My list of quarterly goals from January is here. Quarter one update is here, quarter two update is here, and quarter three is here.
Q4 Goals Update
Area I: Reading
1) Read at least one book each month that I own but haven't read yet
October: Nope.
November: Nope.
December: Nope
October: Nope.
November: Nope.
December: Nope
Oh, boy. What a good way to start a review of these goals.
2) Read at least one non-fiction book a month
October: Nope.
November: For Small Creatures Such as We by Sasha Sagan - Beautiful book.
December: A Swim in the a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders - Wonderful.
October: Nope.
November: For Small Creatures Such as We by Sasha Sagan - Beautiful book.
December: A Swim in the a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders - Wonderful.
3) Finish reading all the Women's Prize for Fiction books
October: No progress made.
November: No progress made. I only have two more. I can do this by the end of the year, right?
December: Ugh. I DNFed one. I have one more to go. I'll try that one in January.
 |
| The last book in the list of Women's Prize for Fiction winners I have to read. |
4) Keep my reading spreadsheet up to date
October: Yes!
November: Yes!
October: Yes!
November: Yes!
December: Yes!
5) Finish the 2023 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge
October: Knocked one off the list.
November: Knocked one off the list. Four prompts left. Might be a challenge to finish this.
December: I finished it!
Mixed bag on these reading goals this quarter, but I did read a lot in 2023 and read some great books, so I'll count it as a win.
Area II: Connection
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
October: I sent Halloween cards to D/M/K, as well as my nieces and nephews and a few other people for a grand total of 17 pieces of snail mail sent.
November: I sent Thanksgiving cards to D/M/K, as well as a few other people. I also sent out some birthday cards and some bills for a total of thirteen pieces of snail mail sent.
December: I sent Christmas cards to D/M/K, as well as quite a lot of other people. I also sent out a few other pieces of mail for a total of eighty-nine pieces of mail! Plus, I hand-delivered five other holiday cards.
October: I sent Halloween cards to D/M/K, as well as my nieces and nephews and a few other people for a grand total of 17 pieces of snail mail sent.
November: I sent Thanksgiving cards to D/M/K, as well as a few other people. I also sent out some birthday cards and some bills for a total of thirteen pieces of snail mail sent.
December: I sent Christmas cards to D/M/K, as well as quite a lot of other people. I also sent out a few other pieces of mail for a total of eighty-nine pieces of mail! Plus, I hand-delivered five other holiday cards.
Full credit for this goal this quarter.
2) Post to my blog every day
October: I posted 43 times in October. Ridiculous.
November: I posted 43 times in November, too. NaBloPoMo for the win.
December: I posted 32 posts. Now I can stop posting daily because this is NOT GOING TO BE A 2024 GOAL.
October: I posted 43 times in October. Ridiculous.
November: I posted 43 times in November, too. NaBloPoMo for the win.
December: I posted 32 posts. Now I can stop posting daily because this is NOT GOING TO BE A 2024 GOAL.
3) Text T/T/D/M every week
October: I missed one person one week, but otherwise did it!
November: I missed two people one week, but did okay otherwise.
December: 100% this month.
October: I missed one person one week, but otherwise did it!
November: I missed two people one week, but did okay otherwise.
December: 100% this month.
Area III: Post-pandemic reentry
1) Say yes to invitations to things, regardless of whether or not I want to go
October: Yes!
November: Yes!
December: Yes!
October: Yes!
November: Yes!
December: Yes!
2) Do at least one thing every week that is outside of my household, the public library, or the grocery store
October: I did it!
November: Yes! I mean, "dog park" isn't on the list of excluded items, so I pulled this off.
December: For sure. December was packed with things.
October: I did it!
November: Yes! I mean, "dog park" isn't on the list of excluded items, so I pulled this off.
December: For sure. December was packed with things.
3) Go on at least two weekend trips that aren't for the purpose of visiting family
October: I went to visit high school friends in Michigan.
November: Nothing.
December: No weekend trips anywhere.
October: I went to visit high school friends in Michigan.
November: Nothing.
December: No weekend trips anywhere.
Area IV: Health
1) Do formal exercise sessions of 30 minutes or more 80% of days
October: 24/31 (77.4%) days - Hmmm...I'm sad that I didn't quite get to 80% this month.
October: 24/31 (77.4%) days - Hmmm...I'm sad that I didn't quite get to 80% this month.
16 days strength/cardio
9 days yoga
6 short 15-minute stretch classes at lunchtime
November: 24/30 (80%) days
15 days strength/cardio
13 days yoga
8 short 15-minute stretch classes at lunchtime
December: 24/31 (77.4%) days - Honestly, I was pleased with this, since the last two weeks of December were insane.
