Over the last six (plus) months that we have been under some sort of stay at home order as part of the response to COVID, I have had lots of ups and downs in my motivation. I’ve often found myself spending hours scrolling through social media, making the absolute worst use of my time, and being completely unproductive. Some days would be better than others as I was able to motivate myself to go for a walk or do a workout or even watch a movie. Unfortunately little has changed, even with my move, so I have made a decision to set some goals for myself to make better use of my time. All of my goals provide me with a wide variety of different mental and physical breaks throughout the week but include some fun things too!

I developed a “Personal Goal Weekly Calendar and Accountability Tracker” because I am a list maker and find pride and excitement in being able to cross things off! I thought long and hard about what are some things that I really want to do each week, but that aren’t overwhelming to the point where I will be stressed out (because that is one million percent not the goal here). I also am going into this with the mindset that it’s okay to changes my goals week over week, depending on my workload or how I’m feeling each week. There is no shame in that!

I’ve including a copy of my personal calendar below, as well as two templates for you to fill out with your own goals! Click below to download your own template to create a personal accountability tracker.

As you think about what to plan for yourself, I’ve provided my goals below to give you some ideas and encouragement. Remember to start small and don’t feel like you have to make huge moves! Make plans that are attainable and learn to hold yourself accountable for one or two things at a time. Change them if they’re not the right fit for you!

I decided on the following goals:

1. Movies – this is a fun one for me! A couple of weeks ago, I came up with a list of about 100 movies that I want to watch, so I am working on completing that by the end of the year. I set a goal of 5 movies per week to see if I can get through it! It’s a broad list meant for entertainment, but also some development, with movies ranging from Pulp Fiction to Jurassic Park to Schindler’s List to The Shining. It’s exciting to see some of these classics that I’ve never seen before.
2. Books – I love to read, but find that I often make excuses when I am too busy. I am the type of person who pretty much always has to finish a book once I start, so it is a bit of a commitment for me. I will literally stay up all night reading, even if I say that I won’t (lol NERD ALERT). For this reason, I’m setting a goal of one book a week!
3. Blog posts – hey there!!! You may remember (because I certainly do) when this was the first thing to fall off my list during the quarantine. I love writing and blogging but didn’t have much to talk about, and that motivation was just GONE. Now that I’m back at it, I’ve set a goal for two posts a week to keep myself going.
4. Daily walks – moving into the physical goals, this is something I decided I wanted to do once I moved to the city. I’m not from a place where I walked much, but here I have been walking almost everywhere that I go and I ABSOLUTELY love it! I set a goal to walk at least once a day, whether it’s to go on a 30-minute walk to the water or a 5-minute walk to pick up Starbucks. I often find myself not leaving the house at all when I’m feeling down, so this is a really important goal for me to get some fresh air and sunshine!
5. Workouts – I have also set a goal to work out each day, but this does not mean that I need to be doing a long, high-intensity workout each day. I want to be active – whether that is doing a HIIT workout, going for a 30-minute power walk, going for a leisurely walk along the water, or doing a nice stretch routine to loosen up.
6. Social life – I fall into the habit of being completely antisocial sometimes and take big swings between needing social interactions and not seeing anyone. I’m making tons of new awesome friends here, and I’m still meeting people that I’ve been introduced to through friends. At a minimum, I’m encouraging myself to schedule two social events a week. While I didn’t put it on my calendar, I’m also encouraging myself to take myself on a date once a week – whether that means going out to eat, taking a drive out of the city, or going for a hike.
7. I’m also challenging myself to do a bonus challenge of a digital detox twice a month. This is a biggie as I constantly pick up my phone and start scrolling mindlessly. The goal here is to stay off social media completely and minimize the use of my phone or other devices.

Some other goals I’ve set in the past for your consideration:

1. Drink the suggested water intake each day
2. Cook at least one meal a day
3. Try something new once a week
4. Make healthy eating decisions x number of days per week
5. (or the opposite) – try a new ice cream spot or flavor once a week
6. Schedule a self-care date with yourself (soak in the tub with a glass of wine, a book, and candle and do a face mask or two!)
7. Practice a skin regime at least x times per week
8. Snuggle with your pet an hour each week

Make it fun and make it you. Don’t set goals just because someone else tells you that you should. Figure out what is important to you (which could change over time) and make it happen, girl! You’ve got this.

WEEK ONE DONE!

So how did I do? I didn’t complete all of my goals, but that’s okay! I was feeling pretty exhausted this week after an incredible weekend last weekend filled with lots of social time! I watched four movies (Escape from Alcatraz, Jurrasic Park, My Best Friend’s Wedding, and Midnight in Paris) and read one book (The Last of the Moon Girls). I didn’t make it out on the house on Monday and wasn’t active but held myself accountable for the rest of the week. Plus, I did a full digital detox on Saturday! I am pleased to share that I barely used my phone the entire day. I kept it in another room so I wouldn’t look at it and didn’t open any social media apps all day!

I hope that whether you’re setting goals for the first or tenth time that this tracker might also be helpful for you in your accountability journey. Let me know what types of goals you’ve set for yourself!