Mary’s New Year’s Resolutions: 2022

As Child(ish) Advice completes another trip around the sun, I want to say thank you for all your continued trust and support as we continue to provide content, tips, and activities for kids and parents.

This past year has been a fun and welcomed challenge, filled with TikTok videos, research, and continuing education courses, on top of raising three kids under five. And with the arrival of 2022, I’m looking forward to growing personally and professionally. Here are my New Year’s Resolutions for this year:

Time management. One thing I’ve learned with having little kids is that time is valuable and rare. Once my kids went down for sleep or quiet times, it was a race with the clock to get as much done as possible, leaving me fatigued and stressed. Thank goodness for good planners and time management methods like the Pomodoro technique. I hope to finally finish all the things on my to-do list and then some without feeling like I ran a marathon to do it.

More sleep. Truth be told, I am a night owl and feel the most productive when it’s late and quiet. However, this does take a toll on my mental and physical well-being (thanks Masterclass for the reminder). With that said, I need to hit the hay earlier and get some good sleep.
Get back to old hobbies. I love LEGOs, drawing/sketching, and reading non-fiction. But since becoming a mom, I haven’t had much time to get back to the things that used to put me in a zen mood, or even exercise that side of brain. Yes, that’s almost 5 years…. I’m hoping that I can better prioritize and find the time to bring these back into my orbit.
#dolessgodbless. This hashtag is from comedian Trey Kennedy. Even though he uses it to poke fun at those who go over-the-top, I want to apply it to my daily life. Not overbooking or overdoing too much, prioritizing the important things, and saving other tasks/activities for another time.
A little more personal. To be honest, I struggle with being an open book, especially as a parent. It’s hard to share the personal stories of the hard parts or the messy moments. Blame it on a perfectionist mentality or the fear of being vulnerable. But what I’ve learned this past year is that sharing these stories is not only helpful for those who are in the same boat, but it’s also helpful to me to realize that that I’m not alone.