Goals In Progress: December and 2011 Overall

It’s hard to believe that it was a full 12 months ago when I first listed these goals on Relishments.  2011 was a great year but, as far as these Goals in Progress posts are concerned, I’m glad its over.  Posting my goals list and updating my progress monthly kept me from forgetting my resolutions or giving up on them, but I also got tired or writing updates and started wishing I’d made different goals.  As a result, I’m trying something else for 2012, which I’m really looking forward to sharing on Monday.

Now, for the last goals report of 2011:

1.  Waste less time/Create a posting schedule and stick to it

Once again, this month’s decent time management was mostly because of the number of tasks I needed to accomplish.  I started out the month feeling really positive about where I was at regarding the holiday season, but quickly discovered that I still had a lot to do, plus a portfolio for grad school and a ton of meetings and other events to attend.  Everything got done, but it was a little nuts there for a few days.  I felt good about my posting in December.  I’ve generally stayed on schedule, largely thanks to an editorial calendar.  That’s one 2011 change that I’m definitely with.

Has my time management improved overall in 2011?  I like to thing so, though I know it still needs a lot of work.  I’m much more aware of my tendency to watch too much Netflix and waste time online and I’ve worked hard to do better.  As a result, I’ve felt better about how I preform at my job and the content I’ve put on the blog.

2.  Read a chapter of the bible every day/(no revised goal)

The beginning of December went really well in this department.  The end of December, with all it’s craziness plus an out of state 8 day vacation, threw my routine off a bit.  It feels good to have read the bible on a fairly consistent basis for an entire year, which I’ve never managed to do before.   Certainly a goal I’ll continue working on in the coming year.

3.  Drink more water/Drink at least one water bottle of water a day and drink something else with every meal

This is one goal where I don’t think I improved.  This month my tea intake was way up (thank goodness I got a lot of tea for Christmas), but regular water just made my cold body even colder and my busy schedule allowed me to forget about drinking as much as I should.  I think I’m always going to be someone who has a hard time keeping hydrated.  I’ll still work on it, but I’m not expecting much success.

4.  Read at least one book a month/Read at least 12 books this year
I’m still working my way through Lost in Shangri-la. It’s an excellent book—a captivating true story, interesting characters and tons of history I never learned before, but I only managed to get halfway through it this month.  To be continued in January!

I only managed to read 8 books this year, which really isn’t bad.   I really liked everything I finished, but I chose a couple books that I put down midway because they weren’t keeping my attention.  Reading has become a higher priority in my life and, thanks to my #1 goal, I’m making more time to do it.  Hopefully reading will continue to increase in my life.

5.  Improve my fitness by going to the gym twice a week and doing sit ups and push ups on off days/Do something physically active at least 3 times a week

We made it to the gym a few times in December, so maybe the trend is heading in the right direction.  I went running and did a lot of walking in the beautiful southern weather during our vacation, which was awesome.  I miss sunshine and warm weather.  I hate going to the gym in January because it’s always so crowded, but I’ll manage I guess.

This year was all over the place in terms of fitness.  I ran three 5k races and had a great time doing it, but the gym didn’t see nearly as much of me as it should’ve.  I plan to keep working on my fitness in 2012 because it’s good for me, but getting into the habit is going to take work.

6.  Open our home at least once a month/Have at least 12 different groups of people over to the apartment

Our December was pretty busy and no one really has time for extra events this time of year so I didn’t even attempt to invite anyone over.  Now that we have more dishes and life is hopefully settling down a little, I’d like to have more friends to the apartment.  Overall this goal was successful: I hosted Easter dinner, made tacos for 9 people and even fed someone who doesn’t care for vegetables.  I’m much more comfortable cooking for others than I was a year ago.

7.  Give Relishments a makeover/(no revised goal)

Sometimes it was all I could manage this month to find time to put up a post at all, never mind do behind the scenes work.  Recently I found out through Sarah that Recipage is now free!  I’ve had my eye on it for some time now, but was too cheap to make the purchase.  Now I’m really looking forward to making my recipe page easier to navigate and use.

2011 was a great year for Relishments.  I did a total makeover in the spring and since then I’ve made a lot of little tweaks.  I’ve got lists of ideas for other updates, changes and posts that I can’t wait to implement in 2012.

8.  See new things/(no revised goal)

We spent the holidays with Brian’s family in North Carolina and Virginia this year.  Not only was it great to catch up with family, but the weather was amazing.  We kept busy, fitting in a visit to the Antietam battlefield, a couple trips to the beach, Colonial Williamsburg and some great food.

2011 was a great travel year for Brian and I.  We went to Boston, the Jersey Shore, Hyde Park, Maine and the Pacific Northwest.  I’m not sure we’ll be able to top that next year, but we’ll try.

Happy New Year!