January 2018 in Review

What I focused on in January:

  1. Getting into the groove of a fantastic new year
  2. Writing and Coffee Shop Work
  3. Family and friends time (and, unfortunately, being sick)
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Reading Update

Fiction: 12
Nonfiction: 1
Book Reviews: 10
Audio Books: 2

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Traveling

Nights Gone: 4
New States or Countries: None

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Goals

  1. Edit 7,000 words {YES – plus more}
  2. Prep for Junior Church {YES}
  3. Dorcas’s Wedding {YES}
  4. Car Title Work {YES}
  5. Money-ish Work (figuring some things out) {YES}
  6. Four vlogs {YES}
  7. Walk 20 miles {YES}
  8. Eat Paleo 20 days (my version) {YES}
  9. Bed by 10:30 10 times {YES}
  10. Research Scrivener 2 hours {YES}
  11. Weekly Goals {YES}
  12. Bathroom cleaned once a week {NO – 3/4}
  13. Blog by 9:30 10 times {YES}
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What I’ve Been Learning
That I need to do my monthly reviews right at the end/beginning of months because I easily lose track of what happened during what months. 😉
I spent a lot of time in January just working at getting into a new rhythm of life – it’s a new semester at the college near where I work, and so, therefore, I have a new schedule. It’s a new year for everyone, and so I’ve completed some goals, and have a new list to start out with.
Oh, and speaking of goals. I’ve been continuing my life-long discovery of how to use goals to the best of my advantage. I want goals to be a tool that helps me do and become what I’m supposed to be, but that doesn’t hold me captive to unrealistic expectations. That means that sometimes when my circumstances change, I need to change my goals. Other goals end up being unworthwhile because of how life happens, and yet other goals are too lofty to complete in the time frame I’ve assigned them.
If you’ll notice above I was able to complete all of my goals for the month of January – and yet it wasn’t like that happened easily. Instead (lowly though they may be), I had to break the goals into weekly, and sometimes daily, portions to make sure I accomplished them on time. That’s how I want my goals to be – a challenge, but still attainable. One of the biggest things I’ve realized about goals is they work SO MUCH BETTER when I have an accountability partner. My cousin and I had been goal partners several years ago, but over time it fizzled out. Recently I asked her if she was interested in doing it again, and after thinking it over for a few weeks, she agreed. Even though we don’t have a ton of communication at the same time (it’s mostly over text), knowing that I’m going to have to give her updates REALLY keeps me on track.
In January I also spent a couple of hours researching Scrivener. It’s amazing to me how much easier it is to learn something when I actually sit down and read what I’m supposed to, instead of just stumbling around trying to figure it out on my own.
I’m teaching Junior Church for the months of February, March, and April, so I spent a fair amount of time in January researching what and how I wanted to teach. It was good for me to think through what I wanted the kids to learn and how I wanted to present it.
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Other

As mentioned at the beginning, I was sadly sick for a fair amount of January. I had a horrible cold/flu that took me down for a few days and then kept reappearing in a lighter form. I even had to miss a day of work, which was a total first for me. (Working around food while being really sick didn’t seem like an incredibly fair thing to do, besides, I could barely keep my eyes open and it’s a 45-minute drive.)

I also ended up missing a day or two of work due to icy roads. Living fairly far out in the country is wonderful, but roads that are gravel and up and down and all around don’t always mesh well with snow and ice. One day I slid right into a tree on my way to work (thankfully I was going slow and didn’t have much damage), so decided it was probably best to just go home. (I still had miles of icy back roads to traverse before I got to main roads.) The next day it took me nearly 45 extra minutes to get to work, but I really didn’t want to miss another day of work. That night I stayed at my sister’s house because she lives closer to town, and getting to work the next day was much easier.

Near the middle of the month, I went to PA for the wedding of a good friend. It was fun and I got to hang out and help set everything up. I also got to be a bridal table server, which is an honor and made me quite happy.

The last half of the month was filled with company and hanging out with people, and nearly always feeling behind (but in a good way) as I tried to balance work and family and other life-ish things.

January was wonderful and sped by and I can hardly believe it’s already nearly the middle of February. Who knew 2018 would go by so fast?

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One thought on “January 2018 in Review”

  1. Pingback: February 2018 in Review – Noveltea

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