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Clear The List: April 2016

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April-2016-Clear-The-List

Hi Friends! Jumping back in for Clear The List. Join me and my co-hosts,  Lindsay from Lindsay Does Languages and Shannon from Eurolinguiste in encouraging each other in reaching our goals, and #clearthelist. Linkup your goal setting post below and cheer your fellow bloggers on with their goals.

March

This month was good overall, and I feel ready for April. March was a bit of a reset month for me, with a focus on planning and just trying to organize myself a bit more in terms of my business. Also I was sick twice this month, allergy related and just did not have the same energy I had in January and February. You will see on my tracker that for the last week or so, I kind of just gave up on tracking. Honestly, I just didn’t fill in the sheet, I did yoga a few times, but didn’t take the time to fill in the sheet. I considered going back and doing it, but then decided, nope just moving forward.We only got one hike in, so hopefully I will do better with that in April. Also I lost my FitBit mid-month ?. So the steps thing went out the door. Good news is that I just ordered a new one for April (like literally I ordered it today Friday 1 and it is supposed to be delivered today, yay Amazon Prime). ? In other techi news, we got a Roomba. I named him Jeffers, and he does a pretty good job. He’s not the smartest, but it’s nice to set him to go and I don’t have to debate using my time to vacuum. I worry about how long he will last since he does seem to hit things fairly hard, and he is already fairly scuffed up. Now let’s move into April.

Daily Habit March Completed Weekly Habit March Completed

April

In April, my focus is steps once again. I’m need to work on my morning routine again, I was doing really good in January and February, but totally lost a consistent routine in March. Part of it was being sick, and just trying to sleep when I could. Yoga is one habit that is becoming much easier to make time for, I feel better when I fit it in. My habit list has changed a little but not too much.

I do really want to get our Portland post up this month. And I would like to try to be more active on the FBB Instagram page. April is already fairly scheduled out with a few trips and other plans, so I know it will go by quickly.

Daily-Habit-List-April

Weekly-Habit-List-April

So catch me up on what you have been up to lately!! If you have post on your goals, link it up below!

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Clear The List: March 2016

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Clear the List Goal Setting for March 2016

Hello All!! It’s me Mariah, the blogger who only posts once a month now 🙂 February was good, and you guys know the drill by now, it FLEW BY. I really don’t know what else to say about it. I’m still working so hard on BHG, I spend so much time at the computer that it is really hard to find the energy to spend more time at the computer to do the blog:( I’m exhausted by the end of most days, and have been going to bed around 9:00 or 9:30, figuring out, learning, interacting with new people, is HARD. This week I worked most days from 6:30 am to bedtime. Of course the whole month was not all work, and I’ve been out to meet Shannon and with P on weekends, it’s just seemed intense this month. I don’t feel like there is enough hours in the day, and have felt some of the stress of feeling that no matter how hard I work everything takes longer than expected and I’m not getting it all done. I hope all of you are doing well!! I know this time will pass and things will get easier, but for now I’m working hard because that is the only way to see if I can make BHG work

Before I get into my goals, I want to welcome another #childfree lady to the Childfree Are We Bloggers List!! Cece of Mahogany Drive wrote an amazing blog post, “We Don’t Want Kids”, about her (and her husband) choosing to be childfree. I don’t talk about it enough here, but I’m so glad other women are talking about their choice to be childfree. Honestly, in the past month I’ve interacted with two women who were truly shocked (and not in a bad way) that there are couples who choose as a lifestyle to be childfree. Their responses were centered around not realizing or knowing any couples who chose to do that, or that is a path other’s choose. Thank you for sharing Cece!!

Now onto Clear The List. I can’t wait to hear what you are working towards. Join me and my co-hosts, Esther from Local Adventurer, Lindsay from Lindsay Does Languages, and Shannon from Eurolinguiste in encouraging each other in reaching our goals, and #clearthelist. Linkup your goal setting post below and cheer your fellow bloggers on with their goals.

February

This month was much better in terms of me remembering to track fro my daily habits, so I feel good about that. Weekly habit sheet not so much, and part of that is b/c P was doing a lot of those items for me (umm dog and cleaning), I did record some of his cleaning mainly so I could reassure myself the cleaning was getting done. Sam walking I only record if I do it during the day. I did get two hikes in this month, even though I thought for sure that would not happen, I’m very proud of myself for making it a priority (and for P also making it a priority). The title picture above was from one of our hikes, it was a cool landscape…both hikes were great. One day I will share more pictures of them :o. Also you will notice that I’m throwing the towel in on taking a vitamin daily (at least for now).

