It's quarterly goals update time! As a reminder, here are my goals for 2022. Here's how Q1 went. Now on to the second quarter. My health goals went okayish. Everything else was so so. It was a tough quarter for me professionally and some of that unhappiness bled into these personal goals.
Area One: Health
1) Work out five times a week for 30 minutes or more. Yoga twice a week. Something else three times a week.
24/30 days of formal workouts of 30 minutes or more
13 yoga workouts
12 strength/cardio workouts
26/31 days of formal workouts of 30 minutes or more
9 yoga workouts
16 strength/cardio workouts
*2) Drink at least sixteen ounces of water before lunch and sixteen ounces of water after lunch every day.
April: 16/30 (53%) days in the morning, 29/30 (97%) days after lunch
May: 10/31 (32%) days in the morning, 29/31 (94%) days after lunch
June: 25/30 (83%)days in the morning, 29/30 (97%) days after lunch
After a lackluster early performance, I did get better about filling my mug with water after my morning tea in June. Let's call it a small win.
Area Two: Professional
*1) Apply to a new job at least once a week until I have a new job.
I've sent out a bunch of resumes and cover letters and have even had a couple of interviews, but I'm still stuck at my current job. I'm honestly so unhappy about this that it's even hard to type it out.
2) Respond to emails for my volunteer gig in a timely manner.
Ha ha ha. People have taken to texting me when I actually need to respond. I'm obviously letting this slide.
Area Three: Communication
1) Continue to post in my blog at least twice a week.
April: 20 posts
May: 20 posts
June: 17 posts
Easily met this goal. Yay!
2) Continue to write a note to K/D/M once a month.
April: Everyone was sent an Easter card.
May: I sent everyone a card for Mother's Day.
June: I guess I just didn't do it this month. Oh, well.
3) Keep lists of snail mail I send and books I read.
April: Book list here. I sent one bill, eight Easter cards, including to K/D/M, two birthday cards, and a legal document through the mail for a total of 12 items out in snail mail.
May: Book list here. I sent four Mother's Day cards, three bills, and one birthday card for a total of eight items out in snail mail.
June: Book list here. I sent three birthday cards, one Father's Day card, and one bill for total of five items out in snail mail. June was not my best month for mail.
*4) Text T/T/M every week. I feel like I'm letting some of my best friendship sort of fall to the wayside because I'm mired in work-related unhappiness, but I need to let these people know I think about them all the time. Texting isn't intrusive to them, either, so this is a win-win.
April: Completed!
May: I did fail this for one of those people on one week, but otherwise completed.
June: Completed!
Area Four: Post-Pandemic Re-Entry
1) Visit a new park/nature preserve/outdoor space at least once a quarter.
This quarter I went to a park for a graduation party in Michigan. It was new to me!
*2) Visit my mom.
I did not visit my mom, but I'm going to be seeing her in the first week of July, so just barely outside of the second quarter.
*3) Have people over to our house at least once - for a game night, dinner, or just a hangout. We can't keep ourselves in a bubble forever.
April: A friend was visiting from out of state and she came over for lunch.
May: We had friends over for dinner one night.
June: Womp womp. No one entered our house except for us.
Area Five: Miscellaneous
*1) Keep track of mileage walked with the dog.
April: 53.78 miles logged this month, which is roughly 1.8 miles a day. Most days we walked three times, but there were occasional days when we did one more or one less. On an average day, we walk about a quarter of a mile around the block first thing in the morning, a mile or so in the afternoon, and whatever Hannah feels up to right before bed. On any day that we only went on two walks, she was walked by my husband to get her to three walks a day.
|
Number of Walks |
Number of Days |
|
2 |
3 |
|
3 |
24 |
|
4 |
2 |
May: 48.8 miles logged this month, which is roughly 1.6 miles a day. There were a couple of really hot days when Hannah was not up for anything and a few days when she was in some considerable amount of pain and we got less than a mile on those days.
|
Number of Walks |
Number of Days |
|
2 |
3 |
|
3 |
24 |
|
4 |
4 |
|
Number of Walks |
Number of Days |
|
0 |
1 |
|
1 |
1 |
|
2 |
7 |
|
3 |
21 |
*2) Keep track of how I spend my time for a week. Lisa did this in January and I stole the idea from her. Stephany and San did it, too, so I'm really just being a follower.
