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?
My advice for tracking food: if you know what you’re going to eat that day, put in all your meals and snacks in the morning or the night before. That way, you don’t have to stop and update it every time you eat something and you know early on in the day how many extra calories you can consume or how many you need to burn off. Also, put in your favorite meals in the MFP app – you can either add the ingredients and servings manually or import from a link if you got the recipe online.
That’s great advice and something I’m going to try to put into practice myself. Thank you!
I was hoping to clean/organize all of our kitchen cabinets in January. I got the top ones done and our big corner pantry. And then the pain in my thigh set in and now it’s out of the question to do a task like that… So much for getting our kitchen super clean before baby arrives. I also would like to clean out our oven but again, it’s unlikely that is going to happen. Womp womp.
My goal for February is to get through the month. I’m aiming high huh? Ok, one thing I do need to do is find a pediatrician because we have to provide his/her name when we go to the hospital for my induction. My friend recommended hers so I just need to call and confirm that she is accepting new patients.
Good luck with your goals!!
I’ve been tracking my food with Fitness Pal and what has helped me was to create complete meals (if I know I’ll have them repeatedly) so that I don’t have to put in every single thing/ingredient every time. I have a meal labled “breakfast” for example because I know I will have my two cups of coffee with milk and then I also ” saved” other meals for breakfast that I have regulary. and like Anya said, it’s easier to set this up for the week and make adjustments than remembering to add it every single day 😉
Looks like you did get to check quite a few things off your list last month though!
I swear, it’s always the easiest tasks that take my forever to complete. I’ve had a bunch of books to donate in back of my car for like three weeks now and I keep forgetting about them every single time I’m out and running errands. And then there’s the art I need to get framed. That’s a constant struggle.
Great goals – they’re achievable but also really important! My goal is to get my new blog off the ground – I’ve been ghostwriting travel content for the past two years but now I want to get my stories out there under my own name!