Kelly

One of my 3 month goals was to sew all the fabrics I’d cut into hexagons for my quilting project. I’d estimated 800 hexagons which, spread over 90 days, is a very reasonable 9 hexagons per day.

I am not a reasonable person.

In the end I only had 750 ready to go and I finished those in… 18 days. Which is an average of 42 per day.

So while that goal is check done! I have several others which I still need to work on. But I’ve also just cut about 75 more fabrics which I’m adding on to this goal.

Which is fine, goals are meant to adjust and adapt as we go.

Today was errand day, which is always a chore when you live 90 minutes away from the city where most of those stops take place but I’ve found a good way to manage both my time and energy. First, I set an alarm the night before but not too early. I don’t need to be in town when the stores open because…

Second, I order online the night before if I can. I pick out what I need from major retailers like Home Depot and let someone else maneuver the crowds. Then I just need to drop in. Or, like Petsmart for the special dog shampoo, walk in, go to the shelf and walk out with my order. 2 minutes tops!

For the stores where I can’t have someone shop for me, I try to make a detailed list so I can avoid wandering around looking at everything. I generally know what I need so I am in and out quickly.

Finally, hydration. If I’m thirsty then I’m going to be cranky so I bring water and will usually pick up a coffee or tea while I’m out. This gives me some extra energy so I’m not tired and drowsy on the drive home.

I have picked up some of the supplies I need for my goals this sprint and working my way towards making deliberate progress on each and every one.

While it’s not one of my many goals in this 90 day challenge, I like to ride 150-200 miles a month on my stationary bike at home. But the last month or so has been a challenge, mostly due to the crazy heat wave that’s making me cranky. So when I looked at my tracker (helpfully in my iPhone Notes app) and noticed I had achieved a whole 13 miles in the first 12 days of the month, I decided to think about what was holding me back.

This is just an example of how to examine goals vs achievements when feeling stuck. It’ll look different for everyone and every goal.

Of course, it’s hot. It’s July in Kansas. So I looked back at my tracking for 2023 and 2024 and both years were dismal. Granted, 2023 was the worst summer ever when I lost my primary client, both my dogs, got COVID and a flesh eating bacteria all in 3 months time. Last July I logged a whole 66 miles and only biked 12 day of the month.

So I could definitely chalk this slump up to the regular summer slowdown and how hard I find it to acclimate to weather shifts. I could continue to only get on my bike when I feel like it.

Let’s question that assumption. If I only did things when I felt like it I would never have clean dishes, or clothes, or mopped floors. There are thousands of actions and small decisions that I make every week not out of some inherent love but because I like the outcome or have to do things. See: paying my auto insurance for the next 6 months.

Exercise isn’t one of those things I’m forced to do, nor do I only do when I feel like it. When I get on the bike or go for a long walk, I feel better, I sleep better and I reach my goals.

Plus, I have ways to beat the heat, including pointing 2 tower fans at the bike so I get some cross wind and drink lots of water.

The hardest part of exercising is starting so on Sunday I got up from my comfortable armchair and sat on the bike. Then I did 10 miles. In fact, I did more miles in 3 days than in the first 12 days of the month.

So if part of the answer is just to start, how can I make that more automatic. Here are 3 things I’m going to test out:

1. Get in 3 miles before noon – This is about 20 minute of warm up cycling for me so I should be able to find 20 minutes between whenever I get out of bed and noon. Then, I may be more likely to get those miles up to 5 or 8 when I’m halfway there later in the day.
2. If I’m watching “tv” I’m on the bike – it’s way too easy to put on YouTube and get sucked into hours of idle watching, even if I’m hand sewing or playing a game on my phone at the same time. So if YouTube or Netflix is playing, I’m on the bike.
3. Aim for consistency in miles – too many times I’ll get to the bike late, do a few miles and then think “good enough” and go to bed. Now, I’m testing doing a minimum of 8 miles a day.

If I can continue this trend through the end of the month I can get a lot closer to my monthly goal of 200 miles every month.