In college, I was overcommitted and I was having a mini-breakdown in my therapist's office when she had me take off my watch. She kept it for a week and in that week, I stopped watching the seconds pass by and chilled the fuck out. I still don't wear a watch to this day. I started this exercise on a regular, not much scheduled, nothing urgent happening Saturday, but by 1:30 that afternoon, I found myself checking the clock every two minutes and freaking out over a whole lot of nothing. I immediately stopped tracking my time. As much as I'd like to have the data this exercise would produce, I think I'm going to have to just pass on it.
*3) Create a document for Dr. BB in the event of my untimely death. Inspired by Suzanne's post.
Ha ha ha. I did not even start this. Rollover to next quarter.
*4) Just figure out how to put more money in my investment accounts. (rollover from last year and last quarter)
I DID THIS! Holy hell. I figured out how to log in to the online account in early April and I set it up to take more money out every month. It wasn't even that hard!!
*5) Continue to donate $50 a month to a local charity.
April: This month was high in expenses, but I donated $30 to the community foundation for the community center where I worked, so I consider this a job well done.
May: Nope. I bought raffle tickets at the Farmer's Market ($20), but that hardly seems like it counts.
June: I donated $100 to our local community center ($50 for our yearly membership and $50 for a fundraiser).
I'm basically just including my goals for next quarter here so they're all in one place. Most of these are remaining the same.
Area One: Health
1) Work out five times a week for 30 minutes or more. Yoga twice a week. Something else three times a week.
*2) Drink at least sixteen ounces of water before lunch and sixteen ounces of water after lunch every day.
Area Two: Professional
*1) Apply to a new job at least once a week until I have a new job.
2) Forget responding to emails in a timely manner. Just figure out how to organize the email inbox for my volunteer gig.
Area Three: Communication
1) Continue to post in my blog at least twice a week.
2) Continue to write a note to K/D/M once a month.
3) Keep lists of snail mail I send and books I read.
*4) Text T/T/M every week
Area Four: Post-Pandemic Reentry
1) Visit a new park/nature preserve/outdoor space at least once a quarter.
*2) Visit my mom.
*3) Have people over to our house at least once - for a game night, dinner, or just a hangout. We can't keep ourselves in a bubble forever.
*4) Buy more KN-95 masks. For a while I thought I could get away without them, but I'm still not comfortable going into public places without a mask, so here we go again.
Area Five: Miscellaneous
*1) Keep track of mileage walked with the dog.
*2) Create a document for Dr. BB in the event of my untimely death. Inspired by Suzanne's post.
*3) Donate $50 a month to a local charity.
*4) Brush the dog and cat's teeth. I did a great job in the first quarter when I tracked it, but when I stopped tracking, I stopped doing it, so I'm adding it back.
How are your quarterly goals going? Are you setting any new one for the third quarter?
I make annual goals and only check in occasionally. I tend to let just about everything slide over the summer (I didn't bring my planner with me on vacation so am tracking almost nothing these days). It always feels nice for me to have a break, but then in September when school starts I want to jump back in to tracking/more routine.
ReplyDeleteI think you did so well on these goals, especially with the looming stress of an unpleasant working situation. I really, really hope you're able to find a great fit so you can move forward. Onward and upward to new challenges and experiences. I'm sure it's frustrating when the process drags on, but hang in there and I sincerely hope the end result makes you so very happy!
I like doing quarterly goals because they be flexible, so if I have different priorities in different seasons, I can change things up. That being said, I think my tracking goals are getting a tiny bit out of control and I might need to take a more laissez faire approach like you!
DeleteWell, I have to admit I don't usually set quarterly goals, but I should- you're inspiring me! I'm going to do it today.
