May Balanced Life Monthly Goals - Update

It's the last day of May!  Time to review how I did on my goals for living a more balanced life in May.

As I've explained before, my monthly balanced life goals are similar to the spokes of a wheel, with the length of each spoke representing my satisfaction in that area of my life, from 1 to 10, with 1 being most dissatisfied and 10 being most satisfied.  Ideally, all the spokes are of equal length and the wheel will roll along smoothly.  If the spokes are of unequal lengths, then, the resulting wheel will be lop-sided and wobbly.  My current ratings for each segment are shown within the parentheses, with the end of the month ratings in blue.

May Balanced Life Goals:

Spiritual: (10)(9.5):   The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life:

- Continue with daily prayers and gratitude; focus on being positive and joyful - Daily prayers and daily gratitudes are on-going; I have been trying to incorporate a joyful activity, each day.

- Take time for meditation - maybe attend some of the Friday night meditation sessions again - I attended one Friday night meditation session at the Temple and did daily meditation at home.

- Be more giving - I gave to the food bank, I gave of my time to a friend who needed someone to listen to her, I gave rides to a cousin and a friend.

- Attend Vesak celebrations (commemorating the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha) at the Temple - I didn't attend it, after all, due to the inclement weather.

- Attend the monthly rosary prayer gathering - Attended it and gave a ride to a cousin and a friend

I reduced the rating, slightly, because I didn't attend the event at the Temple.

House (9)(9.5):  The goal is a home that is pleasant, comfortable, and welcoming:

- Clean - do one deep cleaning task per week - I've been concentrating on the spare room, but that room has been deep cleaned (windows washed from the inside, furniture pulled out and floor and walls behind and under vacuumed, the floor vacuumed and damp mopped, etc.)

- Organized - focus on the spare room - It is no longer The Dump!  It has regained its status as The Third Room (crafts/guest/office room).  It is still being organized, but, I no longer keep the drapes drawn and the door closed!  

- Well maintained - continue to implement the cleaning schedule - The cleaning schedule is being maintained with some adjustments as needed and the occasional hiccup!  I am, actually, quite pleased with how well it has worked out!

I have raised the rating by half a point!  The only reason why I didn't go up to a 10 is because there is still more to do.  But, I am getting there!  It is not a very posh house (way too "shabby" to even be considered as "shabby chic", BUT, it is my home, I am comfortable and relaxed in it, I hope it is pleasant and welcoming, and, more than anything else, it is a peaceful home.  

Garden (8)(8):  The goal is a garden that is productive, yet drought tolerant:

- Maintain (water 2x per week; weed) - On-going.  I haven't needed to water as often due to more spring rain than usual and that has been a blessing.

- Plant additional seeds (vegetables and flowers) - I have been scattering more seeds, around, hoping they will grow. 

- Landscape - develop a landscape plan for the front garden - Didn't do anything more than just think about it!

I am keeping the garden rating at 8.

Daughter (10)(10):  The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her:

- Daily texts, phone calls, and video chatting, etc. - On-going.  She wasn't able to come down for Mother's Day, this year, but, we'll celebrate when she does come down next, in July.

Keeping the rating at a 10.


Family & Friends (10)(10):  The goal is to have a connection with family members and friends:

- Regular phone calls and emails - On-going; I'm in regular contact with many of my family members and friends.  I also had a phone call from a cousin who lives out of state and a phone call from my half-sister.  

- Visit aunt T - I visited Aunt T and invited one of my cousins to go with me, as well.

- Will be seeing several members of the family and friends at this month's prayer gathering - Attended the prayer gathering and met several members of the family and some family friends; gave a ride to the prayer gathering and back to a cousin and a friend.

- Get together for lunch with friend R - We had plans to go out to celebrate Mother's Day, but, she was not feeling up to it.  I called her, again, to see if she wanted to do something over the Memorial Day weekend, but she said she had other plans.  I will wait until she is ready to do something.

I am keeping the rating at a 10 even though I couldn't get together with friend R, as it was not due to a lack of trying on my part!

Community (10)(10):  The goal is to be involved in my community:

- Continue to participate in the blogging community - On-going.
- Participate in the Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt - In progress
- Weekly phone calls with neighbor T - On-going
- Continue to participate in the online group of which I am a member - On-going

I think I did well in this area; I am keeping the rating at 10.

Finances (10)(10):  The goal is financial security:

- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose - On-going; I went over budget in my grocery spending this month, but I stayed well under budget in all other categories.  I continue to live debt free and manage very well on my retirement income.  I am not a big spender and I love getting a bargain.  

The rating remains at a 10.

 Health & Well Being (7)(8):  The goal is good health:

- Attend this month's medical appointments - Done, except when the doctor's office calls and cancels my appointments, because they no longer participate in my insurance!

- Continue to work on the following life style changes:

   - better diet - eat more vegetables, less carbs - Um...yes, well, the more veg/less carbs fell by the wayside, this month!  
   - better hydration - drink 8 x 8oz glasses of water, daily - Struggling with this!

   - better sleep habits -  get 6-7 hours of sleep - Yes, managing to do so on most nights, even though it often means I wake up mid-morning rather than going to sleep earlier!
   - more exercise - implement a walking schedule - Work in progress!

- Lose 5 lbs - Didn't, but, at least, I didn't gain any weight, either!  I stayed the same weight, to the ounce!  Even the doctor remarked on how consistent my weight has been!  

In addition, my blood test results (checking for iron levels, mostly, but other things, as well) came out perfectly normal, so that was good news.  I don't have to continue with my iron supplements and I no longer need to see the GI doctor, until I am due for another colonoscopy/screening test, unless future routine blood tests give cause for concern (hopefully, not!) .

I raised the rating due to the good blood test results and the fact that my weight did not increase, even if it didn't go down!  

Time Management (7)(8) : The goal is to spend my time in a mindful manner:
 - Make time to do what needs to be done (exercise, sufficient sleep, housework, etc.) - Making progress in this area, even if I haven't been exercising as much as I should.

 - Procrastinate less - Working on it!

I am raising my satisfaction level to 8 if only because I am getting my housework done!  I am still procrastinating on somethings (the energy just isn't there, some days), but, I am getting some things done!  Plus, I need the positive reinforcement!  LOL.

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time (10)(10):  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.

- Engage in daily joyful activities - In progress; some days, I have a definite joyful activity, other days, it is more of finding joy in daily activities.

- Finish at least one, if not two, of the three quilts in progress! - Well, I almost finished one and made quite a bit of progress on another.  Then, I got distracted with excavating The Dump and that took precedence!

I am keeping the rating at a 10.    

That is my review of my goals for a more balanced life in May.  On the whole, I am pleased with the progress I made and what I was able to accomplish.

Did you make any goals for a more balanced life in May?  If so, how did you do?