We’re more than halfway through 2020 and it’s time for a mid year check in. At the beginning of the year, you may remember I shared my word of the year as well as my 3 goals for the year with you on a blog you can find here. I figured now is a great time to share progress on the goals I made at the beginning of the year and where I’m at with each of them.
Goal Progress
GOAL #1: SPEND TIME IN A PLACE OF MARGIN
– Margins in the space in my home -going through everything in my apartment to determine what I want to keep, donations, giving away things that no longer serve me (Good progress on this one. I moved in July so I went through every single thing in the house before moving.)
– Margins in my calendar – intentionally less travel, intentional time that’s planned ahead for rest (Welp, Corona virus helped with this one. I have taken a few weekend road trips, but haven’t flown anywhere. Good process on this one too.)
– Margins in my finances – Un-enrolling from all sales subscriptions via email, A 90 Day Contentment Challenge (Made it like 65 days through the Contentment challenge and then bought some things on Amazon – oops. I still don’t have Netflix, Hulu, or other streaming services aside from Spotify. Using the Every Dollar App to track spending and also not traveling helps this area a lot as well.)
– Margins in my mental space – social media off 1 hour per day, 1 day a week, and 1 month a year, follow those who add value, screen times on my phone set up (Decluttered who I follow on IG, have NOT kept up with minimizing screen time, but do delete IG from my phone about 1 week per month just to create space. I have become slightly obsessed with the game Toon Blast on my phone. Probably not the healthiest to play so often but fun.)
– Give to others what has been impactful in my life – ways to make margin in theirs (I can always be better at this but tried to support others during Covid, especially being at home. If you want online companies I’ve used to ship things to people, check out @CrumblCookies, @FarmboxDirect, and @Snapkitchen.)
GOAL #2: CULTIVATE RHYTHMS OF RENEWAL
– Establish routines and rhythms to get out and explore and savor life – Visiting parks, FL bucket list, planned days of a few hours or a day of adventure (I was able to visit local and FL state parks during the pandemic while socially distanced as well as check off a few more things on my FL bucket list before moving. Now I have a PA Bucket List that I’ve been working through and also continue to add to. Overall I feel good about this one.)
– Developing a better routine for honoring my body – Nightly skincare, cycling classes 4x / month, closing my rings on my watch 5x per week, drinking a gallon of water a day (Good progress on some, not as much in others. I can for SURE drink more water the last month. The beginning of the year was great with water as well as closing my rings every day for 6 months. I don’t have a nightly skincare – oops – and did get a peloton but it’s currently in my storage unit until I move into my house. Things in this area have shifted but I’ve been able to spend more time walking and hiking than before.)
– Routines for reflection – Planned weekly Sabbath, quarterly days for rest and reflection, intentional days off for unwinding, quiet time every morning (Was WAY better this at the beginning of the year that I have been since moving. I’ve slept a lot, have not created a lot of margin during the days. Definitely an area I can grow a lot in.)
– Weekly reflection – spending time once a week looking at various areas of how the week went and making adjustments for the following week (Definitely hit or miss. I’d say I do this about 50% of the time. Some weeks are well prepared, others are a mess. Can for sure do a better job in this.)
GOAL #3: CONTINUE TO LEARN WITH THE PURPOSE TO CONNECT AND SHARE
– Blog 2x / week – theme focused (I’ve missed about 3 blogs so far this year but have posted 2x a week during the rest. They’re a little less specifically themed than I intended, but something I can work toward in the end of the year.)
– Leadership course 2.0 finished (This is about 5% done. A LOT of work can be done on this area.)
– Book Challenge – Focus on reading things I have, rereading a few books, and using the local library more! (Actually did a decent job on this. I use the Libby App on my phone from the library and have been able to read or listen to SO many books on this. I also have read a few books I already owned, but have also purchased quite a few. I’ve also reread some books which has been fun.)
– Continue to look for connections between pieces of content and conversations (Lately this has been great. In April and May I’m not sure it was even “good”. Progress can be made here too.)
– Learn something new every day and write it down for reference later (Happens about 50% of the time. If I read or listen to a Podcast, I absolutely write it in the notes on my phone, but if I don’t do a Podcast or Book, I don’t “learn” much on my own during the day.)
Summary
I’ve made progress in each of the three goals. It’s not perfect but it’s progress. Looking back at these has been helpful. There are absolutely some things to celebrate but also some areas I can improve moving toward the last few years of the month.
- Spend time in a place of margin – 70% progress
- Cultivate Rhythms of Renewal – 68% progress
- Continue to learn with the purpose to connect and share – 60% progress
(The way I measure progress is dividing the mini goals as a % of the big goal and measuring how often I was consistent or completed that area. If I had 4 mini goals and did 3 perfectly and one not at all, I would show 75% progress.)
Now let’s talk about my word “empty” for the year. I’ve seen it come up in a few ways, some of which I’ll list below.
My calendar went from trips planned to emptied
My desk at work went from full to empty (working from home)
My apartment was emptied while I decluttered, and then was literally emptied as I moved
The supermarket shelves were emptied when I visited and for a time, so were the local parks and state parks.
My email inbox for sales and subscriptions has emptied
My head that’s been full of ideas and thoughts has started to empty in a good way. I’ve worked continue putting what I’m learning from brain to paper in hopes to share with others or use it later.
My phone is emptier. I have removed a lot of apps, and organized them in a way that has white space.
My fridge during the pandemic was very close to empty many times while I tried to eat what I had rather than buy new things.
My heart is emptier by sharing what’s on it more often and allowing the most holy thing to grow in it.
Empty isn’t bad. It can be incredibly good. I like the feeling of empty, of less, of white space, of release of burden, and emptying in order to share. It’s been scary and freeing at the same time.
There’s 5 months left in the year and while it would be easy to blame outside circumstances for not being able to do the things I want to do, I’ll look at them as an opportunity instead. Because I am not traveling like I had in the past, because I work from home, and because my calendar is empty there’s more space for reading, writing, connecting with others, exercising, and just enjoying my days and creating new rhythms. I’m looking forward to what the rest of this year will bring and I hope you are too.
