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Struggling to find my mojo: August goals and review of July

2nd August 2020 by shoestringjane@outlook.com 13 Comments

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June goalsFor a few months I have been struggling to get things done. Like many people at this strange and anxiety provoking period, my motivation has fallen through the floor. To get back on track, I wrote my goals for July out and stuck them on the wall in my office so that I would be reminded of them often and find my mojo. Did it work?

Well, July’s plan wasn’t all plain sailing. I was still struggling to concentrate and motivate myself and my anxiety and frustration was through the roof at times.

In the end, I decided to be gentle on myself. I hadn’t had any time off work since last July, so this seemed like a good time to do it. Instead of staring aimlessly at my laptop hoping for some inspiration, I did something equally useful, forgot about work did something practical and useful instead. I redecorated the lodger’s room!

A change is as good as a rest

When I set my July goals I didn’t know my lodger would move out so suddenly. She was struggling to pay the rent as she lost her job due to the COVID situation and was spending all her time at her boyfriend’s anyway.

I mentioned that I wanted to give the room a refresh so they came and moved all of her stuff out so that I could get on with it.

find my mojo
                                                 Ready for its next occupant

So my week off work didn’t involve lying on a sun lounger drinking cocktails. But a change really is as good as a rest and I actually enjoyed getting the painting done. I even put a coat on the downstairs loo, which was a small job I had been meaning to do for ages.

I used paint that we already had and, as I said in my weekly round up, spent a grand total of £40 on my revamp.

The room has now gone on spare room.com in the hope of finding a new occupant in the next few months. I hope we find someone who can tolerate a naughty puppy. We shall see!

Let me remind you of my goals for July.

1# Getting up early

As I am generally more productive early in the day, one of my goals was to set my alarm for 6 am so that I could get up, do my yoga practice and take the dog out without taking too much of a chunk out of my working day.

find my mojo

In the event, this has happened naturally. I tend to wake up much earlier than Mr S anyway, but faff about reading or browsing the internet. This month I have got up and got on. So I have achieved this goal and mean to carry on. It makes sense! Goal achieved.

2# Track my hours

I wanted to see exactly how many hours a week I actually work. When you are self-employed, you don’t have to do a 9-5 type schedule and it is easy to get side tracked.

For the first week, I faithfully tracked my hours worked and what I was doing in a little notepad I kept my my laptop. As I suspected, I wasn’t working as much as I should do! Oddly, this didn’t improve my focus much and actually drove my decision to take a week off to find my motivation. 

find my mojo

It also made me realise that I need to block off chunks of time to do each of the work that I do. My approach has so far been a bit piecemeal. So, instead of doing a few hours of eBay here and there, a blog post every now and again, looking at freelance jobs as and when, etc. I need to be a bit more organised about what I do and when. 

More about that in my August goals. I didn’t track my hours for the whole month, but I didn’t really need to as it achieved its purpose. 

3# Sort my unlisted stock and office space

I made a good start on this, organising my ‘pile of shame’ into boxes and sorting out the area where I keep my packaging. However, it isn’t clear because I have also bought more stock, which is now in the pile again!

I guess this is the way of things as it’s never going to be ‘done’. It’s an ongoing project and I just need to keep it reasonably tidy as I go. So this is semi-achieved.

4# Go through my listings and reduce prices

I did this early on, and just as well, since I then sold a few items that had been sitting around for ages. July has been a very slow eBay month, partly because it always is in the school holidays, partly because I have listed less often and also partly because the shops have reopened and people were probably grateful to get out to actual shops for a change.

Happy with this goal.

5# Increase my freelance writing

I haven’t done any work on this, since I took time off for DIY instead, so this will go back on this month’s goals.

6# Read the damn book!

The book in question being a puppy training manual. Nearly there! One chapter to go, and Archie has also attended two puppy training classes.

budget diy

He is making some progress, although seems to have become a hormonal teenager. He flirts with every dog he meets, male or female, and is showing a lot of interest in getting intimate with his bed. Think he may be heading to the vet for the chop soon!

Not quite achieved.

If I am going to continue to find my mojo, and keep myself on track, I need more goals for August.

Goals for August

1# A bit more DIY

Having done the lodger room, I am now really keen to get the hallway repainted. It’s so tatty and has been bugging me for ages. However, I can’t afford to take another week off, so will just aim to sand and paint the cupboard doors downstairs.

Little and often will hopefully get the job done. I already have paint for the walls, but have run out of gloss. This means a trip to the DIY store at some point to buy more and some sandpaper.

find my mojo

2# Training every day

There is little point in taking Archie for training if we don’t practice it at home, so I plan to spend at least 10 minutes each day going over what we have done in class.

3# 100 eBay listings

This old chestnut! I try to do this every month and am usually just under. Even with my week off, I managed 80 last month though, so definitely could have hit or exceeded this target.

4# Actively find some freelance opportunities

Carried over from last month, I need to give this some time and thought.

5# Time blocking to find my mojo

I plan to spend two days on eBay, 1.5 days on the blog and at least half a day a week on freelancing. This will leave me time for my DIY efforts as well.

I have written these out and they are on my office wall, replacing July’s goals. So, I may not have fully achieved them, but I created the extra goal of decorating the lodger room, which was fully achieved. I’m feeling good about that!

