November Balanced Life Goals - Review

November is over and December has begun!  It is time to review my November balanced life goals and focus on December's goals. As I have mentioned earlier, the goal is to achieve a better sense of balance in my life, to attend to each of the areas I've identified as being important to me, so that no one area is being neglected.

These were my November goals:

Spiritual:  The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life.

- Continue with daily prayers and gratitude, especially during this month of Thanksgiving -  

On going; daily prayers are part of my routine and I have had many things for which to be grateful throughout the month

- Continue to focus on blessings, joy, and abundance - On going; I was able to do many of the joyful activities I had listed for the Fall season. 

- Take time for meditation - I've been taking a few minutes every morning and evening to meditate, as part of my daily devotions.

- Cultivate non-attachment - Have been trying; sometimes, it is hard to let go of certain things and emotions

- Attend the monthly prayer gathering (being held at my late friend's home, by her daughter, to commemorate the 1st anniversary of her death) - Attended the memorial mass.

- Call the monks at the temple to reserve a date in December for the almsgivings - Called and the almsgiving is scheduled for Sunday, December 17.

Environment:  The goal is a clean, tidy, uncluttered house and a well-maintained garden.

House:

- Continue to tidy and clean the house - maintain the rooms already done and concentrate on the bedrooms - Work in progress!  The living room and dining area are being maintained.  The family room looks "lived in"!  Things like books, mail, containers, etc. have a way of sprouting like mushrooms on my tables and counters!  .

Garden:
- Attend to the eucalyptus tree - get an arborist's opinion; trim or cut down the tree -  Didn't do!
- Plant some new plants in the front garden for a little fall color -  Placed some potted plants (geraniums) near the front door 

Daughter:  The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her. 

- Daily texts, phone calls, emails , and video chatting - Have been chatting with her every day.
- Enjoy her next trip home (2 visits planned for November!) - Enjoyed both visits.  Went out to lunch and did some shopping, both times; spent some time just talking and relaxing together. Daughter also spent some time visiting with her friends. 

Family & Friends:  The goal is to keep in touch with various family members and friends.

- A visit from aunt and cousin - Aunt and cousin visited me for my birthday, the weekend before my birthday, and we had dinner, together.  They gave me a gift of a new handbag.

- Phone calls from family and friends - There were several phone calls from various family members and friends throughout the month, especially for my birthday and at Thanksgiving, including a couple of overseas calls from cousins in Sri Lanka and Australia.  

- Video chatting with a friend - Enjoyed video chatting with one of my good friends. 

- Will be seeing several members of the family and friends at the monthly prayer gathering - I met with several family members and friends at both the prayer gathering and at the funeral of a family friend.   

- Celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends - Daughter and I had been invited to two Thanksgiving dinners!  One at a friend's home (it was the first Thanksgiving in her new home) and one at an aunt's house.  We went to both!   

- Maybe go out to lunch with sister - Didn't go out to lunch with sister, but did see her at our friend's funeral.

Career:  The goal is to continue to do work which I enjoy (for the most part) and which enables me to support myself.

- Continue to do my assignments on time - On-going.  I am getting used to my new supervisor's ways of doing things and, so far, things have been going OK.

- Work from the office each work day this month - Was able to work from office each work day, except on the days I took vacation time off.  This is the first time since I started my treatments that I've worked from the office, all month.  No wonder I've been so tired! 

Finances:  The goal is financial security.

- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose - Might buy two more appliances this month (washer and dryer); it has been budgeted for and money set aside - On-going.  I didn't buy the washer and dryer, however (might do so in December). 

- Meet with financial planner - Had a good meeting with the FP.  All those years of budgeting and being mindful of my spending are paying off.

Health & Well Being:  The goal is good health.  This will continue to be the focus, this month, as well.

- Attend the appointments with my various medical doctors - 2 scheduled in November - Attended the doctors' appointments.  I am continuing to recover and so far, all the test results seem to be good with everything being within the normal ranges. 

- Continue to go for additional screening tests, as needed - One scheduled - Did so; the test results were all good.

- Continue to monitor blood pressure, sugar levels, and weight - On-going;  all the readings have been good, so far, although I have gained a little more weight. 

- Continue to focus on a healthier diet (more vegetables!), drinking enough water, exercising regularly, and getting sufficient sleep - Work in progress!

Time Management:  The goal is having enough time to do all what I want to do!

- Organize myself so that the important things get accomplished on time - Another work in progress!

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time:  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.
- Finish the two quilts in progress - I didn't quite finish them, although one quilt is being used already!  I bought a new sewing machine to replace my broken machine, so I'll consider that as making progress towards finishing the other one! 
- Do a few more things on the Fall Joy List -  I did a few more things on my list and did a more complete review of it here.  I am content with what I was able to do.  I didn't want the Joy list to be yet another To Do list, so I am not going to fret over the fact that I didn't get to doing every activity I had listed. 

Those were my goals for November. I didn't achieve all my goals but I made good progress on most of them and I am content.  Did you make any monthly goals for November?  If so, how did you do?  Are you happy with what you were able to achieve?