Setting monthly goals is a great way to focus on what you want to get done. Choose a goal to finish or break a large goal down into smaller chunks each month to accomplish something over a larger time span.
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It hit me the other day that we are less than five months from Christmas. Ack! I’ve got to get thinking about gifts to spread out all that spending or at least make sure our bonus accounts are being tended so we have that little bit of extra cash.
However, it’s still 90* outside so I’ll put off Christmas for a few more minutes while I realize I haven’t done a lick of school shopping. I’m working on making my lists and comparing prices so I know what to buy and where. I’m determined to stock up when supplies go on clearance this year so I don’t have to buy as much next year.
Goals for July
1. Family Goal – Begin a weekly study with the kids
It took me most of July to finally get started on this but the kids are really enjoying it. I’m doing it after dinner so we are beginning and ending our day with time in God’s word. I also decided to do it each day rather than weekly to make sure they could remember what we talked about the day before and not get blank stares when I asked questions about other lessons.
2. Home Goal – Move basement furniture
Okay, long story short, we didn’t think this through. We measured the kitchen cart and we measured the opening to the storage space but we forgot to measure the hallway and the doorway to the bedroom that holds the opening to the storage space. We were defeated by just over an inch.
It wasn’t a complete loss, though. We did manage to clean out the entire storage area, sort through all the boxes that we hadn’t touched since moving them out of our old house, and purge SO MUCH STUFF. That part feels great. The not knowing what to do now with the extra furniture is still a little frustrating. We might end up moving the cart to the garage for extra storage unless we can figure out a better solution/configuration. We hate to get rid of it since it was made by his brother for our wedding gift!
3. Self Goal – Add in strength training
I have enjoyed strength training far more than most cardio for most of the last decade. But lately staying home to move some weights around is not working as well for me. I think I’m enjoying running because it gets me out of the house in the morning and I’m not worried about disturbing the kids. That being said, I still got up on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to work out.
I said I was going to be using this video every day but after a few times through I wanted to change things up and I found there are LOADS of videos available for Prime Members. They vary in length from a few minutes up to nearly an hour and all types of intensity. When winter comes I’ll definitely be making use of these more!
Goals for August
I spent some time thinking and praying about how to approach my goals and decided focusing on one area was helpful initially but now I need to spread my focus a little more. Now I’ll have a single goal for different areas: family, home, and self. As I continue to see how this works I may expand the number of areas to make sure I’m growing as I need to be.
1. Family Goal – Celebrate the end of Summer
The rest of the month will be a countdown to school but I want to make sure we spend some time soaking up what is left of our break together. I want to do one outing with the kids each week and end the summer by taking them out for a fun meal.
2. Home Goal – Prepare for School
School begins on August 24th – that’s so soon! I want to get English Muffins, Waffles, and a few loaves of different breakfast breads in the freezer to make adjusting back to our new schedule a little easier. I also need to sort through last year’s school supplies and purchase all the new supplies the boys need. Yay for fresh crayons!
3. Self Goal – Book Progress
I’ve been working on putting together a devotional but I’ve slacked a bit this summer with all the kids home. I keep saying I’ll work on it next week and yet the next week I find a new project to work on. My goal for August is to edit two more sections. If I get more done – awesome! But I’ve got to get chugging if I’m ever going to get this book released!
Did you accomplish your goals in July? What were they? What goals are you setting for August?