Self improvement can be simple!
Step 1: Make new self-improvement goals for this month.
Step 2: Do your best to achieve your goals.
Step 3: Next month report back on your progress as well as make new goals for the proceeding month.
Step 4: Become a more awesome person!
Factors for success for creating good goals:
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Quantify your goals ("I want to lose 5lbs or 2% body fat" is a better goal than "I want to lose weight".)
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Make goals that are realistic. Don't try to lose 50lbs in one month.
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Make goals that are sufficiently challenging, push yourself.
- Create a specific plan for reaching your goals.
Your goals can have to do with anything that you want to work on.
Good luck!
Waldorfmutti 8y ago
Safe 100 Euros this month. Get the harvest of the garden patch in Use lots of apples > cheap cause homegrown Update my wardrobe in thrifty ways
jeanbroady 8y ago
I have one goal: I will try and watch every baseball game with my husband until the end of the series. I really have a hard time watching sports because they bore me to tears. It is rare for me to sit down and watch a game. Now that we are empty nesters, my husband watches games by himself and I know that isn't as much fun as it was when our kids watched, moaning, and yelling along with him. So I am going to pick up the slack and moan and yell with him, but that means I have to concentrate and pay attention. Fortunately, I do understand a great deal about baseball, as our kids played on teams. I just don't know much about professional ball. However, that will change and by the end of the series I will know the players names and I will recognize them in the field and at bat.
mannfan9292 8y ago
Last month's goals: Eat 1 or more green vegetable at every meal: Success!
Follow Sober September: Failure. Had 10 drinks over the last two weeks of September.
Set aside $60 a week: Success! I'm right on schedule with $240 set aside so far.
Lose 1.5 lbs each week: Failure. I should have lost six lbs by now but I failed and only have lost two.
This month:
Lose 2 lbs per week: Following the Slow-Carb Diet from 4-Hour Body, but within a 1000-calorie budget. No snacks between meals. I WILL be SKINNY, darn it!
Rekindle 2 friendships this month with friends I haven't seen in a while.
No more anxiety attacks in front of my boyfriend: I've been extremely stressed because of difficulties with my Immigration situation and also health stuff, causing me to have a couple of crying meltdowns in public. It stresses my boyfriend out to see me behave "like a butt" (his words), and even though we're still planning for events months into the future, I know there are a finite number of bad days I can have before wearing thin on someone. I can't afford therapy, but I was just interviewed for a CBT study and will get access to my country's healthcare in a little over two months. In the meantime, I'm going to provide lots of good times and BJs and stifle every bad feeling!
Rivkariver 8y ago
Write. Every Day.
videlachkadua 8y ago
Good luck ladies!
RubyWooToo 8y ago
I have one simple goal at the moment... not to let myself go now that I'm working from home. So, for the next month, I want to do my makeup every day, even if it's just lipstick and mascara.
I'm pregnant and I was so sick every morning for my first trimester that I basically stopped doing my makeup every morning because I would spend those 30 min puking (lovely, I know). But I don't want to descend into frumpiness just because I'm not working in an office.
curiousrpw 8y ago
This month I want to focus on:
Cooking: I want to make my boyfriend dinner every weeknight. I already have the meal plan in place for this week, and I know it means a lot to him to have food on the table.
Exercise: I have been struggling with keeping up with my exercise routine. This month I just want to do something every day. I need to just make it a habit and do it.
Relationship: I don't want to nag anymore, it's exhausting me and it isn't helping. I can put the clothes in the hamper and pick up the dishes myself, it takes literally ten seconds and nagging is not worth the cooling of romantic feelings in my relationship. This month I am not going to nag or worry about the little things too much.
valentinelauren 8y ago
I've been struggling with getting out the bed to go hiking every morning but this is really motivating me to get my butt into gear .
rpwtoss 8y ago
I struggle with keeping an exercise routine myself.
