2019 Goal and Reading List Update

Now we are three months into 2019, I thought it was time to review my 2019 goals and reading list.  To ask some of the following questions, if they're relevant.

- How well have I done?  

- What could I have done differently? 

- Have any of my goals changed?

- Have I decided to not read any of the books on my list?

- Where do I need to do to get myself closer to where I'd aimed to be by this point?

If the text is struck through, then I’ve accomplished that goal or completed that book.  

My 2019 Goals

This year's goals are;

Look at my health and wellness – get back to having a yoga practice.

I have been struggling with tennis elbow since November 2018 so haven't looked into this yet.  I wanted to get my elbow stronger and healthier and not overwork it and possibly make it worse by doing yoga as some poses like downward dog for example which involves putting some weight onto my arms.

Look at my snacks and evening meals and how can I make them healthier? 

I did look at this earlier in the year and came up with a couple of meal options to introduce, but because I've been struggling a bit with my anxiety due to my elbow and I've not been able to do as much as I'd like, I slipped off the plan a bit.  I revisited this goal yesterday and made a new plan of what to cut out (for now at least) - the cakes, biscuits and crisps.  I also came up with a proposed three-week meal plan of twelve meal ideas to rotate.

Addressing my anxiety and reducing it.

I have been struggling more this year than last year with my anxiety.  I am doing what I can to help myself; journaling, talking with friends, working on getting enough sleep.

Read more (two books a month).

See below for my feedback on this goal.

Finish my de-cluttering and organizing.

I haven't managed to do any clearing yet because of my tennis elbow.  I am hoping to get started on some in the next few months though as my elbow is much better than it was at the beginning of the year.

Look at my finances.

I've not looked at this one yet, but I had intended to do this later on in the year.

My main goal to start this year was the de-cluttering and organizing one.  I was a tiny bit annoyed that I've not been able to do any yet this year but there are still nine months of 2019 so there's plenty of time for me to start and make a big dent, if not complete this goal.

My 2019 reading list for the first three months.

January

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

(I'd started this at the end of last year)

Belgravia by Julian Fellows

(I'd picked two novels for January because I didn't have a lot of the first one left but because I got flu in the first week of this year, I didn't read that much for a few weeks)

Feel the Fear by Susan Jeffers

(recommended to me by the last CBT therapist I had in 2017 and I bought it then but only read the first three chapters at the time) I am on chapter 9 of 12.

February

Breakout at Stalingrad by Heinrich Gerlach

(begun in January as I'd forgotten I had The Little Paris Bookshop to finish) I'm currently reading this and I'm on page 440 of 551 of the book, not including the fourteen, yes, fourteen appendices. So I've only 111 pages of the story to go, which isn't too bad I don't think.  It's a book that I'm finding tough going which is why it's taking me so long. 

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

Not got anywhere near this one yet...

March

Dark Waters by Robin Blake

I've not got anywhere near this one yet either...

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

(bought for me a few years ago as a birthday or Christmas gift from a friend)

And I've also not got anywhere near this one...

Have I read more so far this year compared to last year?  Most definitely, I'm sometimes reading before I turn out the light at night and also at work during lunchtime.  I'm going to keep my reading list in the original order I planned on in January, but I'll still not worry or beat myself up if I don't manage to read the books I'd set out to on my revised plan.  I knew it was a very ambitious list when I came up with it.

That means that after I complete Feel the Fear and Breakout at Stalingrad, the next books on my list are; The Four Agreements, Dark Waters and Big Magic. If some books from the this year's list don't get read in 2019, that's okay and I will roll them over and put them onto next year's list.  I'm reading more so far this year than in the past few years, which was the main goal.

How are you all doing so far with your goals for 2019? 

Comment down below if you'd like to let me know.