Monthly Balanced Life Goals - April Review and May 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 the month ratings being shown in blue.

Monthly 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 attend Temple prayer/blessing services online
- Continue to cultivate non-attachment by being generous and giving to the extent I am able

I continued with my daily prayers, meditation, being grateful, and I have tried to be positive, giving, and joyful in April.  I feel that I do live a spiritually meaningful life and I will continue to keep the rating at 10.

May Spiritual  goals will be the same as above.

House (9)(8.5):  The goal is a home that is pleasant, comfortable, and welcoming:
- Clean - Deep clean the house as needed 
- Organize - Continue to find a place for everything and keep everything in its place
- Well maintained - Keep "erasing the evidence"; implement daily and weekly cleaning schedules
- Decluttered - Continue with the decluttering process; call for a donations pick up by the end of the month

The house is being maintained, but the dusting, vacuuming, tidying, etc., is not being done quite as regularly as I would like!  Every now and then, I look around and think the house looks messy, but, my daughter assures me that it is homey, cozy, and comfortable, a place that invites relaxing.  It certainly looks lived in!  LOL!  Not much has been decluttered, this month, either, and I haven't called for a donations pick up for that reason.  I am lowering my rating to 8.5 because I feel I haven't been keeping up with the housekeeping as I should, but, not any lower because it is a comfortable, lived in, safe and happy place for those of us who call it home.   

May House goals will be the same as above. 

Garden (9.5)(9.5):  The goal is a garden that is productive, yet drought tolerant:

- Maintaining (water; weed, thin out the peaches)

- Clean out the garden shed

- Plant the summer vegetable seeds

The garden was well tended to in April.  I have been watering and weeding, diligently!  The peaches have been thinned out and the summer vegetables have been planted.  The wildflower seeds we planted are also doing really well and the bees are enjoying them!  I haven't done much in the shed, though, but, I think the weeding takes precedence, right now.  I am keeping the rating at 9.5.    

May Garden goals will include:

- Maintaining (water, fertilize, and weed)

- Clean out the garden shed

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

- Spending more time together, doing things we enjoy doing

I am definitely enjoying having her home!  She received her second vaccination dose in April and recovered from the side effects just in time to have two wisdom teeth extracted!  I have been taking care of her while she recuperates and spoiling her, just a bit, because I can!  LOL!  I am keeping the rating at 10!

May Daughter goals will include:

- Taking her for the third tooth to be extracted

- Spending time together, doing things we enjoy doing

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

- Regular phone calls and emails to check on them

I interacted with family and friends through phone calls, emails, texts, online chats, etc.  Friend R treated us to stringhoppers which we enjoyed for several meals and I stopped by her apartment a couple of times to drop off bread pudding, sponge cake, and milk.  Curbside visits, although we are both fully vaccinated!  I am keeping the rating at 10.  

May Family and Friends goals will be the same as above. 

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

- Continue to participate in the various community groups to the extent possible in the following ways:

  - Participate in the blogging community

  - Participate in the online organizing group

  - Weekly phone calls with neighbor T
  - Participate in temple events

I participated in the blogging community, etc. and interacted with my neighbors while maintaining social distance, etc.  I didn't participate in any temple events as there weren't any.  I am keeping the rating at 10.

May Community goals will be the same as above.

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

- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose

- Filing my taxes! 

I continued to spend mindfully in April.  The taxes were filed in early April.  There weren't any unanticipated expenses and I came under budget for the month.  I am keeping the rating at 10.

May Financial goals will remain the same!

 Health & Well Being (8.5)(8.5):  The goal is good health:

- Getting my second vaccination dose

- Blood test prior to doctor's appointment

- Doctor's appointment

- 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 - continue with a walking schedule 

- Continue to strive for a healthier weight 

In April, I received my second Covid vaccination and, although I had some side effects for the first day or so, they were relatively minor and fully worth whatever protection that being fully vaccinated offers.  In addition, I had my blood test done and the results were good.  The doctor's appointment went well, too, and there was a slight reduction in my weight.  I'm keeping the rating at 8.5.  

May Health and Wellbeing goals:

- Continue to work on the above life style changes  

Time Management (8)(8): The goal is to spend my time in a mindful manner:
- Spend time purposefully, mindfully

- Continue to focus on making my schedule work for me

- Procrastinate less

This area continues to be a work in progress!  Still losing track of time spent relaxing (being online, mostly) and often procrastinating on doing things like housework!  But, the really important things (like blogging, weeding, playing Sudoku!) are being accomplished!  LOL!  I am keeping my satisfaction rating at 8.   

May Time Management goals are the same as above.

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Self-Care (10)(10):  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.
- Engage in daily joyful activities

I have been engaging in daily joyful activities.  Attending my doctor's appointment and being fully vaccinated is a big part of self-care, I think.  I have been knitting, reading, playing the piano, and gardening as part of my leisure/crafts/hobbies.   I am keeping the rating at 10.  

May Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Self-Care goal remains the same as above.  

April has been a well balanced month, overall, I think, even though the house area slipped down, a bit.  The rest of the areas remained the same!  I am looking forward to May and what I might be able to accomplish.  I wrote out a list of projects goals for May, ranging from cleaning and organizing to crafts and gardening.  I just need to focus on my time management to get it all done!  

Anyone else making monthly goals for a more balanced life?  If not, how do you try to maintain balance in all the different areas of your life?