Goals for 2022 and 2021 report card

Since 2019, our family has had a formal goal-setting exercise every December, for the New Year. Since 2020 we expanded to doing a family meeting at the end of every month to review where we are on our goals, how the last month went, what's top of mind of us for the next month, etc. 

Last year had me set relatively modest goals. Here is the report card :)

Report Card 2021 

Learn swimming - I was hoping to resume swimming lessons in 2021 but ever since our health club closed in the pandemic, none of us have been able to go swimming. Reluctantly, I struck this goal off my list when it was apparent it was redundant.

Lose weight- Wanted to lose 6-8 kgs, managed 4.5 kgs in the year. But walked almost every day, worked out (yoga/strength with free weights/mobility work) almost everyday and fitness levels are far higher. So I'm not going to quibble over weight loss :)

Meaningful work portfolio (including my Board work) - Checkmark for this.

(Continue to) paint, sing, write - Painting was a washout. Wrote quite a bit, got published in a poetry anthology, and sang a LOT including several shareable songs and a series for Navarathri. Hope to continue this momentum in 2022.

Ads' college research - Okay-ish. S did all the initial research and my part of the research starts this year.

Connect regularly with friends and family - something we started doing more intentionally in 2020 when we couldn't travel. I reconnected with school and college buddies and with cousins and extended family a lot more in 2021. Hope to continue this good habit going forward as well.

Goals 2022

Continue to work on physical and mental aspects of well-being- This year I want to focus on strength and agility/mobility work. I will continue with my breath work and meditation as well. 

Meaningful work portfolio (including my Board work)

(Continue to) sing, write - have targets for each of these :) 

Ads' college research and applications 

Goals for 2021 and 2020 report card

Since 2019, our family has had a formal goal-setting exercise every December, for the New Year. Since 2020 we expanded to doing a family meeting at the end of every month to review where we are on our goals, how the last month went, what's top of mind of us for the next month etc. 

Last year's "performance", I am quite happy about actually. My goals were doable, and some I knocked out of the park. And for the rest, well it was 2020....we can be kind to ourselves :(

Report Card 2020 (and my report card for 2019)

Learn swimming - Did start classes in early 2020 at our health club, which shut down in March 2020 :( At this rate, I might be pushing 60 by the time I learn to swim like my kids!

Teach Ads some life skills - same as last year. We made some good progress. I don't do much after dinner other than putting the leftovers away, which is great because clearing up after a meal is my least favourite activity. Ads now (most days) cleans the kitchen after dinner. He wipes down the dining table and all the counters, the gas stove, sweeps the floor, and if I am on a call or something, loads the dishwasher. Y is in charge of refilling the water filter and making me my post-dinner cup of green tea :)) I taught Ads to cook things like Maggi but still a long way to go.

Join another nonprofit Board - Done, since April 2020

Work on Ads' college plan - Middling progress. Since he doesn't know what we wants to do, I'm somewhat at a loss on what I am supposed to research on!

Paint more - Accomplished. 

Write more - On this blog and Linkedin/Medium. Accomplished.

 

Some of the other goals carried over from 2019 were accomplished as well. Exercising and meditating every day, reading a Tamil book, and teaching S how to cook (he has learnt a LOT and very comfortable cooking a full meal now). In addition, COVID gave me the opportunity to resurrect an old hobby - singing.

Goals 2021

Lose weight- This will be the hardest, I think?

Meaningful work portfolio (including my Board work)

(Continue to) paint, sing, write - have targets for each of these :) 

Ads' college research 

Connect regularly with friends and family - something we started doing more intentionally in 2020 when we couldn't travel. I reconnected with school and college buddies and with cousins and extended family a lot more in 2020. Hope to continue this good habit going forward as well.

Goals for 2020 and 2019 report card

Since last year, our family has had a formal goal-setting exercise every December, for the New Year. My goals last year were fairly ambitious, and a few weeks ago, we had a family meeting to revisit how each of us has done, and what our goals for 2020 should be. 

My own performance has been patchy. Of course, I blame myself for setting the wrong goals, not for underachieving on them :) How did I do?

