I shared my January goals for simple living last month. My hope was that sharing would keep me accountable to them.
A goal like “simplify” is incredibly vague. It’s unmeasurable and therefore pretty unhelpful. I’m still working on what a simpler life looks like for me. But I know I want to spend more time with friends and giving back to my community. I’d like to spend less time on my devices and less money on consumption.
How Did I Do With Last Month’s Goals?
1. Declutter 40 items.
Success! This one turned out to be really easy. I far surpassed the goal of 40 items. Picking out items little by little over the course of a month, I decluttered almost 70 things.
2. Do a day trip to a nearby town.
Success! I visited an art museum and went for a hike in a nearby town. This was largely a success because I roped in a friend to go with me. Having someone else keep you accountable helps with sticking to goals.
3. Complete a 7-day digital detox.
Failure. I failed horribly on this one. I basically succeeded for the first day, then my intentions fell apart. It’s a lame excuse, but so much was happening in the news the week that I decided to do this. It was really hard to stay disconnected.
My attempts led to some differences in my habits that week. I went for a long walk by myself. On one evening, I re-watched a movie that I had on DVD. I had a leisurely brunch with a friend. And I read a bit more than usual (and I already read a lot).
4. Read In Praise of Slowness.
Partial success. I finished the book on February 1, not within the month of January. Partly, that was because I started it halfway through the month. And it was partly because I was reading other books at the same time. It felt wrong, somehow, to speed-read through a book about slowing down.
Honoré’s book about a slow living movement covered topics like food, exercise, work and leisure. It covered a lot of ideas that I’ve already read about, but it was interesting to read a book from 2004 that talked about these things. Sadly, though, it feels like modern life has only sped up since then.
My Goals for February
Given my failures in January, I’ve decided to set simpler goals for February. And I’m setting only 3 instead of 4 goals. So, here are 3 things I want to accomplish in the month of February:
1. Visit a local museum.
This month’s exploration goal is to visit a local museum. There are 12 or 13 in my county alone. Most are really small, and best of all, free! So my goal is to pick one and go spend an hour or two learning about local history.
2. Read at a coffee shop or library for 1 hour every Saturday.
This is part of my efforts to spend less time on my devices. You’d think there are lots of distractions outside the house, but I’ve found that I get way more distracted at home. There are chores to do, snacks in the kitchen, a television, my laptop, etc. When I go to a coffee shop or library with a book (or my laptop, if I want to write), I go with purpose. I’m less distracted because I know exactly what I went there to do.
3. Complete a 2+2 decluttering challenge.
I love a good challenge. I’m pretty good with sticking to something for a short period of time, especially when I can say I’ve accomplished a definitive thing.
I’m still working on downsizing my possessions. Last month I decluttered nearly 70 items. This month (a short month!) I’ll try to pick out 2 items a day to pass on (donate/sell) and 2 items to toss (trash/recycle).
So there we go! Those are my 3 goals for February. I’ll report back on how these went and whether I think they contributed to simplifying my life.
Do you set monthly goals? Are any of them related to simplifying, starting new habits, or disengaging from your devices? Please share your tips!
