My main goal in life, these days, is to live as well balanced a life as I can. What does that mean? Basically, it means making sure that I pay equal attention to work (household tasks, paperwork, etc.) and play (leisure activities, crafts, hobbies, etc.), to spiritual matters (prayers, meditation, etc.) and to physical well being (health, self-care, etc.), to others (family, friends, community, etc.) and to myself (leisure, hobbies, self care, etc.); that I don't neglect any of the different areas of my life that I consider to be important to me.
I'm continuing to assign numbers to rate my satisfaction in each area, from 1 to 10, with 10 being most satisfied. I am continuing to tailor my monthly goals to what I feel is realistically achievable under present circumstances, given that I am still not comfortable with going out and about as much as I used to before Covid. But, I am aware that certain areas could be improved upon and I am adjusting my goals and ratings to reflect that.
Here is my review of my February goals, followed by my goals for March:
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 more giving
- Offer special prayers to my mother on what would be the 18th anniversary of her death
I have continued with daily prayers, etc., and I was able to offer special prayers to remember my mother on the anniversary of her death. I feel that I am living a spiritually meaningful life.
March Goals will be more or less the same, with daily prayers and meditations and remembering my father on the anniversary of his birth. Maybe a visit to the temple, towards the end of the month, if possible.
Daughter (10)(10): The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her.
- Continue to keep in daily contact via phone calls, texts, and video chats
I continued to have a close relationship with my daughter in February, with daily phone calls, texts, and video chats. She helped me with some technological issues during the month and I'm very thankful for that!
March Goals include celebrating her birthday! She is planning to come down for a week long visit and I am looking forward to that! The daily phone calls and video chats will continue, before and after her visit.
Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies (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
- Do crafts and pursue hobbies
In February, I spent plenty of time relaxing and enjoying joyful and leisurely activities, daily. I read, made a couple of wreaths, participated in a photo challenge, and started a new crochet project.
March Goals: I plan to continue to engage in fun, relaxing activities including reading and crocheting.
Finances (10)(10): The goal is financial security.
- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose
I continued to spend mindfully and lived within my means in February. I don't do any "no spend" months, but, I stayed within my budget.
March Goals: March goals include getting my income taxes filed. I have an appointment with the tax accountant for later in the month.
Garden (9.5)(10): 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 did really well in February, thriving with all the rain we had. The peach tree is in bloom and the blueberry bushes are promising another wonderful harvest, later in the summer. M continues to bring me rescued plants and cuttings to add to the garden, as well, which I appreciate very much. We did quite a bit of pruning and weeding in the garden in February.
March Goals: To continue with maintaining the garden. I discussed adding more rose bushes to the garden this year to replace some of the rose bushes I've lost over the last few years. I'm still at the discussing stage!
Family/Friends/Community (9.5)(10): 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 with family and friends
- The occasional in person visits as and when I feel comfortable with doing so
- The occasional in person visits as and when I feel comfortable with doing so
- Participate in the blogging community and the online organizing community
In February, I attended one family gathering in person, when one of my cousins hosted a birthday party for her grandson. I wore my mask during the visit, but, it was lovely to see a few members of the extended family. I did a brief curbside drop off/visit with friend R, there were a few exchanges of food with neighbor S, and kept in regular contact with other family members and friends through phone calls and texts. As for Community participation, I have started crocheting a lap blanket to donate to the cancer clinic.
March Goals: March goals will be the same as above. I might visit another cousin this month, provided it is convenient for her.
Health, Self-Care & Well Being (8.75)(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
- 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 an appointment with my oncology nurse practitioner in February, and I received my bone strengthening injection. My blood test results were mostly good, my blood pressure was good, too, and my weight had remained the same.
March Goals: Will remain the same as above.
House (8.5)(8.5): The goal is a home that is pleasant, comfortable, and welcoming.
- Clean - Clean the house 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
- 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
The house has been maintained (more or less) with regular weekly cleaning, although I still have some areas that tend to get messy really quickly. I didn't declutter as much as I had wanted to, but, I plan to make up for that in March!
March Goals: Will be the same as above.
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 lessI continue to struggle with time management. I'd rather play (be online, read, crochet, etc.) than work (clean the house or process the mail), but, the important things are getting done.
March Goals: Continue to manage my time in a mindful and efficient manner!
All in all, I think I had a fairly balanced life in February. I was very satisfied with several areas in my life and both Garden and Family/Friends/Community ratings increased. I'm looking forward to another balanced month in March.
Are you making any goals for March?
When I first started reading, I thought your were going to have a 10/10 on every category. :)
ReplyDeleteLOL! When that happens, I'll probably re-evaluate my whole rating system! :D There's always room for improvement, in my opinion. :)
DeleteYes, I am making goals for March. My major goal is to create a template as you have done identifying the important categories of my life. Once I have done that, I’ll try to align specific goals to each category.
ReplyDeleteI used to be organized. My work days and days off were regimented and my tasks fell into a routine. During the pandemic when I worked from home, disorder ensued. Then, winding down my work and going to work in person only occasionally has led to chaos in my time management. I set a rule for myself of no television during work hours, I cook and clean in the kitchen daily, and I shop on Saturday or Sunday. I walk the dogs in the morning and take them outside during the day; my husband walks them at night. Everything else is catch as catch can, which is silly because I have more free time than I’ve ever had.
I want to have a better framework for my time. I’m not a free spirit at all, I’m a bit of a plodder and I enjoy having a schedule. I believe that laying out my goals will focus me on what to do to achieve them and then I can realistically arrange my days to spend my time intentionally.
Apologies for the wordy reply to a simple question. 😉
No need to apologize, Taconix. I love reading long, full comments, and maybe, writing it all out helped you to organize your own thoughts and goals. :)
DeleteI suspect we all struggle with time management. It isn't easy juggling life these days, we all seem so busy.
ReplyDeleteI would say my goal for March is trying to make more time for myself, and continuing with decluttering. Xx
Yes, and some of us struggle more than others! I am not as efficient with my time, these days, as I used to be! I like your March goals, Jules. I hope you are able to achieve them. :)
DeleteYou did really well and you are aware of the areas that you still need to work on. It all sounds like a good balance, after all we can't be too perfect or we wouldn't have fun, would we? 😀
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bushlady. :) I need to be more disciplined and consistent when it comes to time management, housework, and better health/life style improvements! I'm a work in progress when it comes to those areas!
DeleteYouve done very well balancing life goals. How wonderful that your daughter will visit again this month! It's clear you both really appreciate your relationship. Time management is something many of us struggle with - I sure do! It takes so much effort sometimes to get chores done!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Celie. I'm looking forward to my daughter's visit. We do both cherish our relationship. I'm a very good example of that law of physics which states that a body at rest tends to stay at rest! LOL. The law of inertia - yup, that's me! :D It certainly takes a lot of effort to get up and get going with the tasks that need doing!
DeleteYou do really well. It's lovely that you have a visit from your daughter to look forward to. I'm exactly the same with household chores as I would rather be doing what I enjoy doing, but aren't we all the same with that :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen. Yes, I'm really looking forward to my daughter's visit! :) Housework isn't as appealing as reading or crafting, is it? Getting started is the hardest part for me! My word of the year, "promptly" was supposed to help, but, so far, that is not working too well for me! :D
DeleteAnother good month for you, Bless.
ReplyDeleteAnd reading through I see that your daughter is coming for a visit for her birthday. Great news :)
Thank you, Debra. :)
DeleteYes, my daughter came home, today! :)