Daily Tracker for February

Weekly Habit Tracker for February

March Goals

I’m really going to focus on reaching my daily step goals this month. I know I’m not being active enough. To be honest it is hard to pull myself away from the computer and commit to the time it takes me to get the 5000 steps in. We will see how I do on this one this month. I say it’s a focus, but honestly above all else I want to work on, BHG is #1. I’m feeling good about March, and looking forward to getting a handle on all my to-dos for BHG. I’m also determined to join back in for Show Us Your Books this month and share what I read in January and February. I do take notes after reading each book, but it is just getting the post together. I would like to get the Portland trip post up this month too, but no promises 🙂 Besides being super focused on the business, here are my weekly and daily habit trackers.  You can get a blank tracker for printing here.

Daily Habit Tracker for March

Weekly Habit Tracker for March

Share your goal posts below if you got one!! If not let me know what you are planning for March!!

Clear The List


Clear The List: February 2016

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February-2016-Clear-The-List

Hello!! I’ve missed all of my blogging peeps! January was an awesome month, it flew by. Of course, when have I not said that about a month? It did seem to be over quickly, but not in a hazy way as some months. More like each day was filled full and I was kicking-ass. I’m so scared about losing the motivation I had in January, because January felt good. I’ve been super focused on BHG. I’ve been so busy, and feeling like I don’t have enough time to do it all but in a good way. This is why I’ve been quiet here 🙁 but I need to focus and not split my energy for now. When I get some more of my projects/ideas completed then I will have more time to be here. The really funny thing is that my pageviews have doubled in the last several months, isn’t that just how it works out. I do miss you guys and hope you do not think I’ve abandoned you all.

It’s the beginning of the month so you know what time it is, Clear The List time. Join me and my co-hosts, Esther from Local Adventurer, Lindsay from Lindsay Does Languages, and Shannon from Eurolinguiste in encouraging each other in reaching our goals, and #clearthelist. Linkup your goal setting post below and cheer your fellow bloggers on with their goals.

But first, let’s talk January.

January was an excellent month in terms of motivation and productivity. Was my habit tracker filled out perfectly? No, but I feel good about what I was able to get done and my focus. We also took a super awesome last minute trip to Portland Oregon this month. I LOVED Portland, and eventually I will share our trip in a post…especially since we had such awesome food 🙂

Below are my filled in sheets. Though one of the problems with the weekly sheets is I totally forgot to fill it in, oops. I’m sharing it but it is not really a true accounting. I’ve got to get better at using it, but regardless it is a good reminder of what I should be doing. The “get out” on the weekly is working from outside the house (like at a coffeeshop), which I really have been enjoying. Just wanted to clarify in case you think I only left the house twice this month LOL. Though again even that was more than twice I just didn’t fill it in.

The Daily Habit Completed January
The Weekly Habit Completed January

The use of the daily journal is working pretty well, but I do find it hard to remember to document my day, everyday. I’ve been really focused lately, so I don’t feel like I’m wasting as much time day to day, or find myself trying to figure out what I should work on. I’ve found a good direction/focus (at least for now).

I’ve found that if I don’t get my yoga done in the morning then I usually don’t find time to fit it in later, so that is something I’m going to try to be more conscious of next month. Sidenote: Yoga with Adriene this past month released a 30-day Yoga Camp series, which I am loving. If any of you are thinking about trying out yoga, her videos are such a good place to start (I know I’ve said it before and I’m going to keep saying it) 🙂 Just getting started and into a routine is half the challenge and I think her videos just make it so easy, especially the 30-day series, since you don’t have to “find” the next video to try.

February Goals

Guys I hate to disappoint you but they are basically the same as January. I’m just working super hard on making BHG work. I know February is going to feel like a very short month, and honestly most of it is already booked. I would love to get two hikes in, but we only made it once in January and that is very likely the case for February too 🙁 The weather was not great on many weekends in January, and I know we have limited availability on weekends this coming month. On the tracker I’ve included social media, and the reason that is there is to: 1. make sure I’m being consistent 2. using social media intentional (ie not random scrolling). Again, broken into daily and weekly sheets. Here is a blank tracker sheet if you want to start your own.

February-Daily-Habit-List
February-The-Weekly-Habit-List
My main goal for February (in addition to the above routines), is to stay focused and try to maintain the same motivation I have felt throughout January. A big part of that for me is making sure I schedule out my day the day before, and I reach my top three daily goals.

Clear The List

What are your goals for February? Do you have any big plans for February? Link-up below or share in the comments.


Clear The List: January 2016

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January-2016-Clear-The-List

Hi guys!! Happy New Year!! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Our’s was quiet, but good. I really used December to focus inwards. I was pretty absent most of the month online, I just needed a break and to focus without too much distraction. I think it worked, December did go by quickly, but it did not seem like so much of a blur. I feel good looking back on the month.

Before I jump into the whole goals thing, I want to recognize my dear friend Miriam, who accomplished such a major goal…SHE WROTE AND PUBLISHED A BOOK!!! I am SO proud of her for having the courage and using her talents to get her dream out there! I was beyond excited to get to hit buy on Amazon. The book is amazing…I laughed, I cried, I wanted more. I’m working on a full review for later in the month. But why wait on me to tell you more about how good it is, when you can get your own copy!

