I’ve always found that one of the best ways to meet a deadline or complete a daunting task is to bring a friend in on the plan to bully me until it’s done. (Positive peer pressure for the win!) This monthly goals series will basically serve as my online peer pressure/accountability group to make my goals happen.
Normally, I’ll post at the beginning of each month with a recap of the previous month and goals for the month ahead. Due to an insane January, the initial post about January goals never happened, so I’ll give a brief recap here and then move into February — which I’m deeming the actual start of my completion of 2019 goals.
January Recap
Here are the big-picture goals I had in mind for January:
- Begin Contentment Challenge
- Complete Emily Ley’s Simplified Challenge
- Research Instant Pot & TBL recipes
- Complete Whole30
- Read 8 books
Here are the goals I actually completed:
- Contentment Challenge Month 1 — This went really well. I read Jen Hatmaker’s 7 as part of this month, and avoided buying anything extraneous for myself. (Not saying it was easy, but I did it!)
- Read 8 books — you can read my recap about that here
Like I mentioned, January was so abnormal and out-of-left-field with its multiple turns of events, I had to leave many of my well-intentioned goals behind.
The first 13 days of January were a whirlwind. My grandmother died on January 2, so we celebrated her life and shared time as a family for several days. Then I drove to Chattanooga to join Zach’s family for our belated Christmas celebrations. We had a few normal days before I found myself in emergency surgery. Like I said — bonkers.
The next two weeks were spent in bed, in a chair, or on the couch. So all those pretty, lofty goals were in the garbage. But with all the time I spent sitting, reading 8 books was a breeze.
As for weekly and daily goals, I stopped trying/tracking after surgery, and I honestly didn’t make much progress before then due to all the traveling. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to a fresh start now that it’s February. Unfortunately, my fitness goals are on hold until March due to continued recovery.
What I’m thankful for in January:
- Zach, my mom, and my mother-in-law Kaye who took such good care of me as I recovered from surgery
- family time with my family and Zach’s to start the year
- friends who texted and stopped by to check on me
- the best Harry snuggles during recovery
- going back to work without any complications
- quiet mornings
- exciting moves for our family coming later this year
February Goals
Big-picture goals for the month:
- Contentment Challenge Month 2
- Clean out my desk, our nightstands, and bathroom
- More veggies, less sugar
- Read 8 books
Weekly goals:
- Family check-ins
- Avengers Endgame countdown
- Attend church
- Weekend reset (laundry, chores, grocery shop, meal prep)
- Self-care Sunday and social media fast
- 3 blog posts
Daily goals:
- 80+ oz. water
- Morning routine
- Read a physical book
- Evening routine
- Phone away at dinner
I learned so much in January that I’m taking with me into February, but this reminder from Emily Ley resonates with me so deeply lately: “I will hold myself to a standard of grace not perfection.”
I won’t give up on my goals because January took me by surprise. I won’t give up because I miss a day of reading or drinking water. I will persevere, and give myself grace. As I reminded friends a few weeks ago, we must be gentle with ourselves. We’re doing the best we can.
Happy February, friends!