ReplyDeleteI think you did pretty great. Some of these things were beyond your control, but for the most part you nailed it. And for those nagging items you didn't do... nobody's perfect. If you had completed 100% of your goals, I would have said you need to set more ambitious goals next time.
Sorry your work situation is so miserable... that sucks. : (
Yes, I think if I ever complete 100% of my goals, it would be time for me to reevaluate my goal setting. I am proud of what I've done, but realize that I still have a ways to go!
DeleteYou know that I feel you on the job sitch. All I know is that you will get a new job and hopefully sooner than later dammit!!!! I don't know if this is true for your field, but last year I had the highest volume of interviews in July and August and I'm hoping that the same will be true this year as well.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine tracking my time. I just plain don't want to know...
I really want to track my time, but I just don't think it's something I can do until my professional life is a bit more on track. I think it would be good for me to know if how I spend my time aligns with what my goals are - the exercises seem to go hand in hand - but it's just not right for me right now. I can see how it might not be for someone EVER, though!
DeleteI love all of these goals! Especially how trackable they are and seeing the "real numbers" for the quarter. I hope that you can find a new job- I really know that feeling of being stuck in an awful job and not having a way out. Sending positive vibes your way.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the positive vibe. I've had a couple of interviews this week and I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
DeleteYou are impressively serious about goals and tracking.
ReplyDeleteHa! I can't tell if this is a compliment or just an impartial observation!
DeleteThose are really great goals and you are doing really well. I could never track my time to the minute either, I would probably have a breakdown.
ReplyDeleteThe breakdown was certainly on its way in my case, so I understand that feeling.
DeleteYou were wise to abandon time tracking since it was stressing you out. I was very loose w/ my time tracking and just tracked the theme of what I did, so it was enlightening but not too onerous. I plan to do it again next year just to see how it changes.
ReplyDeleteYou've done so well on your goals. I am still in a stage where I really am not setting goals. Maybe 2023 will be the year I ask more of myself? I really hope you find a new job soon. Being in an awful job is so so awful and soul-sucking.
I think you get a lot done without formal goal setting. If I don't set these goals and track them for myself, I would honestly just log out of my work email and read on the couch without doing anything else. If you're a person who is already motivated to do things, I think it's fine to relax about it!
DeleteI always love reading your quarterly goals! I could probably do a better job about setting quarterly goals that correspond to my annual goals, and breaking down those quarterly goals for my monthly goals... but that seems like a LOT to keep track of, haha.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand feeling stressed out about time tracking, and I'm glad you abandoned the exercise. <3
I was surprised at how stressed out the tracking of time was! I've done it in the past and it was fine. I suppose I should be a bit more introspective about WHY I had that reaction. Maybe I'll reevaluate doing it at a later date.
DeleteI find this all very impressive! I have been pretty lax on goal setting lately. I love setting and meeting goals, but I go in spurts where I set the goals but then just kind of ...ignore them. And this is generally out of character for me, yet I do it anyway, and I find it very irritating. Because then I feel/ worry that I'm sort of becoming the type of person who sets goals but doesn't actually do them, and I don't like that! But anyway, things have been busy around here, and yet I still am getting things done, as needed, but I'm not knocking any workout, reading, or other "daily" type goals out of the park right now. My days have just been rather inconsistent, which makes those types of goals especially difficult.
ReplyDeleteAs I said to Lisa above, I think you already get a lot more done without goals than I get done with goals. I'm generally a lazy person who just wants to read on the couch with a cat on my lap, so this is what it takes to motivate me. I think, if I were a person who was always busy and on the go like you, I wouldn't set goals, either! (Or, I'd set them an ignore them to get on with my busy life!)
DeleteAs always, SO impressed by your goals and your accomplishments. I am curious about to whom you send mail every month - I love the idea, but wondered how you determined that those individuals were those you'd mail actual, you know, letters/cards to. And you know I am so sorry about the job situation... maybe by the time I Catch up on your blog (sigh) you'll be in a better one. Fingers crossed SO hard.
ReplyDelete