Despite the fact that I only posted my 2019 goals last week, I’ve had them written down in my planner for weeks now, and have been working towards them. Here’s a quick look back at January, and a look forward at February.
HABITS
As expected, I made vague attempts at trying to change a million habits this month, which we all knew wasn’t going to be successful. In an effort to be smart, I also chose one habit to prioritize above all others: Go to bed before midnight.
I failed miserably.
I don’t know why going to bed is so difficult for me. I love bed. But I always seem to be procrastinating on the one thing I need to do before I can sleep, or trying to squeeze on last thing into my day. It’s no wonder I am frequently tired.
On the bright side, I have started preparing for the next day each night before bed, and it’s making my mornings so much less stressful. I haven’t forgotten to pack a single thing that I needed all month long!
GOALS
- I journaled almost every day. This always seems like such an easy habit to bring back for me- but also an easy habit to lose again when I’m trying to avoid something in my life.
- I finished the first four weeks of UBC’s Gender and Sexuality MOOC, and now only have two weeks left. I’ve never stayed committed to a MOOC for this long before in my life, but I’ve really been enjoying the content.
- The last course in my U of T certificate program kicked off at the very end of the month, so I’m only 3 months and 2 seemingly large projects away from wrapping that up!
- I’ve been reading consistently, especially on bus rides, and read five books in January. If you haven’t read Beartown yet, YOU NEED TO. I’m not sure why people weren’t talking about this book even more than they were. It’s spectacular.
- I applied to a master’s program! UVic offers an M.Ed in Educational Technology, and everything about it seems right up my alley. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
- I applied and was accepted to be a part of Victoria’s Participatory Budgeting Steering Committee, so I’m now helping to run a participatory budgeting process over the next six months.
- I signed up to take a ‘ballet barre blast’ class at the university gym, and while I’m not sure it is helping me to develop core and arm strength quite yet, it is definitely reminding me that I don’t have any!
INTENTION
It may partly be because I’ve been so busy this month, but I do feel as though I’ve been keeping this word in mind. I couldn’t tell you the last time I logged into Netflix, my go to way to NOT spend time intentionally. It helps that when I’m reading, I always feel like I’m spending my time intentionally, and I’ve been reading a lot this month.
LOOKING AHEAD
What’s the plan for February?
- Write for 15 minutes every day. This was a habit for me several years ago, and I’m bringing it back. I need to remind myself that it’s not hard, that I do have things to say, and overall, that I truly do get a lot of satisfaction from putting words on the page. Mastering January’s failed ‘bed before 12’ habit is still on the radar too.
- Continue with journaling every day- even when I’m trying to hide from things in my life. Especially when I’m trying to hide from things in my life.
- I want to re-launch ‘Grad School Uncovered’ in March, which means I need to spend some time in February conducting interviews and writing posts. I’ve been putting this off for wayyy too long now.
- With only two weeks to go in my online Gender and Sexuality course, I should have this all wrapped up by the end of the month. Although admittedly, while I’ve been watching all the videos and taking the quizzes, I haven’t been partaking in the assignments so much, so there’s a bit of catch up to do there.
- As I mentioned, the third course in my UofT certificate program started at the end of January, and I’d really like to keep up (or even get ahead???) this time around.
- Ever since I joined Shinerama, I’ve remained involved with the Cystic Fibrosis Canada community. I haven’t yet connected since I’ve arrived in Victoria, but I’d like to do that this month.
- Run clinic to train for the TC10K started a few weeks ago, but I’ve been having trouble finding time to fit in training runs (or more realistically, following through on training runs). If I’m going to reach my goals of a 30-minute 5K or a 60-minute 10K, I’m going to have to start lacing up those sneakers. Victoria’s current cold snap (and SNOW!) is not helping with this.
- I’ve been working on a small project surrounding gender and university presidents. I started a long time ago, but haven’t quite completed it yet, partly because I’m having trouble finding the remaining information I need. I’d love to have this project wrapped up by the end of the month, whatever that ends up meaning.
What were your major January successes? Any exciting February plans?
