My overall satisfaction rates in the different areas of my life have been going up, but some areas are experiencing some fluctuations, as I try to find a good balance between them. One or two things I've tried lately haven't worked out as hoped, so I need to rethink things in those areas. One goal, Time Management, has been reworded, slightly, to make the goal more in keeping with what I am trying to achieve.
My November goals for a more balanced life are:
Spiritual (9): 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, this month
- Attend a special blessing ceremony at the temple, the 2nd weekend in November
- Cultivate non-attachment - focus on letting go of attachment to material possessions - declutter "63 + 1" items this month
- Attend the monthly rosary prayer gathering, if possible
House (9): The goal is a clean, tidy, uncluttered house:
- Focus on decluttering, deep cleaning, and maintaining cleaned areas
- Declutter "63 +1" items
- Continue to sort out the 3rd bedroom, a.k.a. The Dump!
Garden (8):
- Declutter "63 +1" items
- Continue to sort out the 3rd bedroom, a.k.a. The Dump!
Garden (8):
- Maintain (water 2x per week; weed)
- Prune pine tree
- Tidy the front flower bed (along the walk way to the front door)
- Plant more fall flowering plants to fill in empty spots
- Paint the front security door - buy paint
Daughter (10): The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her
- Daily texts, phone calls, emails, and video chatting
- Enjoy her planned visit home for Thanksgiving
Family & Friends (10): The goal is to keep in touch with various family members and friends.
- Regular phone calls and emails
- Call aunt and cousins in Texas
- Will be seeing several members of the family and friends at this month's prayer gathering
- Weekly calls with neighbor T
- Visit neighbor T
- Visit neighbor S
- Visit cousin V
- Go out to lunch with friend R
- Go out to lunch with sister?
- Celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends
- Attend 90th birthday celebration of one "aunt" (family friend)
Community (7): The goal is to become more involved in my community.
- Continue to participate in the blogging community
- Participate in the temple community
- attend the special blessing ceremony scheduled for this month
- attend the weekly meditation sessions at least twice
- Maybe attend the library knitting group on a monthly basis?
- Visit my neighbors
Finances (9): The goal is financial security.
- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose - I will be living on savings, this month, as I won't receive my first pension check until the end of the month. I don't anticipate it being a hardship, however, as I have planned for this and there are savings in place. I have received an estimate of what my pension will be, but, that was the gross amount, not the net! The net amount is what I've always based my budget on, previously. So, for me, the big unknown is the exact amount of the check I will be receiving, after deductions such as income taxes, insurance, etc. For now, I am figuring on receiving 75% of what I was quoted as my estimated pension and assuming that 25% will go for taxes and other deductions. Again, I don't anticipate any problems with this, but it will be nice to know the exact amount and see how close (or far) I was in my calculations. The big expense this month will be the 1st installment of my property taxes and I usually budget for that by setting aside a certain amount towards it, in my monthly budget.
- Keep track of spending
- Review budget and adjust as needed
Health & Well Being (8): The goal is good health.
- Attend the appointments with my various medical doctors
11/16 - Do lab tests
11/19 - Oncologist follow-up appointment
11/29 - Podiatrist appointment
- Continue to work on the following life style changes:
- better diet - eat more vegetables, less carbs, to maintain blood sugar levels, especially now that I've been taken off the medications!
- better hydration - drink 8 x 8oz glasses of water, daily
- better sleep habits - get at least 7 hours of sleep/try to go to sleep before 4:00 a.m.!
- more exercise - walk 30 minutes 5 days/week
- Lose some weight - I'll set myself a goal of 5-10 lbs. for this month.
Time Management (8): The goal is to find a good balance between what I have to do and what I want to do, so that, at the end of the day, I don't wonder where the time went and why I didn't accomplish as much as I wanted to!
- Be mindful of my time and how I spend it
- Plan my days/balance the "leisure" with "productivity"
- Procrastinate less!
Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time (8): The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.
- Continue to work on Works-in-Progress:
- the Mountain Quilt
- the Mile-a-Minute Quilt
- T-shirts for niece's sons
- red hats for heart association
- holiday pillowcases
- Fall Joy List (till the end of the month)
So, those are my goals for a more balanced life in November. Is anyone else planning to try for more balance in your life? Or, are things fairly balanced and if so, would you like to share how you do it? How do you balance work and play? Time for others and time for yourself?
