Goal Update - July 2022

Hello friends.

Here are the results or lack thereof from July 2022.

Wellness / Happiness

Complete at least 720 minutes of exercise or higher per month.

• July was a good month. I logged 1,596 total exercise minutes.  I registered 17 bike rides, 14 walks, four others (this is usually me mowing the lawn), and one walk/run.
• I'm gearing up for a metric century bike ride on September 17th so my biking activity will need to increase.

4 full-body strength training sessions per month.

• I did move my weights into the garage thinking it would help me out. I only managed one session.

4 yoga sessions per month.

• I don't think my five downward facing dogs should count. I did not meet my goal this month.

Log at least 120 mindful minutes each month. This can be a combination of Apple Fitness + meditations, Journaling (DayOne), and the Calm app.

• Done. Each Holosync session is one hour. In addition, my journal was pretty consistent.

Move closer to a Mediterranean style of eating.

• I've gotten better in this regard. I'm motivated by being able to fit into my school pants so I don't have to go shopping for new teaching clothes.
• I think I've finally managed to kick my diet soda habit. I'm hoping this will noticeably improve my overall health and well-being and allow me to slim down.

Complete at least 30 journal entries per month using the Dayone app.

• There were 40 entries in my journal this month. I'm developing the habit of completing an evening review, but I didn't complete one every day. I'm starting to add more photos to my journal. I've found I really enjoy looking back, and each picture brings back a good memory.

Education / Teaching Career

Record my #TeacherWins at least 4 out of five teaching days (80%)

• It's summer so this goal is on pause, however, they will start up again tomorrow with our first in-service meeting.  

Write and share at least two Teacher Pep Talks per month.

• This fizzled. I'm retiring this goal and focusing energy elsewhere.

Read at least two education/teaching books this year and write a book summary blog post on each.

• Done. Here is my book summary page.

Share at least four education resource posts per month

Here are some of my posts from this month. I missed my goal by one.

• Eight Ways to Build Relationships with Students to Start the School Year Off Right
• Authentic Positivity
• Using Emojis in the Classroom - Teaching and Learning Resources

Add at least 12 new resources to my subscriber database.

• I'm on track with this goal. I created my first attempt at on opt-in page. As new members sign up, I can share my resources with them. Here is the page.

Personal Development

Read four personal development books per year and write a book summary blog post on each.

I'm halfway there. Here is my book summary page.

Record "Homework for Life" at least five days per week.

• I had some wonderful adventures in the month of July from Family Camp to fishing in Lake Vermillion, but I didn't record the most story worthy moment each day.

Write at least 12 blog posts sharing what I learned from watching a video or listening to a podcast (Yearly).

• I'm behind on this goal. I've included snippets of this in the weekly newsletter. I did write about Authentic Positivity after attending a Michael Franti concert. I'm counting that one.

Family and Friends

Connect with my close family at least once per week.

• Done. I've talked to my brother and dad consistently. I see my mom daily. I'm still painting with good friends.  

Connect with a friend at least once per week - lunch, phone, exercise, pub, etc.

• I'm still painting with good friends. In many ways, I have more time with my friends in the summer as opposed to during the school year. Attending a concert at Big Top Chautauqua with a few friends and my wife was a great time.

Dreams, Retirement, and Money Stuff

Learn about Twitter and be useful in that space. Follow five interesting people and grow my following by five people. This is the only goal I am not in complete control of. We'll see what happens.

• Done. I appreciate Twitter for the infinite resources and have settled into a consuming and posting flow. I've grown by a few followers, but have let go of that part of the goal. Here is my profile page.

Take a picture of each house I paint and post it to Instagram and Twitter. Invest at least three hundred dollars of painting income (Summertime Painting Goal) into my Robinhood account.

• I blew this one. I've entered information on the paint jobs we've completed in  my journal minus the photos. I'm retiring this goal.

Publish at least two newsletters per month

• Done. I haven't missed a week since I started this site. Here are the archives.

Create at least two YouTube videos per month - step out of your comfort zone

• I published one short video in July.  Here's my channel. Remember, it's a work in progress. I currently have six subscribers.

Learn more about cryptocurrency. Document my progress.

• I learned that I'm happy I didn't invest too much money. I'm watching and reading to see how things unfold in this space. All of my investments are down but some are staking. If they stay afloat there is a possibility of a positive outcome. I'm just going to hold them and track what happens.

Purchase a camper and take at least three family vacations.

• I've adjusted this goal. I'm now looking for a used pop-up camper. I still have hope. I've been following a few Facebook groups. There are some nice options available. I'm not sure I'm ready to dive right in yet.

Reflect on these goals and share once per month.

• Done

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