Since I didn't post my April goals until close to mid-April, there isn't much to review, but, I thought I'll do a quick review, anyway.
Health, Self-Care & Well Being (6.0)(6.0): The goal is good health.
April Health Goals: Focus on improving my health - I have continued to apply the medicated cream and take the blood thinning medication I was prescribed. I've made it a point to take a short walk on most days. I am still not going to bed at a decent time, but, I do allow myself to sleep in so I get at least 6 hours of sleep a night.
May Health Goals include going to my medical appointments (2 scheduled in May) and doing the required lab work; taking my prescribed medications; more regular exercise and a better diet!
I am keeping the rating the same because the blood clot is still palpable and I started off May with a stumble in the garden, although nothing was broken or sprained.
Spiritual (10)(10): The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life.
April Spiritual Goals: Daily prayers, meditations, gratitude, etc. In April, I continued doing the things I consider as important to live a spiritually meaningful life.
May Spiritual Goals: Continue to pray daily, meditate, cultivate gratitude, etc.
The rating remains the same.
Daughter (10)(10): The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her.
April Goals: Continue to maintain a close relationship with my daughter. I continued to maintain a close relationship with my daughter in April, through texts, phone calls, and nightly video chats. She was very helpful with setting up the credit monitoring, etc., after the data breach.
May Goals: Continue to have a close relationship with my daughter.
I'm keeping the rating the same, but, I'd raise it if I could! She was so helpful!
Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies (10)(10): The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.
April Goals: Continue to engage in fun, relaxing activities including reading and crocheting. I spent some time crocheting in April and finished making a lap blanket.
May Goals include engaging in more fun, relaxing activities, including crocheting another blanket (that I have already started).
I'm keeping the rating the same.
Finances (10)(7.5): The goal is financial security.
- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose
April Goals: April goals included continuing to budget and spend mindfully, with purpose. I had to focus quite a bit on my finances in April due to a data breach, which led to my personal information, including my social security number, being found on the "dark web". With identity theft being a real possibility, I needed to put credit monitoring in place (with my daughter doing most of it for me because I was absolutely overwhelmed and clueless).
Apart from that, I did well enough with my finances in April, although I went over my grocery budget by $15 and some cents; it will be taken out of the May budget.
I debated whether to keep the rating the same or downgrade the satisfaction rating; the data breach was due to factors beyond my control and we did everything we could to minimize any damage, but, I am not happy with what happened and I am left wondering just how secure my finances are.
May Financial Goals: Continue to budget and spend mindfully, with purpose.
Garden (10)(10): The goal is a garden that is productive, yet drought tolerant.
April Garden Goals: To continue with maintaining the garden. The garden was full of flowers in April and was maintained with M's help. I wanted to start planting the vegetables I want to grow this year, and we bought the seeds, but, it was too cold to plant them.
May Garden Goals: Plant the vegetables I want to plant and continue to maintain the garden.
The garden continues to get a high rating because I am so pleased with how it looked in April.
Family/Friends/Community (10)(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
April Goals: The same as above. I kept in regular phone, text, and email contact with family and friends, and there were a couple of in-person visits and food exchanges with my neighbor S. I also participated in the blogging community and the online organizing community.
May Goals will continue to be the same as above. One of my cousins will be visiting from Australia and I am looking forward to seeing her.
The rating is unchanged.
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
April House Goals: Were the same as above. I kept the house maintained and, while there's always room for improvement in all the areas when it comes to keeping the house clean, organized, decluttered, and maintained, I am satisfied with the general state of the house.
May House Goals: Continue to keep a pleasant, well maintained house and keep the horizontal surfaces clear!
The satisfaction rating stays the same.
Time Management (8.0)(7.0): 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 lessApril Goals: Continue to manage my time in a mindful and efficient manner. I feel that I procrastinated a lot in April. I think it was because lots of other stuff came up that I had not planned for, such as the issues with the phone, the data breach, etc. They took up a lot of my time and, even more than my time, my energy. As a result, I procrastinated on doing other stuff that should have been done!
May Time Management Goals: To be more efficient with my time, to procrastinate less.
I have reduced my satisfaction rating to reflect how I feel about this area of my life.
April continued to be another wobbly month for me. I'm hoping that May will be a more balanced month.
I hope May is a much better month for you Bless. As you say things happen that are out of our control but you have a wonderful relationship with your daughter who helps you however and whenever she can. You are truly blessed.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen. Yes, I am truly blessed when it comes to my daughter!
DeleteYou handled your problems well in April. Here's hoping May is smooth sailing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, June. I, too, hope that May will be better!
DeleteYour posts on monthly goals always inspire me, and I always mean to try for myself and I usually fail. I hope to have another go this month. Thank you, because you keep going with the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lyssa; it's very kind of you to say so. I do what I can, although I often feel that it is not enough. But, I scale down my expectations and try again. :)
DeleteYou had to do some unpleasant tasks dealing with the phone and data breach, so it's not really procrastination if you didn't get all the other things done that you wanted! Your daughter is a wonderful help to you. I'm sure that has a lot to do with the mother who raised her. I hope you have a healthier May.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Celie. Yes, it was a bit of a challenging month, but, as you pointed out, my daughter was a wonderful help. She has been a true blessing to me. :)
DeleteWell done! I definitely have to work on Time management. I think you did really well. You certainly had some challenges with the phone.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear that you stumbled in the garden. I do hope you are okay and no damage was done. Don't let it deter you from walking!
Thank you, Sharon. We will both work on our time management and other areas needing improvement, together. :)
DeleteI am okay after the fall and I haven't stopped walking. But, one reason why I walk in the front area of the house (driveway and walkway) is to be more visible to the neighbors if I should happen to fall!
Considering the difficulties you encountered last month, you did really well. As for one or two lower scores, just remember that you don't want to be so perfect that the rest of us feel bad!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bushlady. Actually, very few areas are ever perfect, even when they get a high score! There's always room for improvement!
DeleteI hope May is a good month for your health and you are able to raise your rating in June.
ReplyDeleteHaving your personal financial information compromised is very. upsetting. I told you I froze my credit as a result of what you had gone through.
How is your budget for animal care doing with Dancer's many doctor's visits and his medicine? Had you budgeted enough?
Thank you, Debra. I have two medical appointments, this month, and the blood tests will reveal if I'm doing OK.
DeleteI'm glad you froze your credit; one can't be too careful these days. Of course, now the same credit bureaus are offering to match me with credit cards! LOL!
I told Dancer that it is a good thing he's so adorable, because he is costing me money! I had to increase my pet care budget to accommodate the additional expenses. Daughter offered to pay for his care, but, she has a hefty rent to pay and I told her I can manage. There's a reason why I'm frugal in many areas and live below my means; it means I have reserves when the budget needs to be adjusted upwards. He's worth it, though. :)