15 days strength/cardio
11 days yoga
9 short 15-minute stretch classes at lunch time
2) Meditate for at least five minutes three times a week
October: I meditated 13 times, which is roughly three times a week.
November: I meditated 7 times, which is NOT three times a week. Ha!
December: I meditated 7 times, which is still not three times a week.
October: I meditated 13 times, which is roughly three times a week.
November: I meditated 7 times, which is NOT three times a week. Ha!
December: I meditated 7 times, which is still not three times a week.
This is definitely going to have to be on my 2024 goals list.
3) Inspired by Lisa, go outside at least 23 minutes a day.
October: 31/31 days
November: 30/30 days
December: 31/31 days
October: 31/31 days
November: 30/30 days
December: 31/31 days
4) Find a new dentist that will accept our insurance - I had a dentist appointment in November and it actually went pretty well. They have hired a new hygienist (chatty - just how I like it!), so I had very little interaction with the actual dentist and I have put off my search because the appointment went fine. This dentist is on probation, though, so if I ever have even one more bad appointment, I'll be taking my talents to South Beach.
5) Use my vision benefit for the year on some more contacts - This got utterly messed up when I got a job and switched insurance and it's all a mystery if I have any actual benefits to be used at this point. *sigh* Not done.
Area V: House
I seriously pared down these goals this quarter because I realized this area is not my area of focus.
1) Go through every tote in the house and declutter them
LOLOLOLOL. Of course not.
Area VI: Hannah
1) Take her to the dog park at least once a month
October: No trip to the dog park this month! Oh, no!
November: We went on 11/5 AND 11/11, so we made up for last month's lack.
December: Nope. I just didn't do it. It's dark really early or it was too muddy or too cold. We'll try to recalibrate in 2024.
October: No trip to the dog park this month! Oh, no!
November: We went on 11/5 AND 11/11, so we made up for last month's lack.
December: Nope. I just didn't do it. It's dark really early or it was too muddy or too cold. We'll try to recalibrate in 2024.
2) Do short training sessions with her at least once a day
I never added this to my spreadsheet and it never got tracked. We are not doing this. It's a definite priority to move it up in the list of 2024 goals.
I never added this to my spreadsheet and it never got tracked. We are not doing this. It's a definite priority to move it up in the list of 2024 goals.
3) Dremel her nails once a week
October: I think we did it once the entire month.
November: We started off slowly, but we did Dremel her nails four times this month! Her nails are already looking so much better.
December: We did it every week in December. It's part of our Sunday chores now. Her nails do look a lot better!
October: I think we did it once the entire month.
November: We started off slowly, but we did Dremel her nails four times this month! Her nails are already looking so much better.
December: We did it every week in December. It's part of our Sunday chores now. Her nails do look a lot better!
4) Track her walking
October: We walked a total of 79.44 miles in October, for an average of 2.56 miles a day.
October: We walked a total of 79.44 miles in October, for an average of 2.56 miles a day.
|
Number of
Walks |
Number of
Days |
|
0 |
1 |
|
1 |
1 |
|
2 |
9 |
|
3 |
20 |
November: We walked a total of 81.31 miles in November, for an average of 2.71 miles a day.
|
Number of
Walks |
Number of
Days |
|
2 |
9 |
|
3 |
20 |
|
4 |
1 |
December: We did a total of 85.16 miles in December, for an average of 2.75 miles a day.
Number of Walks | Number of Days |
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 9 |
| 3 | 21 |
*******************
Cumulative 2023 Goals!!
Area I: Reading
1) Read at least one book each month that I own but haven't read yet. - Look, I read two books and DNFed a third throughout the entire year. Not a great record. Back on the list for 2024. ✖
2) Read at least one non-fiction book a month - I read 13 in 2023, so that's an average of just over one a month. Done. ✔
3) Finish reading all the Women's Prize for Fiction books - So close! I have one more to read. I can do that in January. ✔
4) Keep reading books on r/fantasy's top fantasy books written by women authors - I read 27 books off of this list, so I'm doing a nice job of steadily working through this list. ✔
5) Keep my reading spreadsheet updated - I did do this. Or, at least, if I didn't do it, I haven't caught any mistakes. ✔
Yay for reading goals!