Let’s hope I continue to chill out and find my mojo during August. What are your goals for the month and how did you do with your July goals?

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Filed Under: FRUGAL LIFESTYLE Tagged With: Goals, motivation, Review of the Month

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Comments

  1. Pauline says

    2nd August 2020 at 09:14

    I too found myself in a similar position and like you I am freelance. What I found helpful is to keep an ongoing list of things that I need to do. Then I tackle just one of them each day. Strangely I find this more productive than attempting to work office hours. It means that I have something to do each weekday which gets completed (I broke the working weekend habit), keeps my motivation going and I feel like I’m constantly achieving something. It also gives my day some structure as I was self-isolating.

    Reply
    • shoestringjane@outlook.com says

      2nd August 2020 at 11:23

      Yes, it’s easy to work all weekend too if you’re not careful!

      Reply
  2. Chrissie says

    2nd August 2020 at 10:02

    Your lodger’s room looks lovely. I really can’t set goals now as I rarely achieve them which frustrates and upsets me so rather than set myself up for failure I have to have a mindset of do what I can when I can. My son went back to his own flat in independent living after being with us shielding for 4 months so I reset my weekly budget , started my diet and planned things that needed to be done in the house and garden. After 6 days he had another seizure causing a bad head injury and broken collar bone so he is back with us to be cared for for a while , no more diet ( I am a stress eater ), more groceries, more cooking and laundry and less time but it really doesn’t matter because he is always priority so everything else I can achieve is a bonus ,so it’s one day at a time. I am amazed that you do what you do do seeing as you have a very active puppy !!!

    Reply
    • shoestringjane@outlook.com says

      2nd August 2020 at 11:25

      Oh Chrissie! Sorry to hear about your son. It must be very stressful. Hope he is better soon and the diet can wait

      Reply
  3. Lindsay says

    2nd August 2020 at 14:01

    I am also struggling with motivation. I have been in shielding the last 19 weeks so everyday has pretty much been the same. Your lodgers room looks lovely.

    Reply
    • shoestringjane@outlook.com says

      2nd August 2020 at 14:08

      That’s tough. Hope you manage to get out safely too

      Reply
  4. su willett says

    2nd August 2020 at 16:44

    Strange I was feeling the same and decided I need a “timetable” during the day for each area I wanted to do things. I do as much as I manage them stop at the end going on to the next area. It works for me as I know I will be back to that area next timetable. I no longer sit do nothing because I want to do A when B needs doing. ( if that makes sense?) I know I will be back in that area soon! Su

    Reply
  5. Linda says

    2nd August 2020 at 20:20

    Your room looks really welcoming! I particularly like the large wardrobe, and where you’ve placed the desk for the best light.

    I think we all need to give ourselves a well deserved break every so often, whether we are employed outside the home, are self employed or not employed out of choice. There’s so much stress at the moment and it’s been going on for a long time. I’ve mentioned that I’m recently bereaved, and if there’s one thing I know it’s that you have to be kind to yourself and lower expectations. My emotions are all over the place and I’ve decided that it’s best not to tackle anything difficult, whether that’s making an administrative phone call or a tricky part of a knitting pattern or sometimes even cooking a meal, on a day when I’m feeling fragile. Goal setting is out of the question for a while, other than the over arching “completion of probate”, but some days are productive. Yesterday I managed to file a huge stack of papers and that spurred me on to start culling files and shredding old documents. By being kind to myself I’m getting through the days, weeks and months, maybe more slowly than if I just powered through, but with less stress and upset which is far better in the long run.

    I wish you well in all your endeavours, especially with your adorable puppy!

    Reply
    • shoestringjane@outlook.com says

      2nd August 2020 at 20:34

      Thanks Linda. It’s a tough time for you. I think your approach is very sensible. Hope you are ok

      Reply
  6. Julia says

    3rd August 2020 at 17:46

    Summer is usually my energy season, but I’ve just been drifting aimlessly this year . Unfortunately, with me lethargy just breeds more lethargy so it’s a downward spiral especially as it feeds my night-owl tendencies so I’ve net been getting to bed much before 3am over the last few weeks and therefore still tired when I wake at 8am!
    I feel like I’ve taken root on the sofa! Ho hum!

    Reply
    • shoestringjane@outlook.com says

      3rd August 2020 at 19:05

      Sorry to hear that, Julia. It’s such a weird time. Maybe you need to get back to your walking?

      Reply
  7. Lee says

    3rd August 2020 at 22:54

    Have been too stressed for goals as such, especially as it’s really impacted my sleep, but my decluttering continues and I took 27 black bin bags to the charity shop last month and it’s ongoing. 27!!! Am going for a streamlined minimalist look as I don’t have the mental wherewithal for clutter these days, it’s really adding my brain. I also work from home so see a lot of ‘indoors’.
    Your new room looks lovely, am sure it will be let soon. And that Archie is such a looker :-))

    Reply
    • shoestringjane@outlook.com says

      4th August 2020 at 13:01

      Wow! Surprised the charity shop would take that many. I only had 6 but had to spread them over a couple of shops

      Reply

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Would you like to take control of your finances, pay off your debts and save for the future? At Shoestring Cottage we aim to show you that you can live a good and happy life on less than you think, you can get off the consumer treadmill and you can live more simply and healthily and not feel deprived.
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