August goals

I may not meet my stated goals  (see July!) but even writing them down has its own usefulness. 

Initially I copied my goals over wholesale from last month.  Tech-wise, this didn't work well, let alone goal-wise.  The problem is that by repeating all my goals and then adding more, I'll overload myself, and I want these goals to be realistic.  And yet all these things (and more) need doing...

• Household file up and running
• Make contact with my PoD mentor
• Be ready to start Project 333 on September 1
• Craft room organised
• Tax return completed and filed.

So, we'll see how I go this month...

July goals - wrap up

My July goals...

Rolled over. In their entirety.

End message.

July Goals

I may not meet my stated goals, but even just writing them down is something that I find very helpful.  For all my previous post about goals, see here.

Goal 1 - Closet purge (yep, still on my list)

Goal 1A - post about it.

Goal 2 - Get my household file up and running.

Goal 2A - post about it.

Goal 3 -  Make contact with my PoD mentor.

Goal 4 - Go to the gym at least once a week.  (I'd prefer twice, but I'm trying to be realistic.)

Goal 5 - Craft room organised enough that the door can be open without endangering the kitties.

June goals - end of month

At the end of the month it's important to evaluate whether or not the goals have been met, and whether they need to be rolled over to the next month.

Goal 1 - the closet purge.  Not completed.  :-(  Washing has begun, but there's still more sorting and purging to happen.  I'm hoping I can work on this a lot in the next week while I'm on annual leave - so this will be rolled over to July.

Goal 2 - Project life catch up. I've made definite progress, and in some ways this is a silly goal, because it will never be entirely met.  But I'm happy with where I am.

Goal 3 -  Household file.  Not done, in part because the printer isn't hooked up yet.  Rolled over to next month :-)

Goal 4 - blog about Project Life.  July has been declared PL month :-)

Goal 5 - the Tea Towel Stole.  That's not done, but I have completed the Kobo Cover, blogged about my UFOs, AND begun on the Great Big List of UFOs.

Goal 6 - 40% on Goodreads goal for the year.  Not there, but I've made some progress.  This month at least I won't be rolling this goal over.

Mid-month goals review (June)

It's far too easy for me to post about my goals and then forget about them until the end of the month.  So part of my process is a mid-month "how I'm going" review.

See my June goals post here.

Goal 1 - the closet purge.  Still hasn't happened.

Goal 2 - project life catch up.  Photos have been printed up to the Queen's Birthday weekend, and are all sorted by week and mostly placed in layouts.  The most recently completely finished layout is still back in April, and I don't know that I'll get entirely caught up until I have my week off work in July, but progress is being made.  I've also come up with a couple of ideas for keeping organised while running behind.

Goal 3 - set up my household file.  I've thought about it a lot, does that count?  Again, progress, but not there yet.

Goal 4 - blog about Project Life.  I've certainly kickstarted my blogging again (something I've been wanting to do since the beginning of the year) but I haven't yet got the PL blogging up and running.  I think I may make July the month of PL around here :-)

Goal 5 - the tea towel stole.  I know where it is.  In the current state of the craft room, this is an achievement.  Again, unlikely to finish it this month, but major priority for July.  It's also the top of my list for my UFO challenge (which you'll be reading about in a day or two's time.)

Goal 6 - 40% on my Goodreads challenge.  I'm at 29%, with three books at 60% finished or above.  It's not out of the realms of possibility yet.


How are you going on your goals for June?

June Goals

First up

• That closet purge I was planning for May.  As I've mentioned before, the ailing washing machine caused problems for that little plan.  But despite two weekends away and another full of family obligations, I have every intention of getting through my closet by the end of June.
• Catch up on Project Life.  I'm nowhere near as far behind as I was, but I really would like to be properly caught up.

