Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Sabbatical Home Stretch + April Goals Recap

I'm in the last few weeks before my sabbatical begins, and things have gotten really busy as I try to wrap up all of my responsibilities before I head out. As such, my work schedule has been really nuts. Additionally, my parents were in town for a week, and we've had two reorgs at work this month. So, fewer goal wins than I'd hoped for.

Here's how I did for April:

1) Financial:
  • Stick to the budget - we were about $580 over. We were over on dining out (my parents were in town, so we ordered takeout one night) & we bought wine in Napa (alcohol budget). We were also over on gas, as we drove to Napa, and left our larger (not particularly fuel efficient car) for my parents to drive during the week. They drove the kids to a couple of out of town soccer games, which drove up the gas spending. 
  • Come up with a new way to reduce what we need/spend on an ongoing basis. - I didn't really have any great ideas this month. More to come, as I give this additional thought in May!
  • Make $300 in side hustle money - Nope, I didn't make any. I did list a few things on my local Facebook swap, but nothing sold. I wasn't actively managing any of the listings, which probably didn't help. 

2) Family - Spend more time together as a family!
  • One fun activity with the kids - we all spent a bunch of time together at a soccer tournament last weekend. While I would have preferred another activity, this was what came up in April!
  • Off the computer by 7:45 each night - I've been reading a lot more, so I've done okay with this. Still days where I'm on the computer, & can do better. 
  • Have two dates with M - even better, we had a weekend together in Napa!
  • Continue meal prepping, so each meal can serve at least three of us. - yes, and it's saved so much time & stress!

3) Fitness/health - lose 2 lbs
  • Run 12 times, while getting rid of knee/ankle pain - I had 8 runs. Short of my goal for sure, & I'm feeling it. The boys had 8 soccer games last weekend, which impacted my long run. I've also just been taking it easy with my knee & ankle, and the stress at work has meant that I have both been in a time crunch, & just not feeling super motivated. 
  • Track calories (1400/day) + 5 servings of fruit & veggies/day - I was at 1527 calories/day (Napa was really the only time I was significantly over my goal) & 6.4 on the fruit & veggies/day average. 
  • Work out 33 times - I achieved 27 out of 30 days. My goal was to get in a few bonus workouts as well, but the 27 was close to every day. Just shy of the mark. I'm hoping to get in some of my "makeup" workouts over my sabbatical. 
  • Meditate 10 times - I only meditated 2x this month, & I can tell the difference! I need to make it part of my daily routine again.
4) Work/Career - improve work life balance
  • Keep better perspective at work & focus on making it to my sabbatical. - eh, I did okay with this. There have been so many changes that, at this point, my only goal is to focus on wrapping up projects & not stress. 
  • Work from home 2x - I worked from home 1x, but was also out on a Friday & had a bunch of meetings the other days.
  • Have one lunch/month to expand my network - I had one networking lunch, & also attended a 3 day training (lunch, dinner, etc) that was really useful on leadership development. 
5) Personal/creative
  • Do something social at least once/month - I spent a LOT of time with friends at soccer games. ;-) 
  • Volunteer once/month - nothing in April, but I have two opportunities for May. 
  • Journal 15 times - I journaled 9/15 times. I really enjoy it, so will continue journaling. 
  • Finish one non-fiction book - I did finish a non-fiction book, and started another! (I read lots of non-fiction, so my goal is to branch out a bit with non-fiction). 
  • Figure out what to do with an ugly/unused space in our yard - on hold until my sabbatical
  • Finish planning my sabbatical! - Done. All travel is booked & planned.

That's it for my April goals. What about you? How did you do on your goals for the month? Any wins or things you'll carry over to May?

2 comments:

  1. I know you are going to be so happy when the sabbatical begins. Just wade through everything else until then!

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  2. Well I would call it a good month for you. It is hard when you are so busy with kids and work. But I think you did great!

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