Area II: Connection
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 - I missed K three months, and D/M two months. I sent a total of 224 things through the mail this year. Pretty good, I think. ✔
2) Post to my blog every day - I posted every day in 2023. I will not be doing that in 2024. (517 posts total. Never again.) ✔
3) Text T/T/D/M every week - 93.3% completion of this goal. I'll take it as a win. ✔
I think I have now incorporated enough of these things into my regular life that I don't need to have a separate area for connection goals in 2024.
 |
| I used this in 2022 and 2023 to track my goals but it's out of pages now. What will I do in 2024?! |
Area III: Post-pandemic reentry
1) Say yes to invitations - Sure, I did this, except for one party I declined an invite to. ✔
2) Do at least one thing every week outside of my household, the grocery store, or the library - There were two weeks in the whole year where I think I didn't meet this. I mean, I did count trips to the dog park as part of success at this goal, so I'll leave it to you to determine if I'm fudging this or not. ✔
3) Leave the state of Wisconsin at least twice (trips to Iowa to see the in-laws don't count) - We did a short trip to Chicago in July, Minneapolis in August, and I went to visit my high school friends in Michigan in October. I did it! ✔
4) In quarter two, I had a short-lived goal to plan an execute programs at the community center that I did meet. That never made it on the goals list again. LOL. ✔
Area IV: Health
1) Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day 80% of the time, which would be 292 days of the year. My final number was 303!! Woot! 83%! I honestly think this is probably the max I can do. I'm quite proud of this number. ✔
2) Drink eight ounces of water before I eat anything in between meals - LOL. I just never tracked this and it slipped off the list by the end of the first quarter. ✖
3) Go outside for at least 23 minutes a day - I missed one day in June. ONE day the whole year. That's impressive, I think. ✔
4) Meditate for at least five minutes three times a week - I never met this goal. Adding it to 2024. ✖
In general, I am happy with this. I will work on meditation in 2024, but I feel like the focus on health paid off in 2023.
Area V: House
1) Paint the garage - Nope. ✖
2) Marie Condo my closets - Nope. ✖
3) Declutter the totes under the beds - Nope. ✖
Look, I just didn't do any of this. It's clear to me that this is not my priority area. And that's okay with me, to be honest.
Area VI: Hannah
1) Take her to the dog park at least once a month - We went 16 times this year, although we didn't go at all in October or December. That's an average of more than once a month, so I'm counting it as a win. ✔
2) Teach her new tricks from a training book I bought for her - Nope. Not a one. Getting back into a regular training routine with Hannah is a top priority for 2024. ✖
3) Track her walking - I did this! ✔
The data!
We walked a total of 896.98 miles together this year over 945 walks. This is an average of 2.46 miles a day.
Do you have totes that need to be decluttered under your bed? Tell me your secrets of how to get this done!
You did well on your goals! I'll tell you the secret to decluttering - a long distance move! Worked for me.
ReplyDeleteBefore we moved into our current house, we had moved every one to three years and we had really stripped it down to the bare bones. But there is Stuff Creep happening. Maybe I should act like we're moving and go through everything with that mindset.
DeleteI decluttered a lot of totes in 2023. My method is to put on a good show and bring the tote into the living room OR put on a good audiobook and do it in the room where the tote is. I also took a very kill or fill kind of mentality last year...in years past, I may keep a few scarves or a few extra beanies etc. Last year, I decided to only keep one that I wear and one backup, so I really got rid of a lot of things plus now I barely have any totes to go through this year (thank goodness). I think you really have to be brutal the first time so that you don't have to just keep re-organizing the same items/totes every year!
ReplyDeleteI think that if I just pulled the totes out on a Saturday afternoon, it wouldn't be that big of a chore, actually. I just need to do it. LOL. But it didn't happen all last year, so...that motivation is the key missing piece.
DeleteYou should read/listen about temptation bundling (Katy Milkman; I think I heard it on Freakonomics) as she talks about basically giving yourself a reward while doing things you don't want to do.
DeleteOh, I get it, I do. I should put on some loud music and just do it!
DeleteI am devastated by the cluttered nature of your totes.
ReplyDeleteI have drawers under my bed. They are organized and tidy at all times and no, I am not kidding. I just went through our front closet and ruthlessly purged all the extra hats, scarves, and gloves and took them to Goodwill. Big plastic tubs are anathema to me; the only one I have now is full of shelled raw peanuts for my blue jays and lives on a shelf at the bottom of the basement steps.
Instead of tubs I have wine boxes full of stuff that is In Transition, living on my basement shelves. If I don't open the boxes in a year, they go right to charity without me even looking inside them. Currently, there are two such boxes, and they have six months to go.
Eh. They're under the bed and not bothering anyone!
