My Second Hundred Day Challenge for 2020

It’s time to start another challenge.  I’ve been thinking about things, trying to figure out what the goals should be this time around. When I first started this back in January I was thinking that each period would have different goals/categories. However I’m now thinkng that each period will just be a continuation of the same basic categories but some will have new or more specific goals. So here goes –

1. Declutter – again remove 100 items. I just heard that they may be starting to pick up items again so that could help free up some space and get some stuff I’ve already collected out of the house.
2.  Budget – Actually I did do a good job of staying on top of recording our expenditures and I’m going to continue that. This time my goal is to see if I can get $500 or more into our liquid emergency fund.
3.  Read 15 books with 5 coming from the TBR lists. I’m sticking with the same amount because I’m hoping to be spending more time on my last two goals.
4.  Exercise for 20 minutes at least 5 times a week and walk at least once a week. I really need to put a lot of focus and effort here.  It’s been almost two years since I learned that I have arthritis in both hips. Last October I started seeing a physical therapist because I was having trouble. Not pain but discomfort and I was modifying actions to avoid pain and discomfort. We worked together and made some progress but I’ve let things slide and I’m feeling more discomfort again. I need to get back to doing the exercises she prescribed. I also want to get back to walking on a regular basis.
5.  Spend at least 2 hours per week on my hobbies and that will be split with 1 hour spent in the garden and the other hour on my other hobbies. I would really like to get my granddaughter’s quilt and some garden stones done this time around.

This challenge period starts May 19th and runs till August 26. Anyone care to join me?? Leave me a comment with your goals and I’ll be glad to check on your progress and cheer you on.

The first hundred day challenge of 2020 is done

I’ve completed my first 100 day challenge for this year with mixed results. I made progress in each of my five goals although not as much as I would have liked.

Let’s start with the success – my reading goal which was to read at least fifteen books with five coming from my to be read lists. I was able to complete twenty books with ten of them coming from my to be read lists. The shelter in place rule had a lot to do with that. I cannot wait until I can go to the library or the bookstore and search out new books. I thought about  getting an Audible subscription or even putting Kindle back on my laptop but didn’t do either.  When I did have the Kindle app  I ended up with a ton of free books stored on it but never seemed to get around to reading them. I prefer the feel of a real book. I’ve never tried listening to books but I have the feeling that it wouldn’t appeal.

I also had partial success with the decluttering goal of removing 100 items. My final total was 119 items although quite a few are still here since I haven’t been able to take them to be donated or recycled. And I’m wondering if they will be able to be donated? Will places take them not knowing if they came from a house that had the virus?? What will this virus thing due to the resale industries?

I can’t decide if my goal to spend at least an hour a week working on a hobby was a success or not. I did spend an hour or more for eleven of the fourteen weeks which was good. However I had hoped to finish my granddaughter’s quilt and that did not happen. I didn’t specifically say that I would finish the quilt but that was my hope.

I did not meet my budget goal due to several factors. These included an unexpected car repair, the need to fix the water pump, joining the CSA, the shutdown of my husband’s business, the lack of a liquid emergency fund and my inability to get my husband on board with staying within our limits.

The last goal was to exercise at least six days a week. I only managed that seven of the fourteen weeks. I definitely need to do better in the future.

Now I need to decide what to focus on for the next hundred days which will start on May 19th.

Hundred Day Challenge Update 5

Hard to believe that I am almost halfway through this challenge. I’ve made progress in some areas and need to do a better job in some areas. Here’s how things look today

1. Declutter 100 items – I’ve gotten rid of 76 things so far. I want to update the list but haven’t made the time to do it so far.
2.  Stay within the budget – not doing so well here with the car, the water heater and signing up for a CSA. We are trying to make better choices with our food but that comes with a larger price tag. Need to figure out some ways to lower other costs to compensate.
3.  Read 15 books,  5 from the TBR lists – I’ve read 3 from the TBR list and a total of 13 so far
4.  Exercise for at least 10 minutes six/week – only 3 of the 6 weeks so far.  I’ve faithfully ridden the bike every Monday through Friday but the weekends are difficult. Between the bad weather and a lack of motivation to get myself and my granddaughter out of the house, I haven’t been able to check off that last day. Need to make it a priority and just do it.
5.  Spend one hour/week working on a hobby – I’m doing okay although I haven’t been focused on the quilt like I had planned. I’ve met the goal five of the six weeks so far. I made a wreath, did some work on the quilt, did some garden planning and went through a ton of scrapbooking stuff.

