Monthly Balanced Life Goals - September Review and October 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 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 September.  I also try to live my daily life according to the teachings of my religion, which basically say live your life in a manner that is not harmful to yourself or others.  The Temple notified me of another ceremony that was being held at the Temple, but, since I am still not comfortable with attending any events in person, I didn't participate.    

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.

October Spiritual  goals will be the same as above; in addition, I will be making a donation to the Temple in memory of my mother on the anniversary of her birth.

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 implement most of my cleaning routines in September.  I also kept up with the decluttering during the month and 10 bags/boxes of donations were pick up.  Then, on the last day of September, I scheduled the gas company to come out and do a safety check of the gas appliances and the gas company technician "red tagged" my furnace (a wall heater)!  I'm glad it was checked and it looks like I will be needing a new heater!

I am keeping my rating at 8.5 because, although the house has been maintained, etc., there is still more to be done before I can raise the rating.

October House goals will be the same as above; I am planning to continue with the decluttering in October, too; the goal is at least 31 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; 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

The garden was well tended to in September , too.  I harvested several pounds of tomatoes before the two plants were pulled out, several chilies, a few bell peppers (I don't think I'll plant it, again), some chard, quite a few okra, and even several moringa pods this month!  M was going to schedule an appointment with the tree trimmers, but, I don't think he has been able to do so, yet.  It will be scheduled for October.

I am keeping the rating at 9.5, because the garden has been doing quite well.    

October Garden goals will include:

- Maintaining (water, fertilize, and weed); M will continue to visit twice a week.
- Focus on the remaining 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

- Do more fun (safe) activities together (some craft projects, painting, etc.)

I am continuing to enjoy having my daughter home with me.  Fun (safe) activities have included making melt and pour soap, baking, dancing while she plays the piano, and just spending time together!

I am keeping the rating at 10!

October 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., although there was some one-on-one in-person contact with cousin P (we met outdoors and I always wore my mask; she didn't wear one).  There was one in-person get together with two of my other cousins (and the husband of one), in mid-September, as my daughter and I went to visit my aunt's gravesite and had a late lunch, afterwards.  Daughter and I kept our masks on for the majority of the visit and only reluctantly took them off to eat, later.  It has been two weeks, since then, and no one got sick, so I think it was OK.  

I am keeping the rating at 10.  

October Family and Friends goals will be the same as above.  One of my cousins invited us to a family get together/barbecue, but, we declined the invitation; instead, we will make a quick visit to drop off some gifts to her visiting grandsons, during the first weekend in October.

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; helped T when her phone line went down and she needed to contact her daughter, helped S plant some succulents cuttings I gave her, gave both S and her daughter N a tour of the garden, and shared some baked goods with them.  I didn't participate in any temple events as I was not comfortable attending them in person.  I am keeping the rating at 10.

October Community goals will be the same as above, with the caveat "when safe to do so" for attending Temple events!

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

- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose

I continued to budget and spend as mindfully as possible in September.  I stayed under budget for groceries simply because I didn't do any grocery shopping during the last week of September.  I will have at least one big expense in October, because I have decided to have my heater replaced, not repaired.  

I am keeping the rating at 10.

October Financial goals:

- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose
- Pay for a new heater!

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

- Focus on continuing to 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 

My health continues to improve.  I don't think I met my better diet goal, though!  I very briefly met my weight loss goal, but, then, I couldn't maintain it for the rest of the month!  

I will lower the satisfaction rating to 7.5, again.

October Health and Wellbeing goals

- Focus on continuing improve my health

- Do blood tests
- Doctor's appointment scheduled for mid-October

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

Well, the time log I kept simply confirmed what I already suspected: I spend too much time online! I need to make myself a daily time schedule and stick to it!

I am keeping my satisfaction rating to 7 because I feel there is much room for improvement in this area of my life.   

October 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 engaged in daily joyful activities in September.  They've included time spent in the garden, chatting with family and friends, doing a few craft projects, decorating the house for autumn, and spending time with my daughter.  I am keeping the rating at 10.  

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

September was another good month, overall.  However, my Health and Wellbeing rating came down because I felt I didn't do as much to improve my health as I could have.  All the others remained the same, although there is plenty of room for improvement in several of them, especially Time Management.  Health/Well Being and Time Management will be the focus areas in October!      

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?