- Prune pine tree
- Tidy the front flower bed (along the walk way to the front door)
- Plant more fall flowering plants to fill in empty spots
Daughter (10): The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her
- Daily texts, phone calls, emails, and video chatting
- Enjoy her planned visit home for Thanksgiving
Family & Friends (10): The goal is to keep in touch with various family members and friends.
- Regular phone calls and emails
- Call aunt and cousins in Texas
- Will be seeing several members of the family and friends at this month's prayer gathering
- Weekly calls with neighbor T
- Visit neighbor T
- Visit neighbor S
- Visit cousin V
- Go out to lunch with friend R
- Go out to lunch with sister?
- Celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends
- Attend 90th birthday celebration of one "aunt" (family friend)
Community (7): The goal is to become more involved in my community.
- Continue to participate in the blogging community
- Participate in the temple community
- attend the special blessing ceremony scheduled for this month
- attend the weekly meditation sessions at least twice
- Maybe attend the library knitting group on a monthly basis?
- Visit my neighbors
Finances (9): The goal is financial security.
- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose - I will be living on savings, this month, as I won't receive my first pension check until the end of the month. I don't anticipate it being a hardship, however, as I have planned for this and there are savings in place. I have received an estimate of what my pension will be, but, that was the gross amount, not the net! The net amount is what I've always based my budget on, previously. So, for me, the big unknown is the exact amount of the check I will be receiving, after deductions such as income taxes, insurance, etc. For now, I am figuring on receiving 75% of what I was quoted as my estimated pension and assuming that 25% will go for taxes and other deductions. Again, I don't anticipate any problems with this, but it will be nice to know the exact amount and see how close (or far) I was in my calculations. The big expense this month will be the 1st installment of my property taxes and I usually budget for that by setting aside a certain amount towards it, in my monthly budget.
- Keep track of spending
- Review budget and adjust as needed
Health & Well Being (8): The goal is good health.
- Attend the appointments with my various medical doctors
11/16 - Do lab tests
11/19 - Oncologist follow-up appointment
11/29 - Podiatrist appointment
- Continue to work on the following life style changes:
- better diet - eat more vegetables, less carbs, to maintain blood sugar levels, especially now that I've been taken off the medications!
- better hydration - drink 8 x 8oz glasses of water, daily
- better sleep habits - get at least 7 hours of sleep/try to go to sleep before 4:00 a.m.!
- more exercise - walk 30 minutes 5 days/week
- Lose some weight - I'll set myself a goal of 5-10 lbs. for this month.
Time Management (8): The goal is to find a good balance between what I have to do and what I want to do, so that, at the end of the day, I don't wonder where the time went and why I didn't accomplish as much as I wanted to!
- Be mindful of my time and how I spend it
- Plan my days/balance the "leisure" with "productivity"
- Procrastinate less!
Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time (8): The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.
- Continue to work on Works-in-Progress:
- the Mountain Quilt
- the Mile-a-Minute Quilt
- T-shirts for niece's sons
- red hats for heart association
- holiday pillowcases
- Fall Joy List (till the end of the month)
So, those are my goals for a more balanced life in November. Is anyone else planning to try for more balance in your life? Or, are things fairly balanced and if so, would you like to share how you do it? How do you balance work and play? Time for others and time for yourself?
Good luck with new monthly goals, Bless!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nil. :)
ReplyDeleteSnap! My birthday is in November ... on the 26th. Good luck with your goals for this month. I'll be writing my update later today.
ReplyDeleteOh, wow! Mine's on the 11th! :) Thank you, I hope to do well on most of my goals, this month. I'm looking forward to seeing how you did with yours. :)
DeleteI really don't do a lot of planning, so I guess my days are mostly filled with work that I feel like doing, or that I feel NEEDS doing. Every once in a while I will "drop out" and not get anything done. I just take that as a sign that I am tired and need a break. In those cases, I don't even feel like going out of the house or meeting up with friends. I am comfortable with my own company, but I believe I get out with friends as well.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly accomplish a lot, each day, so not doing a lot of planning seems to work out for you. I am good at planning, but not always on carrying out the plans! LOL! I think you do quite well with getting together with friends, celebrating birthdays, and so forth. And you spend time with your family, too. As long as you are content, that is the most important thing. :)
Delete