Thursday, October 1, 2015

September goals recap - how did I do?

Oh, September. You were quite a challenge. :-) We fired our nanny, scrambled to find another one, M was in Dubai for 9 days, I was in London for a week. . . it wasn't exactly a banner month for "getting things done". That said, I made the decision to embark on my "40 week project" (aka, quit my job at the end of the school year), which is easily the biggest decision I've made, career-wise. . . ever!

Here's how I did (or, rather, didn't, in some cases :-)) do on my goals!

Fitness:
    1. Complete 1000 minutes of cardio - oh my, oh my. I almost ended the month in the 300s. This was a VERY difficult month for me to get in workouts, as I was leaving early quite a bit to cover for our lack of nanny, then leaving early to train up a new nanny, then traveling. But, I pulled it together & ended the month with 525 minutes. Not great, but a huge improvement over where I thought I might be. 
    2. Complete 10 strength workouts - yes, managed to get in 11 workouts! I find that keeping my hand weights out & visible makes all of the difference. I need to start adding in some squats as well. Making it part of my daily routine is the secret.
    3. Complete 4 stretching workouts - Nope. One stretching workout.
    4. Lose 3 pound - I wish. I gained two pounds, so that's 5 pounds from where I wanted to be! :-( 
Finances:
    1. Stick to our budget -not quite. We actually did pretty well on most categories, but a few things put a wrench in our plans. 1) I paid our old nanny a full week's worth to go away & never come back, as I didn't give her notice. 2) We had a day without school & I paid the new nanny to stay with the kids. 3) Our new nanny charges $2 more/hour, which adds up. All told, we were over by $275. We did great on all categories outside of childcare, including groceries!!! :-) Huge win there.
    2. Finish our 2016 budget planning - Still working on this, especially with my new "40 week" project. 
    3. Determine what to do with stock vest money - I have this answered! Save for when I leave my job. 
Planning:
  1. Book all activities for Hawaii - Done!!!! 
  2. Continue thinking of mid/long term plans for Seattle house & our location - we'll continue this conversation, but focused right now on the end of the summer timing with my job.
  3. Build several options for me to consider taking time off/going part time - Yes! We're actively exploring this. 
  4. Work on 2016 family calendar & vacations - I have a calendar started, but I'm a long way away from a full picture of 2016.
Work/Life/Balance:

  1. Take a work life balance class (funded through my employer) - done! And, signed up for a deeper version of this class in January.
  2. Continue to accept no more than one late night's worth of meetings/week - Yes :-) 
  3. Shorten all planned work travel - Yes, was able to shorten my London trip
  4. Find creative options to have my more senior staff cover additional travel - eh. I managed to have someone else cover India, Taipei & Tokyo/Seoul. I'm still on the hook for 1-2 trips to China + Brazil. 
  5. Eat lunch away from my desk 3x/week or more - I don't think I've been perfect at this, but *much* better. Probably a 75% success rate.
  6. Book my workouts on my calendar, & *stick with them*!! - Not for the first three weeks, but I managed three workouts this week so far!
Fun:
  1. Get together for a minimum of one social event with a friend - Yes! I went to a hike/brunch & had a great time.
  2. Sign up to volunteer at the boys school. - Yes!

So, a bunch of mid-progress items, a few wins, and a few losses. Not too bad, considering the month I've had. I'll take it!  How about you? How have you done with your goals over the last month? And, happy October! Go set yourself some new, fantastic goals!

4 comments:

  1. All things considered - you did great! A little more cardio might have lessened the stress, but I would be the pot calling the kettle black if I bashed you for it. I need to get in more cardio myself.

    I cannot even begin to express how THRILLED I am that you are working on a way to cut back on your work. Since your diagnosis, every time I read your blog, I think about the stress your work causes your body.

    Keep up the good work - and schedule some relaxing in there as well - a long bath, slow yoga?

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    1. What's sad is that I totally agree - as soon as I make time for cardio, my stress level automatically goes down & I feel *so* much better! Making the time for it is another challenge altogether. :-)

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  2. Every little goal achieved is a milestone. Don't fret the yellow. I am envious of the hike and brunch with a friend. I love friends hikes, and brunch-that sounds wonderful.

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    1. It was a huge win, because I bid on the hike/brunch at an auction for the kids school. Some of the moms made/donated all of the food & planned everything, and then we bid on the experience. It was super fun & the food was absolutely amazing. Will definitely bid on the same one next year!

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