This year my word of the year is reinvention, but I have yet to really do anything about this. I started off with grandiose ideas about how I was going to work on changing my life, but have I done any of those things? Not really. That’s not to say I haven’t worked on goals, just not the big scary ones that will really move the needle. Ya know? Or at least with not enough focus. Too many other things are distracting me…
Enter Project 180. This is a plan I have for the next six months of my life, leading up to my 43rd birthday. This is not my brainchild, but rather something Sarra Cannon has shared on her platforms for a couple of years now. Previously she called it 6 Months 4 Life (6 months to focus on 4 areas of life), then Project X where the X is the age she was turning in 6 months (same idea as 6M4L), and most recently Project 180– that is, spending 180 days (about 6 months) to do a 180 with your life.
I love this idea, I love the names, and I’ve decided that for the rest of this year (and January of next year), I’m going to focus on 3 or 4 areas where I really want to make big lasting changes that redefine who I am moving forward.
I typically take the first week of August off of my day job each year, so I’m going to use this week as a reset week of sorts, prepping and jump starting my Project 180. And I’m hoping that this becomes a yearly happening…
What Project 180 Isn’t
It is not a challenge
I am not calling this a challenge. I have come to terms that me and challenges just do not work well together. So this is not one. I don’t know if I will do any trackers. I’m not trying to do these things every day. I’m just trying to really work on becoming this person who I want to be by doing smaller projects that will set myself up for success and move me in the right direction.
It is not another list of goals
I will not be adding more goals to my list for the year. Instead, I will prioritize the goals I already set for 2026 that are aligned with the areas I want to turn around. And it might actually look like letting go of some that aren’t as important right now so I can focus on the ones I really want to stick.
So What Is Project 180?
As per usual, when I sat down to think this through, I tried to overcomplicate it. Who me?? Yes. I asked myself what adjectives I wanted to apply to the new me in each area and sub area of my life. That’s a lot of areas. It was good a good exercise, but I need to trim it back. I can’t focus on everything. I need to pick a couple things to prioritize.
What type of person do I want to be?
- Confident
- Considerate
- Consistent
I want to be a strong, healthy person
At the beginning of the year I set a goal to get out of the obese weight range by the time I had my annual physical with my PCP at the end of July. This equated to about 10-12lbs per seven months. Well, you can probably guess where this is going, but this did not happen. So I am recommitting to this. Doubling down. Not in a dangerously obsessive kind of way, but definitely more focused than I have been.
I also just want to feel better in my body. Strong and pain free, better endurance and flexibility. Feel younger than my years, not older.
So what does that look like?
Nutrition
I have a MyFitnessPal premium subscription paid up until the new year, so I want to make the most of it. That is, log food to get an idea of what protein and fiber amounts are in my go to meals. And maybe know the approximate calories too. Because ultimately, if I want to hit this weight loss goal, it is going to matter. I just don’t want to be counting calories long term.
That said, in order to track my go to meals I have to have go-to meals. I sort of do now, but I want to document them. Ideally I’ll have formulas for meals and rules for the different seasons to make building a meal plan easier. Not reinventing the wheel every time.
Exercise
I don’t hate exercise but I don’t love it. I’m not very consistent. I have tried to do challenges over the years to kickstart the habit, picking a few tasks I want to hone in on for a set period of time. Then I peter out after a week or two and go back to my sloth-like ways.
My problem is I always try to pile on too much too quickly and then when I can’t keep up I quit. I need to ease my way in, build up over time. I want these habits to stick long term. Become part of my healthy life forever.
So where am I going to start?
My most recent attempt at a challenge included walking a mile every day. Mostly on the treadmill. At 3mph, it took me around 22 minutes. I liked this.
The interwebs says the recommendation for cardio is 150 minutes of moderate cardio per week (or 75 minutes of vigorous). A mile every day equates to this. I’m willing to have some flexibility here. If I miss one 22-minute walk, I can make it up over the next couple days. Or do a really long walk on the weekend. My aim is for the 150 minutes total, but some/anything is better than the nothing I’ve been doing.
I also want to spend more more time strength training. And I need to do regular physical therapy for my various parts that have caused me problems in the past (back, neck, hip). I get bored though, so when I’ve tried to do it every day, I end up quitting. Sensing a pattern?
Ideally my routine would look like, three days a week of PT/yoga/pilates (I mix the moves together in a flow), and three days of strength (arms/abs/ass, love me an alliteration). Plus the daily walk. Typing this now sounds overwhelming, but I’m going to start slow.
I want to be a practicing artist
I used to be an art kid. And an art major in HS and college. But after I graduated with my degrees in Graphic Design, I stopped doing arty art. Like painting and drawing or anything really. Every year I put a sketchbook goal on my list. Some years go better than others. I just want to be making art consistently.
I got a slow start on my art goal this year. After discovering Junk Journaling as part of my personal curriculum in June, I’m feeling more positive about reacquainting myself with my inner artist. I’m hoping it’s the kick start I needed to get back into a groove.
I want to try different types of art over the next six months and see what I feel most drawn to and at ease doing. I want to make art more regularly. I’m tired of being scared of the outcome. It’s about the journey, not the destination, right? But it’s also kind of about the destination…I want the destination to be pretty lol
I want to have my sh*t together
That is, I want to have simple systems that I stick to. Less mess and less stress. I’ve been struggling with some version of this goal for years. I just want the mundane parts of life to be more fun and easier to accomplish. Not a time suck and an energy drain. I’m not sure if this is truly achievable, but I really want to work on figuring out a sustainable, simple way to systemize all areas of my life.
So I don’t have this plan fully fleshed out yet. But I’m going to be working on mapping it all out this week while I’m off of my day job. I had an idea of keeping an art journal to document my ideas and attempts and systems and such. I’m excited about it!
Have you ever tried a big life reboot?
Photo by Honney Artkongharn on Unsplash