It’s time for my third quarterly check-in on my yearly goals. I should have posted this in October but, you know, life happened. I haven’t been as successful with my yearly goals as I had hoped, but even getting a few accomplished is better than nothing, right? Here’s the progress I made (or didn’t make) in Q3:
1) Buy a new sectional, coffee table, and area rug. 2/3 completed. I bought a new sectional in January and an area rug in September. The coffee table will probably be my birthday gift from my mom.
2) Work out three times a week. I would say that I’ve been about 50% successful with this goal. I struggled in Q1, did much better in Q2, and was successful for most of Q3 aside from a period of 2-3 weeks in August. I’m happy with that progress!
3) Start the process of becoming vegetarian by cutting out red meat and pork and having one meatless day once a week. No progress made. (Will likely not be completed.)
4) Become a regular water drinker. No progress made.
5) Experiment with an elimination diet. No progress made. (Will likely not be completed.)
6) Set a budget and be diligent about it. I’m doing pretty well with this goal, but the goal itself is rather vague so it’s hard to really measure how well I’m doing.
7) At the end of the year, have $3,500 saved in my emergency fund and $3,000 saved in my car down payment fund. This will be a pretty hard goal to accomplish by the end of the year. I need to save $1,100 in my emergency fund and $1,000 in my car fund to get it done. I’m going to try to hit the car goal since saving for a car down payment is my most pressing need.
8) Complete the 2021 Unread Shelf Project. I am trucking along with this challenge:
- January (a book with high expectations): American Royals by Katherine McGee (★★★☆☆)
- February (a book you got for free): The Cactus by Sarah Haywood (DNF)
- March (a book you bought on a trip): Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney (DNF)
- April (a book bought from a used bookstore): The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty (★★★★☆)
- May (a book bought as a new release): The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah (★★★★☆)
- June (a book bought in a spending spree): Female Chauvinist Pigs by Ariel Levy (DNF)
- July (a book bought for the cover): Untamed by Glennon Doyle (★★★★☆)
- August (a book bought from an independent bookstore): The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (★★★★★)
- September (a book you want to learn from): Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson (★★★★★)
9) Read The Count of Monte Cristo. Complete! I finished it in August and it was a 5-star read for me.
10) Finish the year with 35% of my books being by or about BIPOC or the LGBT community. I am currently at 39%, which is slightly up from where I was after Q2.
11) Build an earring collection (15+ earrings). I have 8 pairs of earrings (up from 5 in Q2). I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to complete this goal, especially if I “cheat” and buy one of those $20 packs of 10+ earrings at Target. Heh.
12) Start dating again. Complete.
13) Work through one Bible study this year. Not complete. (Will likely not be completed.)
14) Get my third tattoo. Not complete! Hopefully, I will get this done. (I’m always so nervous about going to a tattoo shop, lol.)
15) Stop drinking alcohol. Eh, mostly complete.
Looks like you are making such great progress!
I have modeled my own yearly goals after yours and I think it’s admirable how honest you are in your assessments. I, too, abandoned my “drink more water” goal this year and I’m not sure if I want to pretend to tackle it in 2022. Maybe I’ll just copy whatever you do!
Looking at these goals on a regular basis is a good exercise as it pushes you to think about whether these goals make sense/whether you should move them ahead to the next quarter! I am have a very low-bar for goal setting these days but I used to set yearly goals albeit only 5 or so! These days I set monthly goals and they are rarely stretch goals but I’m ok with that at this stage of life!
I admire you for writing out annual goals and then tracking your progress. Maybe I’ll try that in 2022. I also love your honesty about your progress, and that you might consider abandoning some of the goals that you set.
Why were you thinking about doing an elimination diet again (I am thinking about it myself) and why are you considering not doing it?
Hello, fellow Floridian and NaBloPoMo blogger! I’m glad San got the 2021 list up and working so I can check out some new blogs.
I think 2020 made me wary, because I couldn’t seem to make myself set any goals for 2021- I just didn’t know what was going to happen. Good for you for attempting it- sounds like you’re ding a reasonable job of achieving them! I’ve just gotten to the point where I’m setting monthly goals again- baby steps!
I think you are doing pretty good on all those goals. I personally believe that one you realize on your journey a goal ist not for you it is also something you accomplished. Imagine chasing that goals for years to come.
OK, I’m super-impressed at the progress you have made on your goals! There were a lot of them! Also? Some of the goals you’ve achieved (ahem, dating???) are BIG goals! Be proud of what you’ve done, seriously.
I know you and others have difficulty with the “drink more water” thing. And I’m wondering… do you really NEED to drink more water? I mean, does your body need / want it? Or is it just that you think you *should* have more? I drink a ton of water because a) I do pretty long workouts most days, and b) I feel better when I’m super-hydrated. But, if you feel okay with drinking what you typically do, your urine isn’t really concentrated, and you’re not getting headaches or other signs of dehydration, then it might not be worth it.
(Mayo has a good link on it: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256)
I still can’t wait to see your next tattoo – when you work up the courage to get it done! 🙂