Hello, lovelies! Happy February. I did not complete most of my goals for January, so hopefully this month will go better. I’m only four days in as I write this, and I can already feel the potential of this month. I hope you enjoy!
Last Month’s Post – My January Goals | 2020 Powersheets
//How I Did On My January Goals//
Buy A Fitness Class Pass For Semester– Complete. I used it almost every weekday the first few weeks of school but wasn’t able to go to the gym in the last week of January due to car trouble.Start the Job Application Process– I didn’t make it as far as I would have liked to, but I did start it.- Plan A Spring Break Trip – There is a potential trip planned, but nothing is finalized yet.
- Read Little Women, 1 Tome, & 2 Shelved Books – I read seven books last month, but two of them were graphic novels and one was a comic book volume (4 comic books that I counted as one book). I didn’t read any books the first two weeks of January and the majority of the books I read didn’t really entice me. I also have a lot of books checked out from the library, so I couldn’t start my goal of finishing all the unread books I own this year. I have started Little Women and like it so far. It should be finished in February.
Create An Assignment List + Get Organized For The Semester– Complete. I’m already super on top of this semester and got organized very quickly. Now that I’m in my last semester of college, I feel confident enough in my organization/planning process to share it in a blog post. I would like to publish that at the end of this month.- Go To The Dentist – I did not go to the dentist, and I really need to go to fix one of my teeth. I’ve been putting it off for almost a year.
- Publish 2 Blog Posts Per Week + Start Scheduling February Blog Posts – I published eight blog posts in the month of January, and none of them were on a consistent date. I also wasn’t able to schedule February’s posts in advance, though that’s my plan for this week. Technically, this goal isn’t marked complete, but it is in my head since I blogged a lot last month.
Track Income & Expenses– I did it. I’m so bad about tracking this stuff, but my friend got me a budget planner for my birthday, and I’ve actually been using it.- Work Out 4 Days Per Week Once School Starts – This is semi-complete. I worked out regularly for the first three weeks of the semester but wasn’t able to last week due to car trouble. I could’ve walked to the gym next to my dorm, but I had become accustomed to taking the workout classes at the Recreation Center. Plus I just didn’t feel like it. I’ve started again this week, and I’m proud of how much I worked out last month even though I skipped a week. (My muscles are sore as I type this).
//My February Goals//
//Continue Job Application Process
There are five different action steps related to this in my Powersheets goal planner that I won’t go into here. I’ll write more about this process in a few months when it’s in hindsight. I’m kind of just stressing out about it and procrastinating on finishing certain things right now. It wouldn’t be worth it nor helpful to write about it
//Book Spring Break Trip If I Plan To Go
I’m thinking about going to New York for Spring Break next month. The ticket prices aren’t too bad and I have family I can stay with. I haven’t fully committed to the trip yet, but if I do, I would like to have everything booked and prepared by the end of the month (i.e. buying a plane ticket, setting up accommodations with my family, making plans for each day, etc.)
//Publish 6 Blog Posts
I have a pitfall when it comes to blogging, and it is that I overload my editorial calendar. I’ve already filled it with eight blog posts, and it’s only February 4th (This is scheduled for the 6th). My goal is to have a blog post scheduled for every Tuesday morning to fulfill my 2020 goal. The other two posts, my monthly goals and favorites post, will go up on another day during the week. That is my current plan of action. I may end up publishing twice a week the first three weeks then missing my Tuesday deadline the final week (which always happens in one way, shape, or form).
//Go To The Dentist (!!!)
I seriously need to go. I can’t put it off any longer.
//Finish 2 Books Per Week
At the beginning of the year, I decided that I didn’t want to put any pressure on my reading, so this may seem counterintuitive. The biggest reason I didn’t read as much in January is that I was in a huge reading slump. Another reason is that I just didn’t pick up a book every day like I did last year. I would listen to music instead of an audiobook or watch downloaded YouTube videos on the bus rather than take out my book. This led to me feeling very uninspired and kind of dispirited throughout the month. I know that it’s completely realistic for me to finish one audiobook and one physical book per week, which is why I included it in my weekly tracker. It’s just extra motivation for me to pick up a book instead of watching How I Met Your Mother for the tenth time.
I plan on finishing all the library books I have checked out this month. My plan is to avoid checking out any more physical books so that I can get started on reading the unread physical books I own (which I’m excited about reading but haven’t since they don’t have deadlines like library books.) After February, I will only be able to check out audiobooks till April.
//Track Income & Expenses
This is a weekly goal I set every month so that I remember to track it. I track my income in a spreadsheet because my income fluctuates from month-to-month. I track my expenses on paper in a budget planner.
//Work Out 4-5 Days Per Week
Since I already paid for classes at the beginning of the semester, I have greater motivation to take workout classes at the gym. This goal hasn’t been that hard now that I’ve incorporated it into my daily routine. Before, I could go to the gym in between any free time, but now I have to schedule it around a class with a set time. The lack of flexibility has been annoying, but I’ve been working out significantly more efficiently and I can really feel the results.
//Wake Up Early
January has been the worst when it comes to my waking habits. I get enough sleep every night, but I can’t seem to get out of bed with my alarm. I have straight-up walked across the room to turn off my alarm clock, then gone back to bed. I have been late to my first class more times than I want to admit due to this flaw. I’ve also been staying in bed till 11 on weekends. I really want to stop that because I’m wasting the winter daylight hours.
//January Reflection//
I woke up early on January 1st to head on a road trip up north. I genuinely can’t believe that this trip was a month ago. It feels like it’s been forever. I spent the first week of January hanging out with my cousins in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor Canada. It was an incredibly fun week, but I won’t ramble here since I wrote an entire post about it.
Related – Ann Arbor, Michigan & Windsor, Canada | Travel Diary #6
I moved back to my dorm the day after we drove back to Atlanta, then started my final semester of college (what!?!?). This semester has been really good so far. I’ve established a good routine and have been having fun. January wasn’t a bad month, but it wasn’t an unequivocally awesome one, which is fine. I’ve been productive, but not as productive as I could’ve been. I’ve been social, but not as social as I could’ve been. I did blog a lot and slowly got out of a reading slump, which is good. February already looks like it’ll be a lot better on all those accounts.
My dad went to visit Bangladesh. He literally bought the tickets three days before his flight, so I went back home midweek to say bye to him. It’s been hard on my brother, Mysoon, but he’s slowly gotten used to the rest of us traveling for long stretches. It’s weird because my dad always vowed that he’d never go back to Bangladesh, but now he has to in order to visit some family members. He’s enjoying himself well enough, which I’m happy about. He’s also having a lot of allergy problems, which is surprising since my mom and I have much more severe allergy and asthma problems than him and had no symptoms when we visited Bangladesh.
My friend Yousra visited. She’s actually my aunt, but she’s a year younger than me and attends college in Tennessee. We spent the day together eating food, talking about books, and listening to a lot of High School Musical music. It was fun.
That was pretty much my month. Overall, it was really good, but hopefully, February will be great. I really need to get my act together when it comes to my job search, so wish me luck.
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What are your goals for February?