When I wrote my goals for 2020, I was not expecting a pandemic to happen (I’m pretty sure nobody did). Personally, I felt like the beginning of the year started off strong; I went on a family vacation and when I came back had a lot of positive vibes to start the new year and a new decade! I felt like I was creating a good routine to put my goals in motion. That rapidly declined overnight and it felt like I lost a grip on the goals I set out for myself not only for the year, but for the specific quarter. I started to think “does any of it matter anymore?” But, as the weeks have gone by and I settled more into this new normal of being at home all the time, I’m starting to get my footing back on making progress on my goals. To keep the promise I made in my goals blog post and to continue to hold myself accountable, I do want to share how my progress went in Q1 2020 and what I set out to do in Q2.
Run my blog consistently
This is the goal I am the most proud of that has not slipped during this pandemic. Oddly enough, I think I had better content in the last few weeks. There’s something about things falling apart that allows content ideas to flow easily.
Q1 reflection: In the beginning of the year, I was writing for 20 mins everyday. I was able to build up a pool of content that is now published. But, when the lock down started in March (which was the last month of the quarter), I stopped writing for 20 mins everyday; I was completely out of routine. However, I did stick to posting weekly. Even though I wasn’t writing everyday or I didn’t have a pool of content waiting to be published, I committed to sitting down every weekend and finish a full post to publish (just like how I am doing right now). It was definitely easier when I had a pile of content waiting to be published instead of doing what I’m doing now, but my commitment never changed in running my blog weekly. Even though I’m not writing everyday, posting weekly is the main goal. And, now that I know my commitment to this goal is strong, I want to get back into the habit of at least starting posts earlier in the week so that I am not writing full posts the day I want to publish them. Last week, I started my Costco grocery haul post earlier in the week so I had a clear direction of where the post was going and finished the rest after our Costco trip. If I can keep that habit up, it’ll save me some time in posting weekly.
For Q2: Aside from trying to start posts earlier in the week, I want to organize my content calendar, update my blog’s homepage and start research into marketing so I can create a clear marketing objective by the end of this quarter.
Workout at least 3x a week
This goal is another one that started off really strong in the beginning of the year, but fell off heavily once the gyms closed! Jesse and I were already incorporating a combination of at-home workouts and going to the gym within our schedule, but I felt like the days we were going to the gym gave us more structure to our workout routine and made this commitment stronger. Now that all workouts are at home, we definitely had to adapt.
Q1 reflection: I did not finish the first round of my Fit Body app in Q1. It’s almost the end of April and I still have one more week left of Round 1 before I can move on to Round 2. So I am 3 weeks behind on this goal. Instead of working out 3x a week, I would say it was more like once a week (eek!) which means I haven’t made progress in moving through the weeks on the app. Although, considering the circumstances, it’s definitely better than nothing! Jesse and I have been taking long walks with Lilo on nice days to get steps in and Lilo can get her exercise, too, but we know this week we have to get back on our normal grind in working out 3x a week.
For Q2: Since I’m already behind, it’s impossible to finish the 2nd round of the Fit Body app by the end of June, so to slightly modify this goal, I want to go back to the basics. I’m going to focus on working out 3x a week and just use the app as guidance on what workouts I should be doing. The objective is to not skip a week for the rest of Q2!
Become a morning person
I published a post recently about my updated morning routine that has helped with sticking to a routine of waking up early. But, I’m going to be real, I did not follow that routine at all last week (so Q2 is already all over the place). I woke up just in time to start work and that’s it. This is definitely a goal where progress has been a rollercoaster ride.
Q1 reflection: I think the important thing I did realize coming out of Q1 (and living through this pandemic) is that a morning routine is completely necessary no matter what’s going on in life. Whenever I do wake up early and complete my morning routine, I’m in a better mood and have clarity on what I need to accomplish throughout the day. It’s a time for myself to enjoy the quiet before the noise of the day creeps in.
For Q2: Clearly, I need to come up with a better goal instead of just saying “become a morning person” because that is not working out for me. I need to clearly define what it is I’m trying to achieve here, so something for me to figure out. Since I do have a morning routine that I like, I want to be able to prioritize that morning routine at least 3x a week (I don’t know why but 3x a week is my thing) for the rest of Q2. I can sync these days up with my workout days to maximize the productive hours in the day. Regardless, I should start small in trying to achieve this goal and hopefully it can build up to naturally waking up earlier and doing my routine everyday.
Read 12 books this year
The amount of time I’ve been reading has definitely slowed down after working from home because I would read during my commute to and from work everyday. But, I am still on track to accomplish this goal so far!
Q1 reflection: In Q1, I read 6 books! Which means I am half way through this goal for the whole year. You can see my reading list here.
For Q2: Once I complete the book I am currently on this month, Think and Grow Rich, I want to be able to read 2 more books by the end of June. Even though I read 6 books in one quarter, I have been spending less time reading so I want to, again, go back to starting small just to make sure I keep myself on track.
Make more $$$ Save more $$$
Zero progress was made on the “make more money” goal in Q1! I didn’t even do any research into this. Looking back at my goals blog post, I didn’t really give myself an action item here to start with. I definitely have been SAVING more money though, which should be the real goal here! So, this is me changing this goal in real time to “save more $$$”.
Q1 reflection: Earlier in the year, I did write down an amount I wanted to save by the end of March, so I’ve been working towards this without having this as an official goal for 2020. I am very proud to say that I achieved that goal exactly on March 31st! Of course, the last 3 weeks of March made this easier than ever because of how much I was saving by not going out at all due to this quarantine.
For Q2: Since the amount I saved in Q1 was achievable, I’m going to keep that goal for Q2 as well. I do want to point out here for those folks who are spending less and saving more, try investing some of those savings into a Roth IRA account. I did put in extra money into my account and will try my hand at investing into specific companies I use/believe in (hmm, maybe I can still make more money this year).
If you have reached the end of this post, thanks for bearing with me! I wanted to share all the details on the progress of my goals because I think it’s important for everyone to see that although life got in the way, I wasn’t hard on myself and instead I made (and will continue to make) adjustments to move forward on my goals. Take a moment of reflection on your goals you set out in the beginning of the year. Were you able to stay the course on your goals regardless of this pandemic? What needs to be adjusted? How can you still make these goals work within your new normal? If you’re up for sharing, leave your thoughts in the comment section below!