March Goals Recap

Even though there were a few crazy work weeks in there, March was generally a really good month for me. I needed that positive momentum after February!

1) Financial:

• Stick to the budget - sadly, no. We had an extra weekend in there, and had a few date nights that pushed out our eating out budget + groceries. 
• Every month come up with a new way to reduce what we need/spend on an ongoing basis - we signed up for a toll service that came with a $5 discount, & is up to 20% off for every toll. Not very exciting, but an easy win now that we are signed up. 
• Make $300 in sidehustle - I made $371!
• Finish/file our taxes - the numbers weren't pretty, but this is done!

2) Family - spend more time together as a family

• Do one fun activity/month with the kids. Likely skiing in March - no skiing in March, but a LOT of soccer. I'm counting this, as we spent a lot of time together on the fields. 
• Get off the computer by 7:45 each evening - I did okay at this, but can always do better. It's such a waste of time, & I don't get much out of it - it's just a habit of scrolling screens. Reading is relaxing & I did a reasonable job of swapping in reading instead of computer time. 
• Have two dates with M per month - Yes! 
• Have two meals/week that a minimum of three people in the family can eat. (Lots of food allergy issues going on) - This worked really well & made dinners so much easier. I meal prepped & planned for things that M could eat, so Sam, M & I would typically eat the same dinners. Nick is always an outlier, as he's so picky. :-) 

3) Fitness - lose 2 lbs - I lost 2.1 lbs, but could have lost more if I'd been able to stick to the plan the last week or so!

• Run 12 times - I ran 10/12 times, but took last week off due to some knee/ankle pain. 
• Track calories & eat five servings of fruit & vegetables/day - my calories were a little higher than I'd hoped (1516/day), but I achieved 5.5 servings of fruit & veggies/day! My next step is to make vs buying bagged salad, which has been my crutch this month. 
• Work out 33 times (2 additional/bonus workouts to make up for February) - I hit 28 for March, given taking last week off due to knee/ankle pain. 
• Meditate 10 times - I only meditated 3 times, & I could have really used the tool during the past few wild weeks at work. 

4) Work/career - improve my work life balance

• Reduce stress until my sabbatical - It's been a challenging few weeks, with my manager swapping roles. I'll have a new boss, we're planning a re-org, and this was already going to be a crazy insane couple of weeks in March. As a result, I did take time to break up the work day, get advice from people & just take a break, but it was intense. 
• Nail a large presentation (I'm not a fan of public speaking) - Didn't end up happening, but I did lead a career panel for 100 people, so I feel good about this. 
• Have one lunch/month to expand my network - I had two, and enjoyed the time breaking out of the norm. 

5) Personal/creative - spend more time on myself/creative pursuits

• Do something social at least once per month - I did a couple of walks during soccer warm ups, plus met a friend for lunch. 

• Volunteer a minimum of 1x/month - I'm now arriving early before soccer games to help set up. 

• Journal 10 times - I found that I enjoy journaling, & completed 12/10 this month. 

• Make a 2018 photo book - no,  & I'll likely move this out to my sabbatical. 

• Read one non-fiction book - I'm half way through "Daring Greatly" by Brenee Brown. It's a great book, but I usually read right before I fall asleep, and this book requires more introspection than a standard read, so it's taking me a little longer. 

How did you do with your March goals for the month? Any big wins to celebrate?