Resolution Check-In: Month Three
Progress and Struggles
For anyone following along with me, here’s my original resolution bingo card post (which explains what that means), and my January and February follow-up posts. March was okay, but not great. I didn’t expect it to be great, but I maybe expected it to be better. I made progress but I’m also realizing what I’m struggling with and that I maybe need to make some further effort in some areas.
Exercise
I’m walking almost every day, thanks partly to having to walk my dad’s dog every day. Both he and his wife have mobility issues, so I’ve taken on walking the dog in the morning. That meant I made my goal of increasing my steps up to the next increment of a thousand. Ironically, it was just barely. I want to increase it to the next increment this month, and I think that’s going to take some significant effort.
Outside of walking, additional exercise isn’t happening. Partly that’s been a lack of time. I’ve taken on another work project, and I’m putting more time into my writing, plus I have other personal obligations. I did, however, get some pickleball rackets, and I’m about to buy a kayak, so I’m hoping as the weather warms, I’ll take up these activities.
My bingo card
I am one square away from bingo on a diagonal, but I’m a long way from filling that square. It’s the “Read 15 books” square. I haven’t finished a single book. Which is not like me. I’m partway through a novel I started months ago, and I’m one chapter into a nonfiction book I started last week. Usually, I read a book every few weeks. Years ago, I was even more prolific a reader. I’ve been reading shorter things — articles on Medium, yes, but also essays and shorter nonfiction from other publications. That’s certainly filled the time I might otherwise use for reading books.
The lack of reading books bothers me, worries me even. I know I’ve spent more time than usual watching tv and scrolling through things on the internet. If I want to complete my book reading goal, I will need to change how I’m spending my time. And it will take some effort to do that. I’m in good company. Only 15% of all Americans read 15 books last year.
I’ve made no progress on the things designed to help me be more social — signing up for a class, joining a group, and making contact with old friends. My local social circle is still me, my husband, and my dad. I have friends I stay in touch with who live far away, but my goal was to connect with people locally. I’m a little stuck on this one as I’m struggling to figure out what might be the right move to make. What group makes sense to join? What will I like doing? It doesn’t help that I think of my living here as temporary. What would be nice would be to have people who look forward to seeing me regularly, even if we don’t end up being friends in the traditional sense.
My plans over the next few weeks will allow me to check off a few more squares, but I know I’m down to the harder goals and the longer term goals. I hope I can keep the momentum going, even if it’s slow. So far, I’m happy with the progress I’ve made. Just having these goals provides some structure to my life that I very much needed.
