If you are a regular reader, thanks for coming back to my blog! I appreciate you. If you’re a new reader, welcome! I also appreciate you and hope you find my blog interesting and motivating. I decided to do a different kind of post today, one related to goals and what I’d like to set for myself December 2018. This may seem a little odd, right? Usually people wait until January and the start of a new year to list out their goals. But I’ve never been a fan of New Year’s Resolution and the whole “new year, new me” thing.
Why? Because I believe it encourages people to believe that they can’t make changes NOW. They always have to wait until next week, next month, next year. I’ve heard someone say they want to get fit but they weren’t going to start until next month so they can “start fresh.” Isn’t that insane? I think now especially I need to refocus and spell out my goals because this past month has been a tough one and caused me to fall off track a bit. But the new series on my blog may help me fight that…
I also realized I’m unintentionally posting this on the 4th of December… trippy.
#GoalsFour: December 2018
November wasn’t the best month for many reasons. Life, dude. I think it’s important to continue pushing forward even through hard times, but I lost some focus. I think if I record my goals for the next month, it’ll help me by seeing my goals physically. Also, it can hold me accountable. Lastly, I think it can calm me down and make me realize maybe I’m not doing bad as I think. Some weeks I feel so unmotivated at the gym and maybe I’ll only go three times a week. My goal is to go 4-5 times per week, by the way.
After the low week I’ll get down on myself and feel like I’m not making progress. But then I’ll look on the MyFitnessPal app which I use to record my workouts. I’d then see I’ve been hitting my goal for most weeks. So sometimes we need to step back in order to realize we’re on the right path. Thus, I am starting this #GoalsFour series on my blog. It may not be every month, but each installment will include four goals I am working on and believe I can do in the next month. They don’t have to be goals with a finite end, like write 50,000 words by the end of the month. Nah, that’s just Nanowrimo madness.
Instead, they may be: continue working on my positive mindset or journal more. Some may also be numerical with a finite end, like, take 2 Spanish lessons via Tandem. So, if you’re interested in my #GoalsFour December 2018, keep reading.
Goal #1: Dedicate More Time to Languages
My language learning journey took a bit of dip this past month. I think I did well with Spanish, but also realize Spanish takes me the least effort because I’ve been studying it for so long and can speak it fairly well. However, the real slacking can be seen from my progress, or lack thereof, in Portuguese and Russian. In September and October nealy everyday I studied each of the three languages I am learning. In November? Weeks went by without looking at a single thing in Russian. And my Portuguese studying started strong in the beginning of the month and gradually waned.
This is incredibly frustrating for me because not too long ago I was so excited that I was having a conversation in Portuguese with a native. Now, I wouldn’t say I lost everything I learned, but I did forget already a lot of vocabulary. Russian is even worse because I still haven’t even mastered the alphabet! In December, I need to make more of an effort to do a little each day, at minimum every other day, in each language.
Goal #2: Run More
This is actually something I haven’t necessarily done bad in. I actually noticed that I’ve been adding more cardio into my routine. Sometimes it’s because I don’t feel like lifting. But we’ll look past that. It may not be clear from my blog (yet!) but fitness is a big part of my life. I often post my post-workout pictures on my Instagram and I’ve had a few videos where I discuss going to the gym. Running has always been a struggle for me. But I want to get better at running and do it more.
An eventual goal will be to do another 5K. I did one years ago and I walked basically the entire time. The next one I do, I want to be jogging for the majoity of it. Then I’d like to work up to a 10K. Currently my left knee is a litle battered because I ran the past few days and I’m in desperate need of new running shoes. Perhaps that can be my Christmas gift to myself?
Goal #3: Journal Weekly
This summer when I was going through a major transition in my life journaling helped me sort through my feelings. I’ve always loved writing but I never dedicated myself to a journey. I remember having a Bratz diary and desperately wanted to make writing in it a habit. I felt every writer should enjoy doing that. But I didn’t. Even in the summer, writing everyday wasn’t something I felt I needed to do. Writing at least weekly is a great start and doable for me. I just find journaling everyday to feel more like a chore than anything else.
I can write everyday, perhaps stories or notes, blog ideas, etc. But journaling? I’ll pass on that for now. Are you someone that likes to journal everyday? Let me know why you believe it’s beneficial to you! I’ve found many prompts on Pinterest that I can use as inspiration if I feel I had an uneventful week. So I’m excited to connect more with my thoughts by journaling.
Goal #4: Stick to a Grocery Budget
This may be a slightly less fun one, but it’s a very important goal! September and October I stuck to my budget goal so well! Maybe even a little too well because I bought so little and it was hard some weeks to stretch it until my next grocery trip. But November my budget for groceries basically went out the window. Since I am trying to save for travel, life, etc., I need to make sure I am focused and not buying impulsively.
This means that I want to start tracking my spending again. In all areas, not just groceries. That also means not only making a list and sticking to it (which I usually do) but putting an allotted price for each item. This way I know how much I will spend before I get there and can cut out certain things if needed. Sure, it may not be fun to not be able to get those extra nuts or fries at the grocery store. But you have to make sacrificies now in order to benefit from them later. I can do this! And if you’re on a budgt, you can do it too!
HOLD ON! We’re not done yet.
Another part of #GoalsFor I want to include are four things I did well the past month. They can be the four goals I mentioned or four completely random, unexpected things. Here are four things I am proud of myself for accomplishing during November, an overall hard month:
- I stuck with my uploading/posting schedule for my blog and my Youtube channel. I didn’t miss a single post or video upload, and I even made a intro for my Youtube videos. So exciting!
- I completed Nanowrimo early! I updated my word goal every single day!
- I hit my workout goal every week!
- I began selling unwanted/unused things. Extra cash, baby!
