The end of February is here (already?!) and it is time to post a review and update on my goals for a more balanced life, this month:
Spiritual: (10)(10) The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life
- Continue with daily prayers and gratitude; focus on being positive - On-going; daily prayers are a well-integrated part of my life, I've been posting a list of 5 things for which I am grateful, each day, and, I do try to be positive (and at least one reader has commented on it!)
- Take time for meditation - spend 5 minutes meditating at night - On-going; it has been incorporated into my nightly prayer routine.
- Cultivate non-attachment - focus on letting go of attachment to material possessions - declutter 31 items - Didn't do
- Attend the monthly rosary prayer gathering - Accomplished. I attended the prayer gathering and gave a ride to my cousin, as well.
House (8)(9): The goal is a clean, tidy, uncluttered house:
- Keep up with routine maintenance - Ha, ha! What routine? I have no routine! However, the furniture has been dusted, floors have been vacuumed and/or swept (even if not as often as I would have liked), toilets have been scrubbed, my closet, the linen closet, and some kitchen cabinets were cleaned and organized, there are clean sheets on the beds, laundry has been done, dishes have been washed, and the fridge has been cleaned.
- Declutter 31 items - Didn't happen, this month!
- Continue to sort out the 3rd bedroom, a.k.a. The Dump! - On going! I have managed to find some of the floor in the middle of the room!
- Complete 1 or 2 items from the master list of repairs and renovations - Didn't get to the list, HOWEVER, friend M and I put a security system in place! LOL!
I am raising my level of satisfaction with this area of my life because I managed to keep things maintained, even if in fits and starts, and I did some organizing of closets and cabinets.
Garden (7)(7):
- Maintain (water 2x per week; weed) - Mother Nature did that for me! With all the rain we've had this month, I haven't had to water, even once!- Continue to sort out the 3rd bedroom, a.k.a. The Dump! - On going! I have managed to find some of the floor in the middle of the room!
- Complete 1 or 2 items from the master list of repairs and renovations - Didn't get to the list, HOWEVER, friend M and I put a security system in place! LOL!
I am raising my level of satisfaction with this area of my life because I managed to keep things maintained, even if in fits and starts, and I did some organizing of closets and cabinets.
Garden (7)(7):
- Plant the winter vegetable seedlings, when they sprout - Not done, yet! Will do this Friday (3/1)!
- Paint the front security door - buy paint - Not done
Daughter (10)(10): The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her
- Daily texts, phone calls, and video chatting, etc. - Accomplished.
- Look forward to her next visit home (end of February) - She arrived tonight! She will be here till Monday.
- Look forward to her next visit home (end of February) - She arrived tonight! She will be here till Monday.
Family & Friends (10)(10): The goal is to keep in touch with various family members and friends.
- Regular phone calls and emails - Accomplished.
- Attend aunt's funeral (2/2) - I wasn't able to attend the funeral as I was still recovering from my cold and cough and it was inclement weather; I didn't want to risk getting a relapse.
- Will be seeing several members of the family and friends at aunt's funeral and this month's prayer gathering - I was able to see a couple of good friends and several family members at the prayer gathering.
Also, visited one of my aunts, earlier this week and visited my mother's grave earlier in the month.
- Attend aunt's funeral (2/2) - I wasn't able to attend the funeral as I was still recovering from my cold and cough and it was inclement weather; I didn't want to risk getting a relapse.
- Will be seeing several members of the family and friends at aunt's funeral and this month's prayer gathering - I was able to see a couple of good friends and several family members at the prayer gathering.
Also, visited one of my aunts, earlier this week and visited my mother's grave earlier in the month.
Community (7)(7): The goal is to become more involved in my community.
- Continue to participate in the blogging community - On going
- Weekly phone calls with neighbor T - Accomplished
I am keeping this at 7, even though I accomplished what I wanted to do.
I am keeping this at 7, even though I accomplished what I wanted to do.
Finances (10)(10): The goal is financial security.
- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose - On going; also, spoke with my financial planner and discussed a couple of things with her. I am in a good place, financially.
- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose - On going; also, spoke with my financial planner and discussed a couple of things with her. I am in a good place, financially.
Health & Well Being (7)(7): The goal is good health.
- Attend this month's medical appointments - Accomplished. I had only one medical appointment this month
- Continue to work on the following life style changes:
- better diet - eat more vegetables, less carbs - Making progress!
- better hydration - drink 8 x 8oz glasses of water, daily - Work in progress!
- better sleep habits - earlier bed times/get at least 7 hours of sleep - HAH! Especially on the earlier bed times. Well, I have been going to sleep early...early in the morning, that is! Usually around 4:00 a.m.! But, I've been getting between 6 and 7 hours of sleep because, I sleep in till about 10:30 to 11:00 a.m. Sigh. Not the ideal, but, apparently, this is my natural sleep rhythm!
- more exercise - walk 30 minutes 5 days/week - Yet another work in progress, unfortunately.
- Lose 5 lbs. - Accomplished! Yay! I have lost a total of 10 lbs. since January 11.
Keeping the rating at a 7 because there is still much room for improvement in this segment.