Now for the new stuff

• Set up my Household file.  This includes getting budgets and other routines sorted.  I want my financial routines sorted before the new financial year kicks in.
• Blog about Project Life.  Ideas include -
• Are my Monthly spreads working?
• Spreads I'm proud of
• My 'historical' projects.
• Speaking of historical projects - finish the tea towel stole.  It was supposed to be a "quick" project and I started it back in 2009, before the GF and I were even living together.  I put it together in the living room of her old flat, which is now two houses ago!

Finally,

• Goodreads tells me that I am 27% through my challenge of 90 books for 2014.  (Bonhoeffer was bound to put me behind, but I've also ended up back reading fanfic again.)  There's no way I can make 50% by the end of June (without reading picture books), but I'd like to be at 40% by the end of the month.

The Washing Machine, cont... BEDiM Day 13

The repair man is coming to see the washing machine today.  I won't be there - I have to be at work - but I want this sorted out sooner rather than later and my mother was kind enough to say she'll go over to the house and be there for the repair guy.

One of the reasons I want it sorted sooner rather than later is that I had to take my washing over to my parents house on Sunday, and there's nothing worse than arriving at your mother's house, on Mother's Day, with a basket of washing.

And it's also about meeting my goals for the month.  You see...

* without a washing machine, I can't wash a whole pile of non-seasonal clothes that are hanging around post-move.

* until those non-seasonal clothes are washed, I can't do the closet purge that is my May goal.

* and until I do my closet purge, there will be too much crap hangng around the house for me to get to setting up my Craft room, which is another of my May goals.

So you see, it's really all about goals.  And wanting to have not killed my washing machine by being an idiot.

Every day in May: Day 1, goals

Via one of my new favourite bloggers, Kellie Winnell, comes the "Blog every day in May" challenge from Sunday of Love Happy Daily (I love discovering more Australian bloggers.  I'm getting less and less tolerant of the North American orientation of just about everything - Easter isn't in Spring all over the world, people!)

It probably seems weird to pick up a crazy project like blogging every day for 31 days when I've not been able to blog three times a month so far this year.  But hey, when have I not done crazy projects?  And there are so many things that I want to be blogging about.  Project Life, our new house, the way that we're developing routines in our fabulous new house.

So, this morning, before I go and get into a full day of final cleaning of the old house, I'm giving myself the length of time of episode 2 of the Jim Henson Creature Shop Challenge (I love this show!) to post the blog for this morning's prompt - goals.

My May goals are

• post every day in May
• get my craft room set up
• catch up on Project Life (the move has meant I've done little to none in April, simply because there's been no time at all to get photos printed)
• get our herb garden planted
• track my spending in preparation for a budgeting effort in June.

And I honestly think that's enough!

Edit: Actually, I forgot a couple. 

* complete a full closet purge

* read the Metaxas 'Bonhoffer' in time for book club, and chase down some progressive/liberal reviews. 

March Goals

I found my draft post containing my February goals sitting here.  I didn't meet a single one in its entirety.  And now, of course, the bulk of March forms part of Lent, and the focus changes.  Looking at things in context, I can't even just replicate my February goals for March, even though they all still need to be accomplished in some way or another.  The goals that were about getting ready to move - well, we're hoping to have moved by the end of this month.  The goals that were about Getting Things Done (the non-trademarked version) seem inappropriate in a season of reflection.

So: March goals.  And this time I'm going to publish them, and report back in April.  And see how I've gone.

Reflecting

• Remember to breathe - 'breathe' is my word for the year.  I think I might design a little "Remember to breathe" card or two for Project Life.
• Implement two or more ideas from "Beyond Busyness"
• Post on WGC.

Other

• Read books by queer Australian women (and review at least one).  For more on this, see the post on my book blog.
• Chapters 3-6 to Ruth 

A lot of my goals at the moment are future-fixed: "once we've moved I will..." keep the kitchen organised; make meal plans; make bento lunches; etc.  There's this annoying state of uncertainty while we wait for the date on which we will be settling the house purchase.  Until then, it just this awkward state of interruption.