Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the fourth day of the month is "Information."
*******************
My first quarter of goals was a tale of either hitting things out of the ballpark or doing absolutely nothing. Let's see if I can get a bit more balance in the second quarter. Here are the goals I'm working on this quarter.
Area I: Reading - I did pretty well in this category last quarter, but need to start reading books on my bookshelves.
1. Read at least one book that's already on my bookshelf each month.
2. Read at least one non-fiction book a month.
3. Read at least one Women's Prize for Fiction books a month.
4. Continue reading books from Top Books by Women from r/fantasy.
5. (new for Q2) Read at least two books in Spanish every month. They can be picture books or YA or whatever, but at least two.
 |
| I have only read The Hobbit. So much Tolkien to go. |
Area II: Connection - This area was also okay last quarter, so I need to just maintain.
1. Send snail mail to D/M/K every month plus at least one other "just because" piece of mail to a random person I know.
2. Post to my blog daily.
3. Text T/T/D/M every week.
4. (new for Q2) See my mom.
Area III: Post-pandemic re-entry - Hm. I think going to see my mom is a bit ambitious, but I think I can make it work.
1. Say yes to invitations to things, regardless of whether or not I want to go.
2. Do at least one thing every week that is outside of my household, the public library, or the grocery store.
3. (new for Q2) Plan and execute at least one programming event at the community center.
Area IV: Health - I am doing all right with physical health, but I added meditation to help with my anxiety. We'll see if it helps at all at the end of the quarter.
1. Do formal exercise sessions of 30 minutes or more 80% of the time.
2. Go outside at least 23 minutes a day.
3. (new for Q2) Meditate five minutes at least three times a week.
Area V: House - I legitimately accomplished none of these goals last quarter, so I've revamped this entire category.
1. (new for Q2) Clean up and mulch the two flowerbeds that were covered in cardboard over the winter.
2. (new for Q2) Come up with a plan for repainting the garage. This means checking in with Dr. BB about when would be a good time to do this and gathering materials.
3. (new for Q2) Go through the clutter in the following places each month.
April: Totes under the bed in the primary bedroom
May: Totes under the bed in the guest room
June: The photos/photobook situation in the bookshelf in the guest room.
 |
| Look at that wagging tail. She loves to train. |
The Hobbit was my favorite Tolkien book, but I have not read them all yet! I love that you added monthly tote organizing to your list; I think this makes it more manageable. What I normally do is I "treat" myself by putting on a YouTube video, podcast or movie to distract me while I sort, and then it goes by pretty quickly!
ReplyDeleteI did not enjoy The Hobbit, which is why I've been putting off the others. *sigh* I know it's a bit hole in my reading, though, so I need to get to them!
DeleteYour goals are much more specific than mine- maybe I should set some very specific goals for Q2 (the house definitely needs some attention!) i like some of your new for Q2 goals- I'll be interested to hear how the meditation works out. My husband has been pretty consistent with meditation but I've never been able to stick to it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a patient meditator, so I'm interested in seeing how it goes, too. I like to make my goals as specific as possible so that I can measure them appropriately for reporting back to you. I think the more amorphous ones I just end up forgetting about because I don't track them.
DeleteI haven't changed any of my goals, but I did have three flex goals to add during the year, and I decided on my first "new" goal about a month ago.
ReplyDeleteI loved the LOTR trilogy when I was a teen, but I'm not sure I have the time/patience for it now?!
Flex goals are such a smart idea. I mean, you're in charge and you can change things, right? I feel like evaluating at the quarter and seeing what's working and what's not has been useful in the past, so we'll see how it goes this time around.
DeleteI am breathless with admiration that your Connection section has anything more than 'blog daily' because that would do it for me. I didn't have goals far beyond get to work and get some exercise every week from January until now because this time period is generally a really bad mental health time for me and although the structure of work is good, pushing myself to accomplish more isn't helpful. I am just starting to feel like addressing some of the house clutter issues again. I see my parents twice weekly because they dog sit, and we have a weekly bar night with friends (one of my goals has been to bail on it less often, which has been pretty successful). I groaned humorously when I saw your fantasy books by women because I know it's going to massively increase my TBR pile AGAIN, and I just put 42 books on from the list of all the Canada Reads contenders since it began , because I counted and realized I'd read about half.
ReplyDeleteThat list of fantasy books by women is HUGE because so many of them are series or sagas. I'm going through Valdemar right now and it's almost fifty books to check off ONE from the list. It's not a list for completionists, that's for sure. I looked at the list of winners and contenders of Canada Reads and have only read two, so maybe that can be something I tackle when/if I ever finish the fantasy books by women and Women's prize lists.
DeleteYour goals seem like they are coming along so well! Go, you!
ReplyDeleteI have been making good progress toward some goals, and toward others NOT ONE BIT. And I feel really frustrated about the "not one bit" ones, because they are important but I am stuck.
I think the "not one bit" goals probably need to be broken down further. Like, I should work on a will, but I think the first step is probably to talk to my husband AND then I can take further actions. At least, that's always my plan. But I don't always succeed. Ha.
DeleteThose are great goals! I am looking forward to hearing about your meditation practice, if you want to share that. I am a big believer in the benefits of meditation, for sure.
ReplyDeleteAlso, hi! I'm back!
With regards to your question, I don't think I made any goals? Did I? I'm kind of tired so I can't think of anything at the moment...all my goals are kind of evergreen.
I think you're the kind of person who gets things done without goals. I, for my part, would just sit on the couch with my cat and read books if I didn't set goals, so I have to be a bit more proactive!
DeleteOoo, reading books in Spanish is a fun goal!
ReplyDeleteI hope the anxiety meds help! Mine do!
A question - why say yes to things you don't want to do? Just to get out of the house? One of my goals for the past few years has been to say no to more. LOL.
My goals for the year are still the same!
I need to say yes to things because I never leave my house. I've become a virtual agoraphobe since the pandemic and really need to start lo leave my comfort zone. It's been somewhat successful and I'm hoping for real improvement as the weather warms up.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThat makes sense! I'm glad it's been successful!
DeleteI like how organized this is. As soon as I get through my summer and fall prep-stravaganza, I am going to revamp mine.
ReplyDeleteYou're in charge and can change/alter/create goals at whatever timeline works best for you!
DeleteI don't really set quarterly goals, but I do try to look at my 2023 goals list every month to set some monthly goals that will help me achieve my yearly goals. I'll have my first update of my 2023 goals next week, and I'm excited to see what I've accomplished!
ReplyDeleteI need to get back into meditation. It helps me so much with my nighttime anxiety.
I have meditated more in my life and found it useful for me to just calm myself more quickly, but I also find meditation itself a bit stressful, so I'm interested to see if this particular strategy of doing it just a few times a week is helpful. I'll report back!
DeleteI suck at meditation. Also self-compassion. I'll be interested to learn if you find a way to help yourself meditate. I'm hoping that I can learn something! I'm visiting my parents next month (May) so completely hear you on the visiting thing. I have to steel myself to leave home for more than a few hours... sigh.
ReplyDelete