May Goals

The weather is finally warming up (we get about 9 months of winter and 3 months of summer in Minnesota), so I’m excited for May!  Some of my May goals are a bit different from prior months.

One thing that has been bothering me a lot lately is that I have pretty much constant pain/muscle tension in my neck and shoulders.  I’m guessing the culprit is a combination of stress, bad posture, and constantly staring down at my smart phone.

So…one of my most important goals for May is to spend less time looking at my phone, and this is honestly going to be one of the most challenging goals I’ve set for myself (#firstworldproblems).  I’m addicted, and it’s sad that it would take constant neck pain to finally motivate me to do something about my addiction.  It’ll be interesting to see how spending less time on my phone affects me both physically and mentally.  Hopefully, it’ll inspire me to focus more on the present and enjoy the little things in life.

Here are all of my goals for May!

Financial

1. Make an extra $1,000 payment toward my student loans.
2. Add an extra $500 to our emergency fund (due to something exciting that’s happening in June – stay tuned ;) ).

Blogging

1. Submit at least two pitches for guest posts or freelance writing.
2. Increase my number of page views per month.
3. Make an effort to work smart, not hard.  Spend time on the things that create results, and stop wasting so much time on things that don’t matter much.

Health (Physical and Mental)

1.  Make a conscious effort to spend less time on my phone during the day.  Don’t look at my phone when I’m working out or eating a meal.  Be off of my phone by 7:30 every evening.
2. Reorganize my desk at work to make it more ergonomic.
3. Go for longer walks (3+ miles) now that the weather is warming up.
4. Spend less time on social media.
5. Do strength training at least 3x per week (even if it’s just for a short amount of time), along with yoga 1-2x per week.

Why I’m Not Doing the #100FitDays Challenge Anymore

Have you seen those #100day or #30day challenges  (like #100FitDays) on Instagram or Facebook?  I used to love doing those, and I still think they’re fun, but I’m not going to do them anymore.

Why not?  When I upload a photo every single day, I end up posting photos that aren’t even really worth posting – photos that are poor quality and that I wouldn’t normally post.  This leads to a lot of digital clutter, and part of minimalism is about preventing digital clutter (not just physical clutter).

I do still like the #100HappyDays challenge because it seems like there’s more of a purpose for that one (that challenge forces you to focus on something that made you happy each day).  It’s a nice reminder that not every day is good, but there’s something good in every day.  Doing this challenge may actually make you feel happier and more optimistic.

I like the #100HappyDays challenge, but I feel like most other challenges are just wasting time, creating digital clutter, and not providing any real value to my life or anyone else’s.  What do you think?

What are your goals for this month?  How is your May goals going so far?