Five-A-Month: January's Review, February's Goals

This year, in an effort to stay motivated and forward-moving, I decided to try to set monthly goals, and I'm inviting you to join with me. Many of you did. So let's do our January month-in-review (just cut and paste your goals w/ comments & updates about them), and then at the bottom, list your February Five-a-Month goals.

For January 2011, here were my Five-a-Month goals:
  1. I will read or listen to Scripture every day. I missed about 5 days throughout the month. But I did get through most of Romans, and listened to Hebrews.
  2. I will visit two neighbors and get back in the groove of speaking Turkish more frequently. I visited at length with one neighbor (3+ hours), and spent time looking for apartments (remember the mold problem I mentioned?), so I probably spent an additional 10 hours last week speaking Turkish.
  3. I will read one book about pattern making/clothing design (something I've been wanting to learn about, but haven't made time to read the books yet...). I'm nearly finished. Haven't had time to put what I read to use, though.
  4. I will continue faithfully doing the "No S Diet". I have been doing this, faithfully. Last time I checked, I was down 4 pounds, and Doug says the results are visible to him. He's the expert on my body, so I'll trust his opinion. :)
  5. I will take the kids to at least one cultural/arts activity (I'm currently trying to decide between an art exhibit and a classical music concert...) during this month. We went to an exhibit of works by Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera, and also saw Turkish ceramics, Russian impressionist paintings, and a collection of ancient weights & measures. It was a great experience, and we had a good time introducing the kids to various themes & ideas in art history.

For February 2011, here are my Five-a-Month goals:
  1. I will read or listen to Scripture every day.
  2. I will read out loud to my kids every day.
  3. I will keep doing the No S Diet faithfully.
  4. I will sort through all of our books in anticipation of our need to pack up our apartment, and decide what books we'll take back to storage in the US, which books we'll keep out, and which books need to be sold/given away.
  5. I will pull out and sort through all of my clothes... all seasons, all sizes, pregnant/normal, etc., and pitch/give away what I need to, and pare down what I have, in anticipation of going back to the US. I will encourage Doug to do the same with his clothes.

What goals are you setting for this month? Please join us. It's nice to have accountability and it's nice to have a sense of togetherness. Big or small, set 5 specific & measurable goals and let them motivate you throughout the month of February!

16 comments:

TaMara Sloan said...

My goals are for the year, but I've updated how I did in January and what I plan to emphasize in February.

Michelle said...

I just posted my update on January today as well. Haven't done February yet...maybe tonight or tomorrow. I'm taking care of a sick baby and a sick hubby instead. Sigh. Goal #1: not get sick in February! :-)

Charisa said...

I just posted my review for January. I'm feeling so discouraged! We had a wonderful two week visit with my parents, and we had no routine during that time... so I am partially blaming that! I haven't written February's goals yet. I need to put a bit more thought into it this time, and maybe not aim so high.

Linda said...

Hi Jess
You and others looking to do some decluttering might appreciate the discussion at the start of this week's Boundless podcast by Focus on the Family and the sites and resources they recommend (http://www.boundlessline.org/2011/01/itunes-rss.html9) and the new series on simplifying our lives on Midday Connection on Moody Radio (http://www.moodyradio.org/brd_ProgramDetail.aspx?id=63246) which will cover a wide variety of topics to declutter our lives over the next few weeks. It features Marcia Ramsland of Organizingpro.com, one of the websites mentioned on the Boundless podcast.

I started with one kitchen cupboard this weekend!

Happy decluttering.

Linda

Miranda Hupp said...

Hello Jess!!! I have missed you. Im so glad you are blogging again. I would love to join in and get some encouragement on my monthly goals. Look for my link tomorrow!

I hope you are going well!
Miranda

The Reader said...

My goals for Feb -- finish the stuff I didn't manage in Jan! Eek! Hopefully I'll get that done and have better (new!) goals for March.

Sheri said...

Hi Jess, I've been reading your blog for a couple of years now and have finally decided to take the plunge myself. So I linked my 5 goals for the month of February. I hope it this will help motivate me to work on them.
Sheri

Jessica B. said...

Thanks for the encouragement, challenge, and accountability.

http://web.mac.com/btandjessica/Home/Life/Entries/2011/2/1_Goals_Revisited.html

Suzette said...

Hi! I like your blog! =) One of my goals for February (as well as the whole New Year) is to be healthier. I get sick easily here at college, and being healthy gives me the energy I need to do well in my studies. Let's all try to take better care of the Temple this year! =)

Kimberly said...

Thanks for the post!
You are always so motivating!
I posted my "eval of 2011" goals...
Not going so well... but I must stay determined!

Jess Connell said...

Charisa,
No discouragement! The great thing about writing these down and reviewing them is that we keep them on our minds. I'm hoping this will become more and more natural, to have a sense of what I"m working on, so that when I'm evaluating what to do with a free 15 minutes, I can make a wiser choice than I would naturally make without the written goals. Plus, if I had just made annual goals, they would likely be forgotten by now, and I'd end in discouragement. This way, I get to continually evaluate and work towards things as I am able.

Don't be discouraged! Let's keep moving forward. Press on!

Jess Connell said...

Michelle:
(I wish I knew how to meet that goal of not getting sick. That'd sure be nice to be able to control that area of life!)

~Jess

Jess Connell said...

Miranda!!! I'm so glad you wrote! I'd lost track of you and didn't know how to get back in touch with you, but I've been thinking of you.... now I'm about to hop on over to your blogs and see what's going on in your life.

So glad you left a comment!
~Jess

Kim said...

Dear Jess,

Thank you for the inspiration. Please check out my blog if you have time: http://daisiesanddandelions.blogspot.com

Kim

Kat said...

Hiya Jess! Have posted about how January went and made my list for February.
(It is the same list...with some tweeking!)
Some of my goals went really well, and some did not, but I am so glad for the accountability!

Michelle said...

I am also trying to set monthly goals that are easy to accomplish and won't send me in to a tailspin of guilt if I don't accomplish them. I tend to set goals like 'write the next great american novel' when I should concentrate on 'keeping the master bathroom clean.' I used your example and posted on www.highheelsondirtroad.blogspot.com

Michelle