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.  Join me and my co-hosts, Esther from Local Adventurer, Lindsay from Lindsay Does Languages, and Shannon from Eurolinguiste in encouraging each other in reaching our goals, and #clearthelist. Linkup your goal setting post below and cheer your fellow bloggers on with their goals.

December was all goal focused for me…the planning of them that is. Last month I said I would:

*Finish my planner for 2016-YES

*Make 90-day plan for BHG (Bloom Hustle Grow): 50% STARTED but not done

*Work on bucket list for 2016 –STARTED

*Update 101 in 1001, & San Diego Bucket List: SORT OF-updated some on 101, and started but need to figure out anchors before I do more on the bucket list.

*Work on editorial calendars for FBB & BHG: SORT OF- lots of ideas, but not sure of scheduling yet

Daily Habit:

My Daily Habit December

Good the first half of the month, not so much at the end (but I expected that). I basically stopped filling it out the 22nd. I can’t remember what days I did what on looking back from the 29th. You can get a blank copy of the worksheet here. Also I realized that I only had 30 days on the sheet not 31, whoops. The sheet I shared on this post has 31.

I’ve really spent a lot of time evaluating my routine, direction, goals, and life in general this past month. A lot of it was because earlier in the month I read Better Than Before, by Gretchen Rubin. I loved it. It really spoke to me, got me thinking about a lot about goals, direction, habits. It’s hard to explain and I don’t know that I’ve 100% wrapped my head around it where I can explain it to other people, but I’ve just felt a shift in how I look at life this month (or really how I “want” to look at life).Rubin repeats in her book (which comes from her prior book The Happiness Project) about “Being Gretchen”, which is really about what do you ACTUALLY like/enjoy versus what do you think or wish you liked. I could babble on, but bottom lining it, I want to live with more intention.

So my word for 2016 is INTENTIONAL.

Another epiphany I had this past month, is I tend to just throw goals out here, without a whole lot of thought or “intention” behind them. I mean, I totally want to do it or should do it, or think it sounded like a good idea. The thing is they are often just stand alone lines. I realized that what I need to do is tie them to the bigger picture. I need to know, why do I want to do xyz this month, what purpose is it serving me. I need to make sure I’m tying things to the bigger picture.

January Goals

I’m focusing on building routine this month. Part of the routine is to have three goals per day, and scheduling out each day. The goals are a bit more built in. I’m not going to go through each goal here (lucky you) 🙂 but I will report on how the month went overall next month. It’s a bit of an experiment…finding what works best for me.

The below is what I want to work on daily. And to tie these habits to the big picture, I’ve written down for myself how they apply to my big picture. Here is an example (again not going to bore you with each one). This was written for me, and more of a word flow than for the blog 🙂  Anyway I’m making sure I am thinking about the why, how it ties to a larger goal, any cons, or reasons not to do it….and anything else that pops up when thinking about it.

  • Yoga makes me feel better, the tension goes away, especially in the neck. Why can’t I find time for it? I can. It makes me feel better each day so it should be something I look forward to and view as great, not time waste or a goal to check off. It’s so easy to get bogged down in the days and see goals as a grind. If it is important than you can do it. Maybe try to do am and pm? Find shorter and longer videos, make playlists. It is important to being healthy. More yoga/movement is better than less. Don’t fight it. Yoga is good for you, and an exercise I don’t hate. Healthier is happier. 

 

My Daily Habit January

I also decided to do one for habits that I want to do more on a weekly basis, as opposed to daily. Yes, I could absolutely have put them all on the same sheet, however this is one of those mental trick things. I wanted a place to track but didn’t want to be reminded of them everyday. The cleaning is less about habit and more about tracking.

My Weekly Habit January

I bought a journal to keep records of my days for 2016. I’m excited to try that out and do a bit of daily journaling/logging there. All about being more intentional and working towards bigger, higher level goals. Things like being Healthier and Happier, which seems very vague. I’m working on defining and figuring out what adds up to that in concrete ways. The “days build your life, so make them good”, kind of philosophy. Examining what works for me and what I truly enjoy versus what I “wish” I liked. Figuring out where I want to go, and making sure these habits (and time) is building towards that.

In line with INTENTIONAL, I got P to agree to sitting down at the beginning of the month and planning out our weekends too. We often do things, but many times it is after debating on it that morning. I think we would be happier, with having plans in place, something to look forward to…but with the clause that it can be tabled if something else comes up, there are weather issues, or we want a lazy day.  Scheduled but flexible.

This was a fairly rambling post, so thanks for sticking it out with me. I’m still trying to figure it all out myself, but I like the direction I’m feeling, even if I can’t exactly explain it. I’ll report on it all in February 🙂

What are you planning for 2016? Or just January, just January is fine too?  Do you have a word of the year? Any unusual methods you might be using to plan out your year (or life)?  🙂 

Clear The List