November! Welcome.
October was wonderfully full, but I am looking forward to a little more breathing room this month.
I used to be one of those people who got annoyed when stores decorated for Christmas around or right after Halloween. It’s too early! That should be reserved for after Thanksgiving! But the older I get, the more preparation I realize it takes for a smooth and memorable holiday season. The decorations, the gifts, the events, the music, the movies, the plays, the advent. I get it: that’s a lot of stuff to pack into four or five weeks. So I say bring it on. Give me the Christmas spirit early! I probably won’t be decorating my house until after Thanksgiving, but hope to get all my shopping and planning done by then. And maybe I’ll allow myself some Christmas music and movies. (Just last weekend some of my friends and I were so cozy inside, we decided to watch Love Actually while we crochet. Delightful!)
I have really been struggling with balance lately. I can do the things I need to do well, like work full time and make good on my commitments, but anything extra like exercising, journaling, blogging, crafting, cooking and meal planning have been very hard for me to manage in the last few months. I’ve been in a rut. Sleepy and largely unproductive. (Maybe it’s the dark mornings? At least that’s my theory, and my hope. I rise with the sun.) So this month I hope to establish some boundaries and balance.
November Goals:
- Decide and enroll in employee benefits for 2014
- Develop a schedule for blogging, and stick to it!
- Develop a cleaning schedule, and stick to it!
- Develop a meal plan schedule, and stick to it! (Sense a theme?)
- Get a good pictures to use for a Christmas card
- Order Christmas card
- Get 75% of my Christmas shopping done!
- Workout at least once a week in the morning before work
- Clean and organize my closet, getting rid of clothes I don’t wear any more and prioritizing which items I need to buy
- Host/start a cocktail club with friends
- Host a Friendsgiving!
- Cook a family recipe and a new recipe for Thanksgiving
- Plant bulbs and rake all of the leaves in the yard
What are your goals this month?
PS – November goals from 2012, 2011, 2009 (apparently I didn’t have any in 2010?)
Having a list of goals is always a great idea! I love your goals – I’d also want to stick to a blogging schedule but that’s the hardest thing ever. A meal plan schedule also sounds so nice – I think I just might write down a list of my own! :)))
xxx,
lilla
http://lilycupcake.blogspot.com
Honestly, I may just steal some of your goals. My main one for the month is to work out 30/30 days. Working out means that I have to run at least a mile and do some weights.
The beginning of November always makes me a bit anxious because I try to prep/plan for both November and December… because once Thanksgiving hits, I feel like life becomes a whirlwind and all of a sudden it’s New Year’s Day and you’re wondering, how did that happen??
Tangentially, another funny thing about the end of the year is that I always forget January comes after December. I work in a very deadline-driven environment, and the January deadlines sneak up on me every year! It’s November 1 and I have a December 15 deadline? On my radar, and I’m ready. It’s December 1 and I have a January 15 deadline? But like, that’s soo far away!!
Yes! I feel that urgency too! It’s hard to just live in the moment yet plan sufficiently for the future. :)
Wow that is impressive!! Good luck!
Yes, blogging schedule and meal planning is always hard for me to maintain and keep up with. Good luck as you plan your own goals! :)