Monday, March 1, 2021

February Check In - March Goals

 I'm still recovering from the weekend away at the Gunnas Writer's Retreat, which was as fantastic as it was exhausting. This means getting this done is hard asd I'd rather be in bed reading a book. 

Anyway, here's how last month's goals went.

At least half an hour of novel writing a day

Nope, didn't happen, but I do think the writer's retreat has got me back on track again. 

10000 Steps every day.

Although not perfect, I did manage this 4-5 days a week during February.

Read four books over the month

I get a nearly for this one. I finished:

  • Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
  • The Commitments by Paddy Doyle
  • The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
And I'm about halfway through The Animals of that Country by Laura Jean McKay and I've just started Barack Obama's A Promised Land.  Did okay on this one. 

No takeaway

Takeaway consumption went down, but it wasn't obliterated. 

Finish the painting.

Yeah, nah. I have a deadline now as the landlord has said the floorboards will be going down in the next few weeks. 

Be in bed by midnight

This one I did well on - I missed a few days, but as a rule I was climbing into bed by 11.30. Happy about this, it's a good habit to get into. 

And the goals for March:

Finish the f*cking painting

Now that the floorboards have been confirmed - and there is a bit of urgency to this. At least there's a long weekend next weekend. 

Read four books

I like this goal, keeps me reading and I like it. 

Work on the novel a couple of times a week

I think I've got my impetus back from the Writer's Retreat. We call it Vitamin Dev, an existential kick up the arse from Catherine Deveny. Long may it last. 

Minimise discretionary spending

Partly because my car registration is due soon, partly because I want to save a bit, but I want to spot my bad habit of buying crap on the internet. Also, as Jay and I are having a stall at the Camberwell Markets next Sunday to get rid of some crap and hopefully make a few dollars. 

The March Metamucil Challenge

Metamucil is good for you. It cleans out the pipes. I want to see what a daily dose does for me. Who knows. 

One Lindt Ball a day

Our trivia team won the 80s Trivia Quiz at the retreat. Along with another coffee mug, the team won a big bag of Lindt Balls. I've got 30 of the buggers in my fridge. Tried giving them away, but to no avail. So rather than scoff the lot over a week, I've shoved them in the freezer and I can have one a day. This is very unlike me. 

That will do. I'm being kind to myself for this month. See what comes of it. 

Today's song:



4 comments:

MedicatedMoo said...

What did you think of 'The English Patient'? I tried a long time ago, but it didn't grab me. Am I - or did I - miss something?

Plastic Mancunian said...

Hi Pand,

Excellent goals. My walking trget is around 7000 steps a day (has been for quite a while now) and I have exceeded it every month, sometimes reaching up to the mid-8500s a month with a fair smattering of 10000 plus days (offest by the lazy ones).

For getting to bed, on a schol night I am there by 10pm (but I get up at 6am for my lockdown walk). Sleep is brilliant for you health.

When you've finished your painting, we have a bathroom that needs doing.

:o)

Cheers

PM

Pandora Behr said...

Medicated Moo - The English Patient is wonderful now we're grown ups - I tried a long time ago, so much better now. It was the same for me with The Great Gatsby/...

Pandora Behr said...

PM - thanks for the work offer, but it's a bit hard to commute to paint a bathroom in Manchester - I'm sure you can find a tradie to do the job.