Hello, lovelies! I’ve been using the Powersheets goal planner for the last year-and-a-half and it has been a game changer. It makes me so much more productive when it comes to completing my personal goals. Ever since I started using them in 2018, I’ve been doing quarterly updates on how I’ve been doing. Now that we’re halfway through 2019 (WHAT!?!?!) it’s time to do my summer check-in. I hope it motivates you.
Last Quarter’s Check-In – How I’m Doing On My 2019 Goals | Spring Check-In
1.//Take 4 Trips + Go To Europe
PROGRESS SO FAR
- I Went To Europe!
I completed my biggest personal goal for the year. I spent the first month of my summer break in Europe. I saved the money, booked everything, and flew to another continent alone. I’m so proud of myself for accomplishing this and you’ll probably continue to hear about it in numerous travel posts for the rest of the year.
Related – London, Paris, & Swiss Alps | Travel Diary #1 ; Florence, Rome, & Venice | Travel Diary #2
GOAL REFRESH – GO ON 3 TRIPS
A goal refresh is updating a goal based on things that have changed in the previous quarter. I’m not refreshing this goal, but you’ll see a few that have changed later on in the post. Here are some action steps for the next three months.
My initial goal was to take four trips on my own separate from any family trips I take this year. This is mostly because after this year, my vacation time will be a much more limited and I want to take advantage of school breaks. With that said, my Eurotrip scratched that travel itch for a while and it was basically ten trips rolled into one, so I think my next big trip will be in December. Ideally, it would be an international trip, but it makes more financial sense to do a domestic trip. Probably the west coast because I haven’t been there since I was a kid. If I do a fourth trip on my own, it’ll probably be to visit family in New York or Texas, but that’s not decided yet.
2.//Prioritize My Health
Two Main Goals Pertaining To This: Take Vitamins Every Day and Do Physical Therapy
PROGRESS SO FAR
- My back pain went away!
- I’ve been going to all my dental and doctor’s appointments
- I started lifting weights again.
Guys, I am so happy to announce that I haven’t worn my back brace in over a month (minus the plane ride back from London). I can’t even explain to you how happy this makes me. I will never take a lack of back pain for granted again. After spending a whole year with chronic back pain, I made a decision to do another year of consistent physical therapy before considering surgery for next year (because it was really hindering my quality of life.) I don’t know what happened. I guess the disc in my spine moved back like the physical therapist said it would, but I don’t want to pay for another MRI to check. I’ll just continue doing the physical therapy exercises and hope it doesn’t come back.
But really though, it’s so amazing not having to think about my back. The idea of sitting for a long period of time used to be painful, but I drove back part of the way from our road trip to Savannah last month and I didn’t even think about it. I noticed that the next day and told my mom and she said, “Yeah, I was thinking about that during the drive but I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to remind you of it or make you notice it.” Like…guys…the relief is real.
I’ve also started lifting weights again now that my back pain is gone. I was cleared to do it at the beginning of the year, but I didn’t feel comfortable because it still hurt. Now that I’m back at it after a year and a half, I’m so sore. My body hurt so much after the first few days, but my body is slowly getting used to it. I’ve been using really light weights because I don’t want to risk anything, but I’ll eventually work my way back up to heavier weights.
Related – A Practical Guide To Working Out Regularly In College
GOAL REFRESH: PRIORITIZE MY HEALTH
I would like to continue prioritizing my health for the rest of the year. One specific thing I want to get over with is getting my wisdom teeth removed. They’re starting to hurt and are making it painful for me to put on my retainer and I do not want to get braces again.
I actually stopped going to the dentist when I was eighteen because I aged out of my dental insurance. I finally went back to get my teeth cleaned and X-Rayed after three years, and it was not pretty. I wasn’t surprised because my family has very bad teeth. I am genetically predisposed to cavities. I always have been. I’m one of those people who floss their teeth every day, too!
Anyway, I’ve been getting all of that sorted out. Thankfully, I really like my new dentist, otherwise, it would be so much more of a pain. I made a joke to her that getting fillings was becoming a part of my weekly routine.
