It’s here! It’s here!
My goal post for the quarter. You know the obligatory post that every blogger writes because readers are their bestest accountability buddies?
Ok, OK. The post that every blogger writes because people love to snoop and we want to indulge you?
OK, FINE. It’s the post that should, in theory, be pretty easy to churn out and also benefits the blogger greatly.
I, friends, am not that blogger.
I set out to write this post a handful of times and just couldn’t decide. Or I didn’t feel precise enough. Or I felt too boxed in.
But I’m trying to learn a new habit of goal setting and reflecting on it. While I’ve mustered through more than a year of it, that’s not actually saying much. Because I’ve only done it…five times. So onward with post six!
Health
Health is wealth. I look healthy, and I am for the most part. After panicking that I was crashing and burning into Goal Mountain, I actually spent most of my spring break taking care of myself. One of those things included a long-overdue follow-up appointment with my internist. Because apparently you can only push your luck for so long on maintenance med refills.
And my numbers are still good!
But I’ve also been doing a pretty poor job of taking care of myself. So I’m going to baby-step it up. I’m going to keep my steps and floor goals the same, but I’m also going to make it a point to meditate 5 times a week. After being really bad at this for a really long time, I got surprisingly good at it.
And then I just…stopped.
So I’m going to focus on that, along with my FitBit. I’m also working on getting back into a regular exercise routine but that’s another post for another time.
Goal 1 – Hit at least 10,000 steps a day.
Goal 2 – Climb at least 12 floors a day.
Goal 3 – Meditate using the Calm app 5x a week.
Wealth
March ended as a three-paycheck month. Plus we have smaller refunds, both federal and state. I’ve received the federal refund and am still awaiting for the state to pay up…or audit me or throw me in jail for clicking the wrong box on TaxAct.
Additionally, we got some seemingly good news on the 403b front for my husband. It looks like he does have the option this year to invest in a mutual fund, not just an annuity. However, he has to go through a company to go through another company. We’re anxiously awaiting the fee sheet to see if and how we will proceed.
RELATED POST: Terrible 403b Options: What Do I Do?
Goal 1 – Spend our windfalls strategically.
Goal 2 – Increase my 403b again.
Goal 3 – Set up a 403b for my husband.
Clutter
Decluttering is going well. We found two different charities that seem to have a real need for items that we are getting rid of, which feels like a kind of clutter kismet. As much as I’m working on getting rid of things in our house, I have noticed that I continue to do a terrible job decluttering my days.
Of course, having less stuff helps. We don’t lose things hardly ever anymore. Tidying up takes a lot less time. Less physical clutters makes for a more efficient day. But I’m noticing a new kind of clutter: commitment clutter. So I’m working on paring back. Side hustling just for the sake of side hustling? Pass. More committee work for no pay or no credit? Pass. I’ve juggled all the plates; it’s time to give someone else a shot at it.
RELATED POST: The Stupidity of the Side Hustle
Goal 1 – Continue my monthly decluttering posts.
Goal 2 – Donate more and funnel my clutter to our vacation.
Goal 3 – Declutter my commitments by scaling back at least one thing a month if it doesn’t serve me.
Others
I don’t talk a ton about green living on my blog, but I do spend quite a bit of time talking about it at home and at work, especially now. It’s something about this season. Seeds are sprouting. Last year’s compost is turned in the beds. Everything just feels green.
So I’m going to keep watch on my single-use cups. This also goes for plastic soda bottles. I’ll only buy one every once in a while, but I really shouldn’t buy any. I don’t need pop, and I don’t need plastic. And if I do really need pop, I can find a can.
I’ve also committed to adding $20 to my budget, and I’m going to stick with that. Basically, it’s a small rainy day fund…but for someone else. I intend to do a full post on it soon-ish (I know, I know, I said that during my last goal post).
Goal 1 – Keep up my surprise $20 gift giving.
Goal 2 – Use 4 or less single-use cups.
Me
I’m still really struggling with making myself a priority. If I’m being totally honest, it feels like time is so fleeting with my husband and my son, I just don’t want to spend time doing things without them. Still, I had so much fun meeting up for a solo coffee date with my best friend. She’s great about coming to hang out with HP and me at our house or the park or anything. But it was just plain nice to see her, so I’m going to focus on that.