Overall I feel pretty good about things and am hopeful that I will be able to finish strong. Have you made progress on your goals this year? Please share – I’d love to hear from you

2020 Hundred Day Challenge 1

I’ve worked out a schedule for the year and there will three challenge periods, each lasting for one hundred days. There will be a few weeks in between to evaluate what I did and plan for the next period.

For the first challenge I have five goals. Hopefully it isn’t too much to add onto my plate. The first goal is to declutter one hundred items. This is a continuation from last year. I have gotten rid of a lot of things but there is still stuff I think can be removed. One of the great things about last year’s work is that my hubby decided to join in. He is continuing to work on it this year and I’m hopeful that we will get this house decluttered this year.

The second goal is to stay within my budget. I need to pay closer attention to our spending and try to rein in our expenses. No more letting receipts pile up for months before figuring out where our money is going. I’m going to choose a weekly time where I enter receipts and check to see how things are going. I’m going to do a better job of using what food we have to try and bring down the grocery bill.

The third goal is to read 15 books. My to be read list has over two hundred books on it but when I go to the library I’m always seduced by the new titles and never seem to cross off anything on my list. I’m going to start using the request a book feature from my library website and get some books from my list. I’m also going to see if there are any more that are not really relevant anymore and take them off the list. I look at some of the titles and have no idea what they are about or why I put them on my list in the first pIace.  I want to read at least five books from my list during this challenge period.

The fourth goal is to exercise for at least ten minutes six times a week. I am very consistent with my am and pm stretching routine. In the morning I do a few yoga poses, hold a plank for one minute and do the neck and hip stretches. In the evening I do a few yoga poses and my neck and hip stretches. Monday through Friday I have been riding the stationary bike for ten minutes but on the weekends when I have my granddaughter I haven’t managed to fit it in. I’m going to try to take a walk on the weekends.

My fifth goal is to spend at least one hour a week working on a hobby. There are a lot of things I have the materials to do but haven’t taken the time to do them. I’m still working on what I’m going to do since there are so many possibilities. I know that the first one will be my granddaughter’s quilt. It was supposed to be done before she was born and she turned two last November. Definitely want to get it done.

Well I guess that is enough for now. I’ll be starting on Monday and I’ll be back some time next week to let you know how things are going.

March Results

Another month in the books. Let’s start with the good – decluttering. I have been doing a really good job with this goal. This month I got rid of 76 items. Since I still have a bunch of things that could/should go this may be my easiest goal to achieve.

Another good thing was getting to bed on time. I really made an effort to get in bed by 10:30pm this month. I made the goal 26 out of 31 days this month(83%). And I’ve been keeping it up so far this month.

I did a better job of keeping track of my efforts with the boy ending up with 21 out of 31 days(70%). I can see progress and we will continue to work on getting him to take more responsibility for making sure his daily tasks are done.

Now for the bad – I was on the computer past 10 pm for 22/31 days(29%)! I just can’t seem to pull myself away from it. I always say that it doesn’t keep me from falling asleep but does it mess with the quality of my sleep?? I’m not sure about that anymore.

On to April’s goals – still going to declutter at least 25 items and work on training the boy. My third goal this month is to exercise for at least 5 minutes everyday. I’ve really gotten away from doing anything and need to get something going. I’ve been doing some exercises using my body weight and light dumbbells 4 days a week, yoga 2 days and taking a walk the other day. I’ve also been trying to do a minute or two of stretching before I go to sleep. It isn’t much but I need to start the habit of doing something and then I can build on it.

What are your goals for the month? Please share in the comments

Fitness Friday

As I posted last month, I have been struggling with a foot problem and haven’t been getting my daily walks.  My husband, at the first sign of a problem will take a pill or call the doctor but I’m more the wait and see type. Partly because I think the body has its own way of dealing with things if we let it be, partly because I hate making  phone calls and partly because I don’t want to get bad news.

