September's goals for a balanced life will be more or less the same as August; but I have added a sub-category, "Retirement Planning", under Time Management, to make sure that all paperwork, etc., will be handled in a timely manner. I will be on vacation this month, too!
Spiritual (8): The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life.
- Continue with daily prayers and gratitude; focus on being positive
- Take time for meditation - Resume going to Friday night meditation sessions at the temple, at least twice
- Cultivate non-attachment - focus on letting go of attachment to material possessions
- Attend the monthly rosary prayer gathering (scheduled for 9/15)
House (8): The goal is a clean, tidy, uncluttered house:
- Focus on decluttering and maintaining cleaned areas
- Get 20 bags of donations out of the house by the end of the month
- Call for pick up
- Organize my closet - My closet has one long hanging pole and an overhead shelf. The shelf contains my daughter's stuff, because I have appropriated the shelf in her closet for the altar (long story short - it used to be my mother's room before and she set up the altar on that shelf and I am unwilling to take it down). I want to go through the clothes and sort out the stuff I store on the closet floor!
Garden (7):
- Get 20 bags of donations out of the house by the end of the month
- Call for pick up
- Organize my closet - My closet has one long hanging pole and an overhead shelf. The shelf contains my daughter's stuff, because I have appropriated the shelf in her closet for the altar (long story short - it used to be my mother's room before and she set up the altar on that shelf and I am unwilling to take it down). I want to go through the clothes and sort out the stuff I store on the closet floor!
Garden (7):
- Maintain (water 2x per week; weed; prune pine tree)
- Flea spray at least one more time, preferably twice
Daughter (10): The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her (without being over-protective!)
- Daily texts, phone calls, emails, and video chatting
There are no visits planned for this month.
Family & Friends (10): The goal is to keep in touch with various family members and friends.
- Visit aunt T
- Regular phone calls and emails
- Will be seeing several members of the family and friends at this month's prayer gathering
- Weekly calls with neighbor T/visit her one day
Community (9): The goal is to become more involved in my community.
- Continue to participate in the blogging community
- Participate in the temple community/attend weekly meditation sessions at least twice
- Participate in the library weekly knitting group - attend at least twice
Finances (9): The goal is financial security.
- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose
Health & Well Being (7): The goal is good health.
- Attend the appointments with my various medical doctors
- 9/12 for endoscopy & colonoscopy results
- Call and make appointment for new referral to eye doctor
- Call and make dental appointments!
- Work harder at those life style changes!
Time Management (6): The goal is having enough time to do all what I want to do!
- Retirement Planning - attend to the paperwork in a timely manner!
- Implement routines and schedules (why do I find this so hard to do?)
Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time (10): The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.
- Set aside 1 hour a day to do something relaxing (read/knit/play the piano/take naps/craft, etc.)
So, those are my goals for a more balanced life, in September and how I plan to implement those goals.
Are you thinking of making similar goals for a more balanced life between work and play, between time for yourself and others, between housework and leisure, etc.?
- Flea spray at least one more time, preferably twice
Daughter (10): The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her (without being over-protective!)
- Daily texts, phone calls, emails, and video chatting
There are no visits planned for this month.
Family & Friends (10): The goal is to keep in touch with various family members and friends.
- Visit aunt T
- Regular phone calls and emails
- Will be seeing several members of the family and friends at this month's prayer gathering
- Weekly calls with neighbor T/visit her one day
Community (9): The goal is to become more involved in my community.
- Continue to participate in the blogging community
- Participate in the temple community/attend weekly meditation sessions at least twice
- Participate in the library weekly knitting group - attend at least twice
Finances (9): The goal is financial security.
- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose
Health & Well Being (7): The goal is good health.
- Attend the appointments with my various medical doctors
- 9/12 for endoscopy & colonoscopy results
- Call and make appointment for new referral to eye doctor
- Call and make dental appointments!
- Work harder at those life style changes!
Time Management (6): The goal is having enough time to do all what I want to do!
- Retirement Planning - attend to the paperwork in a timely manner!
- Implement routines and schedules (why do I find this so hard to do?)
Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time (10): The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.
- Set aside 1 hour a day to do something relaxing (read/knit/play the piano/take naps/craft, etc.)
So, those are my goals for a more balanced life, in September and how I plan to implement those goals.
Are you thinking of making similar goals for a more balanced life between work and play, between time for yourself and others, between housework and leisure, etc.?
I'm impressed by your self discipline. Reading August goals - ones achieved and ones still being worked on - was interesting. I admire your honesty. Confession: on my birthday I started filling in a journal which was supposed to help with goals and reflections. I was Very Diligent for 4 months, filling it in every Sunday afternoon. But I took it on holiday in August and left it behind. I won't be able to fill it in again till mid October. Perhaps I should find a temporary notebook...
ReplyDeleteThank you, Angela. I have to be honest with myself and acknowledge that there are goals that are yet to be met, although I do try to put a positive spin on things, because I've been told (by my daughter) that I should focus on what I was able to do and not on what I wasn't able to do! I've also learned to scale back on expectations, to try and keep things more real, but, that's what the month-end reviews are meant to do.
DeleteA temporary notebook is a good idea. It will enable you to continue with the weekly goal setting and reflections. Hope your week ahead is a good one.
Since you asked, my present goal in life is to get through one day into the next. I have NO specific long-term goals. This past week I renewed my mortgage for two years (it had come up for renewal), and I will use that time to determine what I want in life. I need to make a decision on my own. In the meantime, I will work towards giving up this house by getting rid of things and maintaining the property to the best of my ability.
ReplyDeleteI always admire your monthly schedule of goal setting and how you are accountable.
Sometimes, all we can do is get through one day at a time. After all, that's what we do get, isn't it? Just one day - today. We can hope for tomorrow, but we are not guaranteed that we shall get tomorrow. At meditation class, we are instructed to be fully aware and mindfully present moment, because the present moment is what we have. One shouldn't dwell in the past or dream about the future, but live fully in the present. I find that hard to do because, quite often, I like to look back on the past and, while fully aware that I don't know how long I might live, I do like to plan for at least the near future! Like the rest of this year, for example! :D I'm already planning ahead to the October prayer gathering I hope to host and the December almsgiving I hope to hold! Provided my health allows. There is, always, that caveat! Beyond that, I don't allow myself to plan too much!
DeleteTwo years is a good time frame. Much can be achieved in two years. I am glad you have given yourself this period of time in which to decide and prepare. You might come to a decision before the two years, of course, but it gives you adequate time in which to prepare. It might be hard to manage, but I think you'll do OK. (((HUGS)))
Um, that should be "mindfully present in the moment"!
Delete