Report Card 2019

Exercise everyday - Yes yes and yes....at it, with my yoga and walking and now swimming, I feel good about this. Feeling chuffed at having kept up the fitness regimen, even during the winter, anything above 1-2 deg C and I am outside. 

Meditate everyday - 20-30 minutes of deep breathing exercises and just sitting still. This has been a daily practice and now looking into doing a meditation retreat when I go to India next. 

Read a Tamil book - So hard! I'm halfway through a novel, hope to finish in a few months. Yes, that's the speed I am at :( 

Learn some Spanish - This has been difficult. I simply haven't been motivated enough. Part of the problem is that Ads speaks reasonably well now so when we travel in Latin America, I just fall back on his ability instead of trying to navigate on my own. I've dropped this from my list for 2020. Maybe later!

Craft a family mission statement - Hmm...we have discussed this and none of us is convinced we even need this :) So dropped. 

Learn ice-skating - Big fail. 'Nuf said. Dropped! Life is too short to learn stuff that is completely useless :) 

Learn swimming - Yes! In adult swim classes now. Progress being made. This is actually going on my bucket list (separate post)

Teach S how to cook - Lots of progress on this because I have a motivated student. He can make a mean omelette, dal, and with the instant pot curries have become super-easy. He rolls out parathas and rotis very well, and dosai has been mastered. 

Teach Ads to iron clothes, cut veg, make Maggi - So far we have been doing a lot of veg chopping. I taught him how to use the washer and iron. Practice practice practice :) 

Get on a nonprofit Board - Yes! Joined one Board, and talking to a couple of others.

Goals 2020

Learn swimming 

Teach Ads some life skills - same as last year 

Join another nonprofit Board

Work on Ads' college plan 

Paint more - Plan is to have 3 more artworks complete by the end of 2020

Write more - On this blog, and Linkedin/Medium 

Fairly confident about these goals. Lessened my ambition a bit this year, so they seem very do-able. 

Goals for 2019

2018 was the year of living more mindfully and more gratefully. As the kids grow older and as I do too, I am more convinced than ever before that what I really need to do as a parent is teach my kids empathy, gratitude, resilience and humility. Their scholastic and non-curricular achievements are important not in themselves, but only as pathways and tools to learn the value of hard work, grit and perseverance. I read a quote by Dr. Seuss recently - "It is better to know how to learn than to know." I strongly feel, that captures my philosophy perfectly. It is important to know how to learn, never mind if you fail to do it. But the learning makes all the difference.

In the spirit of learning, we all made a list of our goals for the year 2019. I hesitate to call them New Year Resolutions, because I know that as far as mine go, I am likely to keep plodding at a couple of these well into next year. Can you guess which ones they are? :) 

Goals for 2019

Exercise everyday - I've been walking and doing yoga very consistently for the last couple of years, so not worried about this one.

Meditate everyday - 20-30 minutes of deep breathing exercises and just sitting still. Again, not worried about this one. I do fall off the rails every now and then but find it easy to get back on.

Read a Tamil book - This is hard!!! But I'm on it :) I have a book of essays by Kalki, and am slowly going through it. Understanding about 70% of what I read. But the objective is to improve reading speed and word recognition, not necessarily understand what I'm reading :) 

Learn some Spanish - Not as hard as Tamil :)

Craft a family mission statement - We will probably get down to this in the summer.

Learn ice-skating - I've just finished beginner lessons and I suck. But hey, I'm able to get onto the ice and glide (very slowly) ALL BY MYSELF. Baby steps! I have downloaded an app that will make it easier for me to practice. All I need to do is to drive myself to the rink every week and get onto the ice!

Learn swimming - This is the biggie. I'm floating and moving a bit which is progress but nearly not enough. The family's behind me on this one so they'll keep me afloat (pun intended)

Teach S how to cook - Lots of progress on this because I have a motivated student.

Teach Ads to iron clothes, cut veg, make Maggi - I'll get this done. Might add a few more things to this list and make it slightly more ambitious.

Get on a nonprofit Board - Feelers have been thrown, hopeful this will happen.

We have a quarterly review on this next month - yikes!