Balanced Life Monthly Goals - December Review

It's time to do the last review of the year of my monthly goals for a more balanced life!

Very briefly, I picture my life as a wheel with ten spokes, each representing a different area of my life.  I have stated goals for each area and below each goal, I list how I plan to attain those goals.  The numbers within parentheses show my satisfaction ratings, with the beginning of the month ratings in black and the end of the month ratings being shown in blue. 

Spiritual (10)(10):   The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life:

- Continue with daily prayers, meditation, being grateful, positive, resilient, and joyful
- Continue to cultivate non-attachment by being generous and giving to the extent I am able

I continued with daily prayers, meditating, being grateful, positive, and joyful.  I tried to be resilient!  I tried to cultivate non-attachment by being generous and giving to the extent I was able.  I spoke with the monks at the Temple, attended a funeral mass, and watched Christmas Eve mid-night mass from the Vatican on TV.  

I have maintained the rating at 10.

House & Garage (7.5)(7.5):  The goal is a home that is pleasant, comfortable, and welcoming:

- Clean - Clean the house and garage as needed
- Organized - 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
- Decorate for the season

 

I cleaned and tidied the house prior to decorating for the season.  I slacked off a bit on the decluttering, but, items decluttered included a couple of holiday ornaments that fell and broke, some yarn and other items from the craft supplies stash, gift bags, and plastic plant pots from the shed.  A few kitchen utensils came in, but, I decluttered some of my old kitchen utensils and gave some to my daughter.  A new sweater and a new jacket were added to my wardrobe (gifts from my cousin and from my daughter), but, I decluttered a couple of other clothing items.

I am keeping the rating at 7.5.  

Garden (6.5)(6.5):  The goal is a garden that is productive, yet drought tolerant:

- Maintaining (water, fertilize, and weed)

- Start improving the parkway in the front

The garden is being maintained. M has been watering, tidying, weeding, pruning, etc., and he planted out some of the snow pea seedlings.  The parkway improvements have begun as M bought and spread a bag of pebbles.  We will continue to work on that in the new year. 

I am keeping the rating at 6.5.

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

- Keep in daily contact with her
- Hopefully, include another visit home over Christmas and New Year's Day!

    

I continued to have a close relationship with my daughter.  There were a few anxious days when she came down with Covid two weeks before she was meant to come down for the holidays, but, prayers were answered and she recovered in time to come home, especially since her friend, who was giving her a ride home, delayed the trip down by a couple of days to give her additional time to recover and test negative!

A definite 10!

Family & Friends (8)(8):  The goal is to have a close connection with family and friends:

- Regular phone calls and emails to check on them
- A family gathering or two at Christmas

I kept in touch with family and friends through texts, emails, phone calls, etc.  In addition, I attended my late friend A's funeral and there was a quick visit to exchange gifts with family members on Christmas Day, even though I didn't stay for the lunch and larger family gathering. 

I am keeping the rating at 8.0.

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
  - Food exchanges with neighbors from time to time
  - Participate in temple events if and when I feel it is safe to do so

Once again, I participated in my community in the ways that I felt comfortable participating, online or on the phone for the most part.  Neighbor S kept me well supplied with treats, I exchanged regular phone calls with neighbor T and sent her a little Christmas gift through her daughter, and I spoke with the monks at the Temple on a regular basis.      

I'm keeping the rating at 10.

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

- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose

I have continued to manage my finances, budgeting and spending as mindfully as possible.  

I am keeping the rating at 10.

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

- Focus on continuing to improve my health through diet, hydration, adequate sleep, etc.

- Attend my medical appointments
- Continue to take my medications as prescribed
- Continue to take necessary precautions against viral infections

I maintained my health and well being in December.  I had one screening scan in mid-December which turned out to be normal, according to the doctor's office.  

I am keeping the satisfaction rating at 8.5.

Time Management (8.0)(8.0): 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
- Get ready for the holidays (Christmas and New Year).

I struggled a bit with my time management in December.  I was not quite as ready with my holiday gifts and card making, etc., as I would have liked!  I think this was due to the fact that my daughter got sick and I found it hard to get into the holiday spirits as I was worried about her.  Even so, I made and mailed my cards in good time and all the gifts that I normally give on Christmas Day were ready for giving on the day or mailed.  Two gifts were mailed the day after Christmas, because we didn't meet the recipients on Christmas Day.  The rest of the gifts are New Year's gifts and I have to finish one of them.   

I am keeping the rating at 8.0.

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
- Engage in leisure activities
- Do crafts and pursue hobbies

I had another good month in this area of my life in December, too, with some holiday gift crafting.  I participated in the monthly photo challenge, did a bit of gardening, and relaxed.  

I am keeping the rating at 10.  

December was a good month, overall, when it came to maintaining balance in my life.  All the ratings stayed the same!   There is room for improvement in certain areas, but, overall, I am content.

I have been doing this exercise for several years now and I am wondering if I will continue with it in the new year.  I always seem to score high on certain areas and struggle with other areas!  I guess I am consistent, if nothing else?