A little later than planned, but I’ve spent the weekend reviewing my goals for this year to see where I am and to think about any further tweaks I need to make as we move into the latter half of 2022. 

I find that blogging about my goals helps me to:

• Check on my progress;
• Stay accountable for what I’m doing and where I’m heading;
• Make adjustments to my goals if needed.

I also think better when I write, so it helps me to find a way of moving forwards without too much procrastination.

As I have some new readers (welcome) before I dive into each goal, here’s a little re-cap of the goals I set myself earlier this year:

Walk an average of 10,000 steps per day

Whilst I started the year aiming to walk 10,000 steps each day, I adjusted this goal at the start of Q2 with the goal being to walk an average of 10,000 steps per day. 

Life has a habit of throwing things at us (illness, days on the road etc.), and I soon discovered that walking 10,000 steps each day was not going to happen. However, an average of 10,000 steps seemed much more achievable. 

And whilst I’m still not hitting that target every month, my average for the year is climbing, and I’m not far from reaching my goal.

Action Required

Just keep walking, just keep walking (okay, I totally said this in the voice of Dory from Finding Nemo!).

Track my refills

Although I’m still obsessed with my local refill shop, with the rising cost of living, I’m trying to ensure I only buy what I need rather than all the lovely little extras. 

At the end of Q1, I aimed to start tracking the plastic I was still buying, so I could look into alternatives. 

Whilst I’m yet to set up a fancy spreadsheet to track the plastic I’m buying, I can visibly see the items I’m throwing into the waste bin or the recycling bin each month.

The biggest culprits seem to be:

Mouthwash

Face Scrub

Face Wash

Fruit & Veg packaging

Meat packaging

Yoghurt Pots

Where possible, I try to buy loose fruit and veg, but with the rising supermarket prices, I’ve found myself looking for cheaper alternatives, which means I’ve reverted to buying some stuff in single-use plastic again. 

This makes my heart sad, but getting a good balance between managing the purse strings and saving the environment, can be tricky. 

I’ve had problems with my skin for most of my adult life, and it’s only in the last couple of years I’ve found products which help to keep things at bay. So whilst I look forward to the day brands start to sell refills, this is one compromise I won’t be making. 

I have, however, made some changes to other items I would normally throw in the bin this quarter:

Did you know that items such as the plastic bag your pre-packaged bread comes in, kitchen roll plastic packaging, and toilet roll plastic packaging, can be recycled (in the UK)?

If it’s recyclable, the packaging will say something like: 

Recycle at recycling point. Don’t recycle at home.

When I noticed this on the packaging, I looked into where my nearest recycling point was and discovered it was my local Waitrose. So I went along to have a look, and sure enough, there is a green bin by the exit to put your plastic bags in.

So rather than throwing the bags in the bin, I now collect them and take them to the recycling point every few weeks. 

I’ve also started using the clothing bank which is also located in the car park of my local Waitrose store. I’ve never really understood what happens to the clothes that go into them if I’m honest. But after getting my detective hat on, I was pleased to discover that clothes in decent condition get taken to charity shops, and those in a poorer state are taken to textile recycling centres and are turned into something brand new.

So now, when something goes into holes, and I’m too embarrassed to take it to a charity shop or to give it away on Olio, I take it to one of my local clothing banks instead, saving more stuff from ending up in landfill. 

Action Required

Create a spreadsheet to track the plastics I am still using. Carry out some research into what beauty brands are doing to curb their use of plastics to broaden my awareness. 

Increase my income

I’m nervous about saying too much about this goal as my little business continues to grow, and I don’t want to jinx anything. But the good news is, it all seems to be going in the right direction (touching all the wood!).

I’ve said goodbye to one of my clients over the last quarter and taken on some new exciting new ones.

At the end of Q1, I set myself an action to start looking at the types of admin I could outsource, and I had somebody join me for a couple of hours a month, but sadly that didn’t work out.

I’m starting to look at ways of creating some passive income. With the help of my coach, I’m putting a plan together to incorporate this with some professional development. 

I’m still working on my website, and I would like to focus on getting that finished by the end of this quarter before life gets crazy busy again in the lead-up to Christmas.

Action Required

Focus on finalising my website and start working on passive income ideas.

Read at least 12 books

It’s been lovely to create reading time again. I’m well on track with achieving this goal, despite finding less time to read over the last couple of weeks for various reasons. 

I’ve been reading books by authors I’ve never come across before, and it’s been nice to read some different stuff. 

Reading has become part of my evening self-care ritual, and most days, I find myself heading to bed excited to find out what happens next.

Actions Required

Get back on track with this month’s read.

Take a minimum of 20 days of annual leave

I hit the ground running with this one in Q1, and Q2 has seen me take some more time off.

Whilst Q1 saw me stay in the UK with a nice little coastal getaway, Q2 saw me take trips to Ibiza and Italy. Ibiza was a proper switch-off break, whereas Italy was a mixture of work and pleasure but with some annual leave thrown in for good measure. 

I may take a couple of long weekends in August, dependent on the amount of client work I have going on, and then I have a week away to look forward to with my family in September. 

Action Required

Start planning a break for Q4.

Conclusion

I’m super pleased with where I am with my goals this year.

There are, of course, areas to focus on and to develop further. Where I’m on track with specific goals, I need to make sure I don’t end up getting complacent.

Life gets busy again in the Autumn, so I’ll also need to put a plan in place to ensure I don’t let things slip towards the end of the year.

Did you set yourself any goals this year?

How are things progressing for you?

What challenges do you need to overcome to achieve your goals?

If you missed my review of Q1, click here to check it out.