Well we are now headed into 2018; January flew by with barely a glance. It seems like yesterday was at least mid-month, and not the last day of the month. As I sit here typing this post, I realize that I haven’t totally gotten out of the rut/funk that I’ve been in for the past few months (or if I’m totally honest the past two/three years). So how am I going to try to get out of that routine/rut and start one that is more productive?

To answer that question, I need to look back honestly on what my January goals were, and how I did in terms of completing/hitting them.

So what were my initial goals for starting out the New Year strong?

A minimum of 434,000 steps;

Shakeology for breakfast (or a snack) daily;

Read at least three non-fiction books;

Network with at least four people per week;

Pack my lunch for work;

Exercise daily;

No impulsive e-book buys;

Keep a money log;

And measure at the beginning and end of the month.

These didn’t include other goals that I placed into my weekly habit tracker (including making sure that I take my vitamins, drinking enough water, and trying to meditate for hopefully five minutes every night).

These initial goals weren’t any more or less ambitious than ones I’ve tried to do in the past, so how did I do with each one?

As far as the steps go, I didn’t hit my goal for a few days — but for the month I managed to go over the minimum of 434,000 (I managed 461,532 steps). In terms of Shakeology, I missed three mornings at the beginning of the month, but have had it for breakfast everyday since (so I’m 28 out of 31 days for shakeology). I managed to read (or finish) five books this month (two of which I’ve already wrote and posted the reviews). Those books were:

Black Hole Focus by Isaiah Hankel   Review written and posted

Rewire Your Habits: Establish Goals, Evolve your Habits, & Improve your Relationships, Health, Finances and Free Time by Zoe McKey Still need to review

Minimalist Money Makeover by Michelle More Review written and posted

The No Spend Challenge Guide: How to stop spending money impulsively, pay off debt fast, and make your finances fit your dreams by Jen Smith Short review posted on amazon

Minimalist Living: Declutter your home, schedule & digital life for simple living (and discover why less is more) by Aston Sanderson Still need to review

I also managed to measure at the beginning and end of the month. This now gives me a starting point for tracking how many inches I lose (or gain) throughout the year as I try to get back on to a fitness routine.

I may weigh myself every so often; though I know people say that you should weigh yourself weekly, that way you can find out if you are slipping in your nutrition regime, but for me right now that probably isn’t a good thing—since then I’d get wrapped up (and probably not in a good way) on trying to get the scale to move.

I am slowly trying to focus more on the nutrition side of things, but it can be difficult when you are the only person in your home that is trying to do that (and you are also the one person who doesn’t do any of the grocery shopping [other than putting things on a list]).

Working out daily has only really been the last two weeks or so—I’ll admit at the beginning of the month, I’d find myself saying “well according to the fitbit I was active for forty-five minutes today, so I can call that my workout”. Not the correct thing to tell oneself when you are trying to get into shape and lose weight.

I’ve managed for the most part to work out at least six days a week for the second half of January. Saturdays are becoming my rest days, though I will still put on a movie and march in place to get the steps in.

There were three days this month that I grabbed lunch on campus, mainly because there wasn’t anything at home that either a) appealed to me for lunch; or b) was easy to throw together. I grabbed a chicken wrap last week, and it went for two days (I only eat half of it per day—it’s quite filling), and I grabbed the same wrap for lunch today (so I may not pack a lunch for tomorrow). I’ve also realized that making a lunch daily works only if there are sufficient leftovers in the house—if there aren’t sufficient leftovers, I will just grab a chicken wrap on campus. Though I might offer to cook a meal or two in the next few weeks just to be able to generate enough leftovers for lunches.

As far of the two things I was trying to do to start keeping track of my finances: the no impulsive e-book buys, and keeping a money log. Well—I bought a couple more personal and professional development books, and the log only lasted about a week or so. But I did go ahead and delete the two games from my kindle that I’d been spending an outrageous amount of money on playing. So these goals are probably going to be a work in progress for the year—I love to read, and if the book looks interesting, or someone I know (or follows) recommends it the odds are good that I just might be getting it on my kindle.

Then there was the one big “social/professional” goal that I had for the month—networking with at least four people a week (which would have made it twelve people for the month [or fifteen if I tried to network with a person an day for the last week of the month]). So—I fell so far completing this goal it isn’t funny. I think I managed to start one conversation this month (though I have responded to other’s messages)—so I have networked a little, but nowhere near the level I need to. I’ve realized that even though this is online—I’m still struck by nerves as to figuring out how to initiate a lengthy conversation with someone, and keep it going. Again this is something that I need to work on over the next few months, especially if I’m hoping to transition into an industry position.

So what are my goals for the month of February?

At least 392,000 steps

Have Shakeology daily for breakfast

Read at least another three non-fiction books

Exercise six days a week

Pack my lunch for work (if there are sufficient leftovers)

Measure at the end of the month (compare to end of January)

Have at least one no-spend day and work up to a no-spend week

Start networking (adding value to connections I already have) more

Start working though various courses that I’ve bought to start broadening my horizons.

I’m also thinking of starting a February sleep challenge, but that is a post for tomorrow (or would that be today?)