2018 Q1 Review
The recent school holidays saw the end of the first quarter of 2018. At the end of last year, I spent some time reflecting on the past year and what I wanted to get out of 2018. After reading Michael Hyatt's book, Your Best Year Ever and from using his Full Focus Planner, below are some reflections on my quarterly review and what I've got planned moving into the next part of the year.
My next review will take place in June. Watch this space for updates.
BIG WINS
Below are my goals that I’ve set for 2018 - The goals marked with an (*) indicate a goal that was a focus for the past quarter.
*Start F45 and complete 3 classes a week
During the course of 2017, I heard many stories of others’ life experiences and situations which led me to appreciate the simplicity of my own life and value the simple things that I am able to do that others are not.
Whilst I absolutely love my job, my biggest learning last year was that I am not my job. I wrote how at the end of 2017 I literally dragged myself over the finish line at the end of the year. (I was incredibly sick and forced myself to go to school on the last day of the year) and how 2018 needed to be a year where I have placed myself as top priority on my to-do list and to take responsibility to be more than just my profession. A year focused on taking time to rest; to recharge; to smell the roses; to be in the company of family and friends who remind me of my essential purpose, who raise my standards and who challenge me to be the best version of myself.
With the above in mind, this is why I started F45. Prior to starting, I thought of myself as fairly fit. I would swim 2-3 times a week and went to the gym a few times a week but it was mostly a ‘token’ effort. I didn’t really have any idea what I was doing, found it boring and dull and tried to get out there as quickly as possible. The people who went were generally older and I didn’t connect or engage with them. I wasn’t seeing any change as a result of the work I was doing and became disengaged. Work demands also meant that exercise was always the first thing to go when I felt overwhelmed or that I needed to go in early to get on top of things.
On 4 January I went to my first F45 class. I don’t make it to the end and bolt for the bathroom to throw my guts up after 30 minutes.
Since then, I’ve completed a total of 55 classes (15 in Jan, 18 in Feb and 22 in March) I also signed up to the F45 Challenge - an 8 week exercise and eating program and frequent exercise. Over the 8 weeks, I’ve dropped 2kg and reduced my body fat percentage by 2.1. I look in the mirror and at my before and after photos and I’m proud of what I see and what I’ve achieved.
But it’s what doesn’t show on paper that I’m proud of the most.
In the 3 months since I started F45 and the challenge, I am now completing 5 classes a week. With the exception of Labor Day, I did not miss one class over the challenge. For someone that would drop exercise the moment life got hard, I'm proud that I've stuck with something and met this commitment to myself.
My form continues to improve. I could barely lift a barbell but with encouragement and feedback from my coaches, I am doing this with greater confidence.
From the moment that timer goes beep at the start of each station, I am determined to get as many reps out as I can (to the point where I am so focused I don’t hear the beep and forget to change stations!)I have gone from holding a plank for 30 seconds to holding a plank for 2 minutes.
I’ve gone from avoiding exercise to finding it something I now crave. I love being around other positive people and love listening to the great music while we do it.
For 45 minutes I switch off and forget the outside world. I feel great.
As I move into Q2 for 2018, I will continue with elements of the meal plans. I like the organisation and having things mapped out for me, but am needing and look forward to some freedom and flexibility when it comes to choosing what I eat based on my schedule for the day.
Am I where I want to be? Not yet… But I'm well and truly on my way to getting there.
Next Actions:
Maintain current activity moving into Q2.
Have a weekly night out once a week to review our plans
I had some success with this but still feel this is an area that needs some work.
We saw a lot more movies this year (Call me by your name, The Darkest Hour, The Post [Merryl Streep and Tom Hanks]) but beyond this, we didn't do any other activities.
We also talked about our plans to renovate sections of our house and have agreed that our bathroom will be the next major project. We also talked about changes to furniture and other tasks that need completing, but need to document this to refer back to.
What made it successful was blocking out time for it as part of our meal plan that week, meaning that it was a night to head out. What also helped was having ideas in mind prior - knowing where we were going and what we were doing.
What made it difficult was the timing. As our cleaner usually comes on a Friday and if we had both had a rather hectic week, our house tends to look like a disaster by Thursday evening. This meant spending Thursday evenings in a made panic to get the house in some form of order ready for him to work the next day. Not having a plan (place to go, something to do)
Next Actions:
Create this as a meeting in our diary each week
Create template to record notes
Get buy in
Develop a list of possible locations and activities to go to.
Use iPad to keep track of notes and decisions.
Take Long Service Leave and travel to USA in 2019
No Progress on this.
Next Actions:
See Travel Agent and get brochures re: Topdeck tours and other options
Discuss travel plans with Latham over date night.
Look at our schedules for 2019 regarding possible dates for travel.
Put in a request for LSL at the end of Term 2,\beginning of Term 3.