Look at the math

One thing that can help me is to look at the goal I’m trying to reach and the time I’ve given myself.

This year I set the goal to ride 2025 miles in 12 months, which broken down per day is only 5.5 miles a day. However, I did travel some and there are always days where I need to rest. If I calculate how many days are left in the year–169– and the miles I have left to go (1231 mi), then I know I need to regularly do 7.5 miles to meet my goal. And if I know I’ll have a few days off each month I should just round that up to 8 miles.

July is a great time to check in on your goals because we still have 6 months of the year left to go. Looking at a goal for the first time in mid-November and realizing you’d have to quit your job and stop sleeping to finish by year end is just frustrating.

Consider looking at your 2025 goals this month to decide how you can tweak them, or yourself, to get back on track.

When the first of July came around I knew that every cell in my body would be screaming for a perfect first day when everything got checked off.

I also knew I would be out of town for 6+ hours at a work function with a borrowed car, because mine is in the shop and the likelihood of getting all my tasks done was low. So I remembered that the whole goal of these daily habits is to become more consistent over time.

Here’s how I’m doing a week in:

Personal self-care:

1. Floss – doing well on this, powered by a dentist appt this month!
2. Double cleanse face – about half and half, I wash but don’t always double cleanse
3. Take vitamins – 100%
4. Use lotion – better than 50%, while this is more important in winter, it’s needed after the pool or a very hot day

Personal space care:

1. Do all dishes – not doing great on this one, I need to catch up and stay caught up!
2. Clean litter box – better than 50%, trying to stay on top of the upstairs boxes is the worst because ‘out of sight, out of mind’
3. One cleaning task – pretty good, I need to make my chart and hang it somewhere I can always see it so things get checked off.

Personal mental care:

1. No social media before 9am – almost 100%! Forgot one day when I was up early
2. Reach out to a friend – 100% and trying to reach out to older friends more often
3. Publish something – 100% so far!

Personal physical care:

1. 20 minute walk – about 50%, will probably get better the longer my car is in the shop
2. Average 5,000 daily steps – about 50%, will be more consistent if I do the walks!
3. In bed by 10pm – I’m good on this if I have work the next day so it’s about 50% due to the long weekend and later nights

Overall I continue to be challenged (because duh, if it were all habitual already this would not be needed) but I’m glad that I am working on each of these habits.

I also find myself to be doing tasks that used to be one my list (make the bed, journal, laundry) and then sorta annoyed I don’t get to check it off. Oh well, I suppose the benefit of the thing being done has to be enough.

Let’s talk about one of my monthly cleaning tasks, the one I procrastinate on the most: cleaning the fridge and freezer. Technically these are 2 separate tasks but I dislike them equally.

The concept is really simple: once a calendar month I want to take everything out, wipe down the shelves and drawers and organize the food I have on hand. Sometimes this means throwing out food which has gone bad, but I’m getting much better at food waste these days.

As I put things back in the fridge or freezer, I do try to sort like things together and write down what I have on hand so I don’t pick up another thing of mustard since it’s on sale since I have a full one ready. I might add things I do need to get, like tortillas or green peppers.

(Especially since the pepper I picked up fell apart in my hand a few days ago.)

The reason I want to clean my fridge every month is a good one, it shows me what I have to eat, lets me save money on groceries or eating out and keeps the fridge from becoming a petri dish. The freezer is very similar, food tends to fall to the bottom and disappear and then 6 months later I have to play “what is this mystery thing?”

The reason it’s hard to do is also really easy to pinpoint. In order to make room for the food from the fridge, I need to clear off a section of countertop. I also need to finish all the dishes, dry and put them away so I have some room to wipe out bins and shelves in the sink. And, I have to do the whole task quickly without distractions or food begins to thaw and go bad on the counter. Then, when I’m done, I need to take out the trash so it doesn’t stink up the kitchen.

So while I hate this particular task, I am trying to be more consistent doing it because it’s always a little less horrible when it was just done 4 weeks ago and not 90 days ago.

Let’s see if I can get at least the fridge done today.