1. Work: I set an (arbitrary) goal to travel about once/month but said I'd consider 9 trips a success. Well, I had 6 work trips in the first half of the year (Chicago twice, LA area, Denver, NYC) and I have 3 trips books for July (San Francisco), September (New Jersey), and October (southern Kentucky for a client visit). So I guess I am going to meet this goal. I'll likely go to Chicago 2 more times, if not more (I seem to be there every other month).
2. Reading: I'm reading "Bleak House" by Charles Dickens through the "From The Front Porch" patreon group. Honestly, reading this book is a chore but I get a lot of out of the monthly discussions so it's worth it to continue.
3. Relationships: I set a goal to go on a date with my husband once/quarter. We scheduled two dates and both got cancelled due to a conflict with the babysitter. But at least we tried? I'd like to do 2 date nights in the 2nd half of the year. It might be best to take time off and do a "day date" versus hiring a babysitter, though. Will is very, um, sensitive and while I am sure he would eventually calm down when we leave for a date, I think it might kill the date vibes to leave a screaming toddler behind. I really liked The Mom Hour's recent podcast episode about taking a break and how fraught it can be to take a break and how unhelpful it is when people say "just hire a babysitter" or "just" do xyz... It's not always that easy.
4. Travel: I've took Paul with me to Arizona to visit my sister and everything is booked for my rendezvous with a friend in the Banff region of Canada! So I'm on track with this goal!
5. Fitness: I set a goal to run a couple of 10ks this year, but I have yet to register for one. I think I will likely just run one in the fall. I'm struggling to find the right race that doesn't involve complicated parking for example. But I'm sure I'll eventually find a race!
6. Outdoors: I'm doing the 23 minutes outside in 2023 challenge and would give myself a B-/C+. January and June were my best months and yet the weather could not have been more different - I only missed 1 day each of those months. I'm kind of giving myself a pass for the months of March and April because work was absolutely insane and it was impossible to take a 30 minute break those days because of the volume of meetings on my calendar. I don't know what happened in February when I only achieved the goal 17/28 days - cold weather? May was better with 24/31. Overall, I've spent more time outside than I would have otherwise so I guess I can consider this pursuit successful?
So in summary, I'm doing great with 3 goals (work, reading, travel), doing so so with 1 goal (outdoors), outside factors impacted 1 goal (relationships), and I've made no progress on 1 goal (fitness). Time to go look for a fun 10k!
Did you set goals for 2023? If so, how are they going?
15 comments:
Have you considered a late night date for just a beverage or ice cream? have normal bedtime with the boys and leave later? I used to babysit for parents that found that easier. I was overwhelmed with the wedding at the end of last year/beginning of this year, so no goal setting for me. I'm hopeful I'll get back into it next year.
I think you're doing great! I mean, maybe you can consider your commute together a date?!
You're doing great, Lisa! I'm working on a mid-way check in on my goals, too.
I am a HUGE fan of the at-home date-night. I know it's not for everyone and mileage will vary. But, for the last 3-4 years, my husband and I take at least 1 night (often 2) a week where we feed the kids, put them to bed (they're too old to go to sleep this early, so we will set them up with a movie or an audiobook so it's a special night for them, too), and then have a "date" night. We call it a date night and I love that the kids know it as such...but it's very low key and I LOVE it. We'll get takeout sushi, or my husband will make a nice (but relatively quick) supper. We generally eat while watching a documentary. We spend a lot of time together since we both work from home. So I actually love not having to talk...we just relax and eat and it's one of my absolute favourite things about our marriage that we've instituted this habit of regular "dates." I also found getting a babysitter to be a lot of work. And I'd feel obligated to dress up and go out and I'd be tired and just longing to be home in my PJs. It's BOBW for me to stay home and relax, but also feel like it's a night set apart from the others.
This sounds so great, Lisa! Especially after the disaster of the financial markets earlier this year, I think you should be extremely proud with your progress.
