- Exercise 4-5 times per week. I ran into an unexpected road block with this one. I have fairly weak ankles, which I have rolled countless times since I learned how to walk. One side is more injured than the other, but the less injured side has a more significant fallen arch. After about a week of step-aerobics, both of my knees were swollen and stiff and my hips even ached. I had to wait for 3 weeks for the swelling to go down, but my knees both click now and when I've attempted to resume step, have had to lower my step quite a bit. Today I went to my chiropractor and got fitted for some orthotics which will support my ankles and take the strain off my knees and hips. I won't get them for 5-6 weeks, so until then I'm going to have to stick with the lower-impact walk-with-the-kids-at-toddler-speed plan.
- Read my Bible 5-6 times a week and read the entire New Testament this year. Some weeks have been better than others. I don't think I've ever managed 5 times in one week, partially because various family members have been sick fairly constantly since January and I've been too tired to get up early and do it. I have done much better at getting up early enough to read though, and am fairly consistently reading 3 days per week. I finished the Old Testament and am almost through the Gospel of Mark.
- Go to bed by 10:30 every night. I'm doing pretty well with this one. Perhaps saying "every night" was a bit unrealistic. There are days when I simply have too much to finish and need to stay up later. Plus on Friday and Saturday nights, Scott and I do enjoy staying up later to watch a movie or talk or whatever. I think I'm going to modify this goal to read: Go to bed by 10:30pm on week nights.
- Practice the piano 3 times a week. No progress on this whatsoever. I haven't figured out a good time to do this. I have a feeling this one is going to be
impossible unless I manage to find 26-hour-days somewherea bigchallenge. - Spend quality one-on-one time with each child every day, even if it's just a few minutes. This one is tough to measure, especially since "quality time" with each child looks different, based on their preferences and personalities. But I think this one is going alright. I have to accept that I won't be able to give each child an equal number of minutes each day, but if I can spend some time with each child each day, I believe that will keep our relationships healthy.
- Establish a system that works to keep the paper in this house organized and under control. This is a two-pronged effort. I need to develop better daily habits to keep piles from building up. I also need to work on my system itself so that it both works for me and is intuitive for Scott or anyone else who might need to find something. I'm working on both, but since I still have a laundry basket full of things to sort through, I still definitely have a ways to go. The good news is that the desk is quite a bit decluttered and I'm doing better at keeping it that way. I've also reduced clutter on my hobby table and in the kitchen.
- Develop better friendship-building skills. Wow. This one again is hard to measure. I don't think I have done very well on this one yet, perhaps because I got a little carried away with the goal-setting this year. But then again, I have a whole year to work on everything, and I just can't work on everything at once. I think I might try a weekly schedule where I have an office/mail/filing day where I do desk things like write cards, pay bills, update the budget spreadsheet, make phone calls, etc. If I make it a regular part of a day, that will definitely help.
Well, that wasn't quite as bad as I expected! I really have a lot to do, and I am focusing hard on a system or routine to take the thinking out of the equation. If I do all the thinking and planning up front so that all I have to do is follow the schedule, this might work! It's fine-tuning the plan and figuring out what to do when something unexpected happens that is the tricky part.
Now about that 26-hour day...
