New Week, New Goals

The past two weeks have been c-ra-zy!  While I have managed to accomplish many of the goals I have set for myself; I have also dealt with several last minute changes to my planned schedule.  Low key, sort-of-but-not-really emergency type things. Nothing major.  Just the kind of things that can throw you off kilter a little bit.  Especially when you're in the middle of planning a bridal shower.  But, it's all good...

Interruptions are going to happened sometimes.  It's just a fact of life.  The big thing is how you react and respond to them.  You can let it completely mess you up and divert you from meeting your goals.  Or, you can go with the flow and just do the best you can with the circumstances where you find yourself.  It certainly makes like less stressful.  Even when it is full of stressful situations. 

Honestly, my knee jerk reaction is often to become overwhelmed when things don't go the way I expected.  I think hope that I am slowly learning to better manage when changes come along.  

Hopefully, things will calm down for a little while, (at least until we get a little closer to the big wedding date next month)  and I can stay on schedule and meet all my goals with no problem.

My goals for this week include:

1. Ship at least one order
2. Complete order for Winnie the Pooh hat
3. Prep my gratitude posts for October
4.  Drink 80 oz of water everyday
5. Go to bed by 9:30 PM
6. And get up at 6:00 AM

Did you meet your goals last week?  What's on your To Do list this week?  

When Even Your Coffee Needs Some Coffee

Ever have one of those mornings when you feel as if there's not enough coffee in the world?  Yep, it was one of those mornings.  I had to wake up extra early because the grand kid was coming over.  I was still groggy as I headed to the coffee station for my first cup of the day.

Here's a big tip - when making coffee, it is crucial that you place a mug on the Keurig before pressing the brew button.  Um... yeah.  Apparently, I was so sleepy that I completely skipped that step.  And the little platform thing that you set the coffee on is not large enough to hold the contents of an entire cup of coffee.  Which means I soon had coffee spreading all over the top of the station.  That will wake a girl up rather quickly!!

It's a good thing that my entire week wasn't like that; or I might not have gotten anything accomplished.  As it turned out, I did pretty well with most of my goals last week.  Let's recap:

1)  Clean/Organize 15 minutes per day in office - I didn't get in the office every day last week, but I did do some cleaning and organizing on several days.  I need to figure out the best way to get my cotton yarns organized so I can move on to organizing my shipping station.

2)  Clean out fridge and get rid of all unhealthy sauces, dressings, etc - Done!  There are still a couple of questionable items in there, but we use them for specific things and not very often.  And if the Male Offspring has to eat sandwiches without mayo - he might stage a revolt.  (not really, but...)

3)  Drink 80 ounces of water each day -  Accomplished this every day except Friday.

Not too bad.  And this is a brand new week, with brand new goals. 

• Take photos of new items to list in my Etsy shop
• Clean/organize in office 15 minutes per day 
•  Meet (or exceed) step goal for each day

I am already off to a slow start this week.  I did something to my back and that has had me not really feeling like doing much of anything other than sitting on the couch with the heating pad. 

What are your goals for the week?  Share them in the comments!

Getting Back On Track

Can I be completely honest with y'all for a minute?  When it comes to achieving my goals - the past couple of weeks have completely kicked my behind!

I just feel like things were getting away from me.  The Man of the House had to go out of time a few times.  We went on vacation last week.  And I just generally lost my motivation somewhere along the way.

It happens. But how can we stay get back on track to reach those goals?  How do we start over - even when things seem to keep getting in the way when we just aren't feeling it?

•  Focus on the Results.  Visualize how you'll feel when you finally accomplish your goal.  Really picture it!  Every teeny, tiny little detail.  How is it going to look and feel?  Use this to inspire you to keep going.
• Ask For Help.  Find someone who can cheer you on, give you the kick in the pants that you need, and will check on your to make sure you keep moving in the right direction. 
• Break It Down into Smaller Goals.  If you're feeling overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the task ahead - break it down into smaller goals or tasks that feel more manageable.
•  Celebrate Successes.  No matter how big or small it is.  Enjoying that moment of completing a task or reaching a goal.  Feed that reward center of your brain!
• Start Where You Are.  OK... so, you've struggled.  Maybe, like me, you even gave up for a time.  That's in the past.  There's nothing you can do to change it, so stop beating yourself up over it!  Refocus on why you started in the first place and begin again!

So, who's with me?  Ready to get back into the swing of things and show those goals who is in charge?  Let's do it!

My goals for the week are:

1.  Take pictures of new items to list in my Etsy shop.
2.   Drink 100 ounces of water per day
3.   15 minutes of cleaning/organizing in my office each day
4.   Track all my food points with the Weight Watchers app

We've got this!! Feel free to ask me at any point during the week how I am doing with my goals.  What are your goals for the week?  Share in the comments!

Setting Smarter Goals

How did you do with achieving your goals for the past week?  I am pleased with my progress.  Some days were more of a struggle to get the boxes checked.  And in all honesty, I fell a bit short one or two days.  I try not to beat myself up when that happens and  to look at each day as a fresh start.

If you want to increase the likelihood that you will be able to reach each one of your goals, there are a few things you should keep in mind.  You want to be sure that your goals are:

Specific - Not "I want to lose weight".  Exactly how much weight? By when? "Be happier" is not a specific goal.  "Do one thing each day that brings me joy" - closer.  Deciding on something that brings you joy and deciding to do it each day - THAT is a specific goal.

Measurable - This is why "be happier" isn't a goal.  It's not measurable.  Happier than WHAT?  How happy?  Talking to a friend or relative a certain number of times a week is measurable. Eating X servings of vegetables every day is measurable.  Walking a certain number of miles or steps per day - measurable.  If you can't measure a goal, you'll never know if you achieve it.

Attainable - Do you have the time, energy, talent, or means to meet your goal?  This doesn't mean you can't dream big!  It just means that you might need to break that seemingly impossible dream down into smaller steps, creating realistic, attainable goals that will move you closer to the bigger prize.

Last week my goals were to drink at least 80 oz of water per day, meet my step goal each day and to clean/organize in my home office for at least 15 minutes each day.  As you can see - each one of these goals meets the criteria above.  

So, how did I do?

I met my step goal each day! Yah me!!  As I said - my step goal is embarrassingly low for the time being. This is where "attainable" come into play. I know that if I set the goal higher right now, I will likely fall short, get frustrated and give up.  I have longer term goals to slowly increase the amount.  And I feel as if I'm off to a good start.  

I exceeded 80 ounces of water each day, except for Saturday - when I was one cup short.  If I had realized I was that close, I would have chugged that last cup before I went to sleep!

The only day I didn't work on organizing and cleaning my home office was Thursday.  I spent a big part of the day running errands and grocery shopping. By the time I got home, all I wanted to do was sit down and relax before starting dinner.  And that's just what I did.

My goals for this week are pretty much the same as last week.  The grand kid's summer break from school begins this week, which means I get to spend a few days each week with him.  I'm very excited about that, and I want to do a fun activity with him at least one day each week.

My goals for this week:

-  Drink 80+ ounces of water each day
-  Meet (or exceed) step goal each day
-  Clean/organize in home office for 15 minutes each day
-  Go to library and park with the grandkid


Feel free to ask me at any point during the week, how I am doing with my goals.  I'll be sharing a brief update next week before I share my new list of weekly goals.  And if you would like me to return the favor - you can share your goals in the comments!