January 2016 Goals and Results

I was planning to post my January goals recap on Sunday (mostly because I know these kinds of goal posts are sometimes boring to other people), but I got busy with laundry and reading and just kept putting it off.

It may not be my most interesting post, but sharing goal related stuff on my blog really helps me stay on track. (For the most part, anyway.) I mean, no one wants to share their monthly goals and then say, "But I didn't actually do any of these things."

So, while I obviously come up with things I'd like to achieve (or at least work on) throughout the month because I want to achieve/work on them, it's always in the back of my mind that I'll be sharing my results on my blog at the end of month. And (thankfully!) that forces me to get a little more motivated.


Since January marks the beginning of a new year, several of my goals were centered around creating and maintaining new habits. I figured if I could kick off 2016 with a few new habits, it would be easier to cross off a bunch of my New Year's resolutions by the end of the year.

My other main focus last month was reading. January marked the end of the Semi-Charmed Winter Book Challenge and the beginning of Book Challenge by Erin 4.0. I set some pretty lofty reading goals (for me, anyway), and I wanted to incorporate the challenges in some way as well.

January 2016 Goals and Results

1. Read 9 books.

FAIL. I ended the month with a grand total of 8 books, so I was really close to achieving this one. I don't think I've ever read that many books in a single month before, so I'm still proud of myself.

2. Finish SCWBC15.

FAIL. Again, I was really close ... But I just couldn't manage to finish everything in time. I read all but one of the books on my original list (I didn't get to the "Debut Book By Any Author" category), but, unless someone else read I'll Give You the Sun in the last month, I won't be able to count that one either. Oh well. It was one of the best books I've read in a while, so I don't even mind.

3. Start Book Challenge by Erin 4.0.

PASS. I took a quick break from the other challenge to read The Martian. I think I'll actually be able to finish this challenge (and possibly even the bonus round!). I thought I could finish the other one, but I got too distracted by a bunch of books I'd been waiting for that became available all at once. Now I know I need to start strong. I don't want to try cramming 8 books into a few short weeks again!

4. Make January gym/workout schedule.

PASS. I'm really glad I worked toward forming this habit last month. When I see something specific written down, I feel like I need to do it. And while I occasionally had to modify the schedule, I got into a general workout routine and managed to do some sort of workout 5 days each week! (More on that later in this post.)

5. Make and stick to weekly meal plans.

PASS. This is something I've been wanting to do for a long time, but, for whatever reason, I could never get myself to stick with it. I'm happy to report that this has now become a new habit for me! Again, I may have to modify it from time to time (like if my in-laws invite us over for dinner, for example), but that's okay. It still served its purpose: we planned ahead so we ate out significantly less (which also meant we were eating at least a little better/healthier) and we found ways to use up things we already had on hand (which obviously also helps save money and reduce waste).

6. Try 2 new recipes.

PASS. I actually tried 4 new recipes last month! I've already shared my Southwest Chicken Noodle Soup and Boozy Beefy Beany Crockpot Chili, and I'll be posting a third (vegetarian) recipe tomorrow. The fourth recipe was good, but it needs some additional tweaking before I'll feel comfortable posting it here.

7. Make and stick to weekly (or biweekly) blog schedule.

FAIL. I really wanted this to become a new habit as well, but, for some reason, I seem to find it incredibly difficult to do this. I think I may just have to continue experimenting with what works best for me: how many posts I think I have time to work on each week, which days of the week are best for me to spend responding to comments, etc. It's something I plan to continue working on (even if I don't make it a specific goal for the month).

I think I did a pretty good job overall. The two reading goals I didn't meet were very close, so I really only had one goal that I didn't work on at all.

I realize this post is getting really long, but, since I'm already discussing how well I stuck with my goals in January, I'm also going to share my workout totals.


This is probably going to be very boring for a lot of people, so I'm sorry. I'm really proud of myself for working out so regularly, though, so I'm going to post about it. (And I lost 2 pounds in January! I'm pretty proud of myself for that too.)

I'm planning to do this each month in an effort to stay motivated and accountable. If you don't care about someone else's workouts (and many of you probably don't), feel free to skip this part of the post.

January 2016 Workouts

Week 01/01 - 01/08:

01/02: Yoga video (30 minutes)
01/04: Yoga class (60 minutes)
01/06: Walking - treadmill (10 minutes; 0.58 miles) & BodyPump class (60 minutes)
01/07: Cardio video (15 minutes) & Yoga video (20 minutes)
01/08: Yoga class (60 minutes)

Total Time: 255 minutes (4 hours, 15 minutes)

Week 01/09 - 01/16:

01/10: Yoga video (30 minutes)
01/11: Yoga class (60 minutes)
01/12: Walking/light jogging - treadmill (55 minutes; 3.30 miles)
01/13: BodyPump class (60 minutes)
01/14: Yoga video (35 minutes)

Total Time: 240 minutes (4 hours)

Week 01/17 - 01/24:

01/17: Yoga video (35 minutes)
01/18: Yoga class (75 minutes)
01/20: Walking - treadmill (10 minutes; 0.60 miles) & BodyPump class (60 minutes)
01/21: Elliptical (10 minutes; 0.58 miles) & Walking/light jogging - treadmill (30 minutes; 1.84 miles)
01/23: Yoga video (45 minutes)

Total Time: 265 minutes (4 hours, 25 minutes)

Week 01/25 - 01/31:

01/25: Yoga video (30 minutes)
01/28: Walking/light jogging - treadmill (60 minutes; 3.75 miles)
01/29: Yoga video (40 minutes)
01/30: Light walking - downtown and car show (~3 hours; 3.08 miles)
01/31: Yoga video (35 minutes)

Total Time: ~345 minutes (~5 hours, 45 minutes)

The time for the last week is obviously much less precise than the first few weeks because I'm basing it off the time we spent out that day (and the mileage was taken from Eric's FitBit).

I'm also a little embarrassed by how slow I am when I use the treadmill. However, it should probably be noted that I walk at an incline for the majority of my workout and only jog for a few minutes. I'm trying to work up to jogging a little longer each time, but I'm definitely not a runner ... So it will be a while before I can finish a mile in 12 minutes or less.

Eric and I have our February goals up on the fridge, but I won't discuss those until the end of the month/beginning of March. This post is already long enough!