February Results and March 2018 Goals

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Happy March! It’s time to update you on my February 2018 goals and share my March goals with you. I share my goals for accountability and to keep it real. Because goals, like life, can be unpredictable and messy.

I also want to show you that sometimes we might set a goal and are really resistant to doing the steps needed to achieve it. When this happens you may need to break your action steps down further. Or maybe take another approach. Or maybe that goal really isn’t important to you.

You can read previous goal-setting posts here:

January 2018 Goals (which includes goal-setting tips)
February 2018 Goals

And CLICK HERE for the supplies I use.

Let’s jump right in…

Results: February 2018 Goals

1. Lose 5 pounds.

Yes! By the skin of my teeth. This was not easy and honestly I will not focus on weight loss in March. It stresses me out. I’d rather focus on the healthy habits I CAN control (like what I eat and how I move), than a number on the scale which I have zero control over.

2. Update (and track) my exercise routine.

Specifically update it by focusing on:

85000 steps per day, five days per week.
PiYo three times per week.
Strength training (20-30 minutes, full body), twice per week.

Yes, I updated my exercise routine. I did PiYo three times each week and strength twice, except for the last week of February.

I am definitely NOT hitting the steps most days. And here’s the thing…. I exercise almost every day. If I do 30 minutes of strength and a 30 minute low impact workout that still won’t get me 8500 steps. Same thing if I do PiYo plus a workout. To be perfectly honest, I’m not interested in taking a 30 minute walk after an hour of exercise.

I need to sort the steps vs. workout issue for March.

3. Practice an “attitude of gratitude”.

Yes!! I created a little gratitude journal in my planner and wrote in it Every. Single. Day.

I don’t do anything every single day except eat and brush my teeth. I am super thrilled with the gratitude focus and will keep it up for March.

You can pick up the free gratitude printables I used, right here….

4. Hire a contractor to remodel our bathroom.

No, she says sheepishly.

I am EXTREMELY RESISTANT to this remodel project. I have no idea why. This goal is Priority #1 in March.

5. Plan for Valentine’s Day.

Done! Had a nice dinner out with the hubby, and gifts and cards for the people important to me.

March 2018 Goals

As you can see, I have lots of goals this month. Some are really “must do” goals, like planning for Easter (April 1st) and three birthdays. Others are “I want to do this to improve my life and health.” I’ll share a few of those with you here.

(If you want to learn the process I use to set goals, I wrote about it in THIS POST.)

As a reminder, not only do these goals need to be written down (and reviewed often), but also scheduled in my planner.

1. Hire a contractor - or else.

I have names of four people to contact to get quotes on my bathroom remodel job. I just need to call those peeps, get appointments set, talk it over with the hubby, and make a damn decision.

This. Will. Be. Done.

2. Spend 10 hours per week on B-School.

I invested in a pretty expensive online business course, so it will be my focus for March and April. I’ll hit this goal by scheduling the exact hours I will study in my planner.

3. Unplug at least 3 hours every Sunday.

I don’t know about you, but my phone feels like a part of my body sometimes. I check Facebook Twitter, email, the news… multiple times per day. Last Sunday I turned off my phone all afternoon and not only did I survive, but I really enjoyed the quiet! It felt good to focus on and be present for my real life.

I will make this a weekly goal and schedule it in my planner.

4. Eat 9 of the 12 “brain healthy foods” 5 days per week.

Last month I read “The Better Brain Solution,” by Dr. Steven Masley, and it blew my mind. Research shows that a proper diet and keeping blood sugar under control can reduce 2/3 of all dementias.

Dr. Masley suggests 12 healthy foods to include in your diet daily. I love focusing on what to include in my diet, rather than what to exclude. Many of these foods I love, so this month include at least 9 in my diet most days of the week.

12 foods for a healthier brain:

green leafy veggies (kale, spinach, Brussels sprouts)
other veggies (excluding potatoes)
Omega-3 rich seafood (think salmon, twice a week) or a good fish oil supplement
extra virgin olive oil or other healthy oils
berries & cherries
nuts & healthy fats (avocado, olives, etc.)
cocoa and dark chocolate
coffee and/or green tea
red wine
herbs & spices
beans
fermented foods (yogurt, sauerkraut, kombucha, etc.)

These foods will be included in my meal planning, and I’ll track these in the Daily Tasks/Habits section of my planner.

And now a fitness goal…

5. PiYo 3x week, strength training 2x week, and either 30 minutes low impact cardio or 8000 steps 5x per week.

This is an unwieldly goal, but it wasn’t working when I concentrated solely on steps. Often low impact cardio is easier on my back than walking.

PiYo has already become a habit, thanks to concentrating on it during January and February.

Strength is not so fun for me, but I know it is super important so I will schedule it, dang it.

I love cardio. So doing 30 minutes of cardio is no big deal. Or I’ll walk. But I won’t make myself do both, just to hit an arbitrary step goal.

I’m pretty active and I enjoy what I do. I don’t want to pressure myself to hit a number “just because.” Does this make sense?

Life Lesson: When something is important (like health and fitness is to me), don’t be afraid to change things up. Don’t be afraid to say “screw you” to boring workout programs you don’t enjoy. Life is too short. Do exercise that makes you happy.

Check out the printable 2018 Plan a Healthy Life Planner.

I have a few other goals for March but this gives you the gist of things. Health and fitness goals are important, but so are other parts of life too. Goal setting, to me, is all about getting the things done that are important to ME, and mapping out a simple plan to make them happen.

Now it’s your turn. Do you want to set any goals for March? Use a planner like mine, your own planner, or even a simple notebook to write your goals and your action steps.

Be sure to stop by the blog in April for an update on my March goals and to see what I’m planning for April.