When I looked at my calendar this week I saw a note.

“Review annual goals (May and August)” Here is the original list from December of 2023.

The obliger that I am, here is the May update.

family/personal life

  1. Monthly dates with T: Jan ❌ Feb ✅ ✅  Mar ✅  Apr  ❌ May ✅ June ✅ (booked)
  2. Family travel (one, possibly two, trips) Paris ✅ Italy 🔜 Upstate New York camping trip 🔜
  3. Cont. family traditions ✅ Examples: St Patrick’s day, March 8th – Women’s day, spring break, hikes, going to our favorite diner as a family
  4. Cont. taking pictures ✅ (I have slowed down with the pictures a bit since the phone is taking away from being present)
  5. 2023 photo book  ✅
  6. NOT ON THE LIST but was accomplished anyway: “In Case of Death” binder ✅ will, power of attorney, etc [waiting to hear back from lawyer]
  7. NOT ON THE LIST but was accomplished anyway: one on one dates with the kids. Examples: L and Irish dancing performance; R and Panera, etc ✅
  8. NOT ON THE LIST: piano lessons for L! ✅

career/finance

  1. Attend one professional conference ✅
  2. Prof. books ❌ + workshops (NECTFL) ✅
  3. Cont. being involved in school community (parent-teacher monthly meetings+other district meetings) Only attended three since January. Plus we participated in the book fair and spirit week- and that takes energy! So ✅
  4. Cont. Club Advisor  ✅
  5. Cont. retirement savings ✅ automated
  6. Cont. w. personal nest egg ✅ automated
  7. Cont. w. joint nest egg ✅ automated
  8. NOT ON THE LIST: a raise+new salary step ✅
  9. NOT ON THE LIST: solid and complementary summative professional feedback (think end of year evaluation, except for teachers in happens in March). I was rated highly effective ✅
  10. NOT ON THE LIST: student teacher+ being a mentor ✅

friends/community

  1. Friends’ birthdays & get togethers ✅ The three sister friends that I have are my life line. Also, got a few lunch dates in with former colleagues who are also friends. Plus the two Russian friends and the babas: baba Tanya and Lyuba ✅
  2. Be involved in our local town community ❌
  3. MLK day of service – ❌
  4. NOT ON THE LIST: calling dad in Russia- giving myself a ❌ – I did call but rarely. I need to make it a weekly occurrence

hobbies/creativity

  1. Blogging  ✅
  2. Mom’s weekend away – 2 times (February ✅ and August)
  3. Hiking ✅
  4. Movies ✅
  5. Do one fun thing per month: Jan ✅Feb ✅March ❌ April ✅May ✅

health/fitness

  1. Walks: 20 minutes 5 times a week ❌
  2. Yoga: once a week ❌
  3. Korean sauna  visits; once a month ❌ Goal modified to once every three months ✅
  4. Eat less ❌
  5. Eat more quality foods ✅
  6. Water + vitamins  ✅
  7. One coffee per day ❌ This one was stupid.
  8. NOT ON THE LIST: medical check ups, physical, mammogram, dentist every 6 months ✅
  9. NOT ON THE LIST: warm water with lemon before I have my morning coffee ✅

mental health

  1. Golden Hour morning practice ❌ fell off the wagon, got lazy
  2. Meditation ✅
  3. Alone time ✅
  4. Writing/journaling ✅
  5. Reading: not happy AT ALL with this one. Been on my Steven King book since March. MARCH. ❌ I blame Feedly.
  6. NOT ON THE LIST but positively contribute to my mental health: Podcasts! ✅
  7. NOT ON THE LIST but positively contribute to my mental health: signing up for online therapy ✅

Should I modify the goals? Am I forcing myself to love yoga, because everyone loves yoga? What should I do with reading? Should I lock up my phone so I won’t be able to access Feedly? Delete it off my phone?… Banish my phone from the bedroom? Start getting paper books only?


17 responses to “Annual Goals Review ❌ ✅ 🔜”

  1. jennystancampiano Avatar
    jennystancampiano

    Well it’s pretty interesting- look at all the green checkmarks in most of the categories. Everybody has their priorities and you can see where yours are! Overall I’d say you’re doing great. It might just be a situation where you can’t do every single thing. Maybe you’ll have more time to read when summer starts?

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    1. Daria Avatar

      Thanks for visiting Jenny! It sure is very clear where my priorities are. And they are not with reading or exercising. Le sigh.

