“freed up so much time that for the first couple of days, I sometimes didn't
know what to do with myself”

This is a point Tim Ferris brings up in the Four Hour Work Week as well -
initially it is hard to pull away from being “busy” (checking email, reading
online, etc etc) but perhaps what is even more difficult is once we pull
away from it, finding activities that are meaningful and enriching to fill
that time.

I definitely agree – why not have spring resolutions, winter resolutions?
;)

I think *one* benefit of having a new year's resolution though is people
seem to be more supportive of life changes during January, specifically for
that reason – everyone's doing it. On the other hand, imagine trying to
start a diet during Thanksgiving – socially less acceptable, and surely
pulled in different directions by competing social/family demands.

Very true. Knowing the difference between things that aren't worth thinking about now and things that aren't worth thinking about at all is a crucial skill. The @Someday list gives you a placeholder to keep potential commitments conscious.

This is why “dissolutions” are so important. When we take on a new project, we don't do so in a vacuum. We need to not only want to do something, but want it enough to not to something else. I found myself suffering from time famine until I did an activity analysis and realized how much gratuitous reading I was indulging in during the week, so I made a rule to batch all of my discretionary reading for Sunday. No books, magazines, blogs, etc. That one dissolution freed up so much time that for the first couple of days, I sometimes didn't know what to do with myself.

If you're going to make a resolution, try to define when and where working on it needs to happen, then see what habitual activities you can prune to make space for it.

But to the heart of your post: What is a new year's resolution in the first place and why must you make one? There was an article at the Brazen Careerist in the final days of December with the takeaway that you can make a resolution any day of the year. But do you?

That's wonderful! I am guessing you must have it taped up or written
somewhere that you can refer to easily and frequently =)

Another great idea: A “burn box.” Lets you disengage from paper without actually throwing it away. Take an empty box, throw stuff into if if you might ever need it. Throw away the bottom half of the box any time it fills up. Gives you 2-3 months to change your mind about anything, so you're not afraid to toss stuff. This is one tip shared in my company's customizable online time management training system (you can sign up free).

Kevin Crenshaw
http://www.priacta.com/Training/troonline.php
Hope this helps!

I think a lot of these information-overload life-clutter things happen in large part because of a sense of not wanting to “miss out”; the persistent delusion that there's one perfect shining piece of golden information out there that — if we can only catch and absorb that nugget as it sails by!! — will make all the difference & make sudden sense of all the rest of the bits of our lives. With that theory in mind, I'm resolving to “dissolve” and downsize my information intake in 2009.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Small Footprints
http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com

Jamie

As for my dissolutions, I'd probably say TV is my biggest time waster. I spent about 40 hours a wake watching the likes of The Simpsons, CSI, NCIS, Sport and cooking programmes. Entertaining and fun, sure. Productive? Nope!

Thanks for the very interesting post, Sid. It's nice to see you back after the holiday break!

Jamie