Happy August, friends! July was a particularly fun month, involving celebrating our second anniversary and a spur-of-the-moment work trip to Oklahoma City. My trip to OKC was such an answer to prayer because I was feeling particularly sad last month as I realized that it was going to be a full year before I saw any of my family there. Going back for work allowed me to see my family and I had all of my expenses paid to do it. I did have to work while I was there, but no complaints here :). The opportunity made me feel particularly seen and loved by God. Now that I’m back home and resettled, I can’t wait to dive into my August goals.
Fun Things Happening in August
Charles finishes up the summer semester, starts the fall semester, AND most excitingly starts a very exciting internship. Meanwhile, I have a giant stack of library books with my name on them 😉
August Theme: One thing at a time
When I got back from my trip to OKC, I was really behind on all my goals and plans. I powered through for a little while and got a lot done, but then eventually burned out and spent the last week of July accomplishing very little. I’m very often overwhelmed with all of my plans and dreams and goals, which can feel very paralyzing. I also have a bad habit of multitasking and switching from task to task (or tab to tab, as it were). But really, I can only do the next right thing (LINK), so my mantra this month will be one thing at a time.
July Goals Recap – 3 out of 9 completed
- G
et connected to our new church– We haven’t visited a group yet but it’s on the calendar! - Journal every day – I did a terrible job at this, partially because of my trip but mostly because I know it will be a lot of mental and emotional work and I just don’t want to do it. Sometimes my barrier is that I’m not sure what to write about, so I compiled a list of prompts that I’m going to print out and slip into my journal. Blog post coming soon!
- Cull 2014-2015 iPhone photos – *insert hiding monkey emoji* I just straight up didn’t do this
- Trade-in our old iPhones – I took the first steps in researching what we need to do and even making sure I got all the photos off of my old phone but I still need to trade them in.
Take new pictures for my blog bio– this didn’t end up being the huge chore I anticipated and I got it done!- Take our foster cat to at least one adoption event – I didn’t do this either
Organize our closet– I cleaned it out and reorganized a bit and it feels a little less like the walls are falling on me every time I walk in.- Get into an exercise routine again – I hardly exercised at all (besides all the walking that DC requires), but I have a plan for August!
- Order prints of our wedding photos – Didn’t do this either 🙂
We celebrated our 2nd anniversary by going to a vineyard in Maryland we stumbled across while traveling last year. It was so pretty! We enjoyed sitting on the patio and listening to the live jazz band so much.
August Goals
I use eight life categories to give me focus and help me realize if I’m neglecting a particular area of my life. The eight life categories are my environment, career, health, relationships, money, personal/spiritual development, fun, and service. Some of my goals hit more than one category, so I won’t always come up with eight different goals for each category. The great thing about using the categories as a guideline is that it gives me some structure to work with and helps me see if I have any blind spots.
Top 3
- Use my Write the Word journal every day – Cultivate what Matters is doing a fresh faith challenge this month so it feels like the perfect time to pull out the Write the Word journal I’ve been meaning to use for so long
- Cull 2014-2015 iPhone photos – This will be the month I get to this, I can feel it!
- Trade-in our old iPhones
Bonus August Goals
- Order wedding pictures to hang in our home
- Schedule a dentist appointment for us both
- Plant some grass in a pot for our cats, because I’m that type of cat mom!
- Gather information to renew our passports
- Finish my summer reading list – so far I’ve finished 4 and started 3 more out of the 12 books on my list
Not as many bonus goals this month, but it feels like the right amount. Part of goal setting involves learning the perfect amount to reach for, and I get a little better every month!
What are your August goals?
