The #Last90Days of '18 and the first 90 days of '19

It's a new year, which means my #Last90Days challenge is over. Let's see how I fared.

ONE  ::  Publish at least four blog posts per week.
Week nine: Done.
Week ten: Only three.
Week eleven: Done.
Week twelve: Only three.

I'm still figuring out how often I want to blog in this space going forward. I never want it to feel like another job (I already have two) or an obligation (I don't owe anything to anyone). So four a week was tough sometimes and other times, it was really easy. 
 

TWO  ::  Work out five days each week -- and make at least two of those double-workout days.
Week nine: No.
Week ten: No.
Week eleven: No.
Week twelve: No.

There were nearly no double-workouts in this last stretch. Changing part-time jobs kind of knocked that out. Although my new gig could be counted as a second workout, I usually get around 6K steps and do a lot of lifting. 
 

THREE  ::  Schedule eight hours of writing per week.
Week nine: No.
Week ten: No.
Week eleven: No.
Week twelve: No.

After NaNoWriMo was over, I kind of put away my writing hat.


FOUR  ::  Copy recipes onto cards for our collection.
I never did get this done. Oops.


FIVE  ::  Read 14 books.
I fell one short of my goal.

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Even though I didn’t successfully complete the Last 90 Days Challenge, I learned a lot about how I approach goals. This has helped me formulate a plan for future goals.

First of all, they need to be a bit flexible. One of the goals was four blog posts a week. Most weeks, I managed four. Sometimes, there were only two or three. A few times, I had five. So I didn’t nail the goal, but it did keep me motivated to post on my blog. I’m still trying to figure out how often I should post here. I don’t want it to be an obligation as much as something I enjoy, so I’m trying not to force myself to write when I really don’t have anything I want to share.

Secondly, and most notably, I do best if I focus on a few things rather than a long list. I am way guilty of jumping all in and trying to make a ton of changes at once. But that is overwhelming and often leads to me giving up before I get to my goal. I need to ease into changes instead of trying to do everything at one time.

It was a timely lesson, actually, as I prepare to do my year in goals recap and prepare for a new year. I’ve decided instead of going after nine things for an entire year, I’m going to set 2-3 quarterly goals. Each quarter will have a different focus. I’m hoping that they kind of build on each other and my new practices become habits by the time I’m ready to go into a new phase of my goals.

For the first quarter, I’m going to focus on slowing down.  

 

I work roughly 60 hours a week. I have a special needs cat. I also invest time in my marriage, my family relationships, and other friendships. I own a home that has projects and upkeep needs. I often feel like I’m just spinning my wheels and don’t have many moments where I just sit, relax, and recharge. So my first three goals of the year will hopefully help me get better at doing this.

ONE :: Schedule downtime. Circle one day/evening each month. Spend a few hours simply reading or watching something on DVD or Netflix. And no multitasking (doing laundry, cleaning, blogging, etc. during this period). I’m allowed to reschedule if something comes up, but I cannot cancel. This is an appointment with myself.

TWO :: Try the Miracle Morning practice. A friend told me about this, and although I’m not thrilled about getting up any earlier than I already do, I think taking a few minutes for quiet me time each morning will be really beneficial. The book/site suggests at least six minutes, with one minute each of meditation, affirmations, visualizations, scribing (journaling), reading, and exercise. It seems really short (one minute doesn’t seem like enough time to read or write anything), but I’ll see how it goes. And if I feel like extending the time, I’ll do that. I honestly think doing 15 minutes of reading or journaling in the morning sounds awesome, so maybe I’ll someday get to that.

What are your goals for the new year?