Take a short stay vacation once every school term
This is all booked and is taking place next weekend during the term break. We are spending the weekend down the Mornington Peninsula and have got a visit to the Peninsula Hot Springs planned.
Next Actions:
Plan short stay vacation for Term 2 holidays whilst on short stay vacation for the end of term 1.
Develop a list of agreed priorities for upgrades to our home
We completed the upgrade to our wardrobe over the summer holidays just prior to school returning and are loving the changes. I still need to do some work in organising the layout of my clothes and the shelving and also need to buy some boxes\tools to support the storage of some items. While we have talked about this, it needs documenting and agreement on its implementation.
Next Actions:
Develop shared home renovation list in Todoist.
Agree on priorities for implementation
Block time to organise clothes and buy storage containers over term 1 holidays.
Complete Michael Hyatt’s “Free to Focus” course by the end of 2018
I have signed up for this and am currently completing it. I look forward to applying elements of this in Q2; especially around maintaining inbox zero. In the past few weeks I have worked hard to keep my email inbox at empty or at a level where the emails are contained on one screen. I seem to be scared that if I move something out of my line of sight I will forget about it and ‘drop the ball’. I need to develop my confidence and a system to support this from happening moving forward. It’s been a strange feeling to not stress about my inbox - it’s just one of those things that has always been there and to not worry about it allows me to focus my attention on other tasks.
Create a greater online presence by publishing 4 blog posts, 1 YouTube video a month and four resources to Teachers Pay Teachers at term.
I redeveloped my blog and have moved it across to my own hosted site and my own registered domain name. The ongoing writing though needs some work. If I continue to wake up at 4am, this is a task that I could work on to be more productive with this time.
Whilst I started on a high by posting my first ‘real’ video about morning routines, I didn’t have much success beyond this. Video editing is a slow and time-intensive task. Whilst it’s a skill I’m keen to develop, I need to commit time to work on this.
Similarly, with my TpT resources, I need to create time for this. I have a few resources sitting in my google drive that need revamping to make them TpT worthy and again, need to make time for this to occur. I am also considering modifying this goal slightly moving into Q2 to include my work on developing the Student Voice Hub with the VicSRC. This is exciting work that I have committed to being involved with, but haven’t really done much in moving this project forward.
Next Actions:
Generate a list of potential videos, blogs, a TpT Resources.
Recommit to this goal for Q2 by allocating time to it through my Ideal Week
Review this goal at the end of Q2 and remove it not being successful.
Read 24 book by the end of 2018.
I’ve signed up to LeaderBox through Michael Hyatt and Co and have enjoyed receiving these books each month (even if sometimes they do arrive a little late). Initially, I tried reading each day, but this was a struggle to keep up with. I’ve been using Audible to listen to the chapters in the car to and from work each day and this has assisted me greatly in keeping up with this. I need to get better at tracking in the hard copy book where I am up to and at using the activation guide to record my notes. I did well with this over the holidays when I had time to listen to podcasts during the holidays, but need to develop a way to do this whilst listening in the car.
Next Actions:
Record Leaderbox Reading in Full Focus Planner
Keep a hard copy of book and activation guide in the car to review
Use Audible notes section
Buy phone holder for the car to make it easier to use.
Get additional headphones and mobile phone charger so I can listen to books on the go.
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
Compass Rollout at work
This has gone well so far.
Next Actions:
I need to develop a plan for this to manage moving forward
Develop resources and tools to delegate this work out to others. (Develop this as a goal following Free to Focus Course)
Student Leadership Training Day
It’s great to be back doing this work as it is something that I love. I need to commit time to the setup of this in my Ideal Work Week.
Next Actions:
Block out JSC Prep Time
Time to be in the company of family and friends
Dinner and Swims
Celebrating a 50th Birthday with school staff
Lunch with family at the Langham
Massage
Trivia Nights
Dinner with Friends
Attending Weddings
Lunch with family in Ballarat
Calling my Dad each week on a Friday on the way home from work
Next Actions:
Review Address book for people to catch up with and make contact.
NEW GOALS
New Goal: Execute my Shutdown and Evening Routine each work day
New Goal: Execute my Evening routine every day.
New Goal: Complete my Weekly Review each week
Why is this important: I don’t shut down at the end of the day and leave work in a mess. This impacts on my mind and causes me to think of things I haven't done at work for tomorrow and doesn't allow me to 'switch off'.I need to executive my evening routine because I come home from work tired, end up not eating dinner, cleaning up and creating a mess. I also need to executive my evening routine so my mind gets a clear message that it’s time for bed.
New Goal: Ensure I sleep better
Why is this important:
I need quality sleep to function at my best.
Next Steps:
Principal Health Check
Read Tim Ferris work on sleep
Buy Resources to support better sleep