One thing that really helped me with the small stuff is that when I find myself getting upset/anxious, I ask if it will matter in ten years. The answer is basically always no, so then I can let it go. This has become so automatic for me that it's decreased my level of stress significantly.
curiousrpw 8y ago
That's really good advice, thank you! In the long run, it isn't going to matter who took out the trash or whatever. I appreciate it, I'll keep that in mind this month.
rpwtoss 8y ago
It has some added bonuses, too: -I'm less stressed -I get to be the "cool" wife- most of my husband's friends are envious of the fact that I'm super laid-back and not on his ass about stuff. -since I'm not always on his ass, if something really is important to me, it usually gets his attention -because I'm easy-to-please and laid-back, I get invited to do the "guy" things when I want to be (and not in the "I harass my husband to bring me with him and make a big deal if I can't go" way). (I should mention here that my husband likes hunting and fishing, and I don't hunt at all (and don't go on the overnight fishing trips) so he does a lot of guy stuff without me, but if it's something I'd enjoy, I'm always invited) -as a couple, we are invited along to do more things, too
These things are all super important to me- I want my husband to enjoy spending time with me (and I want his friends to be willing to spend time around me too!).
I'll put it this way: about a month ago we went down to a friend's beach house. He wasn't there when we got there, but some of his friends that we don't know well were there. One of them made the comment that he thought it was another couple coming because he didn't realize we were married (no, not because one of us is inappropriately flirtatious with members of the opposite sex. Because I still give off the "cool girlfriend" vibe (not the married shrew vibe) and my husband still gets lots of guy time to go hunting/fishing- without me having to always go along or be breathing down his neck about cost/when exactly he's going to be home/"chores"/typical wife complaints).
The (maybe) negative: I'm not a "typical" girl....I'm not friends with most of my husband's friends' wives. I don't like to drink or party...and I'm fairly introverted. I can get along with them when we all hang out together, but I don't have most of their cell phone numbers, and I'm not the person they are calling up for girls' night out. Meh.
girlwithabike 8y ago
My first goal is to not over estimate what goals I can accomplish...here goes:
Exercise: I will go to yoga at least two times per week. I will aim for 3-4 classes as work allows. I will also work on my morning cardio habit by going back to the gym 2 mornings a week.
Organization/Household: I will sit down every Friday to plan my weekend/week in the bullet journal. There are a lot of mini goals that are tied in with the bullet journal - like having dinner plans, chore habits etc. Once I stop journaling regularly, the rest falls apart.
Brain Stuff: I will finish at least 3 of the partially finished books I have. Husband wants to take 1 night a week to dedicate to intellectual pursuits so I'll use this time to get through some of the more tedious reading. I'll also stop starting new books before I finish the ones I have (which currently amounts to like 9 that I've started and a backlog of I don't even know).
Family: I will visit my grandparents and my siblings once each over the course of the month.
SouthernAthena 8y ago
Yes! A fellow bullet-journaler! I am practically a zealot for the things.
girlwithabike 8y ago
Yes! A friend introduced me and it's the best thing ever...when I'm actually using it.
SouthernAthena 8y ago
Haha yeah, that's of course the struggle. I sometimes skip days, but I've now as one of my goals carved out two specific times in my schedule to use it (esp for weekly/monthly goals and self reflection), so I think that'll help keep me on top of it. I bet it will help a lot that you've chosen a specific time to use it!
ragnarockette 8y ago
Get a job. We just moved cross-country and I haven't found a job yet and I'm going insane.
Be elegant, gracious lady traveler. We are traveling every weekend this month. I want to pack perfectly, enjoy myself without drinking too much, have chic outfits for every event, and be present to enjoy time with family and friends.
mabeol 8y ago
Meals
I've been dealing with low energy and mid-morning slumps and, after talking it over with my SO, I came up with a new meal plan that i believe will address the issue. Today is Day 1... and so far, SO GOOD. Basically, I want to keep it up with this new plan.
Additionally, I want to keep a fairly comprehensive MyFitnessPal log for the month so I can track low energy days and see if there's a correlation with my food choices.
Fitness
Run 3x per week (2 weekday, 1 weekend), yoga 2x per week (1 weekday, 1 weekend). Going for consistency over perfection.
Personal Projects
Compile all research and craft an outline for an ebook. My SO and I are both working on projects, so we're helping benchmark each other on this one!
