Goals- April
Well, it’s the end of May and this is embarrassingly one of the first posts I’ve written this month. I really need to get back in the habit of writing and working on these goals! However, accountability and habit are ways to keep me on track, so I’m still going to write my monthly report for April.
1. Run a Half Marathon – I actually did pretty good in April, I ran a few times a week for several weeks. I’ve also increased my yoga to build overall strength as well.
2. Innovation as a professional every month – Honestly, April was about maintenance as a professional. I’m also facing some unknowns professionally, so this goal was tough to cultivate. I did however get all of my grading done much more efficiently and had plenty of time at the end of the semester to get things done. In fact, I submitted final grades EARLY this semester, which is a big deal!
3. Read 24 books: I did read my two books in April! I read ‘Quiet’ by Susan Cain and ‘Safely Home’ by Randy Alcorn. They were very different, but both were excellent. ‘Quiet’ is a deep book, scholarly and took awhile to read. It’s about the power of introverts. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I’m NOT an introvert. Far from it, actually. However, I am definitely married to an introvert, and many of my friends are also introverts. So, the book was really interesting to me and I took a lot from it. ‘Safely Home’ is a ficticious novel but is based around the persecuted church in China. It challenged my level of faith and made me really reflect on my level of devotion to Jesus.
4. Get Biscuit certified as a therapy dog Still putting this off for budgeting purposes. Hopefully the late summer/early fall will result in Biscuit taking the needed training class.
5. Encourage two people a month with a handwritten note Accomplished this goal this month!
6. Write 60 blog posts Four posts were written this month, bringing the total to 25 this year. Still well on track to getting 60 done, so even though it was a bit slower, I’m getting there. I’ve been getting more hits on posts too, which is incredibly encouraging.
7. Get to know people who different from me I didn’t do much with this goal in April. I’ve got to find a ministry that will allow me to spend more one on one time with people. Praying through this- though I acknowledge that I need to stop just praying and start doing something about it very soon.
8. Enter into a mentoring relationship Still maintaining relationships with older women and learning from them. I love having these relationships so I can seek wise council on the never ending list of decisions I have to make in this stage of life.
9. Pay the car off My prayer is that this goal will be accomplished this year, but our finances may not permit it. We’ve buckled down and are working hard, but due to my ‘plan’ not going exactly as I ‘planned’ it, we may get close, but not quite there. God is really teaching me though that I need to stop putting ‘getting out of debt’ above relying on HIM for provision. It can definitely be an idol in my life.
10. Increase my political activity- first name basis with elected officials – I do believe this goal has been accomplished. I have developed relationships with several of our elected officials and have remained active. AND, the bill I lobbied for all session PASSED! Very exciting.
11. Publish a professional article (or at least write one)– The current project has hit a lull as both me and my research partner have been really busy. I hope to pick it back up soon, or start something I can do solo.
12. Memorize the book of Philippians – Also hit a lull. I didn’t do much with this at all this month. I need to get back at it.
13. Love my husband in a new way every month – This month I wrote Brent an encouraging note and put it in his car late one night. He goes to bed much earlier than me so it was easy to surprise him. I loved surprising him and speaking his love language (words of affirmation) in this way.
Looking back over the list for April, I’m a bit embarrassed. I certainly should have been more disciplined and focused. I was incredibly busy at work and also had to starting figuring out some ‘next steps’ but that’s not really a valid excuse. I think this goes arwy for many of us this time of year. We set goals or resolutions and which each passing month we slack off more and more. So my word this month is focus. I need to focus on keeping these goals part of a consistent process, a habit.
What do you do to keep your goals on track for the year?
SixEight Life 