A few months ago I posted my personal goals for the Fall 2014 semester. Now that the semester is officially over, it's time to take a look back and see how I did!
1. Set a daily deadline for self-care | I think I did relatively well in this department. I almost always made sure I was at least in bed by midnight during the week, and although that didn't leave a whole lot of time for hobbies (when you're getting home at 10:30pm you basically just eat dinner and go to sleep), it prevented me from getting sick and feeling too burnt out. If anything, getting to bed early was definitely my one form of self-care that I consistently practiced throughout the semester.
2. Exercise at least 3x per week | Though I didn't consistently exercise three times a week, I did try to at least get out on the road and run twice a week. There was rarely a week that I didn't get at least two runs in, which I'm pretty happy about. It didn't really matter to me how far I went, as long I was getting out and burning some energy!
3. Stick to my blogging schedule | Toward the end of the semester this got a little more difficult to achieve, and I would often postpone a scheduled blog post by a day or two. However, I think the longest I went without posting at least something was about a week, and I feel like I really made an effort to make time for this hobby. It's nice to consistently chronicle what I'm going through and experiencing, and making sure I'm giving myself the chance to indulge in something I enjoy.
4. Read for pleasure at least once a day | This was a big giant FAIL. The first two weeks of the semester I would say I stuck to this goal, but after that I just became so fried and all I wanted to do when I got home was shut my brain off by watching reruns of my favorite shows on Netflix. This has consistently been a struggle for me throughout my time in grad school, and I'm predicting it's going to stay that way until I graduate, unfortunately.
5. Keep my GPA up | You can put a big check mark next to this goal! I received an A in Career Counseling, an A in Advanced Applied Counseling, and an A- in Foundations of Higher Education, keeping my 3.9 GPA right where it is. I was very nervous that this would be the semester that it dropped because of how much I had going on, but I managed to pull off some awesome grades despite it all. I'm very proud of myself!
6. Don't wish time away | Not going to lie, towards the end of the semester I could NOT wait to have a break. I was in desperate need for a chance to recharge. However, I thoroughly enjoyed all of the projects I was working on this semester at my 3 institutions, which made it a lot easier to stay in the moment and enjoy what I was doing. It's sad to think that I only have a semester left at Bridgewater and Clark (and possibly Dean, depending on how everything works out in the #SAsearch), so I'm definitely going to cherish what little time I have left as an #SAgrad!
7. Smile through the stress | As crazy as this semester was, it was an absolute blast. I think I smiled and laughed way more than I was stressed out, which only reaffirms my choice to get into Student Affairs. The staff and students at all 3 institutions are so fun to work with and make all the times I'm running around like a crazy person SO worth it!
I'm really proud of how well I stuck to the majority of these goals this semester. I can't believe only 16 more weeks stand between me and my Master's degree... it puts a knot in my stomach to even think of it! I'll definitely be setting goals for the Spring 2015 semester, so stay tuned for those in just a few weeks!
How did you do on your goals for the fall?
