Unexpected Challenges To My Monthly Challenge (or I’ll Be Planning More This Month)

Happy February! I feel like January took a very long time and it was an overwhelming month. But I’m glad to be on to a fresh month with what feels like a fresh start! And that also means time for a new monthly challenge.

In January, I challenged myself to limit how often I ordered delivery food. I knew I was getting back into bad habits and wanted to break them before things got more out of control for me. I really hoped I would only order food maybe once a week if that. I would have loved to have had a month with no delivery food and I had tried to plan my grocery shopping around this idea.

And for a good portion of the month, I was doing ok with this challenge. I was ordering in once a week but I had planned for that. And I was really working on focusing on what I got at the grocery store so I felt like I had more than enough options at home. But this planning came to a halt after my recent doctor appointment. I had planned on going to the grocery store after that appointment, and because I was leaving the appointment on crutches that didn’t happen. I ordered in delivery food that night and I felt like I had earned it. But then the next day I forgot to order groceries to be delivered so I ordered in again. I finally got back on track over the weekend, but I hate that I ended the month having the worst time with my challenge. But I guess that is life, especially when you have unexpected things come up.

For this month, I want to try to plan for the unexpected a bit more. I want to work on task lists and to-do lists. I have done a similar challenge before, but the main idea is to have a running list of things I need to make sure I get done. If I need to reach out to someone or I need to remember to get something at the store, I want to have a list going so I don’t forget about it until it’s too late in the day. For example, right now I have to call some utility companies about setting things up in my condo. I have to work around certain business hours so I don’t want to forget to do that. I also know later this week I have to order something so it arrives on time. Again, I want this list next to me during the day so I see it and can do things when I have a break in my day.

I think besides making sure I don’t forget to do things, this list will help me feel like I have more free time in my day. Instead of remembering I need to do something in my free time so it is split up and not as relaxing, I will get the things done from my list before I get into a free time mindset. I know this won’t be perfect and there will still be things I forget, but this will hopefully help.

And I’m going pretty low-tech with my challenge. I know I could do a list on my phone or computer, but I just put scrap paper next to my computer (since most things involve being online at some point) so I can add things as I remember them and cross them off as I get them done.

Hopefully, doing this will help me be as productive as possible in February. It has the potential to be a crazy month with a lot of things happening, so I want to make sure I stay on top of as much as I can.

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