November Balanced Life Monthly Goals: Review

It's the last day of November and time for me to review my monthly goals.

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 ratings for each segment are shown within the parentheses, with the beginning of the month ratings in black and the end of month ratings in blue.

November Balanced Life Goals:

Spiritual: (10)(10):   The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life:
- Continue with daily prayers, meditation, being grateful, positive, and joyful
- Continue to cultivate non-attachment to material things by donating/decluttering more
- Go to the temple for blessings
- Attend the November rosary prayer gathering, if there is one!
- Start on preparations for the December almsgiving

Another successful month where this area of my life is concerned.  I continued with daily prayers, meditation, gratitude, etc., did some decluttering, went to the temple, attended the November rosary prayer gathering, and have started on my almsgiving preparations.

House (9)(9.5):  The goal is a home that is pleasant, comfortable, and welcoming:
- Clean - Continue to implement the weekly cleaning schedule
- Organize - Continue to find a place for everything and keep everything in its place
- Well maintained - Keep "erasing the evidence"
- Decluttered - Declutter 64 items

I am pleased with what I was able to achieve in this area.  I was able to get some much needed repairs done around the house.  Unfortunately, the garage door opener mechanism failed, again, today, and I need to call A to come and fix it (he had told me his work is guaranteed), but, I am counting my blessings; at least I have a handyman to call on!

I got a bit behind with the cleaning schedule and organizing, and I haven't been keeping up with "erasing the evidence" as much as I should, but, I did meet my decluttering goal of 64 items (one for each year of my life, as I turned 64, earlier this month) plus 1 extra item (to grow on!) for a total of 65 items.  A lot of clothes and accessories, as I went through the two big bags of clothes I had received from one of my aunts, earlier in the year (I had been keeping them, thinking I might wear them, but, didn't) and put aside most of it to donate.  My daughter took some of the items (I didn't count those items), and I kept a few items aside for my friend to look through, but, I only kept 1 skirt for myself.  

I am rating this area 9.5 because all the small repairs I was able to get done far outweighs the cleaning and organizing I didn't get done!      

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

- Maintain (water 1- 2 times per week, depending on the temperature; weed)
- Do any fall planting I wish to do
- Clean out the garden shed

The garden is being maintained.  We cut down a pineapple guava tree that had died over the summer, pruned the curry leaf trees and thinned out a lot of new curry leaf seedlings, and M planted a butterfly bush and more squill bulbs.  The garden shed got postponed, but, I am going to keep the 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.

- Enjoy her planned visits (2) in November

We had lots of together time, this month, because she came down twice to visit!  Once over my birthday weekend and this week for Thanksgiving.  We've done some shopping, eaten out, spent time with family and friends, and she's had a couple of fun activities with her friends.  Definitely a 10!

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

- Regular phone calls and emails
- Might see family and friends at Thanksgiving
- Maybe go out to lunch with my sister

November turned out to be a good month for getting together, both planned and spontaneous, with family and friends!  There were special birthday phone calls, video chats, and emails, in addition to regular calls and emails., I met some family and friends when I went out to lunch with my daughter for my birthday, I met more family and friends at the monthly prayer gathering and at Thanksgiving, and I went out to lunch with friend R and with my sister.  I am well satisfied with this area of my life and will continue to rate it a 10.

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

- Continue to participate in the blogging community 
- Weekly phone calls with neighbor T
- Continue to participate in the online group of which I am a member
- Participate in temple events

I had a good month of community involvement, participating in the blogging community, interacting with several of my neighbors, and the temple.  I am keeping the rating at 10.

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

- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose. 

I continue to do well in this area of my life.  I continue to live debt free and well within my means.  I continue to budget because I want to and I continue to spend mindfully (for the most part; all bets are off when I go to the Sri Lankan store!)  LOL.  I am keeping the rating at 10.  

 Health & Well Being (8)(8):  The goal is good health:
- Attend the medical appointments scheduled for this month  
- Continue to work on the following life style changes: 

  - better diet - eat more vegetables, less carbs
  - better hydration - drink 8 x 8oz glasses of water, daily
  - better sleep habits -  try to adjust the sleep schedule (earlier bed time)
  - more exercise - get back on a walking schedule 

- Get back down to a healthier weight through diet and exercise

I attended one, regularly scheduled (every 3 months) doctor's appointment, this month.  As I stated in the October review, in general, things are going well where my health is concerned, but, there is a lot of room for improvement.  I am keeping the rating at 8.

Time Management (8)(8): The goal is to spend my time in a mindful manner:
- Keep to a more regular schedule
- Procrastinate less

Again, this is another area of my life that could be improved, but, my current schedule seems to be working well enough.  I am trying hard not to procrastinate, but, some things do get put off until later!  I am keeping the rating at 8. 

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

- Engage in daily joyful activities
- Start making holiday gifts

This has been a very good month for this area of my life.  There have been lots of leisure activities, including watching TV, knitting, and quilt making, I've celebrated my birthday over a couple of weeks, and I have made some holiday gifts.  I am going to keep the rating at 10. 

That is my review of my goals for a more balanced life in November.  Everything went up or stayed the same, except for Health and Well Being.  On the whole, I am pleased with what I was able to accomplish, this month.

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