So the moon has transitioned into (and possibly through) the Aquarius constellation the other night (I’m a day or two late in posting these goals…but hey—I’m getting them posted).

It was also a super moon (and I think this one is the sturgeon super full moon). There are only eighteen days left in August, and then only four months (one quarter) left in 2022.

The moon is going to be transitioning through Aquarius, and if one looks at the book “Moonology: working with the magic of lunar cycles” by Yasmin Boland there are a series of questions that one reflect on during the next few days:

Have I been pragmatic to the point of losing the romance of life?

Have I been living too much in my head and not enough in my heart?

Have I been trying to do things my way, just for the sake of it?

Have I been trying to hard to befriend people, and for the wrong reasons?

Have I allowed myself to move forward this month?

So if I were to number the above questions 1-5, my answers would be as followed:

  1. Well, there is still the SARS-CoV2 pandemic, and now we’re also dealing with localized epidemics of monkeypox—so therefore, I’m still not in the mood to try and date. I’m currently happy with the status of my life—even if it means that I’m still single.
  2. I’ve always been more ‘analytical’ minded than ‘artistic’ minded/hearted. I am trying to be a little more ‘artistic’ or ‘loving’—through doing more crafts, gratitude journaling, and meditation.
  3. Well, I’m still on my ‘reboot break’ so there aren’t many other options. I am getting serious about freelance/remote/contract work for science education/communication, photography, and possibly data analysis. In order to be successful at that—it will probably require me to blend ideas into something that will work for me.
  4. I don’t think I’ve been trying to befriend people for the wrong reasons. Currently, I’m still pushing myself in terms of networking, and slowly stepping out of my comfort zone and setting up virtual coffee/water chats.
  5. If we’re talking about moving forward during August—then the answer is no. I haven’t moved forward as much as I probably can…but part of the problem is the ongoing family medical emergency that we’re dealing with.

Aquarius is also moving through my 4th house or my home and family zone. This is the time when one should try to find a balance between one’s personal life and one’s career. This year things are about where they were the past couple of years—though this year, there are the vaccines for the SARS-CoV2 virus. But there are still upticks in case numbers (because of variants and people still not getting their vaccine), in addition to the fact that there are monkeypox cases as well breaking out across the country.

I’ve realized that I’m probably not going to be getting everything that I want done during the month of August—which means I need to shift the mindset from ‘balance’ to ‘harmony’—being accepting of what I’m able to get accomplished each day—even if it’s just reading a couple of pages in a non-fiction book.

So what mini-goals should I set for the Aquarius full moon?

Working on time and project management skills, by finding time for crafts, making progress on projects, and feeling accomplished at the end of the day.

While that is a totally ‘open-ended’ goal, some specific mini-goals are:

  1. Finish reading: Trilobite: Eyewitness to Evolution by Richard Fortey
  2. Get the second website (that is dedicated to science/medical/health writing) up and running (have at least three blog posts written)
  3. Write (and create the graphics) for steps three and four (restriction digestions and ligations) for ‘molecular cloning’ post series on LinkedIn
  4. Create a timeline/schedule for the rest of the bird pages for the blog
  5. Start a 30-day journaling challenge (find some type of inspiration on pintrest)
  6. Create one necklace or start a cross-stitch project

I’ve decided that while I’ll still be trying to look for a remote communication position—I’m leaning more in the direction of freelance (writing, photography, crafts, data analysis, project/product management). The top two ‘soft’ skills I need to get better at for this pivot: time and project management. It seems I end up with more things left to do than finished at the end of the week (and month)—I know the main culprit is poor time management (sitting outside most of the afternoon, plus taking an hour and a half to two hours to wake up in the morning).

But things are always a work in progress—because perfection is a myth…what looks perfect to one person may look lopsided to someone….

Progress not perfection, small steps, and even following a winding path are the thoughts/mantra for the next month or so.

What are some of your time management tools or tricks?