August plans and goals

On the weekend I had the chance to do some August planning. Because July was so full with the school holidays, interstate family visiting, prepping for a teaching trimester at work, and of course a broken arm, it felt like it was over in a blink!

From Sunday’s planning session

August is another busy one, it will include:

• A solo travel weekend for me, where I visit to Melbourne for my brother's 50th, and to meet two friends' new babies.

• A solo parenting weekend for me while Al visits Melbourne on his own for his friend's 50th. Tis the season apparently.

• A couple of all day offsite all day work meetings

• O's school athletics day and a parent teacher interview

• Fracture clinic visit to change O's cast

• Book Week for the kids at school, where they will dress up as their favourite book characters

It will also be a busy work month, with teaching responsibilities and a few events we are planning for September (which will be an even BUSIER month!). Thankfully August is a normal school month at least.

Given my expected workload, and two unusual weekends, I'm not adding a lot onto my goals list this month. For example, I won't be planning any major decluttering or painting home projects, and I'm not going to start a new gym routine, even though I DO feel like I'd like to do more than walking for exercise. I need to build strength and flexibility, as I've been feeling quite stiff lately, and not loving my posture either. Perhaps I'll just try out my parents' gym during the month, but I'm not going to put a specific goal around it. A few goals I have put on my list:

Personal:

• Write 8000 words on my novel (I aim for 500 words, 4 days per week on average).

• Walk dailyish (5-6 days per week minimum)

• Read every day (sometimes with my writing it's hard to fit this in, but life is always better when I'm reading a book regularly). Aim to finish 2 x books

Family/home/relationships:

• Have one social friend "date" per week - either dinner or a walk and talk

• Have 1 x date night with Al (second half of the month as the first half we won't have a chance)

• Lean into fun for my Melbourne visit (Lots of social fun planned, but also will aim to do some reading/planning fun on the plane)

• Book my car in for a service

Work:

• Finish a research manuscript I've been working on (this has been on my list the last two months but this month I'm determined to finish it!)

• Draft a small grant I plan to submit in September

• Proactively keep on top of my teaching tasks each week

Any one else have a minimal goals list for busy months? What's your August looking like?