DeleteWe moved once and I took everything that was on top of my desk and put it in a box labelled "Stuff from NGS's desk" and that box was still taped and unopened when we moved the next time and I just threw the box in the trash without opening it. It was amazing and I've never wondered what was in that box. But I don't know if I could replicate that on a regular basis!
I laughed at "dremel Hannah's nails" - why is this just hilarious to me!
ReplyDeleteI think clutter is much easier to manage if you enjoy decluttering. You don't and does the clutter really bother you? If not...take if off your list. Having a neat under-bed storage space doesn't matter one iota. You have a great marriage, new job, and two wonderful pets. Who cares what the totes under your bed look like?
I happen to LOVE decluttering. My secret is to do it often. It's so much easier to stay on top of things if I revisit items regularly. For me it's fun, so when I'm feeling a bit blue or moody or bored I just find a space to tidy/declutter and I am SURE to get a cleaning "high." But since I declutter/tidy so often (I have to with two young, active kids), it's never very overwhelming.
Also, how long have the totes been there? Could you just get rid of the whole tote without even looking inside? If you know there is nothing you use/nothing of value, just take the whole tote to Goodwill (or the trash), or have Dr. BB sort it between trash/thrift donations?
Re: Dremel. Some dogs have soft nails and the regular walks that H and I do would naturally file their nails. But H's nails are INTENSE and she hates it when they get cut and it's a two person job and none of the three of us has a good time, but we have to do it. If you have a dog with hard nails, you gotta do what you gotta do.
DeleteI think you're right. The cluttered totes under the bed aren't bothering anyone, so I just let them continue to be cluttered. The rest of the house is (relatively) organized! Just don't look too closely at my desk drawers.
I do go into the totes regularly. Our wrapping supplies live in these totes, as do spare photos frames, crafting supplies (including stickers), and other things that I use somewhat regularly, but not daily. I definitely could not just get rid of them! They just need to be more pleasant to look through when I need the stuff in them.
Ah. Totes... well, I did my usual "holiday cleaning" this year which is to say on Christmas Eve I was frantically stuffing random things into totes, that got shoved in the corner of my bedroom. So.... I'll get around to that someday, but first I have to get all the Christmas stuff put away. Arg.
ReplyDeleteBut, nice job on your goals! You crushed the most important ones.
It turns out that I use this goal setting exercise more as a way of tracking my own priorities than anything else. Exercise, books, and pets? Priorities. House stuff? Not a priority. It's kind of an interesting look into my psyche.
DeleteI'm really worried about your Christmas storage system, Jenny. That corner of your bedroom needs to be freed from its Christmas hegemony!
I loved reading this post. WELL DONE! And I love the idea of quarterly goals, seems so much more manageable. I take my yearly, then onto monthly, then onto weekly, then - hopefully- daily... Totes...Just take it to Goodwill?...
ReplyDeleteI regularly use the stuff in the totes! I just want it to be more pleasant when I go in there.
DeleteLOL to this 1) Go through every tote in the house and declutter them
ReplyDeleteLOLOLOLOL. Of course not.
I never meet these goals either.
January 2023 NGS was VERY optimistic. Lesson learned about Real NGS.
DeleteI just want to insert some clapping emojis for you being released from "post every day" prison! Woo hoo!
ReplyDeleteI have boxes that need decluttering. I did one last week that had been sitting in my office since the end of July! Ugh!
Intellectually I know that going through the totes will take at most a couple of hours. Emotionally I don't wanna. And that's where we are. Solidarity in random decluttering avoidance.
DeleteI decluttered my totes in a previous year but it can be an easy task to push off since they are out of sight/out of mind!
ReplyDeleteSince you don't feel drawn to read the books you own, maybe that's a sign you need to donate them? I had a goal of reading books I owned and I never felt like I wanted to read them so I ended up donating them.
Yes to donating the books. If I don't read the books by the end of the year, I'll donate them. I feel like a lot of them were gifts and I LOVE that people think of me and give me books that they think will resonate with me, so sometimes I feel terrible about not having read them. But if I don't find time to prioritize reading them this year, what makes me think I'll do it in the future?
DeleteI have totes EVERYWHERE that need to be dealt with. (I mean there is part of me that thinks, "The stuff is in a tote - doesn't that count as 'dealt with'?"... I feel like that might point to the fundamental problem here...)
ReplyDeleteI've decided to read more from my bookshelf this year. I can't seem to walk past a Little Free Library without acquiring something so it's been accumulating. Plus the Husband and I agreed to read East of Eden together a few years ago and he did, but I never did and it's comes up periodically. It's just that the stuff on my bookshelf doesn't have the urgency of a library book that needs to be returned. Because stuff in my house never seems to leave. (See above...)
