Hands up, if like me, you’re wondering how it’s April next week?! We’ve had the first quarter of the year and I’m not really sure where it went!
If I’m honest, I’ve probably done more than I thought I would have, but less than I’d planned. (I can be an ambitious planner…)
At the end of the quarter, it’s a great time to assess where you are – do you still want the things, goals, you’re working towards? Are the timeframes still realistic? What’s gone well for you and what would you have done differently?
I set a (now appearing somewhat ambitious) goal of completing my office and lounge by the end of Match. My office is nearly finished – I’ve just bought some amazing fabric I’ll turn into curtains, a few pictures still need to go up and my sofa is still in my lounge. My lounge has much further to go! It’s taking longer to remove the wallpaper than I’d hoped, so I haven’t started on the painting. That said, I think it should be finished by Easter, so a couple of weeks behind schedule, well, I’ll take that.
For my business, it was (and still is!) my plan to launch in April. I haven’t finished my website but my focus was on getting my legal documents – policies, contracts, etc, ready and I’m pretty happy with where they are. I also had a logo designed and overall, I’m in a good place. I have some annual leave coming up, so I’m doing a big mind-dump – what needs doing and then I can prioritise and do.
I signed up to a selfies course, which wasn’t even on the agenda in January, and I’m learning loads and I’ve applied for a trademark, which also wasn’t planned.
I’ve had fun! I painted a highland cow and went to London earlier this month for a concert. I’m planning more fun things this year, including another trip to London in June and Berlin for new year.
Health-wise, I have overdone it a bit and just completed a course of antibiotics (that definitely wasn’t in my plans!). I’m fine, a bit tired, but a reminder that a full-time job, starting a business, decorating a house and trying to have a life is a balancing act that I haven’t quite cracked.
So, overall, I’ve done quite a lot, probably a bit behind in some areas, but I definitely had an ambitious plan.
What would I have done differently? Accepted I’m not superwoman, taken more breaks and probably taken a bit better care of myself.
What about the next quarter? I now need to plan that, but finish my lounge, paint my shed and hopefully paint my Welsh dresser so I can unpack my final boxes. Business wise, finish my website, launch my business and hopefully take on my first client(s). I want to have fun – it’s my birthday in June, so I’m going to watch Surrey play cricket, and I have some painting (not walls!) planned. Finally, make the most of the summer – ensure I’m eating well, drinking plenty of water, getting fresh air and looking after myself – the greatest goal of all!