My husband and I haven't really had many dates this year... One or two? It IS harder than it seems to just get a babysitter and go out. I remember leaving a screaming toddler behind and it was so tough. It always set the date off on an anxious, uncomfortable foot... and I know I spent a lot of time worrying about whether she was still upset (she never was) instead of enjoying myself. But! I will say that for the past couple of years, it has been SO MUCH easier. My kid really loves her babysitters, so she looks forward to seeing them (they are former camp counselors). Plus, she is super independent now and my husband and I actually have a lot of time to ourselves and with each other at home if we want. I don't necessarily hunger for time alone with him these days -- although there is definitely something special about going on a real date as opposed to watching Mythic Quest together on the couch.
All that said, I love day dates. They are so fun and can turn even a normal work lunch hour into something special!
You are awesome in your goals. I like the idea of day dates, under the circumstances.
No goals for me. Day to day!
great that you are making good progress on your goals. I almost forgot about my goals, need to revisit. that's my problem usually, set goals, and forget about them. maybe i should print them out and put it in my office for daily reminder. :)
We were doing GREAT on nights out with ur monthly date friends, but then the wheels fell off. It;s hard to decide if going out is worth the hassle— I sooooooo get this!!
Thank you for a wonderful update. Well done on the 2023 goals! I book the babysitter on a monthly basis, months in advance. Unfortunately, she fell through for May and June so we have to find a backup.
I've never read Bleak House- to be honest I'm not a big Dickens fan. So I get that this book is a project!
I think you're doing great with your goals. It's hard to set goals in JANUARY and then stick to them 100% because you just don't know what the year will bring. You couldn't have predicted that work would get so insane. So, it's good to reassess a the halfway point and adjust and/or pick up your motivation.
How do you feel about an at-home date night? I know it's not as fancy as going out to eat, but sometimes it's the "conscious" effort to just spend time together... we don't have the problem of having to find a babysitter and still have more at-home date nights than going-out date nights ;)
I think you're doing great with your goals. Still plenty of time to get some of these things done! Good luck on finding a local 10k race. I am all about the "easy to get to" races.
You're doing great, Lisa! And it makes me feel better that you are not getting 100% completion every month on your 23 minutes outside goal. You are doing better than me, but it helps knowing even a simple goal like this can be a struggle!
I know Kelsey from The Girl Next Door Podcast and her husband often do day dates because it's easier from a childcare perspective, so that may be an option for you during this season of life! Wasn't there supposed to be some easy baby-sitting line we could call to set up baby-sitting services??? Did The Baby-Sitter's Club lie to us?!?!
I think that the point of goals is to have something to strive for but not necessarily to achieve them. I know that is not really true for an achiever like you (or me) but I do think that getting half of them done and the other half half done is not a bad outcome!
I always have goals, things I want to do, ideas for travel etc. but I do not always articulate them succinctly. I will have to talk to you about this more in person, but I have a big goal/plan for next year which has caused me to have many little to do items this year in order to prep for the bigger one. However, my only real numerical goals are reading, which I am ahead of, and getting out into the mountains, which has been challenging this year with the snow, but I have done it! Otherwise, mine are pretty loose this year.
You're doing so great!
I love listening to From The Front Porch :-)
You’re doing fantastic!!! I wonder if maybe a 10k up near your parents might be an option? Would that make parking easier? The struggle can be REAL when it comes to race parking!!! I am a fan of day dates! M goes to bed by 8 now so it works well for us to do something during the day time. I am super thankful we’ve actually had a few dates this year! I did set goals this year but as of right now I can remember what they were… I should have written them down, LOL! Oh wait! I did set a mileage goal and I am hitting that! I ran that April race that was a 5miler (I think). Work goals are also being hit and for me that feels like such an accomplishment bc it’s been a very hard year!
Good grief, with all you were doing in the first six months of the year, I think you are killing it on your goals! Sure, you may not have run a 10K or found one yet, but it's on your list, you know what you want and don't want, and you were completely bonkers at work for 2-3 months out of the year so far. Go, you!
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