Lifestyle Goals: Monthly Review

At the start of May I decided to change the way I want to monitor my short and medium term goals, choosing to adopt Bless' approach in my search for a balanced life; this is Bless' explanation:

 .... 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 current ratings for each segment are shown within the parentheses.  

So this is my update for June, stating my goals and the bullet-pointed task list that I'll tackle in July to help achieve this goal. Last month's ratings and tasks are shown in black and the start of the current month is shown in yellow.

Home (8.5)(8)

Goal: To maintain a clean and tidy home

Tasks for June:

• place advert to sell the doll's house and accessories - STARTED
• sort through remaining boxes and donate/dispose/sell contents as appropriate - STARTED
• participate in Bless' book decluttering challenge - ACHIEVED
• daily tasks = washing up and tidying living room before going up to bed - ACHIEVED

Tasks for July:

• place advert to sell the doll's house and accessories 
• sort through remaining boxes and donate/dispose/sell contents as appropriate
• take books to charity shop and bags to skip
• daily tasks = washing up and tidying living room before going up to bed

Garden (7.5)(7.5)

Goal: To keep the garden tidy and presentable

Tasks for June:

• finish laying the membrane and gravel in the back garden - 65% ACHIEVED BUT MAY BE COMPLETED 30/06/2019
• get the new plants in the ground - ACHIEVED
• stay on top of weeding/dead heading as necessary - 50% SUCCESSFUL
• water garden regularly during sunny spells - ACHIEVED

Tasks for July:

• finish laying the membrane and gravel in the back garden if not completed on 30/06/2019
• stay on top of weeding/dead heading as necessary
• water garden regularly during sunny spells

Finance (10)(10)

Goal: To remain completely debt free 

Tasks for June:

• continue to monitor spending and reduce expenditure where possible

Tasks for July:

• continue to monitor spending and reduce expenditure where possible

Community, friends and family (7.5)(8)

Goal: To take an active role in my local community, and actively seek to strengthen bonds with family and friends

Tasks for June:

• continue voluntary work with the youth band - ACHIEVED
• arrange to meet up with Julie and Lauren during the month - ACHIEVED, went out for a meal together
• arrange to spend time with Little Misses C and H - didn't see the girls but did see their Dad 

Tasks for July:

• continue voluntary work with the youth band
• arrange to meet up with Julie and Lauren during the month 
• try to meet at least one adult band member socially  

Emotional Well Being (8)(8)

Goal: To improve my emotional well being and avoid bouts of depression

Tasks for June:

• actively correct any negative thoughts - 75% SUCCESSFUL
• keep a gratitude diary listing three reasons to be grateful every day - ACHIEVED

Tasks for July:

• write a Reasons to be Cheerful post for my blog
• actively correct any negative thoughts

Health and Fitness (7)(7)

Goal: To increase my levels of fitness and become more active, leading to an improvement in my general health

Tasks for June:

• keep all medical appointments in June - ACHIEVED
• aim for a daily physical activity if I feel up to it (subject to the results of the blood tests and doctor's advice) - STILL WAITING TO SEE THE DOCTOR, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS ON THE BACK BURNER UNTIL AFTER MY NEXT CONSULTATION
• 8 hours sleep every night - 90% SUCCESSFUL

Tasks for July:

• keep all medical appointments in July
• try to be more active, i.e. activities that are extra to my usual routine
• 8 hours sleep every night

Healthy Eating (8)(8)

Goal: To eat sensibly and healthily, leading to weight loss and increased energy levels

Tasks for June:

• meal planning, concentrating on SW friendly lunches - 80% SUCCESSFUL
• drinking 4 glasses of water a day - THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS, CURRENTLY AVERAGING 3 GLASSES EACH DAY
• restrict the number of takeaways and meals out -ACHIEVED

Tasks for July:

• meal planning, concentrating on SW friendly dinners 
• drinking 4 glasses of water a day
• restrict the number of takeaways and meals out

Live Life to the Full (7.5)(8)

Goal: To live life now, in the moment, and stop putting things off. Decide what I want to achieve and do it!

Tasks for June:

• continue to develop my 5 year plan - ACHIEVED
• daily piano practice - 60% SUCCESSFUL
• arrange two diary dates for every week in June to meet with friends - ACHIEVED

Tasks for July:

• aim to do 3 new to me things during the month
• daily piano practice
• arrange two diary dates for every week in July to meet with friends

It's been a strange sort of month and my rating of each category hasn't really altered that much. It's mostly due to feeling unwell and in limbo until I see my doctor (on July 12th) but the rest has done me good and I want to carry on with the sorting (but more slowly!) during July; even though I don't feel any better physically it will benefit my emotional well being if I can get this last stage completed.