I also want to go to the gym consistently, again. After the semester ended, I went on my trip, so I didn’t work out for a month. This was fine because I walked 25,000+ steps per day and was able to eat pretty balanced meals since the Tour company I went with provided half our food (Honestly, I would not have paid for healthy options on my own otherwise). But after getting out of the habit, it was hard to get me back to the gym. Even now, I feel so exhausted after work that I had to force myself to go for a couple of days. Now that I’m getting back into things, working out should be easier in July and I’m fulfilling my P.E credit during the Fall semester, so I should be good for the rest of the year in regards to exercise.
3.//Prepare For Post-Grad Life
PROGRESS SO FAR
- I started my internship at Marcus Autism Center
That’s definitely the biggest step relating to this goal. I did a lot of starting steps in the first quarter of the year (I started studying for the GRE, updated my resume, applied and interviewed for this internship), but the last few months have not revolved around my post grad life. April was the last month of the semester, so I was focusing on Finals. I was traveling during the month of May and my internship started in June. It’s been a very full three months, so I’ll start thinking about next year later.
GOAL REFRESH: PREPARE FOR POST-GRAD LIFE
This goal really hasn’t changed. Now that I’m approaching my senior year, it’ll be a higher priority. I slept over at my friend Kat’s house last weekend and we were talking about how we were excited about this year and stressed out about next year since that’s when we’re graduating and have to figure out life stuff. I’m leaning towards getting a job after graduation instead of going straight to grad school, but nothing’s final yet.
4.//Post On Blog Once A Week
PROGRESS SO FAR
I’ve written 37 blog posts this year so far, but I haven’t been posting every week consistently. I’ve never been able to do that long term. The thing is that I’ll post twice in one week and zero times the next. I’d be better off going on a schedule instead of posting when I feel like it, especially since I write multiple posts in one weekend and publish them back to back instead of scheduling them to go live later.
GOAL REFRESH: POST ON BLOG ONCE A WEEK & Get Ahead On Blog Posts
My current schedule is every Tuesday. If I write an extra post that week, it’ll go live on Friday morning, but expect a post every Tuesday. I am officially committing to that. I would also like to get ahead on blog posts. I am currently writing this the weekend before it goes live. I would like to have at least two posts scheduled out in advance. This obviously won’t work for every article I write since some things have time constraints, but this will take some pressure off of me.
5.//Sell An E-Course On Blog
PROGRESS SO FAR
I honestly don’t know if I’m going to do this. I have a really great idea, but I barely have time to blog as it is. I would like to prioritize it more going forward, but there are things higher up on my list.
GOAL REFRESH: SELL AN E-COURSE ON BLOG BY SEPTEMBER
We’ll see if this happens. If I don’t finish it by this summer, I doubt I will be able to when school starts.
6.//Read 100 Books In A Year [Read 12 Classics]
PROGRESS SO FAR
- I’ve finished 50+ books
- I’ve read 6 classics (Robinson Crusoe, A Little Princess, Pinocchio, The Jungle Book, Peter Pan, and Treasure Island)
- Started tracking my books on Goodreads
I’m behind by one book in my classics goal. I did read six classics, but one of them wasn’t one my initial list. I should actually be ahead of my goal soon. The next three classics I’m reading are Beauty and the Beast, The House at Pooh Corner, and Pride and Prejudice. I usually write mini-reviews of the books I read in my “Monthly Favorites” series, so you’ll probably read my thoughts on them soon.
This reading goal has been going phenomenally. I’m truly glad I set this goal because the idea of reading 100 books in a year seemed unattainable, but it has pushed me to spend more of my time reading rather than watching T.V.
Related – 12 Classic Books I’m Reading In 2019
GOAL REFRESH: READ 100 BOOKS IN A YEAR + Read 12 Classics
This is still my goal. At the beginning of the year, I thought I’d end up reading 80 published books and 20 fanfiction/wattpad stories and comic book volumes, but I may actually end up reading 100 published books. I’m not going to push myself since this goal was to read more in general, not to reach a specific number, but I’m happy about my progress.
Related Posts – How To Start Reading More Books In College
That’s it for now. I can’t believe how fast 2019 has gone by. So much stuff has happened that I can’t even process it. A lot can happen in six months and there’s six more months left. I hope this motivated you to make the most of the rest of the year. Until next time!
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How have you been doing on your 2019 goals? What are your plans for the rest of the year?