Balanced Life Monthly Goals - November Review and December Goals

As always, my overall goal is to live a life that feels well balanced to me.  To that end, I have created several areas of importance to me to focus on.  I try to evaluate each area, rating 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 areas get equal and high rating, but, lower satisfaction ratings indicate that these areas need more work.  My ratings for each area are shown within the parentheses, with the beginning of the month ratings in (black) and the end of the month ratings shown in (blue). 

These are the individual areas of my life and their ratings for November:

Spiritual (10)(10):   The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life:
I continued to live what I consider to be a spiritually meaningful life, in the ways I am able to.  I am happy with this area of my life. 

My goal in December is to continue to live a spiritually meaningful life in the ways that I am able to.  

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

Daughter came home over the Thanksgiving week and that was the highlight of my November!  We spent a lovely week together.       

My goal in December is to continue to have a close relationship with her and look forward to her upcoming visit over Christmas and New Year!

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies (10)(10):  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.

Leisure activities in November included putting together a few flower arrangements, reading library books, and doing some of the things I had listed in my Fall joyful activities list.  

My goal in December is to continue to engage in fun, relaxing activities including making holiday cards and gifts.

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

I continued to budget and spend mindfully, with purpose, in November.  There were some big expenses including paying property taxes, but, everything was budgeted for and there were no surprises.

I will continue to budget and spend mindfully in December, too.  December expenses include homeowners and earthquake insurance and Christmas/New Year celebrations and gifts.  I also want to do an end of the year budget review and set up the 2024 budget, or spending plan as I prefer to call it.  

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

The garden continued to do well in November, too.  I harvested my butternut squash and my daughter baked it to serve as part of the Thanksgiving meal!  There were flowers to be picked and brought indoors, M brought me a couple of additional plants for the garden, I was able to contact the tree trimmers regarding the eucalyptus tree (work is scheduled for January), and the citrus fruits are starting to ripen.

December garden goals include more clearing and pruning with M's help; he has already started on the stone fruit trees, pruning the nectarine tree which has shut down.  

Family/Friends/Community (9.0)(9.5):  The goal is to have a close connection with family and friends and be involved with my community:

- Regular phone calls and emails, etc., to keep in touch

- Participate in the blogging community and the online organizing community

There were regular phone calls, texts, emails, etc., with family, friends, and neighbors in November.  I was spoiled with treats, calls, cards, etc., on my birthday which was lovely! But, the highlight was having my late friend A's husband and two daughters join us for Thanksgiving dinner!  It was the first time I've had people over to a meal and been without a mask, etc.  It was a small, meaningful gathering, and I am very glad that I was able to step out of my comfort zone and have people over!

I participated in the blogging community and in the online organizing friends group.  I was also able to do some small acts of service for friends, including doing some mending for M who needed a tear darned and a button sewn on.   

I have raised my satisfaction rating to 9.5 on the strength of having friends over to share Thanksgiving dinner!

Goals for December will include remembering family and friends over the holidays, sending greetings, and exchanging gifts.  

Health, Self-Care & Well Being (8.5)(8.75):  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

November was a good month where my health is concerned!  I had three medical appointments - an appointment with the oncologist at the beginning of the month (blood test results were mostly good), an appointment with the ophthalmologist just before Thanksgiving (eye exam was good; vision was about the same, eye pressure was good, cataracts didn't need any surgery, yet; return for another check up in one year), and an appointment with the primary care physician at the end of the month (again, most of the blood test results were good!).  In between, I took my Covid booster and didn't feel any side effects.  I still need to focus on life style changes such as being careful with my diet, exercising more, getting adequate sleep, etc.  

I am raising my satisfaction rating to 8.75 based on the two blood test results and the generally positive medical appointments.  Yes, there is a lot of room for improvement, but, I am feeling better about my health than I have in a long time!

Health goals for December will be to continue improving my overall health.  I have a mammogram scheduled for mid-December, and I need to schedule appointments for a RSV vaccine and a check up with the gynecologist.  I want to strive to get in two 15 minutes walks each day and some weight loss would be welcome, too!  

House (8.0)(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

The house got a good cleaning and tidying in time for Thanksgiving!  For days, afterwards, I just sat and looked around and felt incredibly pleased!  I still don't have a place for everything, but, I've found temporary homes for a good number of things!

I met my goal of decluttering 30 items in November.  The decluttered items included some clothing (a blouse, a sweatshirt, two jackets, holey socks), some decorative items, a frying pan, two movies on VHS tapes,  several dried up pens and markers, assorted jars and storage containers, some craft supplies, a tote bag, the doll house and the box of trim to finish the doll house, some potholders, and more expired medications.

I feel good about what I managed to achieve and I'm raising my satisfaction rating to 8.5.

December goals for this area include maintaining and improving the state of the house.  I will continue to do some deep cleaning and decluttering as I decorate for Christmas.  My decluttering goal for December is 31 items.  I would like that to include some books and some Christmas decorations.  

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

I think I did OK when it came to managing my time in November.  I've managed to do most of the things I've needed to do without much procrastinating.  However, I am aware that there is a lot of room for improvement in this area and I am keeping my satisfaction level at 8.0! 

The goal in December is to get my holiday preparations done on time while keeping up with my appointments without getting flustered or stressed!  Towards that end, I am listing some of the things I need to do/schedule:

- Schedule my RSV vaccine (early part of December)
- Schedule shingles vaccine (towards the end of December)
- Schedule gynecologist appointment
- Mammogram (12/15)

- Schedule Dancer's check up
- Schedule the car service
- Bill payments
- Make holiday greeting cards, address, mail

- Make and/or order gifts
- Schedule almsgiving in early January

- Decorate for the holidays

I am really happy with November's progress because at least three areas (Family, Health, House)  increased in my satisfaction ratings!  And no areas decreased!  I think it turned out to be a very good month for me.  I'm looking forward to December with the holidays and my daughter's visit to look forward to!   

Did you make any goals for November and were you able to meet those goals or, at least, work towards them?  Will you be making any goals for December?