Reviewing My August 2019 Goals

This is an image of my desk during Fall Semester 2018. On the right side of the photo, there is a vintage Singer sewing machine which, unfortunately, does not work. To the left of the sewing machine, there is a crate books inside. On top of the crate, there is a stack of Rookie Yearbooks with a crocheted jellyfish (wearing glasses) on top of it, and a picture frame containing a print that reads "all the time". To the left of the crate, there are a few more books. In lieu of a proper bookend, I have placed a tarot deck (stored in a black makeup bag) and a book-themed Halloween decoration (featuring book spines with the words "Potions", "Hexes", and "Spells") to keep my books from toppling over. I chose this photograph because, unlike my current desk, this desk looks like it belongs to someone who creates monthly goals.

Hello!

At the start of this month, I made a list of goals. As September 1 draws near, I am looking over my list of goals to see which ones have been successfully completed, which ones I am still working on, and which ones are left incomplete.

Completed Tasks

-       Set up and move savings to a higher interest savings account. I started the account setup process on August 1, and my account was fully activated with funds transferred by August 8.

-       Finish Konmari method. I lagged quite a bit with this task. I finished sorting through miscellaneous items by August 2, but I didn’t manage to complete the final category, sentimental items, until August 13. Still, I completed the process and even wrote a blog post about it.

-       Write and send a letter to my camp pen pal. I have a long history of being a terrible pen pal. However, I decided that I was going to be a better pen pal this year, and I have already sent two pen pal letters this month.

-       Remove sap stains from tie-dye, scrub off MFC hat, and sew button back onto elephant shirt. While I may have completed these tasks, it seems that the work of clothing maintenance is never done. As we speak, the aforementioned elephant is missing two buttons that I have neglected to re-sew.

-       Reading List:

·      Grave Peril by Jim Butcher

·      An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

·      Shortest Way Home by Pete Buttigieg

·      An Unlikely Journey by Julián Castro

·      Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

·      Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

·      The Financial Diet by Chelsea Fagan

·      So You Want to Start a Podcast by Kristen Meinzer

·      The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

·      Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

-       Type up/reformat Democratic Presidential Candidates list. This list draws heavily upon (and frequently directly copies) the New York Times’ list of presidential candidates. I like to have one particular place for all of the information I gather about candidates from news articles, debates, and social media. After copying my list from notebook to notebook, I finally decided to make it into a Google Doc, which curious readers can access here.

-       Make plans to return to Soka.

-       Deposit reimbursement check from camp.

-       Dispose of unwanted belongings. I completed this task on a single, very exhausting day. Then, I blogged about it.

-       Order books for American Experience (one of the required courses that I am taking next semester).

Tasks That I’m Currently Working On

-       Set up credit card. I have applied for a credit card, sent in verification documents, been approved, and made my security deposit. However, I will not consider this task completed until the credit card is in my hand.

-       Order a new pair of glasses. After a mail snafus, I am planning to pick up my prescription from the eye doctor’s office on Saturday. Until then, I am unable to move forward on this task.

-       Blog daily in August. Needless to say, this task will not be complete until September arrives.

-       Post-Camp Work: While I have completed most of the required post-camp administrative work, I still have some editing and rewriting left to do.

Incomplete Tasks

-       Schedule dentist appointment and investigate wisdom teeth removal options. This task has been a complete fail for me. For the past couple years, I have gone to the dentist and been told that I need to investigate wisdom teeth removal options. My wisdom teeth are completely impacted, which means that they have yet to emerge from my gums, and they do not cause me any pain. As a result, I have little motivation to remove them, and little enthusiasm for the idea of getting the same advice yet again.

-       Email a friend. This is an achievable goal that I can complete before August 31.

-       Due September 30: Complete study abroad survey and pay tuition. Since these tasks are not due for another month, I’m not particularly concerned about the fact that I haven’t completed them.

-       Revamp passwords and figure out a password storage system.

-       Have my sister shower with/wash heavy jacket. The jacket that I bought for study abroad is slightly tattered, and has picked up an unfortunate odor. It can only be cleaned by being hand-washed in cold water; my sister offered to shower with it because she takes cold showers.

-       Figure out photo ID situation. I am counting this task as a fail, because I have figured out which photo ID options are best for me without actually taking steps to acquire any of these photo IDs.  

Thank you for reading this blog post! I hope that you enjoyed reading about my goals and why/how I did and did not achieve them. If you would like to read more about my attempts to organize my life, you can find those posts here.  

Best wishes,

Lydia