May 2020 Goals

May 2020 Goals

• May 11, 2020

I try to post my new goals in the first few days of the month, but I got distracted last week and forgot to finish writing this post. So, I'm a little late, which you'll notice in the "On My Calendar" section because two of the events have already happened. Whoops! April was a productive month overall, though it felt like it passed in a blink compared to an interminable March. I completed most of my goals, but I realized what a difference it makes when I actually give them a due date. The things I didn't finish were items I kept talking about doing but never planned.

Georgia has started to slowly re-open, but we're still sticking close to home. Aside from curbside pickups and doctor's appointments, we really haven't gone anywhere. It's hard to figure out the right balance of being wise, staying safe, and not living in fear. There's so much unknown right now. Honestly, I miss being around my family and having them love on my boys. But I am thankful for a home I love with three of my favorite people and gorgeous weather that allows all of us to spend lots of time outside! Praying for more of that in May.

On My Calendar:
– My big boy turns 4
– A few family birthdays
– Mother's Day at home with my boys
– Several doctor's appointments

Currently Obsessing Over:
– Audible has introduced the option to organize your Library by Collections in the app, as well as favoriting titles and sorting by genre or listening status. I've wanted this feature for ages and am so happy it finally exists!
– Speaking of audiobooks, I just listened to the entire Travis Family series by Lisa Kleypas and loved narrator Brittany Pressley. I stubbornly resisted the books for a long time, but Pressley's narration sucked me in.
– I've been loving this rattan purse – affordable, perfect for warm weather, and just big enough for the essentials.
– If you need a mask, I ordered the blue one from this shop on Etsy and love the fit, fabric, and quality.

Yearly Goals:
(These should stay the same all year, so I'll just do month-to-month progress reports!)
– Read through the Bible in one year.
– Read a devotional every morning.
– Track my spending in the Goodbudget app.
– Blog 2x per week.

April progress: 
– This was a struggle. Twice, I got almost a week behind. I caught up but need to find a better routine here.
– Yep! I did better about reading my devotional than my Bible, probably because it's only one page per day.
– Continuing to have success here! I occasionally forgot to log a purchase in the moment but did it later.
– There was one week where I only posted once, but I'm counting nine new posts as an overall success!

Revisiting My April Goals:
– Schedule a monthly planning session. / Check! Wrapping up the month and preparing for the new one is becoming a habit, and I love it. This is one of my favorite changes I've made so far this year.
– Research some possible activities for my preschooler. / I've been thinking about introducing some learning activities into routine for my big boy. I did some research but still haven't settled on what we'll do.
– Ease back into the habit of meal planning and cooking. / Though I don't really enjoy either one, I'm getting back in the groove with both. But dealing with grocery pickup and out-of-stock items can throw a wrench in things.
– Organize my closet + both boys' closets and dressers. / I didn't get to my closet, but I cleaned out my dresser and the boys' closets and dressers. I also made a small list of other house projects to tackle in the coming months.
– Complete three 20 in 2020 items, such as a backyard picnic and making a bird house. / YES! We did a backyard picnic, nature scavenger hunt, and backyard camping. Are you sensing the theme? There are some more items we can do from home, but I may have to reconfigure others in light of COVID-19. I'll see how things evolve.
– Complete Two Months in the baby's journal + take monthly photo. / Yep! I answered most of the prompts before the 7th and then filled in the rest after his well check. And I took his monthly photo on time, too!
– Cull, download, rename, and backup March 2020 photos. / I got this done in the first few days of April and was just so glad that I finally have a system. Doing it no longer overwhelms me and finally feels very routine.
– Cull the 700ish videos currently stored on my phone. / Whoops, I didn't even attempt this item. I did, however, cull and rename all my 2016 photos. So, I don't feel bad about delaying this task. Now I only have 2017 left to do!
– Extend my new-to-me book buying ban another month, with one exception. / I bought several finished copies of books I'd already read, as well as a few audiobooks to re-read. I did order two books from Waterstones at the end of the month, but they haven't arrived yet. So, I think I get to count this as a win!
– Write a blog post about life lately. / I didn't get around to writing this post, so I'll probably add it to my May goals.
– Cull my bookshelves + Goodreads. / Success! I took a decent number of books off my shelves (some unread and some read I didn't feel the need to keep) and did a quick Goodreads organization.
– Have a Q1 financial review with Nick to look at our budget, savings, etc. / I kept mentioning that we needed to do this but didn't set a specific date, so I've learned my lesson on that one.

My May Goals:
– Schedule a monthly planning session.
– Organize my closet.
– Complete Three Months in the baby's journal + take monthly photo.
– Complete Toddler Year Three in my big boy's journal.
– Cull, download, rename, and backup April 2020 photos.
– Cull and rename all 2017 photos.
– Have a Q1 financial review with Nick.
– Read two non-fiction books (faith + finance).
– Read one 10 in 20 book.
– Write two discussion posts.
– Check off two 20 in 2020 items!

Do you have any goals for May?