I started the year with a lot of goals and projects, knowing that at least a few would fall by the wayside. That’s part of my process. I like to take on more projects than I can possibly handle to see which ones actually stick.
Let’s take a look at what actually happened with my goals and projects during the first month of 2021:
Quitting Soda: Nailed it! I did not drink a single sip of soda in January. I barely have a craving for soda anymore, and when I do, my immediate reaction is, Blech, then I’d lose my streak. I love a good streak. I made trackers for my various goals at the beginning of the year, and filling in a heart bubble for every day I forego soda is very satisfying. Now that I have 31 hearts in a row, I want to see how much longer I can sustain the streak. My original thought was to allow myself one soda every week, but I think for me, quitting it completely works better.
Blog Every Weekday: I did! I enjoyed it and the more I blog, the more I want to keep doing it. Is blogging dead? Meh, don’t care. It’s a tool that is helping me do my inner work, so hell yes, I am going to continue blogging on weekdays.
Finish the Room Mom Novel I Started In November: I am making excellent progress with revisions and thoroughly enjoying this work. I worked on it twenty-five out of thirty-one days in January, which felt just right.
Learn French: I used Duolingo every single day. That streak is currently up to 635 days. The work of learning a new language feels good for my brain. It’s like a gym workout but without the sweat or men grunting obnoxiously.
Tap Dance: My goal is to tap dance at least 100 times in 2021. I tapped twice early in January. I would like to keep at this. This will be easier when both my kids actually go to school, but I do not want to wait for that. Sometimes it feels like Pippa is never going back. Actually, there are rumblings about going to hybrid in February, but I’ll believe that when it happens. Until then, I want to tap. I think I need to order myself a dvd with actual lessons to follow. That might be more satisfying than finding random YouTube tutorials.
Roller Skate: My goal is to roller skate 50 times in 2021. I roller skated once in January. It’s a start! But Pippa broke her nose, and I’m not going to skate again until her nose is healed. Solidarity. The poor kid misses being able to skate. It seems cruel to strap on my pink skates when she is stuck in the slow lane.
Play the Piano: My goal was to play the piano 100 times in 2021. I didn’t play at all. Meh, looks like this is a goal that does not want to stick. Mama has to sleep!
Post On Instagram Daily: Yes! I posted daily in January. I enjoyed it. I like this project.
Walk An Average of 12,000 Steps in 2021: I crunched the numbers and I averaged 12,874 steps in the month of January. Woot woot! My biggest day was January 9 with 19,300 steps. My smallest day was January 29 with 9,200 steps – which is still way better than what I used to average once upon a time before I got my Fitbit.
Do A Weekly Tarot Reading: Did this. Loved it. It’s a great tool for touching base with my intuition.
Read 100 Books For Myself: I’m on track here! I read 8 books for myself in January. Mostly audio books. I’ll write a separate post about this soon.
Do 25 “Big” Craft Projects: I finished two projects: (1) a crochet sweater for Pippa and (2) my first punch needle project. Very satisfying. I love crafting!
Try 100 New Recipes: I tried thirteen new recipes in January! It was fun and this project got me back into my cooking groove. I will do a separate post on this as well.
Go Down 100 Slides: I went down exactly zero slides. We just didn’t go to a lot of playgrounds. There was a heat wave, so the kids did tons of water play at home. Then there was rain, and then Pippa broke her nose. I still like the spirit of this project and I’m going to keep it on the back burner.
50 Different Places: I went to six new places in January: a beach; a walk along the Arroyo; a special compounding pharmacy for my testosterone prescription; the Arroyo Seco Racquet Club for Pippa’s tennis lessons (she made it to two lessons, and then broke her nose); the Emergency Room for said broken nose; and then a pediatric plastic surgeon who took a special look at the nose and confirmed it’s healing nicely on its own. In a non-pandemic world, I’d be going to museums and different parts of the city, but I am working with what I’ve got. I definitely feel better when I get to go somewhere different and having this project keeps me on the lookout for new outings.
French Braid My Hair 100 Times: I didn’t make a ton of progress here, but I did try (and fail spectacularly) twice and then I watched a helpful YouTube video. Then I felt like I injured my shoulder twisting my arm into weird shapes. But I will persevere! I will end this year knowing how to French braid my hair!
Exercise: In addition to my steps, I am doing stretching, cardio and strength training. I stretched every day but one in January (about twenty minutes each day). For cardio, I did the 3-2-1 method. During my walks, I walk at an easy pace for three minutes, a moderate pace for two minutes, and then super mega intense for one minute. I repeat this cycle five times for a total of 30 minutes. I did this type of cardio 15 times in January. Woot woot! I did strength training with my free weights and resistance bands 12 times. I am definitely doing better with exercise than I did this time last year, so go me.
Meditation: Using the Calm app, I meditated twenty-four times.
Journaling: I journaled 29 days. This practice is really the foundation of my mental health.
Noom: I continued using the Noom app in January and followed the program 28 out of 31 days. This program is fundamentally changing my relationship with food.
Activity Book: I want to make another activity book this year, but with the demands of distance learning, I just haven’t had the time — but the year is young! I am slowly gathering ideas for a snarky activity book about pregnancy. When I finish revisions on my room mom novel and send it to an editor, I’ll work on the pregnancy activity book.
Geography: I studied geography every day on my favorite app. I love it. I am getting a much better handle on the countries of the world.
Podcasting: My goals is to publish 25 new episodes this year. I’ve done one so far. Maybe I’ll have the time to do another this week? That would be nice. The first day Pippa starts hybrid school, I am racing home and recording a podcast episode.
Gardening: I started an herb garden with the kids and addressed a “situation” with a cat. (The “situation” being that the cat was pooping in my vegetable patch.) I am planning to add two raised beds to our garden for some bitching summer gardening.
Decluttering: I made some headway here. I cleared out my clothes closet and the kids’ clothes closet, dealt with a big mess of craft supplies, cleaned up the trunk of my car (it had become a pit of despair), tidied my desk and nightstand, and cleared out all the junk that had been stuck behind our poor piano. It’s actually very uplifting to write about this. There is still a lot to declutter but it’s cheering to see the progress I’ve made.
Photo Albums: I am YEARS behind on photo albums. I have nearly finished uploading our 2020 photos to Shutterfly. Then I’ll make that album and move on to 2019. It’s time traveling, sort of.
Monthly Family Photo: Oops, forgot about this. [blush]
One Second Everyday: I did this more days than not and I am slowly getting into the habit of taking a quick daily video to add to the collection. I enjoy it. It’s a fun family memory.
Newsletter: My goal is to send my newsletter 2x per month. I did not send it in January. Oh well. Here’s to February! (Or not…)
Balloon Animals: I set a fun goal to make 25 balloon animals in 2021. I bought some balloons but didn’t try this yet. I have to though, because the heroine in my Room Mom Novel knows how to make balloon animals. So I have to give this a try just so I know how to write about it.
Whew! Overall, my 2021 goals and projects have been a big success. They are helping me build and sustain momentum during these strange distance learning times. Projects make me happy, so I’m glad to have so many!