So when my foot started to hurt and I couldn’t remember injuring it in any way, I just tried to take it easy for awhile. When that didn’t work and I remembered my osteopenia diagnosis, I decided to go to Urgent care(bypassing the need to call and make an appointment). They took an x-ray and nothing was broken and the diagnosis was metatarsalgia. I was advised to rest, ice my foot, take Advil and see a podiatrist if the pain continued.

After taking some time to rest and take some Advil, things improved. However, it isn’t completely better. There are still some problems that are annoying but not really painful. Or I should say hadn’t been painful. However, lately I’ve been having some knee and hip pain which I think may be caused by my attempts to avoid putting too much weight/pressure on my foot. Also the lack of daily walking out in nature hasn’t done much for my disposition and with the other things going on in my life I really need the lift I get from those walks. I think I need to bite the bullet and make a phone call.

The sunshine is calling and the garden is yelling “come out and do something” so I think I’ll close for now and try to get something – anything done outside.

Until next time- have a great day.

Fitness F riday

I know that I am not at my best/peak fitness level however I do not feel that I am at my worst either. Lately I’ve been struggling to get in my daily steps and any other kind of activity because of a foot problem. Now today the strap to my Fitbit fell apart and I am unable to accurately log the steps I do take.

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This coupled with some other issues in my life have led me to decide to take a break from tracking/focusing on fitness activities for awhile. I know there are other things I could be doing(and most probably should be doing) in terms of fitness, but truthfully I just don’t want to. I don’t really enjoy most forms of exercise so it is a struggle to actually do anything most days. Then I get upset because I set the goal to exercise and don’t follow through. That leads to negative self-talk which leads to a bad mood which most often leads to poor eating choices.

Considering all that, I’m going to put my time, energy and focus on some other things I’d like to accomplish this year(like perhaps the completion list that I posted earlier this year?!?). We’ll see how things turn out as the year winds down.

Have you ever taken a fitness break? How did it turn out for you? I’d be interested to hear how other people have dealt with this situation so please feel free to share your thoughts.

Fitness Friday

We are now one-third of a way through the year and my fitness routine has fallen apart. I was doing fairly well through March but then Spring Break came and things went haywire. I need to once again get back into a routine and make more of an effort to stick to the program.  My stats so far are as follows:

12,000 steps per day  90/120                       Some yoga each day   95/120                                         100 days of planking    54/61

14,000 steps per day  57/120                        Strength/cardio 6 days/week  83/102

The goal for May is to walk at least 12,000 steps every day, practice the plank hold daily, do some kind of exercise for at least 8 minutes every day and to swim/bike/walk for at least 30 minutes 3 times. We’ll see how things go.

What are you doing to stay fit this month?

Fitness Friday

Last week’s stats – yoga/stretching 7/7; cardio/strength training 6/6; at least 12 minutes 7/7; at least 12,000 steps 7/7; plank hold 6/7

Stats look good but it was a struggle to get them.  I was up late one evening walking round and round my downstairs trying to hit 12,000 steps. The new strength training plan is causing my knees to ache. I’m not sure it is going to work out for me. I’ll give it another week but I’m looking for something else. Maybe I should make an appointment to get some help with picking exercises that won’t bother my knees.

Not really much else to say today – hope you are doing well with your goals.

Fitness Friday

Here’s the update for how I’ve done so far

January – yoga/stretching for two and a half minutes per day – 28/31

cardio/strength training for two and a half minutes 6x/week  – 21/26

steps  –  420,192  daily average 13554

 

February –  yoga/stretching for three minutes per day –  28/28

cardio/strength training for three minutes  6x/week – 14/15 – did not count the 10 days I was gone

steps – 378,571   daily average 13520

The plan for March is at least 6 minutes of yoga/stretching per day, at least 6 minutes of cardio/strength training 6x/week, at least 12,000 steps per day and practice and increase my plank hold every day.

What are your fitness goals for this month? Please share in the comments.