Also, I’m going to get my nails done. I know this is the opposite of all things frugal. But I have a gift certificate, and I honestly hate doing my own nails. It’s not for lack of trying, but I honestly don’t possess the patience. So I’m going to make time for some kind of reasonable splurge.
Goal 1 – Go out with a friend once a month.
Goal 2 – Get my nails done or do something else for myself.
Final Thoughts on Q2 2019 Goals
I’ll share some other plans and ambitions for our money, my clutter, and my freelancing throughout the next few months. But I am still so bad at goal setting. It is unnatural and clunky. I either want checklists that I can cross off immediately or dreams that I can run through in my head whenever I want. This in-between stuff? Well, I’m learning. So here’s my practice. What are you working on this quarter?
So Tell Me…Are you focusing on anything specific for this quarter? Do you have plans or dreams for the new year?
I really like these goals, but I’m interested to hear more about the $20 surprise gift giving! *Hint hint*
Brilliant.
I can relate as per:
Meditating – but I have been meditating 2 x / day since late january (after I spent beaucoup bucks on said course)
Single use cups – zero, as of January 1. No takeaway coffee of any kind. tonnes of muffins though 🙂
My Alcohol free lasted from january one till early march, then there was a huge family wedding in late March…. get the picture?
We are also decluttering – i am giving away some outdoor furniture to one of the girls at work. amd clothes was easy as. but what of the books i want to offload? Ebay would not take them, ditto Amazon….
Also love your $20 surprise gift giving, however you should have listed that under wealth! For books, try http://www.paperbackswap.com; they take hardcovers too!
I use quarterly goal sheets . These goals are broken Dan from my annual goal sheets that I set up late December of the previous year.
This quarter I’m continuing to work on:
1) being debt-free on credit cards, and simultaneously saving as well as working
2) on being more consistent on my sinking fund contributions, lol
3) getting a part-time job to increase my monthly income
If you’re having problems grappling with big goals, trying breaking them down into small steps.
Check out ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear… Good practical advice about how your brain works and what mental tools can help you form new habits… Achieving goals is done by building new habits
Willpower is overrated, knowing more about how your brain actually works vs how you think it should work is very helpful
He also has a newsletter email you can sign up for.
Cheers
Thanks for the idea, Wendy!
YES! Get your nails done! Honestly, I hate doing my eyebrows, so I had been putting that off and I finally got them done, and it was more expensive than doing it myself, but I feel so much better! It’s amazing!
I keep holding off on mediating and I’ve always wanted to do it on a daily basis so your quarterly health goals is good reminder that I should seriously start soon.
Your DSW shoe donation recommendation has really helped me do some spring cleaning on our shoes. We have donated about six pairs of shoes so far to DSW and plan to do more since MwC and me still have more shoes we don’t wear anymore. Not only we get that $5 discount for every 2 pairs we donate but these shoes goes to Soles4Souls who will distribute them to families in need for shoes. It always feels great to donate!!
I’m going to keep trying (if not necessarily succeeding) to hit 50% of my post-tax income going to either savings or as extra on my mortgage. Striving for it keeps me honest. (And yes, gives me a post each month.)
I’m going to continue to work out 4-5 times a week because I need to for my cholesterol’s sake (and my weight, too). And I’m going to try to stick to my diet more. It’s better for me, and I want to get into the next size down of jeans. I’m only about 6-7 lbs away from what I’m pretty sure my skinny weight is, so I just need to power across that finish line. But somehow being so close is the opposite of motivating and I keep coasting. Oh well, here’s to April/May/June bucking that trend!
But that’s about it as far as hard and fast goals go.
Oh, man. Commitment clutter is a huge struggle for me. I find it really difficult to pass those plates on – I feel guilty about it…and then I feel guilty for feeling guilty because what does it say about my ego that I feel like I have to be the one to do everything? Ugh.
I set a few different goals for Q2, mostly related to creative endeavours. They’re ambitious projects that will require a time commitment on my end, so I am hoping that might help with the whole commitment clutter thing.