I’m happy to report that I was pretty successful with my July goals, especially when compared to previous months. I managed to complete three of the six goals I set for myself, and I’m feeling really good about that! August is going to be a busy month, so I’ve tried to select goals that won’t require too much from me. Hopefully, I can have my first 100% completion! We’ll see. For now, let’s take a look back on my July goals:

1) Design and order my mom’s wedding album. Done! It arrived in mid-July and it was perfect. I used Mixbook to create the album, and it allowed me to stretch my creative muscles a bit, which was fun. My mom and stepdad both love the album, and I’m so happy I finally did this for them.

2) Leave positive ratings and reviews for 10 of my favorite podcasts. Done! I’m glad I finally did this because I know how much podcasters rely on ratings and reviews. It was just a little thing I could do for these people who create such great work and give so much to me on a weekly basis.

3) Add two extra writing sessions at Starbucks. Done! I went to Panera instead of Starbucks, but I think I might make this an every-other-week thing because I really enjoyed it. Both times, I went on a Monday after work and spent two hours working on writing projects. It was much needed!

4) Schedule a therapy appointment. Ugh, no. Again. Can I outsource this to someone? Eeks.

5) Have a no-spend week. Nope. The only week that worked for not spending money was the last week of July and I completely forgot about this goal by then. Oops.

6) Visit a new-to-me nature preserve. Nope. My weekends in July were a little more frantic than usual as I had some freelance writing assignments to complete, as well as my girls’ weekend and my mom’s birthday. So, it just didn’t work out this time around!

Here’s what I want to accomplish in August:

1) Go to the gym every Wednesday morning. So, I’ve decided to not cancel my gym membership – at least, not right now. Instead, I’m going to try to ramp up my fitness again. I figure that I’m making my membership worthwhile if I go twice a week (equals out to just under $5 a session), but I’m going to start small since I haven’t been consistent with exercise (or, at least, going to the gym for a workout) for a few months now. So I’m challenging myself to implement a Wednesday morning gym routine. It means setting an early alarm (4:45AM, oof) and packing a gym bag since I’ll need to shower and get ready for work at the gym. It’s a hectic way to start my morning, but I kinda miss those early morning gym sessions.

2) Schedule a therapy appointment. One of these days, I’m actually going to mark this as complete.

3) Buy an area rug. A few months ago, I found the area rug I wanted at Target. It’s about $100, and that’s not chump change for me so I couldn’t get it the moment I saw it. But August is going to be a good month for my finances, so I’m going to allow myself to buy it finally.  Yay!

4) Spend at least 30 minutes outside every weekend. This shouldn’t be a hard goal to accomplish since I have a lot of plans in August that require being outside in the sunshine, so yay! But I made this goal to force myself to get outside since I have a tendency to stay inside, especially when I’m experiencing higher levels of anxiety or depression. I don’t need to make it a big production – even if I just go down to the pool with my book and put my feet in the water, that’s enough.

5) Buy a book about the Enneagram. It’s time to get cracking on what I think my type is, so I’m making myself the very simple goal to finally purchase a book about the Enneagram so I can read about all the types and figure out which one I am. I think I’m going to purchase The Road Back to You because it’s been highly lauded by many Enneagram fanatics, but if anyone has another rec, please let me know!

6) Cut my credit card balance in half. This is a pretty monstrous goal, but August is looking like a great month for my finances. I had two nice freelance assignments come in, and I get an “extra” paycheck this month, so I really think I can funnel a ton of money to my credit card. I’ll be happy to bring the balance under $1,000, but my bigger goal is to get it under $800.

Do you have any goals for August?

Well, June is over and it wasn’t exactly successful when it comes to my goals. However, June was difficult. It’s always a hard month because my dad’s birthday is on the fifth and then there’s Father’s Day to contend with, so it brings up a lot of emotions in me. Coupled with a major depressive episode for the majority of the month and… well, my goals weren’t at the front of my mind for most of the month. Ah, well. I tried my best! Here’s how I did on my June goals:

1) Lose 5 lbs. I lost 3 lbs in June, which means I didn’t make my goal of losing 5 lbs, but I did make some progress. And I’m going to choose to be happy about that.

2) Make a file on my computer with my mom and stepdad’s engagement and wedding pictures. Guys! I finally did this. And I’m in the process of putting together her wedding album now. I may actually get this done before the end of the year! Who knew?!

3) Make a therapy appointment. Well, I emailed two therapists, does that count? One of them never responded to my email. The other emailed me back, asking me to call her, but she didn’t leave her number. Which means I need to search to find it myself. It’s not a difficult step, but it’s still a step I have to take and I just haven’t made the time to do it. After the depressive episode I had in June, combined with some relationship stuff I’m working out, I know I need therapy more than ever, but man if the process of finding a therapist isn’t incredibly taxing.

4) Write 2,000 words a week in my novel. Nope. I had a rough time with fiction writing in June, so I only managed to write about 1,000 to 1,500 words a week.

