Stephany Writes

Categories: Goals

Monthly Goals | April 2018

I published my February monthly goals just a few days before Dutch passed, so obviously, all of the goals I set fell to the back burner. February (and some of March, if I’m being honest) was about survival for me and just getting through each day. In March, I started feeling as if I could tackle some of the goals I set and I started working toward them, but not pushing myself too hard.

And now it’s April (well, almost!) and I’m feeling good. I still miss Dutch desperately, but the rawness of losing him has dissipated somewhat and I feel ready for what lies ahead of me. So here we go with goal-setting once again, and it feels really good to get back to it.

Let’s start off by recapping how I did with my February/March goals:

Biting Off My Yearly Goals

> Track food on MyFitnessPal. Complete. I’m not using MFP to track my food, but an entirely different system that is working much better for my needs and has led to great results so far. I’m working on a post about it, so stay tuned!

> No soda at work, no soda on Mondays. Complete. Oh, hell yeah. The solution to my soda addiction? LaCroix. It took me a while to get used to the taste because no, it’s not the same as soda (gotta love that HFCS). But once I got used to the taste, there was no turning back. By adding sparkling water to my diet, I’m down to just 1-2 sodas a week.

> Buy a book about the Enneagram. Not complete. Oops. Forgot about this one.

> Make a file on my computer compiling all of my mom’s engagement and wedding photos. Not complete. Geez. Why am I so resistant to this goal? I just need to download the damn photos!

> Write 500 words every day. Not complete. Lolololololol. Even committing to writing 500 words daily is just too much for me right now.

Nagging Tasks

> Schedule a carpet cleaning. Not complete. I wish I could schedule this online because damn, I hate calling companies to request quotes. But it really needs to get done because my carpet needs a serious deep clean.

> Frame the painting I bought in Puerto Rico and hang it up. Complete. Fiiiiiiinally! I did it! It’s hanging up in my bedroom and it’s perfect.

> Organize my kitchen. Complete. I did this after Dutch died because I needed to get rid of his treats, food, medication, etc. and it prompted a complete kitchen reorganization. So, I’m glad I did this, but wish it wasn’t for such a heartbreaking reason.

> Find a place to recycle. Complete. My mom’s apartment complex has this nifty little recycling center, so I’m using it as my recycling center. Ha. It’s the perfect setup for me. Now, if only my apartment complex could figure this out but, alas, they don’t even have an online system for rent payments and maintenance requests, so I think I’m expecting too much here.

> Clean my oven. Not complete. Oops. Forgot about this one.

So, I accomplished 5 of the 10 goals I set and honestly, I’m happy with that. These past two months have been a doozy for me to say the least, so even attempting these goals is a step in the right direction. Plus, two of those goals were massive accomplishments (tracking my food and cutting out soda), so gold stars for me.

Here’s what I’d like to accomplish in April:

Biting Off My Yearly Goals

> Go to a movie alone (goal: try something new once a month)

> Make an appointment with a therapist (goal: start therapy)

> Buy a book about the Enneagram (goal: figure out my Enneagram type)

> Make a file on my computer compiling all of my mom’s engagement and wedding photos (goal: make a wedding album for my mom and stepdad)

> Write 3,000 words a week (goal: finish my novel)

Nagging Tasks

> Schedule a carpet cleaning (back on the list and hoping third time’s a charm)

> Figure out my nighttime routine (because going to bed at 11 p.m. is no bueno for this girl)

> Hang up my mirror (I bought a full-size mirror over a month ago and have yet to hang it up… obviously, I need this accountability)

> Mail my donation to Locks of Love (um, oops, I probably should do this, huh?)

> Clean my oven (back on the list… April’s the month of spring cleaning, right?)

What’s something – big or small – that you’d like to accomplish in April?

Categories: Goals

Monthly Goals | February 2018

Has January felt like it was 74 days long to anyone else? It’s been a weird start to the year. Not in a bad way, just in… a weird way. But I’m excited to mark this month complete because I feel like I checked off some important goals and I’m looking forward to what February will bring.

Here’s how I did on my January goals:

Biting Off My Yearly Goals

> Start tracking my food on MyFitnessPal. Not complete. I attempted to track my food, but I wasn’t consistent with it. I know that tracking what I eat is the key to losing weight (I like to pretend it’s not, but it is), so I just need to get into a routine of tracking no matter what.

> Drink only water and coffee while at work. Complete. This was a great success and it was actually a very easy goal to complete because I gave myself simple, attainable parameters.

> Email two therapists. Complete. The first therapist I emailed doesn’t accept insurance and I’m waiting to hear back from the second one that I emailed earlier this week.

> Write 10,000 words in my novel. Not complete. I only wrote 3,500 words in January, which puts me behind in my goal of finishing my novel this year.

> Make a file on my computer compiling all of my mom’s engagement and wedding photos. Not complete. Oops, just completely forgot about this goal!

