Marching On: On Monthly Goals Check-ins and Blogging Expectations

Can you believe it's March already? Days just keep whizzing by, it seems.

You know, last month, I was actually quite pleased with how things moved along here at Studio Notes. I have a few reasons for this and one of them is that I feel like I've stopped second guessing myself about this blog. You see, for a long time, I kept trying to overanalyse about this blog's direction and focus. In the process, I end up all confused and unsure about what to blog, when to blog, how to blog...

I know, I know... it sounds crazy, right? After all, I've been at this blogging thing for over a decade now. Yet, I'm still occasionally plagued by what I should and shouldn't do around here. But, somehow, this year, things feel a lot less stressful. Last month, in particular, felt quite smooth. Like I've finally hit some kind of stride.

Either that, or I just stopped worrying too much. 😀

That's why I managed to do a number of things that I've been meaning to do here... like video blogging, posting movie and book reviews, sharing travel stories, and more.

Anyway, I think one of the things that helped was when I did that first day of the month post in February. I found that having that first monthly check-in about our year's goals and challenges was very helpful. Sharing my list of "things to blog about" certainly kept me going for the month.

So, writing of which, HOW ARE YOU GOING WITH YOUR 2010 GOALS? What have been your biggest successes (and not-so-good experiences)?

On my part, I'm happy to report that I've finally done something with my fitness/exercise. Yes, after reporting to you that I was failing miserably on this front in January, I had a burst of inspiration and decided to sign up for a fitness class. That's when I first heard of this thing called Zumba. I'll probably write more about it some time. In any case, yes, I've been sweating and stretching away the last few weeks. Yay! At last.

Last month, I also had to re-adjust some of my personal goals and plans. Again, this probably merits a post on its own. But, yeah, I've made decisions to let go of some goals - in order to make way for some new ones that came up. But, that's life, right? We can't keep pushing ourselves towards a direction that may not be working for us at that particular time. No matter how much we may badly wanted to go there when we first created our list of goals. We evolve. Every single day. That's why I've learned to believe that our goals and plans should evolve with us. It's part of our growth!

Other wonderful things from last month: engaging in some "me" moments, moving forward with novel revisions, going camping with the family, doing some volunteer work, my music revival, reading some cool books, even completing my first 100 list, and meeting a few other goals.

I'm even pleased to be able to write up most of the items from my "to blog about list" from last month. The only things I didn't get to are the South Africa trip and The Last Decade (I've actually drafted this already, and may still post it some time!). In fact, I found the practice so useful, especially on days when I wish to blog but I felt stuck and uninspired. So, yeah, I think I'm going to keep doing these check-ins and "to blog about" lists while they work for me.

Now, here are some things that I wish to blog about this month of March (and any time in the future):

• Complete The Big Trip Story - Just need the South African leg of the journey now! (DONE! - 10/3/10)
• Share 52WoC #50 - Yes, we're really, really almost there. I'll be posting this soon, and doing the round-up for 52WoC #49 (DONE! - 5/3/10) (thanks again to all of you who joined in. that was fun!)
• On Evolving Goals - Like I mentioned earlier, I'd like to share more about some of my goals that had to shift.
• Style Studio - I realised that I didn't post one last month! It wasn't on my list, so I forgot about it. Yikes. Hopefully, I'll get to do one this month. (DONE! - 16/3/10)
• The Reading Studio {Feb 2010 Ed} - Yes, just like last month's book reviews! (DONE! - 8/3/10)
• The Movie Studio {Feb 2010 Ed} - Same. Unfortunately, though, this won't be a long one, as I only managed to watch two measly movies last month. Boo. Need to make up for it this month. (DONE! - 29/3/2010)
• The Mini Diana - I've been meaning to share this with you, so hopefully, I'll get to do that this month.
• Zumba - Ah, yes... Me and my foray into fitness! Teeheehee.
• On Travel Writing and Tiger Tales - Something I've been hoping to blog about for a while now. (DONE! - 22/3/10)
• Web Wednesday - Of course, I have to post at least one this month! (DONE! 24/3/10)
• Most Famous Person - Something that has been on my mind, but not sure how to approach this yet. Blogging about it might help. We'll see...
• Filmmaking Update - Or, something about that 60 Days to Something again.

I wonder if I missed anything? Hmmm... I'd like to say that I'd do another video post, but I'm not sure so I won't list that at this stage.

Now, it's your turn to share what you've been up to last month... 🙂