I'm going to miss your daily posts! Can I be a little sad about that? What a huge undertaking, though - kudos to you!
I feel like I feel like its dealt with, too. It's in a tote and under the bed. It's not hurting anyone if it's a mess. But it sort of IS hurting me when I need to find something in there!
DeleteYou can miss my daily posts, but I won't miss the (absolutely self-imposed) pressure I felt to come up with something new every day. I think I'll still post fairly frequently, but I guess we'll see about that.
I've had Sasha Sagan's book on my TBR list for a long time. Because of your review, I just held it at my library. ❤️
ReplyDeleteOh, I think it will really resonate with you!
DeleteWoo hoo for Q4! I'm once again giving you permission to not read the books you own but haven't read unless you want to and put the totes at the bottom of the priority list.
ReplyDeleteMy husband was the dremeler for our dog and their manicure routine was always amusing. She tolerated it in return for the Ultimate Prize of a piece of string cheese.
Oh, Hannah HATES the Dremel. She hates the guillotine-type clippers, too, and I accidentally made her bleed with those once, so the Dremel it is. They're short enough now (after Nov/Dec regular trims) that we just need a quick back and forth on each nail once a week and she's good to go. But there's lots of consoling her and even more chicken!
DeleteYou did so well, Engie! Don't worry about the books--in the apocalypse, you'll be glad you didn't read them too long ago. (J/K!!). I think the totes are worth decluttering--I have the feeling you'll "feel" so much lighter once they're done. I think the suggestion to do them alongside a book or show is genius.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if this post is giving me inspiration to sit down with the totes this weekend or not. Time will tell!
DeleteI have the same thing with not reading books I own! I get drawn to so much at the library, and then I'm on deadline. I like your idea of just donating them if you haven't read them in a year - I may do the same. I don't like things hanging over my head like a to-do list.
ReplyDeleteRight? I will give it my best shot this year. Right now, my reading plan for a month is: non-fiction, top fantasy book, something I own BEFORE I tackle anything else. Let's see if I stick to this rotation.
DeleteWhat great goals - sometimes, I think the try (or even the original intent) is the win vs. the fully completing ;) but that might be a reaction to the state of my goals haha! For tote bags, one year I used totes as wrapping paper and got rid of SO MANY. Now I just live in fear of someone (or everyone) doing it back to me....
ReplyDeleteYes! If I try and fail, that tells me a lot about my priorities! That's maybe more useful than the doing.
DeleteYou are one of my all-time heroes for making and tracking and fulfilling your goals. I am bad with spreadsheets, but if I don't keep track I will not only not fulfill my goals, I will forget I had any.
ReplyDeleteMy book bingo group usually gets me to read a few books I already own, but NOT ENOUGH.
The truth is that I don't actually have a ton of books! I should just read the ones I own. Why don't I?!
DeleteThis is comprehensive and really very interesting, I fall down with tracking but I'd say overall that's a lot of goals and you achieved many of them. When you factor in "real life" (aka the stuff that keeps us from reading or doing) I think you were magnificent!
ReplyDeleteMagnificent! I'm taking the compliment around with me all day. Thank you for this perspective.
DeleteYou did so well. Although house projects don't seem to be high on your priority list. LOL (Well, at least you have a list - I really should write out more specific goals for this year.)
ReplyDeleteThe house goals are obviously not a real thing for me! Ha. If you get stuff done without writing out goals, you don't need to. I just probably won't do anything except the reading goals if I don't hold myself accountable on this blog!
DeleteYou exercises 303 times!!! Who cares about a few cluttered totes when you have that to boast about?! WAY TO GO. Although I do wish I could take a trip to your house specifically to declutter your totes. It's one of my favorite things. But it can be a PROJECT and I understand not being motivated to get it done.
ReplyDeleteThere are two people in the world. The people who will never declutter the totes and the people who want to come to my house to declutter them. Well, Stephany, if you ever find yourself in southeastern Wisconsin, you are welcome to come declutter them! I'll feed you, let you play with my cat and dog, and show you the cow statues. But only after those totes get decluttered!
DeleteI love the goals you set and I think you did so well.
ReplyDeleteWould you share that list of female fantasy authors with me. I know I had a apeak already but unfortunately didn't save it anywhere.
Your exercise habits are something I nee to copy. I am not starting out very well. I blame it on Covid for now but I hope I can motivate myself after.
The list of top books by women authors is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/n713om/rfantasys_top_books_by_women_2021_results/
DeleteMan, I really fall off the exercise wagon when I'm sick. It's the worst and it's hard to get back to it.