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  2. Grateful Kae Avatar

    I have the same issue with Feedly on my phone. Although for me it’s not exactly that it’s disrupting my other reading time necessarily (though my reading life has been rather dismal lately also), but in my case, I just don’t “enjoy” reading blogs as much on my phone. Yet I keep doing it anyway. I really prefer to read blogs slowly, in a nice, cozy way, with tea or something, and on my laptop. I love everyone’s posts and I want to be able to give them the attention they deserve. Too often if I read them on my phone I end up getting interrupted etc and I also find it harder/ more tedious to comment from my phone. So then I sometimes just read the post and don’t comment, which I mean, is fine, but I just really prefer the whole experience of reading/commenting on my laptop. BUT, on the plus side, reading in little snippets on Feedly does help me at least stay more up to date on blogs, since I don’t always have the time to sit and really dive into blogs on my computer like I’d like to. So it’s a pickle. 😉

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    1. Daria Avatar

      Thanks for your perspective Kae! Reading on my phone is so convenient but you are right- often can’t comment because of some setting that I don’t understand/ don’t have. Maybe I’ll make a rule- laptop only.

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  3. Lisa’s Yarns Avatar

    Maybe the King book isn’t right or right for this time? If you aren’t feeling like reading it, it might be the right book at the wrong time and you should try something else? But overall you have a ton of green check marks so should be very proud of yourself! I did not set many goals for myself this year because I knew work was going to take so much of my energy…

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    1. Daria Avatar

      Such a good point. I’ve read his other books, many of them, this one is different, not what I expected. I am 50% in! Agh, what to do, what to do..

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  4. NGS Avatar
    NGS

    If yoga doesn’t work for you, don’t do it!! I’m pretty hardcore on this. You can get the same benefits doing other things. You have so many green checks – I don’t think you need to beat yourself up over the ones you didn’t do. I sometimes think that the goals I don’t meet are good measures for me to figure out what my priorities are – if yoga once a week isn’t getting done for multiple quarters, maybe it’s not your priority and that’s okay!

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    1. Daria Avatar

      I needed to hear that!

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  5. Diane Avatar
    Diane

    “This one was stupid.” Hahahahahaha!!!!! That is a very self aware statement. 

    So many green checks!!!! Yay you! And so many added green checks too – I think it’s great that you track those accomplishments.

    It looks to me that some of your Xs are things we all struggle to fit in as a routine vs. a one time task to check off. I feel that often the one time “do it now” thing gets done, but the things, even the small ones, that I want to invest in daily fall by the wayside…. where to fit it in consistently? My days feel so scattered – like I say I will do yoga for ten minutes while the kids eat breakfast, but some days they eat breakfast at 6:45am and some days at 7:30am, so it’s kind of a moving target. Where can we fit in routine things where life feels like a crapshoot? 

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    1. Daria Avatar

      Ugh, same! I have the intent to do yoga after work, then blergh…

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  6. Maya Avatar

    I’m always inspired by accountability posts like these! Yay you for so many green checks!

    Do you make video calls to Russia? I ask because that’s how my kids stay in touch with grandparents.

    I know that feeling when reading falls off because your current book isn’t working for you–do you think switching to another medium (paper/kindle/audible) or switching to another book might help?

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    1. Daria Avatar

      Yes! Viber is great! I know, I love reading accountability posts- it’s super motivational and also makes me feel I’m not the only one who may lack effort lol

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  7. Michelle G. Avatar
    Michelle G.

    You have so many green checks! I think that’s amazing! I love that you put a red X next to coffee and said, “This one was stupid.” That made me laugh because that’s just the kind of thing I would do! ❤️

    I only have Feedly on my PC. (And social media as well.) I get way too distracted by things on my phone.

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    1. Daria Avatar

      Same! Maybe I’ll get rid of it… on my phone

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  8. J Avatar

    Very cool that you are also posting accomplishments that were not on your list. I sometimes put things on my lists just so I can check them off, so satisfying.

    I agree with Engie, if yoga isn’t making it for you, don’t do it. I’ve had years when I do a lot of yoga, and years when I do zero yoga. I say blow it off, and know that it will be there for you if you ever change your mind.

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    1. Daria Avatar

      I felt like I have to celebrate the things that were not on the list but were accomplished anyway- they all added to my mental load but they also contributed to family’s wellbeing/future..

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  9. Tobia | craftaliciousme Avatar

    Wow I think you are crushing your goals. So many checks.

    I can only support banning the phone from the bedroom. I think I have done it in 2018 or 19 for lent and never have introduced it back. So much less doomscrolling.

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