February Goals

I'm so glad January is over with. Not that anything particular bad happened in January, it's just my least favourite month of the year. Christmas and the holidays are over, it's a long month with no holidays (I don't count New Years Day because that's lumped in with Christmas holidays), and it's usually one of the coldest and dreariest months for me to get through. I hit a rough slump for a few days near the end of the month; I was exhausted for no reason and really struggled to motivate myself to do anything other than keep my toddler fed and entertained. Thankfully, February is off to a brighter start!

I haven't thought to hard about what I want to accomplish in terms of goals for this month. Looking back at my January goals, there are a few that I didn't complete to their fullest extent so I might just carry some of them over so I can continue to work on them.

Here's a quick look at what I wanted to achieve in January:

1. Drink a cup of tea every night. 

This did not happen. I had a strong start, but more often than not, I just completely forgot. The nights I did have tea though, I really enjoyed it. I think I need to set reminders for myself to really make this a habit.

2. Walk 10,000 steps a day.

I had some great days and some not so great days, in terms of steps taken. Definitely something I have to work at.

3. Go snowshoeing.

This is 100% my most successful goal from last month! I got out snowshoeing twice, once with my good friend Carol who was visiting me for the night, and another time with Ange and Jen as part of the Alberta Adventure Girls weekend retreat. We snowshoed for 10km UP A MOUNTAIN. (This was also my best day of steps taken - 22,331!)

4. Meal plan every Sunday night.

Actually, I was pretty successful with this! I started out strong, picking my meals on Saturday night, and then getting groceries on Sunday. It was so nice to not have to think about what to make every night. After my weekend in the mountains, I let the meal planning slip a bit since I wasn't organized come that Monday morning. This past week I didn't meal plan either (my mom has been visiting, and then Jim and I went to BC for three days), and I'm really noticing how much I miss being organized in the meal department. I'm feeling stressed at not having any idea on what to have for dinner, and I really miss having leftovers for lunch.

5. Read 3 books.

Done! I thought I could sneak in a fourth one, but my current read is taking me much longer to get through than I thought it would.

6. Be in bed, lights out, by midnight.

Oh dear. The month started out with really, really late bedtimes. But then, about mid month, I think these late nights finally started catching up with me because I was actually starting to feel exhausted by mid-afternoon with no perking up after Sully went to bed. So I think that was a good thing since I have been better at getting into bed around 11/1130pm, which is a huge improvement for me.


FEBRUARY GOALS

Even with the leap year, this is a quick month. And it's also the month that Sully turns two, so I know this month will busy and just fly by. With that in mind, I'm keeping my goals for February simple and borrowing from last month to continue with making better habits in my daily life.

1. Be in bed, lights out, by 11pm every single night. 

Sully is waking up earlier and earlier every morning and not going back to sleep like he used to be known to do. It's not fair to either of us for me to be so tired in the morning. Baby steps with this one as I'm pretty sure morning people aren't made over night!

2. Walk 10,000 steps a day and strength train (body pump) 3x a week.

I've recently returned to the gym and reignited my love for body pump. It's my favourite class ever and I love how strong it makes me feel. I need to schedule time for myself to do this class 3x per week. (On top of continuing to get in my 10,000 steps per day).

3. Read 3 books. 

I read a lot, but sometimes even I need to make time to read over doing something else (like mindlessly scrolling through social media, or going upstairs to bed half an hour earlier so that I can get some time with my book).

4. Continue with weekly meal planning.

Meal planning equals less stress and chaos, less money spent on groceries and more healthful foods consumed by myself and my family.

And that's it for this month! I know, it's not very exciting, but I believe that in order to continue to work on my personal growth and well-being, while also keeping in mind my WORD for 2016, these goals are the building blocks for achieving the best me that I can be. And Rome wasn't built in a night, right? (Or something like that...)


Do you make monthly goals for yourself?

What's one thing you are hoping to accomplish this month? 

Do you find it takes you longer than a month to create new habits?