I’ve always been a firm believer that there’s no time like the present to set a new goal, but that doesn’t mean I actually set goals very often. I’ll be the first to admit that I live a fairly unhealthy lifestyle – I don’t watch what I eat and I don’t exercise either. I still don’t plan to change up what I eat too much (I can’t give up donuts or ice cream) but I am trying to get into better health habits – both physical and mental. I’ve set a few goals for myself and wanted to share them with you: a) to hold myself accountable; and, b) to hopefully inspire you to set some new goals for yourself or revisit your new year’s resolutions (I can’t believe we’re already halfway through 2017!!!!)
Goal 1: Exercise more. I work out in very weird patterns. I’ll go to the gym fairly consistently for two weeks but then not go again for two months. In an interview, Kayla Itsines said most women start with really ambitious goals, ready to go all-in, and create goals and schedules for themselves that aren’t realistic over a longer timeline. Since I’m aiming for consistency rather than immediate weight loss or strength, I don’t want to scare myself away with a goal I know I can’t attain. I’ve decided to set my exercise goal at twice a week. I recently got an apple watch and I try to meet my daily movement goals so I know I’m not totally static during the day, but I’d like to add cardio or a quick resistance workout at least twice a week, but ideally three times a week. I figured since I’m starting at nothing, even once a week would be a slow improvement until I really get into the swing of it. So far this week I’ve done two BBG workouts and I’ve been so sore all week (even sitting down was a struggle). Today I’m in Charlotte and taking advantage of a free kickboxing class. I already know I love kickboxing but the gyms in DC are so expensive and I’m not in New York full-time so I haven’t really put any effort into finding a gym. It’s a great workout though and I can’t wait to be even more sore tomorrow… But on the plus side, if I keep this up I won’t be the most out of shape person on the first day of my yoga class at school next semester.
Goal 2: Meditate more. When I started using Headspace back in March, I was hoping to reduce stress levels and have an easier time falling asleep. I used it pretty consistently at the time and could definitely feel the effects of the practice. I started sleeping so much better and was generally in a better mood. It’s been harder for me to keep it up recently but I’ve been trying to get back into it. My goal for the month is 3-4 times a week, or at least 15 days a month. I can feel the benefits of meditation when I do it more consistently and I think if I really stick to it it’ll have even greater effects!
Goal 3: Spend less. I saw The Richmond Prepster was challenging herself to a “No Buy July” and I thought the idea was genius. When I got home from school in May I got my tax refunds and then started getting paychecks and I’ve been spending the money as quickly as it’s been coming in. I know there’s absolutely nothing else I need right now so I’m cutting myself off for the month of July. So far so good but I have to consistently remind myself that I can’t window shop online or in stores or I know I’ll cave. I’ve also been trying to put more of my paychecks into my savings as well! I know when the end-of-summer sales start happening in August I’ll be so glad I saved up the money.
Hopefully, by the end of July I’ll have been doing more meditating and exercising and less spending. I even made a bullet journal-esque grid sheet to keep track of all three so I can track my progress for the month. Do you have any other goals you’ve been working towards?
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