Nagging Tasks

> Schedule a carpet cleaning. Not complete. Ugh, I filled out an online form on a carpet cleaning company’s website and they never contacted me back. Argh… I’m going to have to actually call them on the phone and I just keep putting it off.

> Put together my bookshelf. Complete. I’m really happy to have two bookshelves in my room now. It was much needed because I’m using the second one as my “TBR” shelf, of books that I own but haven’t read yet. It’s not too full because I only recently started buying books (after years of only buying e-books if I wasn’t borrowing the book from my library).

> Sell my coffee table. Complete. I listed it on Craigslist on a Saturday and by Sunday morning, I was meeting up with the buyer to hand it off. It was so easy and I’m enjoying the extra space in my living room. I hope that selling my sectional is just as easy!

> Donate my old laptop. Complete. I recently learned that Goodwill now accepts old laptops and I had a drop-off to do there anyway, so it was a quick and painless task.

> Frame the painting I bought in Puerto Rico and hang it up. Not complete. I actually completely forgot I had this as a goal. I need to figure out the frame size I need and just get this done. That painting is too gorgeous to be sitting on a shelf.

So, I accomplished 5 out of the 10 goals I set and I’m ok with that number. It’s only half of the goals, but half is better than nothing, right? Here’s what I want to get done in February:

Biting Off My Yearly Goals

> Track food on MyFitnessPal (goal: lose 30 lbs)

> No soda at work, no soda on Mondays (goal: cut out soda completely)

> Buy a book about the Enneagram (goal: figure out my Enneagram type)

> Make a file on my computer compiling all of my mom’s engagement and wedding photos (goal: make a wedding album for my mom and stepdad)

> Write 500 words every day (goal: finish my novel)

Nagging Tasks

> Schedule a carpet cleaning (back on the list it goes… here’s hoping I will have freshly cleaned carpet by the end of the month)

> Frame the painting I bought in Puerto Rico and hang it up (back on the list… no more procrastinating)

> Organize my kitchen (in December, I went crazy organizing my bathroom and walk-in closet, and February is when my kitchen gets the organization overhaul it desperately needs)

> Find a place to recycle (I don’t recycle and that has got to change)

> Clean my oven (I’ve lived in my apartment for nearly a year and a half… that oven needs to be cleaned)

What’s one goal, big or small, that you’d like to accomplish in February?

Categories: Goals

Monthly Goals | January 2018

So, here we go! It’s January and it’s time to put all of those goals I have into action. My biggest goals for 2018 are to end the year thinner and more financially secure than when I started it, which means I need to put in the work to make that happen. It won’t just magically occur without deliberate action on my part!

Usually for my monthly goals, I name around five goals I’d like to work toward during the month, but I’m changing things up a bit in 2018. Instead, I have two categories for my monthly goals: Biting Off My Yearly Goals and Nagging Tasks. The first category is exactly what it sounds like: I’m taking those big yearly goals and putting specific action steps in place to be able to accomplish them by the end of the year. And the second category is tiny tasks that don’t have anything to do with my yearly goals; they’re just these nagging things I need to get done and I’m much more apt to do them if I have to report back in February. 🙂

Biting Off My Yearly Goals

> Start tracking my food on MyFitnessPal (goal: lose 30 lbs)

> Drink only water and coffee while at work (goal: cut out soda completely)

> Email two therapists (goal: start therapy)

> Write 10,000 words in my novel (goal: finish my novel)

> Make a file on my computer compiling all of my mom’s engagement and wedding photos (goal: make a wedding album for my mom and stepdad)

Nagging Tasks

> Schedule a carpet cleaning (Dutch has destroyed my carpet and it needs a deep cleaning from a professional company)

> Put together my bookshelf (I bought one last weekend!)

> Sell my coffee table (I really want to redo my living room and it starts with getting rid of my coffee table)

> Donate my old laptop (y’all, it’s just been sitting in my apartment collecting dust for a YEAR)

> Frame the photo I bought in Puerto Rico and hang it up (it’s so gorgeous and has just been sitting in its plastic wrap for 8 months)

What’s something you want to accomplish in January?

Categories: Goals

My Goals for 2018

Happy 2018, friends! It’s hard to believe we’re at the beginning of a brand-new year. It felt like 2017 passed in a flash and I’m sure 2018 will feel the same way.

I love the feeling of a new year and the feeling that we have this blank slate where anything is possible. And I love, love, love making a list of what I want to accomplish over the next twelve months. I know yearly goals aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but they are mine and so I’ve come up with a list of 15 things I’d like to accomplish.