- Lose 5 lbs. - Accomplished! Yay! I have lost a total of 10 lbs. since January 11.
Keeping the rating at a 7 because there is still much room for improvement in this segment.
Time Management (6)(6): The goal is to find a good balance between what I have to do and what I want to do.
- Be mindful of my time and how I spend it - I tend to lose track of time when I am on the computer!
- Plan my days/balance the "leisure" with "productivity - Still trying to find a good balance - I feel I spend too much time on leisure than on being productive! Then, I remind myself that I am retired! This is my time for leisure!
- Procrastinate less! - I'm trying!
Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time (8)(8): The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.
- Continue to participate in the winter photo scavenger hunt - On-going
- Finish embroidering the 2 T-shirts - Not done!
- Work on one of my many "works in progress" knitting projects (grey sweater) - Accomplished!
That was my review of my goals for a balanced life in February. It was a good month, on the whole. The House segment improved and everything else remained the same, but, at least nothing went down! I will post my March goals for a more balanced life, tomorrow.
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| Grey Sweater |
That was my review of my goals for a balanced life in February. It was a good month, on the whole. The House segment improved and everything else remained the same, but, at least nothing went down! I will post my March goals for a more balanced life, tomorrow.
Good results on your goals shows that you are settling into retirement nicely. I have other retired friends who have the same kind of sleep schedule that you do--go to bed in the wee hours of the morning and wake up in the middle of the day. Whatever works is good.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Live and Learn. Yes, I am enjoying being retired. I just thought I'd get more stuff done, but it seems that things are getting done at a slower pace than I anticipated, because I am not all that motivated to get them done! Which should be OK, since I am the only one I need to please. But, you know how it is - I write myself a list of things to do each day, and when I don't get them all crossed off, I feel like I wasn't being productive! :)
Delete" I tend to lose track of time when I am on the computer!" You say that like it is a bad thing. I spend an inordinate amount of time on the computer some days. Maybe that's my problem. *laugh*
ReplyDeleteFor instance, yesterday I found a wonderful website that sold sentiments and verses for inside cards, especially birthday cards. I copied several of them to save in a word file and print out for my binder. I won't use these to sell.....just for my own personal use. Some of them I change the wording to suit my recipients' tastes. Anyways, I put all my printed pages in page protectors which I then organised by season or event in a binder. Someday I will clean up the pages somewhat and clean up the duplicates, but for now I can easily find what I am looking for when I produce a card for giving. I completed a goal I have long wanted to do by spending a couple of hours on the computer.
You did very well this past month....and you thought you failed.
You spent your computer time productively, Susan - you printed things out and then, you organized them into a binder. Whereas, I might have printed things out and put in a pile to be dealt with later and the pile will still be sitting there, 6 months later! Which is why I no longer print things! I was going to organize all my medical papers in a binder and they are still in a pile, somewhere!
DeleteBut, yes, February was a good month. I did accomplish some of the things I wanted to do. Sometimes, my expectations tend to be too unreasonable. Things don't just do themselves when I put them down on a list! Someone has to make them happen and that someone is me! If I don't take the time/make the effort to go and buy the paint for the front door, for example, that door is not going to get painted, no matter how many times I list it in my goals! What I need to do is pick one item from the list and work on it till it is done. I am hoping I'll be able to accomplish more in March. :)
It looks like you’ve had another successful month, Bless. Well done ... you’re a really good role model for me 😀
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen. I am trying to be as disciplined as you when it comes to schedules, especially with paperwork, but, I am not there, yet!
DeleteYou accomplished a lot! I am impressed. I did not fare so well, but there is always March!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anne. There was a bit of a push on the last day to get the house tidied, so I could say something positive about that segment, but, I got a few things done. :) There is always March, and, I think, with warmer weather, more hours of sunlight, etc., we become more motivated to do things.
DeleteEnjoy your visit with daughter! Thanks for posting the update. I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't get everything accomplished (except you got a lot more done than I did). I suppose I shouldn't be so hard on myself. It helps to see someone else posting their goals and updates. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sharon. It's fun having her home.
DeleteI think we all tend to have unreasonable expectations about how much we can accomplish in a month. For me, motivation is a factor in how much I accomplish - if I am motivated, I can do a lot in a very short amount of time. If I am not motivated, then, the tendency is to procrastinate. Still, posting the goals and doing the monthly review keeps me accountable.
Hehee I chuckled when I read about how you found some of the floor in the middle of the room.
ReplyDeleteYou had a very successful month.
I think I will have a similar sleeping schedule when I retire. When I was younger I used to wake up very early and go to bed early. Now I stay up late. I try to get at least 7 hours of sleep, but sometimes it's around 6.
I hope you are having a wonderful time with your daughter.
Ha, ha, the first thing my daughter said when she saw the spare room was, "There'a a floor here!" LOL! I am determined to get that room cleaned up, this month!
DeleteI think it was a good month, for the most part. I didn't get everything done, but I got enough done to feel good about things in general.
My daughter and I had a fun day, today. We don't have any firm plans for tomorrow, but a day spent at home, together, will be fun, too. :)