Believe it or not, the first month of 2018 is in the books! Like many people, I love the start of a new year, month, week, season….you get my meaning. I try not to make my goals too lofty cuz that’s just a set up for failure. This year, I’m really trying to develop some new habits that will help me to reach my overall goals.
Let me refresh your memory on my plan for January and update on how it went:
Weekly Mask: I should have done at least 4 masks and I managed a paltry 1.
Monthly Bath: Didn’t manage even 1.
Both of these goals are related to the larger goal of learning to prioritize self-care. Clearly, this is an area I need to work on. I don’t know why it’s so hard for me to find time to do something that I really enjoy. I do know that I realized that I am very tired when it’s time for me to go to bed and I don’t feel like doing masks. For February, I will continue this goal but I will expand my thing about masks to include doing a sleeping mask. This will allow me to complete my usual skin care routine and not really add an extra step or wait time.
Empty kitchen sink on work nights: I did manage to do this more nights than not.
This goal relates to my desire to attempt to keep my house clean and eat better. I have noticed that when my kitchen is clean I tend to cook more regularly and do more meal planning which helps me to eat better which is ultimately good for my health overall!
Morning Exercise: I managed 1 out of 4.
This goal is clearly one of my health and fitness goals BUT it is also relates to my time management goal. I am NOT a morning person and I tend to exercise after work. However, we all know what can happen when we plan to exercise after work. I find myself exhausted, unmotivated and always finding excuses not to do the work out. My plan was that if I could manage at least one morning workout each week then I’d have time to do other projects that I want and need to do. And I am hoping that ultimately, I will WANT to get up a few mornings each week because I like the feeling of getting the work out done and off the TO DO list.
One of the issues that complicated this goal for me is that I sometimes am on call for my job from 5 pm until 8 am. Additionally, I sometimes have to be at the office at 8 am to be on call in the office. Having to leave my house to be at the office at 8 am means I have to get up at a time that scares me! Also, I tend to listen to music or watch videos (with headphones) when I work out and I can’t do that when I’m on call because I have to listen for the phone.
What I will try in February is not using headphones when I work out. I know that this seems like no brainer but when you have the HABIT of doing something one way it can be really difficult to imagine doing it another way. I have several on call dates scheduled for February so I will have to sit down with my planner and actually SCHEDULE the time not just think about it in my head.
Year long declutter project: I started off hot and heavy and then did nothing for the remainder of the month.
While this one didn’t work out as planned, I did spend a great deal of time working on my hallway refresh so I’ll give myself some grace on this one. I am working on the hutch in my dining room and still need to purge the two bottom cabinets. It’s about 70% done in terms of the purge.
Bed by 11:00 on work nights: I was pretty good on this one more often than not.
I’ve been very good about getting in bed on time when I have to work the next day. One of the things I learned in January is that it doesn’t serve me to stay up ultra late on the weekends or non-work nights. I am naturally a night owl and staying up is so easy. I realized though that I am just wasting time when I stay up. I’m not getting blog posts ready, doing any decluttering or anything even remotely productive. I’m just watching television and usually eating something not at all good for me!! The other thing I noticed was that because I was going to bed late, I was sleeping in late, and then not getting the tasks done that I had scheduled.
I am going to attempt to go to bed at a more reasonable hour on the weekends to see if that helps me to be more productive on the weekends and also during the week. I’m not going to hold myself to a specific time but I will go to bed when I get home and not just stay up doing nothing!
Com back next week to read more about my February plan!
How are your goals going? Any lessons learned?
