Tuesday, February 8, 2022

January goals recap - how did I do?

I'm a bit behind this month, but better late than never! It was a busy month with lots of commitments for work & with the kids, so I was clearly overly ambitious with my goals. 

Financial:

  • Research work financial planning benefits - no, roll to next month 
  • Review & revise categories & 2022 budget - yes, done
  • Determine 2022 travel plans & budget - yes, done
  • Research a Donor Advised Fund for charitable contributions - very light research, follow up with accountant
  • Stick to the budget/experiment with new template & tweak as needed - yes, & I really like the new template. Someone left a comment asking which budget template we use. I've built my own in Excel, and use that. I'd previously had a monthly budget, and a separate yearly budget. It was meant to give us more visibility into how we were trending on monthly stuff, so we could make adjustments. In reality, we rarely used the  monthly info & simply checked in quarterly across all categories. Merging the budgets together has really streamlined the work for me. 
Family:
  • Plan one fun activity with the kids - we went skiing on a long weekend
  • Re-institute family electronic rules - yes
  • Get into a good homework system with the kids - it was a struggle at the beginning of the month, but we're getting there
  • Have two dates with M - we went to a wine tasting, & also had a margarita on a sunny afternoon when the boys were both out of the house. 
  • Call or videos for M's family - M called weekly, but I fell off of my part of sending photos
Fitness:
  • Stretch every day - I did great at the beginning of the month, & this sort of fell by the wayside. I stretched 20 days. 
  • Lose 2 lbs - I lost 3 lbs (mostly carryover Christmas weight, so hopefully the rest of my losses are actually from the weight I'm trying to lose, vs yoyo'ing)
  • Track calories - Yes, I tracked daily 
  • Close my fitness rings every day - yes!
  • Meditate & fast 20 times - I meditated 13 times, and fasted 9 times. I'm working out a lot, so finding the fasting harder. I'll keep experimenting to see what works best. 
  • Make an appointment with the dermatologist - Yes
Personal/creative:
  • Do something social with friends - met friends 2x for hikes
  • Invest time in volunteer roles - yes, I've kept this up
  • Read an article on happiness & the relationship between helping others - no, roll to next month
  • Complete one exploratory exercise on my next phase (post current career) - I started a book, but really didn't enjoy it, and didn't finish it. 
  • Research coaching class - I considered a class via work, but opted not to do it right now, as my schedule is really busy
  • Journal 10x - I journaled 7 times. 

So there you have it! Progress, not perfection. Some good steps in January, but still plenty of room for improvement & progress in February. What about you? How did you do with your January goals? 





8 comments:

  1. I have a chart I made for my 100 long walks. I placed it on the wall above my computer, my daughter saw it and crossed out walks and put farts. This is the respect I get from my children. She said I should be able to complete the chart in a week.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great job!!! My goal was to stay well and part time employed. So far so good…. Lol. Cindy in the South

    ReplyDelete
  3. Remind me of your fasting? Three pounds is terrific and sets you up as the months go by, though that may not be your goal. It's hard to get back into rhythm with kids.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I typically go from after dinner the evening before (and, depending on schedule, that's usually around 6:30), to 11 am or so the next day. I try to make it to noon, but often my lunch break is at various hours, due to meeting schedules.

      Delete
  4. Progress of any kind is great. Congratulations on the weight loss.

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. I feel like I'm getting into a good rhythm with it. The beginning is always the hardest!

      Delete