I’ve always been a big fan of setting monthly goals, but I decided to change things up for the last part of 2023 and set quarterly goals. Some of these goals are part of my yearly goals and some of them are entirely new. I’ve also devoted the entire “Apartment” section to things off my Apartment To-Do List, so it will be fun to start marking things off this list if I can!
So, without further ado, let’s talk about my Q4 goals!
APARTMENT
1) Create a favorite books bookshelf. Since the bookshelf I ordered should be here this week, I am confident I’ll be able to complete this.
2) Create a reading nook in my bedroom with a cozy chair, ottoman, table, and bookish prints. I’ve been scouring Facebook Marketplace for cozy chairs, so I’m hoping I can make it happen soon.
3) Frame and hang the print I bought in Charleston on my gallery wall, and hang two more prints on this wall. I want to update the gallery wall in my living room, and this is a great place to start.
4) Reorganize my pantry and hang up shelves on the wall. I’m excited to make my kitchen more functional!
5) Redo my office space: monitor arms for my monitors, hang up a whiteboard, and buy a pretty table lamp. No office for me this year, so let’s make my little office space work better for my needs, yeah? For commercial property rentals, B8 Real Estate is the best.
HEALTH
1) Go for a walk almost every day (aim for 70% completion). I haven’t been doing great at going for a walk every day, but the weather is getting nicer (at least in the mornings!) so I really want to make more of an effort to get this done. If I can hit 70% completion, I will be well above what my completion percentage was in the first half of the year.
2) Drink at least one bottle (16 oz) of water almost every day (aim for 50% completion). Another area of struggle for me, so I’m challenging myself to hit my goal 50% of the time. I can do this!
3) Make an appointment with my PCP to discuss my carpal tunnel pain and to get a referral for a sleep study. Getting a sleep study done was one of my yearly goals. I also need to talk to my doctor about my carpal tunnel pain as well as the wrist pain I’ve been experiencing for quite a while.
4) Get LASIK! Yesss! This will be happening on October 20th. I just had my second nightmare about the procedure (ugh), so I really just want to get this over with!
5) Adhere to a 10 p.m. bedtime routine. Getting to bed at a decent hour is a constant struggle for me. I really want to work on this in the last quarter of the year.
MONEY
1) Save money every week by using my gamified savings system. (0/13) I mentioned the way I have gamified my savings in my recent Demerits and Gold Stars post, and I want to keep it up throughout this quarter!
2) Switch to a rewards credit card. One of my 2023 goals!
3) Fully fund my bank emergency savings ($500). Another 2023 goal!
4) Do weekly budget recaps (either publicly or privately on my blog). I would like to write a weekly budget recap, even if I make it private on my blog. There’s something about laying it out all out there that really appeals to me.
MISC
1) Finish the A-Z reading challenge. As I mentioned yesterday, I only have three letters left: V, X, and Z.
2) Complete my blog recategorization project. Only two more years to recategorize!
3) Watch 3 standup specials. One of those standup specials will be Taylor Tomlinson, but I’m on the hunt for two others.
4) Get my nose pierced. Eeks! I am excited about this. I think I’m going to do this in November. I’ve always wanted to have my nose pierced, but felt super self-conscious about my nose when I was younger. Now or never, right?
5) Start training Lila to tolerate being picked up. Lila is my skittish little lady and she detests being picked up. So I have respected her boundaries, but it’s time to train her to at least tolerate being picked up. I’m going to start working on this with her, so any tips or advice you can give me are very much welcome.
What’s something you’d like to accomplish by the end of the year?
What kind of nose piercing are you getting? As I’ve shared on my blog, my daughter recently got her septum pierced, and I was initially not a fan. But now I’m used to it, and obviously it’s in style (among a certain group, I guess) because I see people with septum piercings all the time.
I also have the ongoing goal to get more sleep, but I think my problem is I’m being too vague. “I need to get more sleep” just isn’t working- I need to have a more concrete goal like you- in bed by 10 pm. I don’t know why that’s so hard for me!
