Monthly Balanced Life Goals: August Review and September 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 August.  There are many blessings for which I am thankful on a daily basis.

I didn't attend any Temple services online as, once again, there weren't any available to my knowledge; I think they stopped holding them because the lockdown ended in June.  There have been a few events held at the Temple (a fund-raiser food fair; a tree planting ceremony; the ceremonial invitation to observe the rainy retreats at the Temple, etc.), but, I am not comfortable with attending in-person events, yet and did not attend.   I think I will not list attending online services as one of my goals going forward.  I have enjoyed watching blessing videos/pirith chanting online and I will continue to watch those.

I feel that I do live a spiritually meaningful life and I am very pleased with this area of my life!  I will continue to keep the rating at 10.

September Spiritual  goals will be the same as above, minus attending online services.

House (8.5)(8.5):  The goal is a home that is pleasant, comfortable, and welcoming:
- Clean - 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

 

I was able to do more housework in August and have started implementing my cleaning routines.  The house is starting to look better.  I was able to declutter at least 31 items (declutter a bit more than that) during the month and I have scheduled a donations pick up for September.  I am keeping my rating at 8.5 because, although the house has been maintained and I've been able to do more, there is still more to be done before I can raise the rating.

September House goals will be the same as above; I am planning to implement my weekly cleaning routines more consistently and to declutter 30 items!  

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

- Maintaining (water, fertilize, and weed); M will continue to visit twice a week in August, as well.
- Focus on the vegetable and fruit plants

- Schedule tree trimmers to trim the eucalyptus tree

The garden was well tended to in August, too.  I've harvested several pounds of tomatoes, several chilies, a few bell peppers, some chard, and four okra to date!  The first couple of moringa pods look like they are ready to be harvested, too.  I didn't schedule the tree trimmers, so that will be done in September.  I am keeping the rating at 9.5, because the garden has been doing quite well.    

September Garden goals will include:

- Maintaining (water, fertilize, and weed); M will continue to visit twice a week; I think it is more or less a permanent arrangement, now.
- Focus on the vegetable and fruit plants
- Schedule tree trimmers to trim the eucalyptus tree

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

- Continue to enjoy the rest of the time together before she has to go back

- Plan to do some fun (safe) activities together

My daughter's return to Berkeley seems to have been postponed, again, this time due to the high Covid numbers; they don't want people working in the office until the numbers have gone back down.  At this point, it looks like she might be here until after the holidays!  We have no complaints about it (except for the fact that she is paying rent for an unused apartment!).  LOL.  Fun (safe) activities have included baking and just spending time together in the evenings after she has finished working.  I am keeping the rating at 10!

September August Daughter goals will include:

- Continue to enjoy the rest of the time together before she has to go back
- Do more fun (safe) activities together (some craft projects, painting, etc.)

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, mostly through phone calls, emails, texts, etc., in August.  The in-person meetings in July were not repeated as Covid numbers have soared.  I am keeping the rating at 10.  

September Family and Friends goals will be the same as above.  No in-person get togethers have been planned.

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 and interacted with my neighbors, especially S who made sure I was well supplied with treats!  I didn't participate in any temple events as I was not comfortable attending them in person.  I am keeping the rating at 10.

September Community goals will be the same as above.

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

- Review and revise budget as needed

- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose

I reviewed my budget and continued to spend as mindfully as possible in August.  While there were a couple of expensive purchases made in August, I didn't spend any money I didn't have, continue to live below my retirement income, and tend to be frugal for the most part.  I am keeping the rating at 10.

September Financial goals:

- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose

Health & Well Being (7.5)(8):  The goal is good health:

- Focus on continuing to recover and regain strength

- Follow up blood tests

- Doctor's appointment (primary physician follow up; August 24)

- Monitor weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, etc.  

My health continues to improve.  The lab tests I did for the primary care doctor's visit came out well, for the most part.  My blood pressure was a bit elevated on the day of the doctor's visit, but, my blood sugar level was good.  I'm raising the rating to 8 based on the blood test results and the doctor's opinion (she said she no longer considered me to be diabetic because my A1c levels have been consistently below 6 without any medications; though diet alone).

September Health and Wellbeing goals

- Focus on continuing improve my health

- Better diet (more vegetables; less sugar); hydration

- Monitor weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, etc.; I'd like to lose 5 lbs. in September

Time Management (7)(7): 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

I have been spending my time a little more mindfully, although I am working on the 'purposefully' part!  LOL.  I am trying to be more productive and I think I managed to accomplish a few things towards that end in August.  I am keeping my satisfaction rating to 7 because I feel there is much room for improvement in this area of my life.   

September Time Management goals are the same as above.  I will keep a time log (used to do that, a long time ago) to see how I spend my time.

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 in August; they've included spending more time in the garden, chatting with family and friends, and enjoying baking with my daughter.  I am keeping the rating at 10.  

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

August has been a good month, overall.  My health has continued to improve and I am able to do more things.  My Health and Wellbeing area went up and the others remained the same.  I feel that it was a well balanced month, under the circumstances.  I am looking forward to September.    

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?