April: Self Care
April's goal was to focus on the things that nourish me and my life. Reading back over the things I wrote down, I've realised that it might be a good idea to write a new list every couple of months. Writing that list made me feel focused. It helped me understand what/who I think are important and what things/people don't need to be worried about. Since my answers now would be a little different to what they were then, I think doing this regularly would definitely be a good idea. Especially if it will help keep me focused!
May: Upgrade your Environment
I will admit, I found this month's goal difficult. Not only did I struggle to list 30 things to do (or get rid of) to feel clear and focused but I found it hard to complete my list of ten things left to do. I think I was way too optimistic with a few of the things (why I thought I'd be able to clear my cupboard I'll never know) but some of them definitely made me feel clearer. While I might not make another list of 30, I think keeping on top of what it's my environment will be a habit I want to keep. The social media cull was definitely a good idea.
June: Upgrade your health
The healthy habit I chose for June was exercise. I wanted to make sure I exercised every day, even if that just meant going for a walk or doing a set of squats. For June, this goal was probably one of the more successful ones. It wasn't perfect but I started riding my bike more and I was walking instead of taking the car. It even extended as far as changing the amount of fruit and veg I was eating. Then it became a bit more hit and miss. In the summer, it was a lot easier to bike and stick with the habit I had formed. However, in the weeks coming back to University I don't think I made the effort every day. I don't think this was a useless goal though. Despite not doing something rigorous every day, I now can't stand to be idle all day. I have to get up and walk at least once otherwise my mood turns pretty sour. The effect on my eating was a welcome surprise. I eat a lot less frozen/ready-made food now and I try hard to eat hand-made, fresh food as often as money will allow.
July: Be Present
This was an important goal for me. I don't like how much time I spend glued to my phone or laptop or how often I am distracted from what is happening around me because I'm thinking about what's happening on social media sites. It was a bit of a reality shock when I found this month hard. Or should I say, the reality check was how hard I found this month. It was difficult to learn just how much I depend on those things. I didn't do as well as I wanted to but the idea was planted. I've been gradually learning not to check my phone or to limit how much time I'm spending on my laptop. It's still too much time but at least it's a start.
August: Sort out your finances
This was probably the worst month in terms of the Spring Clean. Although I ended the month with a healthier looking bank balance/savings account, I think this had more to do with my job than with any conscious effort on my part. It's a shame because learning how to handle my finances is an important skill that I need to have. I do like the idea of having a "no-spending day" but it needs to be once a week, not once a month. That's a habit I want to keep.
September: Be mindful
When I wrote my original post in April, one of the points of this month was to look at what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. Part of the mindfulness wasn't just in present actions but it was supposed to be looking at my life and knowing what and why it is the way it is. Somehow that got lost over the year and I didn't end up doing that. It was a thought of mine this month but September was all about being mindful of what was happening in my life as it happened. I'm really happy with how this goal went. I definitely want this to be a habit I keep.
October: Upgrade your work life
I have a bad habit of leaving things to the last minute and causing myself an unnecessary amount of stress as a result. I thought October would be a good month for this goal since I would already be in the swing of things back in University but it's also early enough in the term that I can start cultivating new habits before old ones set in. I'm very proud to admit that this particular goal is going very well. The habits I'm slowly learning - doing work ahead of time and managing my time effectively - weren't forgotten at the end of this month but have carried on into November and now December. I'm so glad I've managed to do this. I had my doubts at the start of the month but looking back, October was one of the best months of the Spring Clean.
November: Upgrade your creativity
Since I knew that December was a review anyway, I decided to write November's goal post as a review of the month rather than as a goal-setting post like the others. This worked particularly well seeing as I didn't write it until the end of the month anyway. When I was planning my Spring Clean, I had two reasons for assigning a goal to the month. I thought about whether it would be easy or difficult to achieve that goal in that month (October's goal wouldn't have made sense in June seeing as I wasn't working or in University) or whether I would need that goal at that particular time. The latter reason is why November's goal was to focus on creativity. Spending all of my time studying and working for my degree, I can end up feeling hollowed out and un-creative. It becomes a chore to write and so my blog suffers. This in turn means my mood suffers and it can ruin what would otherwise be a good day or week or month. I've been writing ideas on my phone, in my drafts, in lecture notes; I've been taking photos on my way to/from University or on trips out of the house. I can feel my spirit lifting just by thinking about being creative. I underestimated how important creativity is to me and I feel very grateful to April-me for putting this goal in this month. It was a very very welcome reminder.
Spring Clean: A Review
Overall I'm really pleased with how this spring clean has come off. I wasn't sure I would finish it and not that I would have admitted it but I wasn't even sure if any good would come out of it at all. I'm pleased to be able to say that I was quite wrong to think that. Not only did I finish it but I feel like it's helped me create habits that have benefited my life in some way or another.It hasn't been a drastic change and it would be silly to say that every month was helpful but overall, I'm glad that I did this.
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