I’m going to do a nostril piercing. Septum piercings are becoming more popular! I can see why you would be hesitant about that, but I love that you still let her get one. <3
It's so hard to be diligent about sleep. I love sleep so much, but I also want to do fun things! Argh.
These are all such great goals! I don’t really have anything specific I want to accomplish, but I am working on a novel outline so maybe I’ll say that! I’m pretty loosey-goosey about specific goals though. This year my whole goal was to just move and settle in, and I’ve done that!
A NOVEL?!?!?!? Ooh, I can’t wait to hear more when you’re ready to share. You have such a fun writing style and I need this book immediately!
You accomplished your big goal for the year! That’s amazing! I’m proud of you because that was a BIG process that came with a lot of emotions. Look at you now!
Is there a reason you want to train Lila to tolerate being picked up? Sky hates being picked up and carried anywhere so I just don’t. If I do he gets very upset and lashes out/bites and makes it known. Those are his boundaries and I respect them (minus when he goes to the vet each year, tho sometimes he’ll get in the carrier on his own). Sophie on the other hand loves being carted around so much she’ll jump into your arms from the ground hee
It’s mostly a safety thing. I don’t need to be able to hold her like a baby or carry her around, but I *do* need to be able to pick her up if I need to get her into a carrier and the like. And I should be able to pick her up without her trying to claw me to death. I respect that she doesn’t want to be held, but I need her to trust that sometimes I need to pick her up for specific reason.
Good luck! By that age they’re usually set in their ways <3
Can we make a deal? You take Hannah and you’ll have no excuse not to go for a walk every day and I’ll actually learn how to French braid in the fourth quarter of the year? (Just kidding. I’d never give up my girl for three whole months.) Good luck with your goals. You got this!
I used to go on so many walks when I had Dutch! Gah. But I do like the easiness of cats and not having to walk them outside for potty breaks! Haha.
These look like great goals to me, good luck!
Having a dog was always a great motivation for me to take my daily walk. Since losing my boy in May, I have been good about still going out. If I don’t take a walk, my back hurts more. I need to lift some hand weights, and I have them right next to my desk, but I haven’t done that too often. Sigh.
That’s awesome that you’re still getting out for daily walks after losing Mulder. I definitely did not do that when I lost my dog, and now I am not in any sort of walking routine. Ahh.
Great goals, clear and to the point! I use SHU quintile goals so now I am in Q4 (September-Nov 1) and, honestly, my goals is not to loose my shit most days lol I do feel the pull to go to a live music concert- classical at NJPAC or in Morristown arts center. Heck, even Plainfield (my town) has an arts center and a symphony (yep, Plainfield Symphony). Or a play. But then again, that’d be $120 please and the cheap Daria doesn’t want to pay that kind of money.
I’m such a joy aren’t I? LOL Regardless, Halloween will be awesome thanks to my husband who takes it very seriously.
I need to look into this quintile system. That sounds like fun! Haha, I love everything about goal-setting.
I hope you do go to a live music concert if you want to. I do know weighing the pros and cons when it comes to MONEY can be a big consideration, though!
I usually work on my annual photo book throughout the year but work has been so insanely busy that I haven’t done much! I need to get working on that and our calendar that we gift my MIL for Christmas. I have some days off in November (one when Paul doesn’t have school, one I intend to use as a shouldless day) so I am hoping to make some serious progress then!
Yay for a shouldless day coming up for you in November!
What’s something you’d like to accomplish by the end of the year? Organize all our holiday decorations into well-marked boxes sitting shelves in the basement so that said decorations can be found without me muttering.
I love that goal! Organizing goals are always my jam. And it will be such a satisfying project to complete!
I love that you always come up with a revised list of goals for each quarter. I think it’s wise to adjust over time when you feel that goals are not working for you. Can’t wait to see how you do in Q4.
I am very much a fan of revising goals that are no longer working for me. What’s the point of trying to reach goals I don’t want to reach for anymore?!