5) Spend less than $150 on eating out/entertainment. Oof, no. This was a spend-y month, and I went over by about $50. I really need to get this section of my budget under control, especially as it relates to eating out!

6) Spend an afternoon at my pool. Nope. WOMP. The easiest goal on my list and I couldn’t get it done. Ugh. I even planned to have a fun pool day with my mom last weekend, and we got rained out.

One goal completed out of six! Eeps. I hope that July is a much more successful month for me because I need to see some momentum with my monthly goals. Here’s what I’m planning for July:

1) Design and order my mom’s wedding album. I’ll be really happy to get this done, so I can stop stressing about it! It’s been three years since her wedding, and that’s three years of this little task hanging over my head. (To be clear, my mom has not asked for a wedding album. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for her, so all the stress is self-induced.) As we delve into the essentials of memorable wedding planning, let’s not forget the importance of entertainment.

2) Leave positive ratings and reviews for 10 of my favorite podcasts. I am a voracious podcast listener, but I’ve never left any reviews for my faves. That needs to be remedied because I know ratings and reviews help them so much.

3) Add two extra writing sessions at Starbucks. I meet up with my friend M. once a week for two hours to write, and I’d like to add in two other two-hour writing sessions on my own. This feels much more doable than trying to write every day or something like that.

4) Schedule a therapy appointment. Back on the list. Let’s hope I can find a good therapist in July. Fingers crossed!

5) Have a no-spend week. I know that I can’t go completely no-spend in July, but I would like to attempt a no-spend week. Just seven days! I can do seven days!

6) Visit a new-to-me nature preserve. We have a bunch of nature preserves all around the Tampa Bay area, and I’d like to start visiting more of them because moving my body and being out in nature is helpful for my anxiety disorder.

What’s something you’d like to accomplish in July?

Linking up with Feel Good, Dress Better’s Small Goals linkup. 

Okay, guys, I have to come clean. I did terrible on my May goals. Is it just me or did this month fly by? It’s like I blinked and suddenly, it was the end of May. I can’t believe today is already the first of June! What? Are we seriously nearing the midpoint of 2018? I cannot handle any of this.

In any event, here’s what I hoped to accomplish in May:

1) Lose the cruise weight. Um, nope. I lost a pound! So, I mean, at least the scale dipped down and not up for me. There’s that, right? It was really hard to get back on track after the cruise, especially since I was sick for two weeks. Ah, well.

2) Make a file on my computer with my mom and stepdad’s engagement and wedding pictures. What do you think? NOPE.

3) Email two therapists. I bookmarked the name of one therapist. Does that count?

4) Write 1,500 words a week in my novel. COMPLETE. The one goal I managed to accomplish this month. Every time I hit a rough spot in my novel, I want to throw in the towel, and that happened more than a few times this month. But having this tiny goal helped me to continue to move along in my novel. It’s all about that shitty first draft, you know?

5) Go on a spending freeze for the rest of May. I forgot I even set this goal, oops. I don’t think my spending was out of control in May – I think I spent maybe $5 on books and bought a $5 makeup item. It’s really my food budget that I need to figure out more than anything else. I spend so much money on food!

6) Take my car in for a checkup. Okay, I didn’t complete this goal either, but I did that on purpose, ha. My car still has a good 500 miles before it’s due for an oil change, so I’m pushing this goal off until July.

*hangs head in shame* So it wasn’t a super successful month for me. Womp. Let’s try again with my June goals:

1) Lose 5 lbs. I know, I know. I shouldn’t set an arbitrary weight loss number but instead focus on making better, healthier choices. Alas, I like having a number to strive for so I’m going to spend June chasing after a 5-lb weight loss.

2) Make a file on my computer with my mom and stepdad’s engagement and wedding pictures. Well, maybe the sixth month of this being on my goals list will be the charm. Maybe!

3) Make a therapy appointment. I really hope I don’t have to transfer this goal to my July list. Say a prayer for me, will ya?

4) Write 2,000 words a week in my novel. I’m upping my novel writing game this month by 500 words. I can knock out 1,500 during my weekly writing date with M., and then I’m going to try to find time during the week to knock out the other 500 words. I really need to get myself on a better writing schedule with my novel, so this is my small way of implementing that.

5) Spend less than $150 on eating out/entertainment. This is going to be difficult, but I really need to be careful about my spending habits when it comes to eating out/entertainment. I just really like drive-thrus and Pub subs and not having to cook my own meals. But I also like saving money and not carrying a balance on my credit card so, Steph, you gotta make some sacrifices.

6) Spend an afternoon at my pool. Let’s round out this list with an easy, fun goal for June: going to the pool. I want to spend an afternoon just dipping in and out of the water, reading a good book, and enjoying the sunshine. Fingers crossed it’ll be kinda quiet; the last time I was there, there was a huge group of people having some kind of raucous party. And yes, I am 85 years old, why do you ask?

Do you have any goals for June?

Linking up with Feel Good, Dress Better’s Small Goals linkup. 

