Meanwhile, in California...

 

It's raining. For the second or third time today.  No more 80 degree weather for Southern California.  Meanwhile, friends and family on social media are posting photos and status updates about growing snow mounds and ice-covered driveways and leaking windows...

 

I had a decently busy week, and met several of my personal goals.  Feel free to check out my many specific ROW80 goals at the end of this post, but I would say that one thing I am learning is that I seem to only be able to prioritize a couple of my goals at a time...So I've been basically switching around which ones get attention each week.

So, work was busy, and I had to juggle a bit, and I was still very tired after work, but I found myself having better discipline this week at home.  I'm not completely clear on if I'm just getting used to the new schedule, but, in terms of the overarching goal of turning little changes into lasting habits, I'll take it!

EXERCISE
I started a new thing with my exercise goal/daily routine this week.  Basically, when I drive to and from work, I do my side-to-side neck stretches at red lights (lean to one side and hold for 30 seconds).  Obviously, the stretch gets broken up into many small parts, depending on the lights, but I think it's probably good to be stretching in little intervals all day, anyway.  So by the time I get home, I've more than passed my minimum exercise goal of one set of stretches for the day.  And it's probably one of the most helpful stretches to do regularly, since my neck and shoulders get tender after a day at a computer.  And knowing that I've got an exercise to fill in on my little exercise chart later seems to encourage me to just get one more exercise done so I can write that down, too.  It also helps that I like to exercise in threes, so if I start a new set, I try to finish another three to reach six, or nine.  The last eight days, I've done between two and nine kinds of exercises over the course of the day, many of them for more than my minimum three sets.  My minimum goal of one set of stretches daily, and my stretch goal of three sets of three exercises for three days in a row, have both been surpassed.  My stretch goal should really go back to being my minimum goal, honestly, but I figure that any kind of exercise that's regular and increasing is a positive.  And making sure that at least one of those activities during the weekend is outside is also helping.  It's raining now, but I got to the college farm to volunteer yesterday, and I went on a 3-mile walk around the neighborhood with friends this afternoon.  We got caught in a shower, but it was still nice to get outside and get some fresh air and social time (and another goal on my list, and another exercise to check off on my chart).

COOKING/CLEANING/DECLUTTERING
I have also continued to cook during the week, for lunch and dinner.  I tidied, but have not decluttered or reduced.  I noticed that several times this week when I just wanted to climb under a warm blanket and become a sloth, I made myself do another exercise, or go back into the kitchen to do my dishes.  I'm hoping that this is a new discipline habit forming, but of course only time will tell.  I am given to short bursts of novelty enthusiasm that trail away, so hopefully the progress and streak of the last couple weeks will keep me going.

BUDGET/INSURANCE
I am still figuring out budget stuff, and I still need to do my main taxes, but I did figure out my 2015 insurance.

SOCIAL MEDIA
I continue to dabble on Pinterest and Facebook, and I post on Instagram and ROW80 each week.  I am on Twitter daily, since it has the most real social interaction.

CRAFTING/WRITING
I'm still running out of steam here.  It makes me feel a little sad, but I also have a limited amount of (mental and physical) energy right now.  I did work on a brainstorming list for a new set of short blog posts, and I finally started cropping my photos for the blog post that was mostly finished in December.  And I wrote this blog post.  But that's about it.  I also figured out a few more work outfits, which also sort of qualifies as creative time.  But I need to catch up on a sewing project, and take in a few pairs of pants.  And update my photo galleries, and add some items to my Etsy store.  And start some new projects.  Things that keep not happening.

I'm still a bit of an emotional rollercoaster with all the changes going on in life (tired, sad, and flustered at times).  But I was really pleased by the number of things that I got to this week, both in work and life.  And I do feel like watching the goal tallies rise this week encouraged me to check off a few more, and then a few more.

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My JANUARY (5th) - MARCH (26th) ROW80 GOALS:

Part A (Creativity & Social Media)
[x] 1. 1-2 blog posts per week (Ideally: 1 ROW80 post, 1 crafts post).
[  ] 2. Do something creative every day.  Doodles still count.
[x] 3. Social Media: Check in with all of my accounts/communities every week.
[  ] 4. Catch up with/update blog & Facebook photo galleries.

Part B (Catching Up With Life):
[x] 1. Exercise--Ideal goal: 3x3x3 (3 sets of 3 exercises for 3+ days). 
Bare minimum: 1 set of stretches.  Get outside on weekends.
[~] 2. Get my finances in order.  Also, address insurance, taxes and a new budget ASAP (however vague).
[~] 3. Decluttering, and re-organizing/tidying bedroom.
[80/100] 4. Aim for having my 100th post in May, the blog's 2-year anniversary.
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 Good luck with finishing up (or reaching for) your own February goals!