February Balanced Life Monthly Goals - Review

Time to review my February goals for a more balanced life.  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 the month ratings in blue.

February Balanced Life Goals:

Spiritual: (9.5)(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 at least once
- Host the February rosary prayer gathering (on 2/8)

I continued with daily prayers, meditation, gratitude, etc., and did some decluttering.  I was able to host the February rosary prayer gathering, with the help of family and friends who said the prayers and contributed dishes to the meal that followed.  I also went to the Temple to drop off donations in memory of my mother whose death anniversary I observed in February.  I am well satisfied with the spiritual aspects of my life and have rated it 10.  


House (9.5)(9.75):  The goal is a home that is pleasant, comfortable, and welcoming:
- Clean - Clean the house for the prayer gathering; do some spring (deep) cleaning, as well
- Organize - Continue to find a place for everything and keep everything in its place
- Well maintained - Keep "erasing the evidence"
- Decluttered - Declutter 30 items in February


The house got cleaned for the prayer gathering and I have been maintaining, deep cleaning, and organizing ever since!  I have maintained my weekly cleaning routines and have deep cleaned the living room to the point where I finally feel happy about its state of cleanliness!  I also managed to declutter 41 items, so I exceeded my decluttering goal, this month.  Items decluttered include 5 sweaters that I gave to my daughter (she will take them back with her).

I am raising the rating to 9.75, simply because I have cleaned and tidied all the rooms in my house, this month, I have kept up with my routines and deep cleaned, as well, and my daughter noticed that the kitchen counters are clear and commented on it!  LOL.  This does not mean that my house is perfect; there is still much to be done - some repairs, more decluttering, some new paint, just to mention a few improvements that are needed.  BUT, I am happy with the current state of my house.  This, I think, is the highest rating of satisfaction I've given to this area of my life, since I started this activity.  When I first started, I think the House area used to consistently rate around  4 or 5!    

Garden (8)(8.5):  The goal is a garden that is productive, yet drought tolerant:

- Maintain (water 1- 2 times per week, depending on how much rain we get; weed)
- Clean out the garden shed
- Start spring planting 


The garden is picking up!  The much neglected front garden is looking good with the osteospermum flowers going crazy!  M has brought me three more iris bulbs (white iris, he says) and planted them in the front, under the eucalyptus tree.  He also brought me more succulents cuttings from his garden.  I've been watering regularly, twice a week, as we haven't had  a lot of rain, and we fertilized the roses as they are already forming buds!  The garden shed got postponed, once again, but, that's not a priority.  I am raising the rating to 8.5, because the garden is coming along, nicely.  

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

- Be encouraging and supportive of her plans
- Daily texts, phone calls, and video chatting, etc., to keep in close touch with her
- Look forward to her planned visit at the very end of the month

We've kept in touch over the month with daily texts, phone calls, and video chats.  She is home again for the weekend and we will celebrate her birthday on Monday.  She is definitely a joy to me and I feel very blessed to have her in my life.  I am keeping the rating at 10.

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

- Regular phone calls and emails
- Wish cousin V and nephew S on their birthdays
- Will be seeing some family and friends at the monthly prayer gathering
- Get together with friend R to go out to lunch
- Call/visit friend T

Another good month with lots of interactions with family and friends.  There were the usual phone calls and emails, etc., and in addition, I called my half-sister to check on her.  Several members of the family and friends participated in the prayer gathering I hosted and they all helped with the preparations, especially friend R.  I got together with friend R a couple of other times, too, and we had lunch together on a couple of those occasions and visited the Japanese Garden together.  I visited friend T, too.

Another good area of my life and I will keep the rating at 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
- Weekly visits with neighbor S (who is teaching me piano)
- Continue to participate in the online group of which I am a member
- Participate in temple events
- Participate in library events (free movie screenings, etc.)

February was a good month for being involved in my community.  I participated in the blogging community and an online group, supported the temple with donations, exchanged weekly phone calls with neighbor T and visited her, once, visited neighbor S, and supported several community small businesses with my purchases.  I didn't participate in library events as much as I had planned to, however; sometimes I bite off more than I could chew and I guess that's what happened with the library events, this month!  However, I am well satisfied with this area of my life and will keep 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 budget because I want to and I continue to spend mindfully, for the most part.  I have no debts, I am living well within my retirement income and still saving,  and I have emergency funds and other savings in place should I need them.  I am keeping the rating at 10.  

Health & Well Being (7.5)(7.5):  The goal is good health:
- Attend the medical appointment (just one) scheduled for this month 
- Continue to work on the following life style changes: 

  - better diet - eat more vegetables and complex carbs, less refined sugar
  - better hydration - drink 8 x 8oz glasses of water, daily
  - better sleep habits -  get sufficient sleep and try to adjust the sleep schedule
  - more exercise - get back on a walking schedule 

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

I attended the one medical appointment that I had this month and it went well.  I've struggled with implementing the life style changes and I am not very happy about that.  However, my daughter thought I looked slimmer when she saw me, yesterday, and I have lost a little bit of weight (that keeps fluctuating, however).   I will keep the rating to 7.5.

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

I do have a schedule that is more or less regular, except, it is not the schedule I feel I should have!  I stay up too late (well into the wee hours of the morning) and wake up rather late.  However, it seems to be working for me, and I am getting things done and not procrastinating quite as much.  But, I feel that this is an area that still needs more work!  I will keep the rating to 8. 

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

- Participate in the Winter Photo Scavenger Hunt
- Weekly piano lessons (and daily practicing!)
- Do a crafts project

This is another good area in my life!  The piano lessons are coming along well.  I did a scrapbooking project that I had been waiting to do for almost 10 years and finished it!  I started on another unfinished crochet project that had been languishing for awhile.  I have been engaging in daily joyful activities, too, and I continued to participate in the photo scavenger hunt.  I am keeping the rating at 10.

That is my review of my goals for a more balanced life in February.  My satisfaction ratings in each area of my life either remained the same or increased a little bit.  I am especially pleased with the rating in the House area!  On the whole, I am pleased with what I was able to accomplish towards having balance among the different areas of my life, this month.

Did you make any goals for a balanced life in February?  If so, how did you do?  Were you able to accomplish most of your goals?  Are you happy with what you were able to accomplish?  Will you be making new goals in March?