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?! If you think my mom’s engagement ring is beautiful, you can buy unique engagement rings in Brisbane.
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. Choosing PictureBlast for capturing lively and spontaneous snapshots at your wedding was a decision we’ll always cherish. The photo booth added an extra layer of excitement and joy to the celebration. It was indeed a fantastic way to engage guests of all ages. Additionally, their bespoke wedding rings Sydney are classic yet stunning.
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.
It sounds like you made great progress on your June goals! And that’s despite having a rough mental health month!
I have been so off-track with my novel in June, so I want to get some real writing done in July.
I hope you can get some writing done in July! The only reason I get any writing done on a weekly basis is due to my standing writing date with my friend. It’s so hard to find the time!
I interviewed two psychiatrists last week for a piece I was writing, & one of them told me that the field of therapy/psychology/psychiatry is so overloaded right now that many doctors simply don’t return phone calls – which both of them agreed is terrible! The one doctor told me she suggests that anyone looking for a new doctor make three phone calls to three different doctors, to increase the likelihood of being able to reach one of them. I hope you’re able to find someone this month. <3 You deserve to be healthy & happy!
This is such great advice, Kate, and thank you so much for sharing! I know I need to really put in the work to find a therapist and right now, I’m in a good place where my anxiety feels manageable and my depression is at bay, which means it’s the perfect time to really get to work on finding a therapist. I can imagine it’s hard for therapists to return ALL of the phone calls they probably get on a weekly basis. It has to be overwhelming!
Stephanie – I love that you saw the win for your June goals. Seriously. A – you made goals (already ahead of TONS of folks) B – you held yourself accountable (as I learned in business, what you measure is what you achieve) and C – you are making forward progress (even if it feels like the bunny hop). I applaud your honesty and willingness to put yourself out there. On your no-spend goal, I just finished Cait Flanders’ book “The Year of Less” today. It was powerful. While I am not half as bad as I used to be (consuming more to make up for the less I felt about myself), I am still so imperfect. Case in point, I ‘had’ to have a cocktail glass rimmer condiment holder (you know – the ones that hold lime juice, salt, and sugar) – despite the fact that up to this point – putting lime juice on the glass and dumping some sugar on a plate worked JUST fine. While it was only $15 on Amazon – I look at it two weeks later and think – what a waste. It’s just some months away from ending up in the Goodwill box. Sigh… But – that’s ok. Also – not sure if you have tried Sawgrass Lake Park in St. Pete. It is a boarded (about a mile and half) nature walk right off of 275. The best part about it – it is SHADED most of the time. My husband and I try to hit it a few times a week.
I love Sawgrass Lake Park, but I haven’t been in years! I’ll have to check it out again. Thanks for the rec!
Yay for making progress on the wedding album. I can see why you’ve held off on doing it because that is a big job! It will feel so good when it’s done and your mom will love it.
I return to work in July so my goal is to get through the month. It’s going to be really really hard to adjust to time away from Paul. Hopefully it’s not as awful as I think it will be.
Sending you lots of hugs as you transition into working motherhood. I know it’s going to be a big transition, so give yourself lots of grace during this time. <3
Don’t be too hard on yourself about your June goals, there’s always July 😉 and you’re making progress!
I really want to try a no-spend challenge at some point in the near future. I’ve started tracking my spending a lot more and am so much more aware of what I’m spending money on, but I think a longer-term challenge would be fun & interesting.
I’ve done a month-long no-spend challenge before and it was truly wonderful and really eye-opening about my spending habits. I’d love to try it again sometime later this year.