Ending 2020 Strong, Despite the Chaos

It is hard to believe it is September. Summer flew by, but then again, March seems like it was 20 years ago. This has been the longest year, yet I have not accomplished as much as possible during this extraordinary time. It has been a strange time. I have often felt we are living a bad dream, and I keep hoping to wake up from it. I will go out on a limb and say, at times, I was downright depressed. I spent too much time watching Netflix, playing on my phone, or anything else BUT focusing on my goals.

This summer, I set small goals because that is who I am. I am a goal setter, type A personality that needs to have something to focus on at all times. I did not want big, audacious goals. I wanted goals that I knew I could reach and still feel productive. In June, I shared my goals (see below), and now it is time to see how I did and reset for the last four months of the year.

Blog

Continue to grow my social media accounts, new course work 2-3 times a week, including SEO content and eight new blog posts.- My social media accounts grew by 1%. I completed eight blog posts but did not touch my course work. The course work is #1 priority for the fall.

Time Management

Implement a new weekday schedule. I am going to start time blocking. Time blocking is a type of time management that has you divide your day into blocks of time. Each block is dedicated to accomplishing a specific task.–I did this initially, but work was super crazy this summer, and it let it bleed into other things. I started blocking my time again this week, and so far, so good.

Personal

• Finish my 2019 scrapbooks.- This will be a heavy lift, but I am determined!– I have no idea why I put this on my list. I have so much to scrapbook for 2019; it was just not reasonable. I would have had to do this and nothing else! I did complete July and August 2019, so that is something.
• Read six books.- I read seven!
• Explore 6-10 state parks in Massachusetts.-We explored four.
• Get back to date night.– Yes, we did this twice.
• Spend more time outside.- I was outside A LOT. It has been great.

Health & Fitness

• Build off the 7lbs loss and lose another 10lbs.– We won’t talk about this one. I need to duct tape my mouth shut.
• Minimum of 10,000 steps a day.- DONE
• Consistently strength train.-DONE
• Continue training for fall races.-DONE

Overall, I did okay. As I mentioned, I kept it relatively simple. With all the chaos around us, I could not concentrate enough on the bigger things. However, six months later, it is clear life is not going back to normal anytime soon. I need to see past it and use this extra time at home to my advantage. I need to stop wasting time and focus on what I want. There are things I am not happy with, like my weight gain, and now is the time to make a plan and stick with it. When I started this blog last year, I knew I wanted it to be much more than a hobby. It was to become a second stream of income, a side hustle. Now is the time to start acting like it and put the work in.

September-December Goals

Blog

• Complete all course work.
• Land three sponsored posts.
• Write 20 blog posts.
• Earn my first comped trip.
• Grow my social media platforms by 5%.
• Revamp my newsletter and grow my list by 10%.

Time Management

• Each week plan my week and block my time from 7-5 each weekday.
• Use my planner to its fullest. LIVE BY IT.

Health & Fitness

• Duct tape my mouth shut. – Ha!
• Go back to tracking my food. Stay within my caloric budget.
• Continue with my running and strength training.
• Lose 25lbs by 12/31/20.
• Get a minimum of 6.5 hours of sleep a night.

Personal/Household

• Finish my reading challenge for 2020. I have 18 books to go.
• Finish my 2019 scrapbooks.
• Continue exploring state parks.
• Go away for a weekend at least once a month.
• Tackle a room a month and spent 10 mins each day getting rid of any clutter until it is gone.
• Finish the basement makeover.

It may seem like a bit much for the next four months, but if I manage my time well and put in the work, I can do great things, and so can you! Dust off those planners and get to work. Don’t remember 2020 as the year we would like to erase from our minds, but as the year you put the foot on the gas and went after your goals. I can’t wait to hear how you did!