I started this series to hold myself accountable on monthly goals and as a chance to reflect on the previous month. I used to be one of those people who only thought about my life on my birthday or on New Year's day. I want to be more intentional life.
Check out my goal posts from the last 2 months here
How Did I Do Last Month?
Here were the intentions/goals:
- 7 Day Detox/Cleanse
- Walk or Lift Weights Daily
- Upgrade my lighting & sound quality on YouTube
- Wake up at 6 AM each morning (including Saturdays)
- Attend one live event
7 Day Detox/Cleanse - DONE! - I can't believe I finished this! It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I actually did 8 1/2 days and outside of being bored with meals (due to my lack of true meal planning), a couple of slip-ups (including a shot of rum-chile!), a headache and terrible acne (still dealing with this), it went well. Despite the setbacks, I just refused to give up and it paid off in the end.
Check out this post and this one from last month with more info on how to do your own raw food challenge.
Walk or lift weights daily - DONE! - It feels great to be back on track! Even though some days were pretty cold and rainy, I didn't use that as an excuse to not get out there.
Upgrade my lighting & sound quality on YouTube - NOT DONE - I spent the month researching options instead of buying lights. Now that I know exactly what I want, I will spend November saving for it and plan to have the new lighting kit by the end of the month.
Wake up at 6 AM each morning - ALMOST DONE - I wasn't 100% but I will keep working on it. Not having a set bedtime is my struggle right now. I'm usually really tired at 8 PM and wide awake again at 10 PM when it's time to start winding down for the night. The struggle
Attend one live event - DONE - Look at me stepping out 3 months in a row! I actually attended TWO work-related events in October. I went to the Hip Hop Green Dinner during the first week of the month.....
With Tracye McQuirter & Raw on Wheels
...and DC Veg Fest the following day
Takeaways: Overall it was a good month. I will schedule more time for self-care (mental days of doing things that make me happy), try not to eat as much junk food as the weather changes, and just be more gentle with myself about life. It's a process.
5 Intentions for the New Month
Take family portraits - My oldest son turned 14 on Nov 1st and I realized that we have never taken professional pictures as a family. It's time to take care of that and the pics will make awesome Christmas gifts for my parents and in-laws.
Test out a 5 AM - 10 AM work schedule - My ultimate goal? I want to turn my computer OFF at 10 AM and don't turn it back on until much later in the day (after 4 PM) to help me stay on track with the kids. I plan my schedule every night before bed (this is so important if you want to get shit done) and will use the pomodoro method to focus and get as much done in this 5 AM-10 AM block as possible.
Cook dinner for my parents - I used to do this all the time when I lived closer to my parents, but now that we live nearly an hour away, I've been slipping. Last month we had so much cooking and hanging out with them, so I want to make sure that we do it again this month.
Vegan fried chicken, roasted potatoes & kale salad
Start A Consistent Podcast Schedule (4 episodes a month) - I average 1-2 episodes a month, so this is going to be a huge shift for my brand. I've already started batching episodes and will continue to work on improving the format and my workflow to make it easier for me to produce a weekly show. I'm really excited about this shift. Check out the podcast here
Release a free email course on how to go vegan with a family - This idea has been floating around my head all year. The questions I get asked most often are, "how do you start a vegan journey" and "how do you start one with a family?" This 7-day email course will address that question and make the process so much easier for families. I'm super excited to get this out to you. Join the email list, so I can notify you when this free course is available.
I updated my consistency goals again this month. I've finally accepted that my idea of consistency will forever be this evolving thing. I embrace it.
For the new month:
- 4 podcast episodes (posted 2 in October) Check out my vegan podcast here
- 2 YouTube videos (posted 2 in October))
- Post at least once a day on Facebook
- Send out a weekly newsletter to the folks on my list
- 1 blog post that isn't related to my YouTube videos, the podcast and this monthly recap (I published 4 last month)
- 1 free virtual workshop (didn't do any last month)