Lifestyle Goals: Monthly Review for August 2019

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.  

Here is my update for August, stating my goals and the bullet-pointed task list that I'll tackle in August to help achieve the 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)(9.5)

Goal: The home is always clean and tidy.

It's just the remainder of the decluttering to remove from the dining room and then category should be marked at '10'. 

Tasks for August:

• hang pictures in upstairs rooms - IN PROGRESS
• buy large throws for living room - UNSUCCESSFUL, couldn't find any I liked
• daily tasks = washing up and tidying living room before going up to bed - ACHIEVED

Tasks for September:

• finish hanging the pictures upstairs
• measure up for a wardrobe in the small bedroom
• measure up for the picture frames in hall and living room

GARDEN (9.5)(9.5)

Goal: The garden is always tidy and presentable

The back garden could be marked as a '10' but the front garden needs some more work to keep it looking tidy and presentable. 

Tasks for August:

• stay on top of weeding/dead heading as necessary - ACHIEVED
• water garden regularly during sunny spells - ACHIEVED
• finish clearing the centre bed - ACHIEVED

Tasks for September:

•  stay on top of weeding/dead heading as necessary 
• water garden regularly during sunny spells

today's photo ... I thought it had finished flowering for the year but obviously not!

FINANCE (10)(10)

Goal: I am financially secure and remain completely debt free

Tasks for August:

• continue to monitor spending and reduce expenditure where possible - ACHIEVED
• set up a regular saving account for holiday and travel - ACHIEVED

Tasks for September:

• continue to monitor spending and reduce expenditure where possible

COMMUNITY, FRIENDS & FAMILY (9)(9)

Goal: I take an active role in my local community, and have strong bonds with family and friends

As I live alone, it is very important to maintain social 'out of the house' interaction with others and I'm constantly looking for new ways to achieve this, particularly for day time activities.

Tasks for August:

• continue voluntary work with the youth band - ACHIEVED, ongoing
• try to meet at least one adult band member socially - ACHIEVED, met S for coffee each week

Tasks for September:

• continue voluntary work with the youth band
• try to meet at least one adult band member socially 
• investigate the local free lunchtime/Sunday concerts 

EMOTIONAL WELL BEING (9)(9)

Goal: I have a positive outlook on life and am benefiting by avoiding bouts of depression and keeping my emotional well being at a healthy level

It's been more of a struggle this month but I have reached the end of the month feeling positive with how things are going.

Tasks for August:

• write a Reasons to be Cheerful post for my blog - ACHIEVED 
• actively correct any negative thoughts - 85% SUCCESSFUL
• complete a daily joyful activity - ACHIEVED

Tasks for September:

• write a Reasons to be Cheerful post for my blog
• actively start the day intending to be happy and enjoy life
• complete a daily joyful activity, with the focus on the 'little things' rather than bigger activities

HEALTH & FITNESS (7)(7)

Goal: I lead an active life, benefiting from increased fitness and improvements in my general health

This is the one area of my life currently giving me cause for concern and I'm in a sort of holding pattern until I see the heart specialist in September. I've started having more frequent migraines again so I need to work out what is causing that and turn it around.

Tasks for August:

• keep all medical appointments in August - ACHIEVED
• go for a short walk at least three times a week - 60% SUCCESSFUL

Tasks for September:

• keep all medical appointments in September
• go for a short walk at least three times a week

HEALTHY EATING (8)(8.5)

Goal: I eat sensibly and healthily and am benefiting by losing weight and experiencing increased energy levels

I'm currently following the Slimming World eating plan but the introduction of a new medication means that my weight loss has, for the time being, plateaued so I will also doing a bit of calorie counting as well.

Tasks for August:

• meal prep - trying a new to me way of planning and preparing for meals - ACHIEVED but I'm not sure that it's something I'd want to do all the time.
• drinking 4 glasses of water a day - ACHIEVED
• restrict the number of takeaways and meals out - ACHIEVED ... I only had one planned takeaway with friends and then one unplanned one on the Bank Holiday!!!! 

Tasks for September:

• use the Myfitnesspal app to monitor food
• drinking 4 glasses of water a day
• restrict the number of takeaways and meals out

LIVE LIFE TO THE FULL (7)(7)

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

I need to focus more on this goal. I have lists and lists of ideas but actually follow through and do a very small percentage of things I know I'd enjoy.

Tasks for August:

• 3 day trips during the month - FAILED! partly due to weather, mostly due to feeling unwell
• daily music practice - 75% SUCCESSFUL
• arrange two diary dates for every week in July to meet with friends -ACHIEVED

Tasks for September:

• regular music practice
• arrange two diary dates for every week in September to meet with friends

TIME MANAGEMENT (7)(8)

Goal: I make best use of my time to lead a full and productive life

I am the world's best procrastinator and life will be so much less stressful when I can turn this around. I have a daily routine of sorts but it needs tweaking!

Tasks for August:

• establish a week day routine, getting chores done in the morning to leave the rest of the day free - IN PROGRESS, it's too soon to say that a week day routine has been established but I have been aiming to get the chores completed before lunch
• keep all admin up to date - ACHIEVED

Tasks for September:

• continue to establish a week day routine, getting chores done in the morning to leave the rest of the day free
• keep all admin up to date

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS (6)(8)

Goal: I educate myself about the environmental crisis and make changes to my lifestyle to reduce my own carbon footprint.

I am on top of recycling but there is a lot more I can do to improve my own use of products and packaging.

Tasks for August:

• check every room in the house for packaged products - ACHIEVED
• identify options for buying alternative environmental friendly products - IN PROGRESS
• reduce the amount of meat in my diet and opt for three meat free days a week - IN PROGRESS

Tasks for September:

• focus on food items, aiming to buy all fruit and veg from greengrocers, farm shops, and/or farmers market to completely eliminate the use of any plastic packaging. Also purchase all grains and pulses from the refill shop.
• bulk cook and freeze a selection of vegetarian meals so that I can have three meat free days a week

SUMMARY

AUGUST 2019

JULY 2019