But first, let’s go back and take a look at the goals I set at the beginning of 2017 and see how I did:

  1. Quit fast food and soda. Not complete. I was chugging along with this goal fairly well in the first quarter and then fell apart in the latter half of the year.
  2. Read four “classic” novels. Complete! For this goal, I read The Handmaid’s Tale, A Separate Peace, Jane Eyre, and Their Eyes Were Watching God. My favorite of those was easily The Handmaid’s Tale, which was one of my top 10 reads this year. (And yes, these are not your “typical” classic novels, but my goal, my rules.)
  3. Save $1,000 in an emergency fund. Not complete. Womp.
  4. Start seeing a therapist. Not complete. I let excuse after excuse pile up for why I didn’t start therapy this year, but after some of the things I experienced in 2017 (stuff that remained largely off the blog), I know I need this more than ever.
  5. Write my novel. Not complete. Ugh. I got stuck around 70,000 words into my novel and I just hit a complete wall. Around this time, I also got incredibly busy at work and used my weekly writing dates to work on actual work stuff. Excuses, I know. I’m really great at making excuses if you haven’t guessed.
  6. Get a tattoo. Complete. I went with a friend and finally got the book tattoo I’ve been wanting for years. I’m so pleased with it… and I’m already eyeing my next tattoo.

So, I wasn’t too successful with my yearly goals in 2017 with only two out of the six accomplished. But that’s okay! I love setting yearly goals, but I also understand that they are slightly arbitrary and I don’t need to beat myself up for not accomplishing everything I set out to do. A year is a long time and I don’t set these goals thinking that I need to accomplish all of them. I just enjoy the process of setting goals and working toward them.

So, with that said, here’s what I’d like to accomplish in 2018:

1. Lose 30 lbs

2. Complete the Whole30

3. Cut out soda completely

4. Buy a new couch

5. Complete a yearly shopping ban where I don’t buy any new clothes

6. Stop using plastic bags at the grocery store, Target, etc.

7. Read 100 books, including four classics.

8. Give up all dating apps and websites for the entire year.

9. Try something new once a month (i.e., kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, yoga, etc.)

10. Start therapy

11. Finish my novel

12. Figure out my Enneagram type

13. Travel to one new state

14. Exercise at least three times a week, every week in 2018

15. Create a wedding album for my mom and stepdad

Cheers to 2018!

Have you set any goals for 2018?

Categories: Goals

The Quarterly Check-In | April-June 2017

The second quarter of 2017 was good to me, I must say. I traveled to Puerto Rico with my mom where we sipped piña coladas on the beach, toured an ancient fort, hiked to a waterfall, and rode horses through a rainforest. I finally got the book tattoo that I’ve been craving for years. I joined a gym and I’ve become a crazy gym rat (and I love it). I participated in Sportsfest with a bunch of coworkers. And I started taking anti-anxiety meds, which have been life-changing, to say the least.

Of course, with the good comes the bad, like getting majorly sick in April, dealing with some not-so-fun adulting things, having lots of bouts of loneliness, and Dutch’s nighttime restlessness and overall senility.

But the good vastly outweighs the bad in this case, and I can assuredly say that this last quarter was a fantastic one for me. I am so pleased with 2017 so far. It’s been good to me.

At the beginning of every quarter, I like to review my yearly goals and make sure I’m on pace to achieve them (and if not, to revise them or make a plan for getting on track), as well as set a handful of goals to work toward over the next three months. It’s a check-in of sorts.

So, here is my yearly goals update:

1) Quit fast food and soda – not complete. I have been somewhat successful at cutting out fast food from my diet, but it’s still something I’m having on a semi-regular basis. Soda is always a work in progress, but I’m down to having one a day.

2) Read four “classic” novels – in progress. I’ve read The Handmaid’s Tale and A Separate Peace. I have a friend’s copy of Jane Eyre and I think I’m going to give that a try very soon. Fingers crossed I can get through it!

3) Save $1,000 in an emergency fund – not complete. Ugh, I don’t want to talk about it. Quarter two was a spendy, spendy quarter with a trip to Puerto Rico, booking a flight, and not bringing in extra money from freelancing.

4) Start seeing a therapist – not complete. I need to make this a priority in quarter three.

5) Write my novel – in progress. I’m about 40,000 words into my novel, so I’m nearly at the halfway mark. I’m really having struggles with the novel right now and resistance toward finishing it, but I’m trying to tell myself just to write and I can try to make sense of it all later.

6) Get a tattoo – complete! Yay, I got it done. Finally!

***

Here’s what I hope to accomplish in quarter three:

1) Give up fast food completely.

2) Have two soda-free days every week.

3) Put $50 in my savings account every month.

4) Make an appointment with a therapist.

5) Write 3,000 words every week.

6) Get some form of activity every day and hit 6,000 steps on my Fitbit daily.

7) Pay off my credit card and freeze all unnecessary spending (i.e., buying clothes or going to Starbucks for breakfast or eating out if it doesn’t involve socializing) until I do.

8) Put together my mom’s wedding album.

9) Go on some dates.

10) Run a 5k.

Image credit: Pineapple Supply Co.