Hair
Basically... stop having lazy bouts with my hair. No more frizzball days at the office. It's so unprofessional, and I always end up feeling self conscious all day. If it's down, it's blown out and shiny. If it's not blown out and shiny, it's up in a nice updo, not a junky bun that I did in five seconds. I can do better.
SouthernAthena 8y ago
I will transform Wednesdays into a day of physical restraint and spiritual contemplation.
This will look like:
Fasting (this means 500 calories for the day)
Sprinting (starting small with 3 100-meter sprints as fast as I can run)
1-2 hours of self reflection and journaling (listing weekly goals and checking progress on monthly and yearly goals)
Post a blog post to my website
Some of these I've already begun, some I'm just starting! Looking forward to my progress.
mabeol 8y ago
I'll be super curious to see how fasting and sprinting in the same day goes! I've always been too nervous to try that. Good luck! Edited to add: I'm realizing my "good luck" may have sounded sarcastic, but it was not meant that way at all! I really do hope it goes well for you and that you see awesome results.
SouthernAthena 8y ago
Haha not sarcastic at all! I actually did it last week (sprinted shortly after my small meal) and had an easier time than the other time I sprinted with regular eating. I'll update though!
rpwtoss 8y ago
I posted these as a follow-up in the other thread about goals, but wanted to add them here:
Okay, I promised an update once I finished MAP and had an idea of my goals, so here goes:
Exercise 5 days a week. (I'm going to try Wendler's 5/3/1 I think, plus do one day of stretching/walking/some sort of LISS to start).
Diet Get my diet even more dialed in- it's been pretty good, but over the last two weeks it's done a steady slip. Goal: No grains/sugar/processed anything with the exception of up to two cheat meals a week (if/when we go out to eat or when DH cooks).
Cook three nights/week. Currently DH does most of the cooking, but I want to start cooking again. (Probably this is going to look like cooking a bunch of stuff that can be frozen on Saturdays or Sundays and then reheating that stuff during the week. I did really good at this a few winters ago and then got lazy with it because he's the better cook and that's his thing- but if I cook more, I can get both of us eating healthier and save us money- win/win!).
Household De-clutter one room/area of the house a week (I do this every winter).
Fix/finish one project around the house a week (I'm the remodeler/project-starter at our house, and I've got several major projects that are 90% finished- I need to suck it up and get them taken care of).
Relationship Be more intentional about random acts of physical affection- I've been doing pretty good with this over the last six months, but I'd like to dial it up even more (this one is hard to put a number goal on).
Mental Keep track of "good stuff" on a daily basis/ write it down. <- this one has nothing to do with MAP, but I've done it before and it always has awesome results. Rather than doing it as a "write down three things you're grateful for" exercise (which always comes across as trite/forced to me), whenever something makes me smile or gives me a lift, I try to make a point of writing it down. It helps me focus on all the little awesome things throughout the day, which makes a pretty sweet positive feedback loop.
I've got more goals that I eventually want to add, but I want to make sure these are all going well first.
girlwithabike 8y ago
I love this! I used to keep a "something happy" page in my journal - any time something was delightful I'd write it down and it's great to go back and read them. Glad you said it - I think I will add to my goals to start this up again.
rpwtoss 8y ago
It eventually becomes habitual to just start noticing the good things, but whenever I find myself getting in a funk and becoming more and more negative, I like to spend a few months writing it all down. :)
WalnutFeline 8y ago
I'm new to RPW but I LOVE goals so here we are:
Cooking: Every week I will cook something new, I need to refine my cooking skills again.
Exercise: I will go to the gym twice a week!
Hair: I will dye my hair this month. And cut 1cm at the end of the month.
Not so much, but it's a start :)
Paupi121 8y ago
This is my first time posting in the monthly goals thread but I think it will be good to have some sort of accountability. My goals for this month are:
Home: I want to organize and declutter my bedroom and bathroom to make space.
Excesise: I haven't been active since before the summer and now that it is starting to cool down a little I want to start slow and build some stamina and get into a workout routine. If the weather is a bit cooler around the end of the month I want to go hiking.
Other: My father has had some health issues this month and we have all been stressed and worried so I want to help out as much as I can at home and at the family business while my dad continues to recover and make it easier for everyone.