This year, inspired by Gretchen Rubin’s book, I’ve been doing a Happiness Project, focusing on one important aspect of my life every month. In January my goals centered around health, last month was marriage. The idea is that the months should build on one another and the habits formed in one month should continue into the next and so on. So far I really enjoy this structure for goal-setting, and I think having something more specific to focus on each month goes along with my word for this year, intention.
Here are my wins for last month and my goals for March.
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| Photo by J. Kelly Brito on Unsplash |
{february wins}
– Did better at giving freely and not keeping score. I’ve gotten better about not keeping score; i.e. not thinking about whether things are “fair” or whether I’m putting in more than my fair share of parenting or household tasks. However, this is still something I struggle with, especially lately. It’s definitely something I hope to continue to work on and think about.
– Treated Aaron to a “week of extreme nice”. I’m not sure he even noticed all that much, but for a week I tried to do things that would help make his life better. I washed dishes even when I was the one who cooked, I folded laundry myself even if he was there to help, and did other household tasks that we normally share.
– Made more of an effort to connect. I am an introvert and really value my “me time”, so I often can’t wait until the kids are in bed and other chores are done so I can unwind with a book or in front of the computer. However, last month I tried to make more of an effort to spend some time with Aaron before having that time to myself. Doing that regularly makes such a difference.
– Had one dinner date and turned a weekly budget meeting into a mini date night. It was so nice to get out of the house to have dinner with Aaron and have uninterrupted conversation! That is rare these days. I also started a mini date night each week thanks to some freezer treats (more about that here).
– Read The Five Love Languages. I’d heard a lot about this book from various places, including a marriage seminar put on by my church. It was interesting to find out both mine and Aaron’s love languages, and to think about how to better “speak” that language in our relationship. I’m not sure I needed to read the book to find that out–the free online quiz probably would have been enough.
{non-marriage related wins}
– I read eight books this month. Three memoirs, four novels (one YA), and one non-fiction. I’ll share my February reading recap next week.
– I reinstated a two-person book club. We had our first “meeting” at a local Japanese restaurant, since the book we read was set in Japan.
– I continued to use my snack list to eat healthy snacks most days.
– I continued to take walking breaks on days when I work at the office.
– I taught Jona to read. I can’t take all the credit of course–he has already learned a ton this year at preschool. Also, he still has a lot to learn–it’s not like he’s magically reading fluently already or anything. However, he is definitely reading! I mentioned in my favorites post that we have been using the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, and we still have about half of it left to go. Once we finish, I’ve thought about sharing a review/recap of my experience using that book if anyone is interested.
{march goals}
This month I’m focusing on work, both to improve my current work situation and set goals for my future career path.
– Research book-related careers other than librarians. Over the past year or so I’ve decided that I would like to get into a career that relates to books or reading. I do think being a librarian is the best path for me, but I would like to think about other possibilities as well to keep my options open.
– Complete an application to re-enroll in an MLS program this summer. I am about halfway through my Master of Library Science degree, which I put on pause after I had Jona. I would like to start taking classes again this summer.
– Apply for jobs, even when I don’t think I’m qualified. I’ve been checking local library websites and applying for a few jobs already, so I want to keep this up and maybe look beyond the libraries. I don’t want to apply for positions I have no chance at getting, but too often I convince myself that I’m not qualified because I don’t match their qualifications completely. It never hurts to apply, right?
– Take on creative projects at my current job. I recently met with one of my colleagues at the wellness company I work for, and she asked me if I’d be interested in creating content for a company blog. Before I was in my current position I wrote a few posts for a blog we used to have and she liked what I had written. Of course I told her that I would love to be involved, so I hope to start doing that soon.
– Work smarter. I’m pretty good about finishing time-sensitive tasks–I can’t stand having people waiting on me–but when it comes to important items with less-pressing deadlines, I tend to procrastinate. I like the strategy of getting at least one dreaded task done at the beginning of the day, so I’m going to try to implement that. I think that will make me more productive for the rest of the day as well.
– Read The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin. This book isn’t exactly work-related, but I think having a better understanding of my tendency (I’m an Upholder) will help me improve my work life. If you have any ideas for other work/career-related books I’m all ears!
What are your goals for this month?
Linking with Coffee Until Cocktails and Feel Good Dress Better.
