I was sick for most of my Thanksgiving break, so I spent a lot of time resting and taking it easy. It felt good to withdraw for a while, to just sleep and read and do light projects around the house. It was a long time coming; this particular stretch of the school year is the longest without a significant break. Tack on all of my coaching duties, and it was quite a busy fall.

Still, I’m not nearly as busy as I have been in recent years. My last three jobs both required at least 60 hours: as a TFP my workweek often topped 80 hours, and as Director of Leadership during the busy months I easily worked 12 hour days and then fielded a steady stream of on-call issues all night. Last year my two part-time jobs had me leaving the house as early as 7:30 and rarely returning until 8:30 in the evening. My second part-time job was so involved that they replaced me with two, full-time employees.

So after gathering some strength, I have taken stock of myself and looked at what do do with the extra free time I have this winter. My list looks surprisingly like New Year’s resolutions:

1. Walk my dogs every day. If I get my act together, I can leave school by 3:45. That’s just enough time to come home, change, grab the dogs and do a 30-minute loop in the woods by our house. The dogs love it, I get a chance to unwind and transition from school. It’s no-brainer. But I rarely do it.

2. Yoga. I found a studio on the way home from work, at the time I leave work, and on Thursday, the only day I can really relax and not think about everything I have to do during the week. Right now it’s full, but I’m going to try to get into a few classes and hopefully register in January.

3. Go out more. It’s all too easy for me to S.A.D.D. myself into days of sitting by the fire, absentmindedly watching TV and surfing the web. I lose whole days this way. What’s worse, is I find I turn down a lot of offers to venture out and grab a bite, a drink, a hike, a class — preferring the easy route of snuggling down where it’s warm and quiet.

4. Read. Damn it, lately I’ve been going to bed realizing I haven’t read anything other than my school materials. I need the release.

5. Go to the gym. Since my triathlon I have paid my gym $50 and haven’t even driven by the place. My blood is started to pool at my feet.

6. Lose 10 pounds. I’m actually at the best weight I’ve been for my entire adult life. But what gal wouldn’t love ten more pounds to melt away?

7. Roller Derby: We have a great team, but they practice 30 minutes away. If they snag the local rink they’re after I’m so there.