I made things incredibly easy on myself for September, setting a simple goal of having a successful move. And I think I definitely accomplished that! I didn’t feel too stressed out—most likely because I had eight days to be fully moved out of my old place and I was moving apartments in the same complex, so it was easy to grab a few things and bring them over. I’m fully moved in and unpacked now, and that feels great! Of course, I still have things to hang on the walls, but I’m slowly working my way through my box of wall hangings. It should be done sometime this month. Hooray!
And now it’s October (well, almost). I’m ready to think about goals again! Here’s what I have planned:
1) Go on a spending freeze. I am not looking forward to doing my budget update for September because it has been spendy, spendy, spendy! I knew it would happen and I planned for things to be a little crazy around my move. But my wallet needs a break from the constant spending. And I think my brain does, too. I need some delayed gratification! So, I am putting a freeze on all unnecessary spending in October and focusing on building my savings back up.
2) Order Warby Parker sunglasses try-ons. I’ve been meaning to do this for months! It’s beyond time for me to upgrade my prescription sunglasses and since I loved the experience of ordering eyeglasses with Warby Parker, it makes sense to use them for sunglasses.
3) Limit my sugar intake. The last few times I’ve had blood work done, I’ve had concerning numbers that point to diabetes being in my future if I don’t clean up my eating. I’m not yet pre-diabetic, but I’m close and the hypoglycemia episodes I experience frequently are a good indicator that things could go downhill fast. So it’s time to work on this! I’m going to start by limiting my sugar intake, as the amount of sugar I eat on a daily basis is… ridiculous. Here are the three ways I am going to do this:
- Eat a protein-rich breakfast—no more sugary cereal!
- Drink less soda—ideally, only one small (8 oz) can per day.
- Watch my snacks—stop buying candy and break-and-bake cookies, opt for just a small cup of ice cream in the evening
I’m not looking to lose weight (although I’m sure I will since I’ve been eating like absolute shit lately), but rather improve my blood work numbers and hopefully get rid of these annoying hypoglycemia episodes!
(I hate that I have to say this, but please be kind in your comments about this goal. There’s no reason to leave a nasty comment here. It’s not going to “inspire” me to suddenly eat better and will only force me to block your comment.)
4) Schedule a slew of doctor’s appointments. I have put off so many doctor’s appointments this year, due to COVID-19. Not only because I didn’t want to go into a doctor’s office in the early days of the pandemic, but also because so many of my doctors were near my office! But now that I’m working from home, that means a 40-minute drive. Um, no thanks? This month, I’d like to schedule a dentist appointment, a dermatology appointment for my annual skin check, and my annual well woman’s visit.
5) Prepare myself for NaNoWriMo 2020. We’re only 31 days out from NaNoWriMo 2020 (where I will challenge myself to write 50,000 words in 30 days). While I had hoped 2020 was the year I finally finished my novel (and maybe even started the editing process!), it was not to be. Major changes needed to happen in my novel, which necessitated going back to the drawing board to rework my plot. The plot is just about where it needs to be, and I want to use all of October making sure I’m ready to tackle NaNoWriMo in November.
What do you want to accomplish in October?
Gosh, I hope you don’t get any rude comments about watching your sugar intake! As you know, I’m watching my sugar/carb consumption so incredibly close right now and it’s really really hard. But any decrease in sugar intake will help out so I think making some gradual changes will make a difference! It’s tough because once you start paying attention to sugar/carbs, you realize how many things they are in! Like Phil was surprised to find that beans are considered a carb. He thought of them as a source or protein. So I just had a high blood sugar at lunch because I had something with brown rice and black beans (although not a huge portion) and it was too many carbs to offset the ground beef-based dish I ate on top of it. Hopefully you’ll feel a difference and see better results the next time you have your blood work ran!
You were wise to not set any other goals in September. Moving is so much work and it’s sooo expensive, even when you are moving w/in the building. I experienced that myself w/ my in-building move between floors. I don’t really have any specific goals for October. I have a list of books to read before they are due at the library so that is the main item on my mind! In November I will probably go through all the baby clothes and put some in #2’s nursery but I think October would be a bit soon to do that as I need to move the changing table from Paul’s room into #2’s room… and I need Paul to be further along in potty training to do that. He is sooo stubborn about it so I am hoping the training in school rubs off on him! I keep talking about the other kids who are trained and we look at the cool underwear I’ve bought him to get him more excited but so far he’s a hard no on using the potty. :/
Oh my gosh it’s almost NaNoWriMo! Where did this shit year go?
And I hope no one left shitty comments about eating less sugar. Eff off, folks. Those sound like awesome steps to take! I need to do that too. I eat a lot of processed things with added sugar and think I would feel better if I ate natural sugar (fruit LOL) instead. I hope you see results in your blood work numbers!
The spending freeze sounds like a good idea… as long as you have all the major things you need for your new place! You probably do now, with the desk?
In October I want to apply for this other job at my office (even though I don’t feel like reading the pages long application right now) and get Dragonstone cladded.
Seriously, what is up with people commenting on things like reducing your sugar intake. It’s like asking someone if they’re pregnant – it’s in my “never, ever go there” category of questions to ask. I think all of your goals are excellent – and I bet you see big results with small tweaks in your diet. Go you, doing this in the midst of, you know, *all of this*.
And wow, NaNoWriMo sounds… daunting. Getting prepped for it now makes total sense, but that is a LOT of writing! Impressive.
My goal for October is to make it to November (it’s midterm; this is when students start to lose it a bit… and professors, too…)
Take care.
I think it’s awesome that you’re taking steps to improve your health and I sure do hope nobody gives you any nasty comments about it, because you’re approaching this the right way: make small changes that are sustainable and build on those!
I think it’s also great that you’re catching up on doctor’s appointments.