The first few months of 2021 have been about as expected, with some surprises thrown in too (as expected, hah!). Check out the 2021 first quarter goal recap to see how it’s going.
So 2021 isn’t quite on par with 2020 as far as utter craziness, but it definitely isn’t “normal” thus far.
Two employees have been out for various times during the first several months of the year, which means I’ve been doing a lot of covering.
On the bright side of that, I am getting well acquainted with other roles in my department, so it isn’t as stressful when someone calls in sick. Also my other staff were downright amazing about helping me however they could.
There’s a cynical part of me that wants to scream “I did not go into nutrition (and debt) to be a cook/dish washer/diet aide/etc.!!!” But I’m trying not to listen to her too much. Get better, not bitter, right?
So it really hasn’t been a bad year, just inconvenient.
2021 goal update
Clean out clutter
So we’ve been doing really good with clutter maintenance, though we haven’t tackled any big gnarly clutter projects yet (like the guest bedroom, the baby room, the basement, the garage…).
There’s a saying that clutter is the physical manifestation of unmade decisions and BOY is that true. I get the mail and don’t decide what I want to do with bank statements. I put the latest issue of JAND on the pile with the rest (maybe I’ll read it this month?). And on it goes.
I’ve gotten better about making decisions right away and preventing some clutter. When my favorite eyeliner is so low there is nothing left I can use, I throw it out. Right then. There is a very slim chance that at any point I will be willing or able to scrounge out the last vestiges of eyeliner. So why wait?
New roof
We’re going to be picking out shingles soon and pricing out the project. By the end of the summer we should have a new roof!
Basement and garage organized
These are major abyss zones. The basement has a bunch of Christmas stuff I need to get rid of or organize. The garage has a backlog of recycling that we need to get rid of. And those are just the tips of those two ominous icebergs. Needless to say, not much progress has been made here.
Take a $15,000 bite out of debt
So far we’ve chipped $4,500 away from our block of debt. That’s a level of progress I once only dreamed of. For some people, that’s nothing. Either way, I’m grateful to be able to pay off debt quicker than when I first graduated.
Savings
Savings is a little harder to dissect, because we had tax returns, stimulus checks, etc. that we just dumped into savings for now. Some of it is for the roof, but we are still pricing that out.
Family
I mentioned before how I struggle to know exactly what it means to make family a priority while also being a dependable employee. So far this year I’ve been trying a few things.
First, I am working really hard to give my family a heads up when I have late meetings scheduled or something that will impact my usual lunch, which I come home for. I am also working harder to be home on time.
It is so stupidly hard to just leave work on time. I get there on time, often early. But somehow it feels wrong to leave on time, like I’m not devoted enough. But if I view my family as more important than my job, then I don’t want to be late to them either.
Healthy habits and meal planning
We’ve ben doing really well with meal planning over the last two months or so. Sometimes it’s hard to know what is going to sound good, but we at least make a stab at a menu so we have specific ingredients like tofu or burger buns around. Then we pick what we are going to have for dinner that night.
And that’s a wrap on the first quarter of 2021!
See the original 2021 goals post here.