Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Monthly Balanced Life Goals - February Review and March Goals

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 (later, when I do reviews, the end of the month ratings will be shown in blue.) 

The following five areas of my life continued to receive a high satisfaction rating of 10, so, once again, I am just going to skim over them:

Spiritual (10):   The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life:
I continued with daily prayers, meditation, etc.  The highlight of the month was the visit to the Temple in early February; I was able to hold a prayer service or puja in memory of my mother on her death anniversary.  I was happy to have been able to do this.  March goals will continue to live a spiritually meaningful life.

Daughter (10) The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her:
Daughter and I continued to keep in touch by phone and video chats in February.  She also celebrated her birthday in March and I called her at midnight to sing Happy Birthday to her.  March goals will continue to have a close relationship with her.

Community (10):  The goal is to be involved in my community:
There wasn't a lot of community involvement in February, other than on line and phone chats, etc.  But, I was content with that for now.  I plan to continue to do the same in March, too.

Finances (10):  The goal is financial security:
I continued to budget and spend mindfully, with purpose, in February, unusually high heating bills notwithstanding!  I will continue to do so in March, too.

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Self-Care (10):  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.
Another area in my life that continues to get a high rating.  February's leisure/crafts/hobbies, etc., included repairing the quilt top and participating in the monthly photo challenge.  Looking forward to a month of joyful activities and crafting in March, too.

The remaining areas of my life continued to receive a satisfaction rating of 7 or above and they are the areas I will be focusing on:

House (7.5)(7.0):  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'm doing better about keeping the house cleaned and maintained although I continue to struggle with finding a place for everything and keeping everything in its place!

I'm afraid I didn't meet February's decluttering goal of 30 items (unless you count the number of scrap pieces of fabric I "tossed" to the quilt I'm repairing!) and I reduced the rating accordingly.  I will continue with my attempts to declutter with a goal of 31 items in March. 

Goals for March include getting some needed repairs done, starting with the garage roof.  

Garden (7.0)(8.0):  The goal is a garden that is productive, yet drought tolerant:
Maintaining (water, fertilize, and weed); M will continue to visit twice a week
- Focus on the winter vegetable and fruit plants

The good news is, the front parkway project was completed!  Woo hoo!  It took a few more bags of pea gravel than originally anticipated, but, that is fine.  The parkway looks intentionally bare, not neglected.  So far, neighbors and others have been respectful for the most part (still find the occasional empty cans of beer, etc.)  I have raised the rating based on the parkway project being completed.

March goals include continuing with planting spring vegetables and caring for the fruit trees.

Family & Friends (8.0)(8.0):  The goal is to have a close connection with family and friends:
- Regular phone calls and emails to check on them

There were plenty of phone calls, texts, emails, etc., with family and friends in February.  As I've mentioned before, I am content with how things stand in this area of my life.  It's not ideal, but, I am not that comfortable with in-person visits.    

Goals for March will remain the same.  

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 had a blood test and two doctors appointments in February.  The blood test results were mostly good, the check ups were good, too, and I received my bone density increasing injection.  I was asked to reduce the dosage of one supplement I was prescribed and to add another supplement.  I have follow-up appointments to return in May.  I'm leaving the rating at 8.5 because, although the blood test results were good, there is still some room for improvement.

Health goals for March will remain the same.  

Time Management (8)(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

I think I managed my time for the most part in February.  There might have been some procrastination going on, but, for the most part, I didn't waste my time.
The goal in March is to keep at it.  


I think that, overall, it was a good month and my life was balanced.  I need to focus more on keeping the house maintained in March.  Anyone else making monthly goals for a more balanced life?  

16 comments:

  1. You are doing extremely well. As for decluttering you did reduce your fabric stash :) I don't have goals just take each day as it comes.

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. You might have the right idea to just take each day as it comes and enjoy it. Sometimes, especially when I don't feel I made much progress on the goals I set for myself, I wonder why I even bother!

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  2. Bravo to your successful February. I am also trying to find a workable & balanced schedule to my life which I think will improve so many other areas. As I said to Eileen this morning, housework has such a brief moment of reward, because it all begins again the next day. Your pea gravel project has such positive results.

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    1. Thank you, Mary-Lou. Yes, finding a balance between work and play, between self-care and caring for others, tends to be a bit of a tussle. I've very pleased with the parkway project. :)

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  3. All I can say, is keep up the good work. That inspires me.

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  4. Well done, Bless. You've had another good month with new ratings in just two categories. Good luck with the decluttering in March so you can hopefully increase the 'house' rating again.

    I'm in the middle of reviewing the aims I wrote about back in January although I may do better to leave it to the end of the month and do it as a quarterly review instead. xx

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. Yes, one area went up and one came down, but, on the whole it was a good month. :) I need to really focus on the decluttering this month. It's not like I have piles of clutter stacked up everywhere, but, I just have a lot of possessions that I am finding difficult to cull.

      A quarterly review of your goals might be a good idea. You can make changes or switch areas of focus afterwards. :)

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  5. I'm always impressed by your results at the end of the month! I'm sure your garden could have a higher rating. Mine, of course, looks perfect when covered with a few feet of sparkling white snow! I have a miniature lettuce from a stump growing in the house in a wee dish of water, so that is my productive gardening.

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady. The garden is coming along nicely, but, it needs some additional work done to get a higher rating. I'm sure your garden looks lovely with it blanket of snow. Well done growing a lettuce indoors! I've not had any luck with growing lettuce from an old lettuce! But the ones I'm growing in the garden are looking good! :)

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  6. You are doing great with your goals! Right now my goal is to get the house cleaned and basically tidied next week, during my spring break. I'll be happy with that!

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    1. Thank you, Celie. Spring cleaning during spring break is a good idea, but, make sure you take some time to just relax and enjoy your break, too. :)

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  7. You did well with your goals. I too struggle with finding a place for things. I have trouble decluttering too. I think I just have to decide which things I can easily let go of and whether they are more important than my goal to have a more calming home. And I have to put a plan into action!

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    1. Thank you, Sharon. I like your suggestion of deciding if an item is more important than the goal to have a more calming home! I think that is a very good question to ask when deciding what stays and what goes. :)

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  8. February was a good month for you. Your categories are well tended and you seem mindful of your goals.
    Good job :)

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