April 2019 turns out to have been a big month for getting rid of junk, working on my business, and indirectly on personal goals.
During which I created a colourful and imaginative flowchart artwork made from assorted sized, shaped and coloured sticky notes. That I should have taken a picture of before I took down.
Which nicely leads into the new annual goal context I glossed over in last month.
And as usual, it was pretty girl leading the way. The dog we thought was also dying was just taking a break before getting back to normal.
Business as usual.
And I was thinking if it worked for her, why don’t I just hit the reset button too. It’s a bit counter-intuitive, but I’m going back to July 2017, my last attempt at resetting my life.
So, the following table includes 2017 and 2019 goals smashed together – it’s a bit sad and a bit funny how little has changed since 2017. We’ll see how it goes for a while, but right now it feels comfortable.
Though comfortable could mean I’m not stretching myself rather than being right for right now.
| Virtue | Mar | Apr | Notes |
| Beauty: body I enjoy exercising my lean, healthy 59 kg body several times a week. • Eat < 5g of salt and sugar per day. • Walk 10,000 steps per day. • Sleep 8 hours each night. | 🙂 69.3 kg | 🙁 70.0 kg | Now that I’m looking at food labels a bit more, I was amused to find a packet of potato chips that had about the same amount of salt and sugar/100 g as a packet of chocolate coated biscuits! And a bit shocked that my salt reduced stock has more than three times the recommended sodium. I’m not doing too well on the weight or the sleep, which will be related to a lack of exercise and an excess of salt. Though I am also going through a drug induced hungry phase which isn’t helping. Definitely time to get to work on those habits. |
| Beauty: presence I have thick glossy hair that compliments my beautiful clothes. | 😐 | 🙂 | I’m no closer to choosing a hairstyle. My hair’s growing out nicely, but is in the awkward, ugly in between phase. I bought a cute red Alice band with white polka dots to compensate. And offered some thoughts about what to wear to a funeral. |
| Beauty: home I live in a comfortable home that soothes my soul. | 😐 | 🙂 | I found our half developed 2017 renovation list, and we’ve already replaced the French doors and bought new couches! Next up a new front door, new floor coverings, the kitchen, and perhaps internal doors. And finish the bathroom… In the meantime, I’ve been thinking we should change the colour scheme and repaint. |
| Beauty: garden My garden is lush and abundant, providing habitats, weather protection and a mystical threshold. | 😐 | 😐 | I haven’t found our 2017 garden plan, and I’m not sure we ever finished it. There is an Edna Walling garden about the same size and shape as ours and I was looking for the planting list. I should get a move on, as this is the best time of year for laying out and establishing new gardens. Now, if I could just find that book… |
| Friendship: friends I love meeting new people, and as I am friendly and outgoing, I make friends easily. | 🙂 | 😐 | I’ve got some catch ups booked, but at the moment I seem to be the only one in my social circle who can commit to something more than a week ahead. It’s probably that I’m a low priority for them, but I feel sad that they need to allow so much reaction time. In the meantime, there was dinner with Katy and Toseland, and lots of lovely email correspondence. |
| Friendship: creatures My creatures are happy and healthy and find my garden a haven. | 😐 | 🙂 | Pretty girl, despite her 14 1/2 years, is astonishingly well. r Plus we have a new passel of adorable ringtail possums. Not sure how the brushtails feel about that. |
| Friendship: contribution I share my knowledge, time, and money with those who need it. | 😐 | 😐 | I’ve been closing down some of my social media accounts, and cancelling my subscriptions which limits my options for contributing. This month I held doors and helped a harried woman pick up her spilled groceries. And I shared my thoughts about renovating your life, conducting a research project, and planning a bright future. |
| Pleasure: adventure I am brave and adventurous not afraid to try new things. | 😐 | 😐 | Not really on my radar this month, though I tried some Fantale flavoured hot chocolate mix, and I don’t recommend it. Left my run a bit late, but saw Fern Brady at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. |
| Pleasure: recharge I work hard and have the right to rest and recharge. • Turn the computer off by 7 pm. • Read 78 books in 2019. | 🙂 | 🙂 | This month’s books; Jonathan Unleashed, Still Life, Lost and Found Sisters, Any Ordinary Day, Death by Tiara, and Ten Beach Road. Some good, some not so much. Not sure why I was worried about life passing me by… |
| Wisdom: growth I learn and grow every day. • Visit a historically or culturally significant venue or event each month. | 😐 | 🙂 | Did a lot of professional development, learning about website development, business development, and a bit of writing craft too. |
My April 2019 productivity journal is crammed with book and course notes, and things to follow up and do. There’s a few stickers, but a lot of lamenting the lack of writing. I need to start making it more of a priority.
So how did you get on during April?
You can find more monthly reports on the Life Worth Living page.