Happy Monday, friends! I am back from my oh-so-fun cruise. I have vacation recaps planned for the end of this week and next week, so stay tuned! I cannot wait to talk about all the fun stuff my mom and I did on our cruise because it was surely one for the record books.

But before we get into that, I thought I’d talk about my monthly goals. After four months of my current goal setup (Biting Off My Yearly Goals and Nagging Tasks), I’ve decided to take a step back and instead join up with Feel Good, Dress Better’s Small Goals (thanks to Kate for suggesting this linkup to me!) monthly challenge. My plan is to make four goals that are directly related to my yearly goals, as well as two smaller “tasks” to accomplish.

But first, let’s take a look at how I did in April:

Biting Off My Yearly Goals

> Go to a movie alone. Not complete. This goal didn’t end up working out this month. I’m not much of a movie buff, so I have to really want to see a movie in theaters and there wasn’t anything that called to me in April.

> Make an appointment with a therapist. Not complete. I continue to put off this goal, ahh. I think it’s just the fact that I’m kinda overwhelmed by the process of finding the right therapist since my last attempt at therapy didn’t go well. But I know that therapy is exactly what I need and I have to stop resisting the steps to get there.

> Buy a book about the Enneagram. Not complete. Oops, once again, I forgot about this goal.

> Make a file on my computer compiling all of my mom’s engagement and wedding photos. Not complete. Ugh. Will this wedding album ever get made?

> Write 3,000 words a week. Not complete. I really tried to make this goal, but writing 3,000 words a week is not a small feat! I’m averaging about 1,500 words per week.

Nagging Tasks

> Schedule a carpet cleaning. Complete. Finally, finally, finally! It literally took the cleaners all of 20 minutes to apply the cleaning solution and clean my carpet (I only have carpet in my bedroom and my bed takes up most of the space). The carpet looks perfect now… you’d never know my elderly dog spent the last year of his life peeing all over the carpet. 😉

> Figure out my nighttime routine. Complete-ish. I started going to bed at a more decent hour last month (closer to 9:30 than 11, at least), but I could still be better about implementing a nighttime routine. It’s a work in progress.

> Hang up my mirror. Complete. Yay!

> Mail my donation to Locks of Love. Complete. Such a simple goal, but one I kept putting off because it took a bunch of little steps: finding an envelope, addressing the envelope, driving to the post office, etc. And, damn, just writing that sentence made me realize that I am incredibly lazy. Ha.

> Clean my oven. Complete. Oh, my oven looks so beautiful now and I’m so glad I finally got this task accomplished! The stuff I used was potent, though, and I had to be super careful about how I removed the cleaner after letting it sit in the oven (I wore gloves and covered the floor with towels). It also made my apartment smell the first few times I used my oven after cleaning it (and, of course, made me freak out that I’m going to ingest some of the chemicals and die because I’m really logical most of the time). I think I’m going try something more natural the next time I clean the oven – I hear baking soda and water does the trick, too!

So, that was a fun experiment, huh? I didn’t complete any of my goals related to my yearly intentions but got all of my nagging tasks accomplished. Interesting!

Six Goals for May

1) Lose the cruise weight. And then some. I was doing pretty well with my weight loss efforts, closing in on that first 10 lbs gone, but then I kinda fell apart right before my cruise. I don’t have any good reasoning for it, other than I just didn’t want to eat my same ole healthy meals anymore. So, I stepped on the scale yesterday morning to find out that I need to lose 3 lbs to get back to my pre-cruise weight. It’s not as bad as I imagined, so I’m pretty certain I can lose the cruise weight and hopefully another few pounds along with it!

2) Make a file on my computer with my mom and stepdad’s engagement and wedding pictures. Step one: download all of the photos off my camera, step two: organize those photos into files, step three: download the engagement/wedding photos my mom has on her computer, step four: organize those photos into a file. Okay, there. I have a plan! I can do this!

3) Email two therapists. Back on the list for the fifth month in a row. Let’s see if I can actually schedule a therapy appointment this month.

4) Write 1,500 words a week in my novel. Every month, I make a goal for writing 3,000 words a week and I never make it happen. It’s not even like it would take me a while to write 3,000 words – maybe three hours tops. But yet, it eludes me. So, this month, I’m going to take it easy on myself and only try to write 1,500 words a week, which I often do during my weekly writing dates with my friend M.

5) Go on a spending freeze for the rest of May. Vacation always means that my credit card takes a bit of a beating, which I don’t regret, but it means I need to be diligent about paying it off and not spending unnecessarily. This means no more one-click Amazon orders or Target trips or takeout orders. Time to buckle down with my spending!

6) Take my car in for a checkup. My car is due for an oil change soon, and I think I’m going to take her into the dealership so they can do a full systems check to see if there is anything I need to replace or repair. She’s got 110,000 miles on her now, so I’m crossing my fingers that there isn’t anything major to replace!

What’s something you’d like to accomplish in May?