but for better health both now and later in life.

2) To learn to do Soduko puzzles - I always do the Jumble, Cryptoquote, and Crossword puzzles daily, but couldn't get the hang of Soduko for some reason.

3) To start a regular exercise program and stick with it - I had a knee replacement done several years ago and was religious about the physical therapy / rehab for a year, leading to an excellent outcome. Then my husband retired, and we moved to Fearrington Village in Chatham County from Chapel Hill, too far from the UNC Wellness Center for daily trips.

4) To continue my painting (in acrylics) even thought my teacher retired from teaching, and to apply to several galleries in hopes that someone would like my style.

The outcomes of the above resolutions have been as follows:

1) With support from my wonderful physician at UNC Family Practice, Dr. Warren Newton, and my equally wonderful husband Jim, I have lost 45 pounds this year, only 5 lbs short of my 50 pound goal!
I plan to continue to lose more weight in 2008 at the slow pace of one pound per week. I now have blood sugar and cholesterol readings well within the normal range, as well as better blood pressure readings. I also have lots of very baggy clothes to weed out of my wardrobe, and some beautiful new ones to wear! ( The size 10's in the back of my closet are still about 25 pounds away, and will most likely be out of fashion when I can get into them, but I plan to wear each of them at least once. My ultimate goal is to wear the beautiful two piece fuchsia dress that I wore when Jim and I were married in 1986 - I want to wear it to dinner at "Elaine's on Franklin" for our 22nd anniversary in September 2008.

2) I have triumphed over Soduko with persistence and with some clever pointers from my friend Joyce, who is a mathematician! The secret is that is not about math at all - it's about logic! Instead of the nine numbers, you could just as well do the puzzles substituting the first nine letters of the alphabet! Now that I work them every day, they have become my favorite of the puzzles, closely followed by the cryptoquotes.

3) My husband and I joined the Duke Center for Living at Galloway Ridge last summer, and we have both been working out three to four times a week. I have been doing weight machines for both upper and lower body conditioning, hand weights, a weekly pilates class, and treadmill workouts three to four times a week. My goal on the treadmill is to walk a mile in 20 minutes, which I was doing regularly after the knee replacement rehab work. I have slowly built up speed and endurance, and am now doing a mile at just under 24 minutes. I plan to continue to strive toward that goal in 2008. Ironically, the exercise seems to have slowed the weight loss, but I know that muscle actually weighs more than fat, so I keep going!

4) I applied to the Chatham Arts Gallery in Pittsboro last summer, and was accepted! I have been showing my paintings and prints there, as well as cards that I make from the images. Sales have been slow, but the encouragement of the other artists and my friends has kept me going. The most important thing is how much pleasure and joy I receive from painting. My goal for this year
is to apply to be on the Chatham Arts Tour in late fall, and to continue to enjoy my painting as a creative outlet.

The secret to having kept all four of my 2007 resolutions is two fold - telling friends and family what I had resolved to do, and using their encouragement to bolster my own determination to succeed!

...and removing huge amounts of files that I have already saved copies of to CDs so I wont run out of space!

As for keeping this resolution, I have to, or else!