As I mentioned last month, I’m trying this new thing when it comes to goal setting. Instead of trying to tackle big goals all year, I’m setting smaller, more digestible goals each month. My reasoning is that my life is unpredictable right now, I truthfully have no idea what my job situation will be 2 weeks from now, let alone 2 months from now. Despite this element of change and unpredictability, I want to continue to set goals for myself because I like goals and thrive on making checklists.
Revisiting April’s Goals
Find a routine in chaos. It’s hard to find a routine and schedule when you have so much free time. I’ve been sticking to my rule of working out first thing in the morning, and this has helped keep me on track to be productive during the day. I’m a to-do list kind of gal, so I’ve been making to-do lists the night before of what I want to accomplish on my days off. It makes me more productive and I’ve been getting errands done that have been on my to-do list for ages.
One of the best things for productivity has been heading to Starbucks for a few hours on days I’m not working. I’d be going to Starbucks anyway because I have an addiction to soy chai tea lattes plus it’s the perfect environment for me to get some writing done, answer emails, and leave my apartment for a few hours.
When I’m in my apartment it can be tempting to sit around all day watching HGTV marathons, so I’ve been conscientious about getting up off the couch and heading over to my desk to do blog stuff and apply for jobs. When I’m sitting at my desk, I know I’ll get some work done.
Cook lunch and dinner if I’m home. It’s a work in progress. After not cooking at all in March, I cooked a lot more in April. And by cook I mean make eggs and avocado toast– it’s still something!
One of my biggest issues is my lack of confidence when it comes to cooking, I hate spending time, money and effort cooking something that’s a total fail. I still need to find a few more fail-proof recipes I love. If you have any go-to’s for quick lunches and dinners I would love any suggestions.
Learn how to use my DSLR camera. I’m still clueless about my camera BUT I’m taking a course tonight that will teach me the basics. I pick up material much faster in a classroom, hands-on setting rather than reading a how-to guide. Fingers crossed I’ll be a photo-pro in no time!
Blog 3+ times a week. Done 🙂
May’s Goals
KonMari the shit out of my apartment.
Chances are you’ve heard of the Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, the book all decluttering. I’m almost done reading the book and of course feel inspired to tidy up.
I’ve lived in my small apartment for almost 6 years now and have accumulated a lot of crap. The time has come for me to do a serious apartment clean-up and get rid of the excess junk. This month is the perfect time to get started. My closet is getting renovated in the near future so I’ll be forced to clear out the entire closet for the first time ever plus I have some free time thanks to only working part time.
Update + reorganize old blog posts
A little over a year ago I went ham and started updating the categories on my old blog posts and did my best to create secondary pages for easy navigation of things like class reviews and race recaps. I haven’t managed these pages well nor have I done a good job at always categorizing my blog posts. One of my big projects for this month will be going through all my old content to reorganize my website plus implement better SEO strategy on some of those pages.
Up my networking game… in a way that works for me.
Ugh even saying the word networking makes me cringe. As an introvert, networking events are the things my nightmares are made of. Small talk is not my strongest suit nor am I good at striking up a conversation with total strangers. Know thy strengths and weaknesses.
I will probably never be good at networking the “conventional” way so I have to learn how to network in a way that feels more natural to me. Any fellow introverts and terrible small talkers have tips on networking?
Your turn: What are your goals for May?
Hi) I like to read your blog! It is structured very good and easy to read) don’t stop!)
I moved to NYC recently and your reviews are very useful for me)
As for receipts: try to cook Tabouli salad. It’s very simple, delicious and good for healthy dinner)
My May goals: TOEFL and holidays in Mexico) and the most difficult – chose graduate program for further education 🙂
Thanks so much Olga. I’m a huge fan of tabouli salad and will have to look up some recipes. Good luck on the TOEFL and good luck choosing a grad school this month!!