October Balanced Life Goals Review

Spiritual:
- Continue with daily prayers and gratitude; host the October monthly prayer gathering; focus on joy - I hosted the October monthly prayer gathering and continued with the daily prayers and gratitude; I had made an Autumn Joy List in September and I incorporated items from that list in October, to focus on joy. 
 

Environment:
- Clean and tidy the house in preparation for the prayer gathering.  Focus on the family room and 3d bedroom.  Clean and put away things afterwards!
- Continue to work on establishing the cleaning routine! 

- Tidied and cleaned the house for the prayer gathering and have maintained it in the two weeks since.  I still have a couple of rooms requiring more attention, but hope to do that in November.

- Decorate for Fall - Decorated for Halloween

- Get donations ready for pick up in mid-October - Done; 21 bags of donations were picked up.

Daughter: 
- She will be coming down to help me with the prayer gathering.  Looking forward to having her home again.  In the meantime, we'll keep in touch by phone and computer - Daughter came down to help with the prayer gathering and it was lovely to have her home for the weekend. 

Family:
- I'll see some of the family members at the prayer gathering (one cousin has already informed me she won't be able to attend).  Another cousin has offered to accompany me to my medical appointment this month - several family members attended the prayer gathering and they contribute to the meal, as well.  The cousin who offered to go with me to the medical appointment couldn't make it, but she visited me, later in the month.
- Visit my mother's grave (her birthday, this month; reason why I host the prayer gathering in October) - done.
- Maybe go out to lunch with my half-sister - couldn't manage it, but spoke with her on the phone.
- Maybe go out to dinner with one aunt and cousin - went out to dinner with aunt and three of my cousins, the husband of one cousin and their daughter! 
- Invite another aunt and cousin to dinner another night - they came over to dinner this past weekend.        
Friends:
- I'll be seeing some of my friends at the prayer gathering.  One friend offered to come and help me with the preparations.  Will also try to out out to dinner with her - Saw several friends at the prayer gathering and a couple of them helped a lot with the preparations.  Saw some other friends at a funeral of a mutual friend's mother.  I couldn't manage to go out to dinner with the one friend, but  I did have brunch a couple of times with another friend.
 
Career:
- Continue to work from home for the first half of the month; make plans to go back to the office later in the month.  I might need to ease back into going to the office for the first week or two - I worked from home the entire month because my doctor didn't want me to return to the office until January.

Finances:
- Continue doing what I have been doing - budgeting and spending mindfully - Did well; came under budget for grocery shopping. 

Health:
- Continue to focus on health:  I need to go for a blood test, next week, on Thursday.  I've an appointment with the oncologist on Friday, October 7.  I need to call and schedule an appointment with my primary care doctor, as well.  I need to continue to focus on a healthier diet, exercising regularly, and getting sufficient sleep - Doing OK for the most part.  Did the blood test and met with the oncologist; blood test results were fine and made a follow-up appointment for December.

 

Saw my primary care physician on October 12 and received my flu vaccinations.  She gave me a note for work, saying I may not return to the office until January.  I also required a new prescription for a medication I've been on for some time (the old prescription had expired) which the doctor is supposed to have sent electronically to the pharmacy but seems to have gone astray!  Several phone calls later, I am still waiting for it to be filled!

 

Another prescription, for a different medication, was denied by insurance, saying I've exceeded my plan limit for that particular medication.  I need to go back to the doctor for a different prescription, but I have chosen to wait until I get the other prescription resolved.

 

Time Management:
- Focus on establishing a work schedule and routines, especially as I return to the office.  I have a fairly long work day when I go to the office, leaving at 7:00 a.m. and not returning until 6:30 p.m., sometimes later, depending on traffic.  I generally don't feel like doing much once I come home.  Housework, grocery shopping, etc., all tend to get pushed aside until the weekend.  I really need to get myself organized and back on a schedule before I go back to the office - I've not been too concerned about this since the doctor told me not to go back to the office, yet! 

 Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time: 
- Read at least one fiction and one non-fiction book; resume sewing the two quilts I have in progress; resume crocheting the rag rug; listen to music; play the piano - Well, I read a fiction book, but not the non-fiction one; I did read a lot of blogs, though - that counts, too, doesn't it?  :)  I listened to music and played the piano a couple of times, but didn't resume sewing or crocheting.  Instead, I renewed a Halloween wreath and made a card.

That is the review of my goals for a more balanced life in October.  I think I did well on most areas.  Hope to continue to do well in November, too.  

 

Did you make October goals?  If so, how did you do?