As you know, I am participating in 101 in 1001.  It is a project where you set 101 goals to complete in 1001 days.  Lots of goals, but lots of time to complete them in.  If you want to read more about it, check out the “rules” at DayZero or in my original post.  You can always see my progress at my 101 in 1001 page.

Since my last update in February, I have been able to cross a lot off my list.  I have traveled around the globe and moved cross-country.  I have read 15 books, graduated law school, passed the bar and spent time with my family. I have tried new foods, taken lots of pictures and exercised more. A lot has been accomplished in the months of March - October.  I have only had to quit one item - monthly hikes with the Husband.  When he is at home, he does not always want to spend time hiking. Sometimes he just wants to be lazy.  So I can’t count that completed, but don’t feel bad at all for the lack of completion.

I really enjoy having goals to work towards.  I need lists like this and appreciate the structure and guidance they provide.  I like the flexibility that comes in long term time frames.  And I feel accomplished when I can check things off.  Even more when it is all completed.

There are about 580 days left in my 101 in 1001.  That puts me almost half way through but only 38/101 goals completed, plus 19 “in progress” and one incomplete.  Time to kick it into gear and finish up some goals!

Last month I achieved 3/4 goals that I had set for myself. The obvious lesson here is that if I set goals, I am more likely to achieve a happier, healthier life than if I don’t set goals. Now it is important that those goals are realistically obtainable. I want to be pushed, taken outside my comfort zone, but not so far that my chance at success is minimal. With that in mind, here are my goals for April 2008:

1. Try The Great Walking Experiment: Steph over at Back in Skinny Jeans just posted her conclusion of The Great Walking Experiment of March 2008. Steph is hilarious in her reviews of her walks and also has an interesting summation of the project as a whole (she stopped after Day 13, but left knowing a bit more about herself and her exercise preferences). I want to try what Steph tried: walk 30 minutes per day for 30 days, with 4/7 days being outside of the gym. I will still go to the gym and do some cardio and strength training. I’ll start today, which means my last walking day will actually fall on May 1. I make no promises of posting about all of my weekday walks as she did, but will try to post a few. Thanks to Steph for the idea!
2. Find and Make a Healthy and Nutritious Dessert: You may have already seen my post on Quadruple Chocolate Cookies. Those were some very, very tasty cookies. But those cookies were also high in fat and really contributed nothing nutritious to my diet. I would like to find a really tasty but also a nutritious dessert. This will probably involve fruits and would still include some sugar, but I want ti to be better for me than those really delicious cookies.
3. Meditate, Meditate, Meditate: Meditation is something that I have always wanted to do more of. I enjoy having that quiet time during my day where my mind is focused and cleared of the baggage and stress that accumulates. This month, I want to meditate for just 5 minutes a day everyday. Daily meditation will help me to become a more centered, grounded, and happier person.
4. Wake-up at 6:30 am Every Morning: This is a tough on for me. I am not a morning person, not even a little bit. My brain kicks in in the afternoon and runs me into the evening. But I know that I need to start getting up earlier so I am not so rushed getting ready in the morning. Sometimes I wake up late enough that I end up having a LunaBar or Peanut Butter and Crackers for breakfast. Now that is not a balanced breakfast! So I need to make it a habit of waking up early enough every morning to relieve the frustration of running around like a mad woman on some of these busy mornings.

There you have it: my goals for the month of April.  Every one of these goals will help me to live a happier, healthier life.

This has been a very busy month.  I went apartment hunting in Tennessee, competed in a Mediation competition in Chicago, had two sets of out-of-town guests and the Husband left for the Netherlands.  Now that I have set up the background I can tell you that I fell off the wagon.  I started off staying on track with my eating and exercising.  However, the last week and a half sent me into a downhill spiral of not working out and eat foods that are not the best for me.

April is a new month, which means I can start fresh!  I do want to let you know how I did with my March goals:

1. Read a Motivational Book: Consider that done!  I finished A Complaint Free World which is a great book (and corresponding wrist band) that helps you live a complaint-free life.  Love the idea, got the band, and we will see how long I can go without complaining.
2. Reach March Goal Weight:  I know I have not done this one.  I was down to 155 by the end of Spring Break.  But then Chicago came (with Garret’s Popcorn) and the house guests (lot’s of eating out) so I am sure I did not drop the last 2.  I probably actually gained a bit.  I won’t know until tomorrow when I weigh in again.
3. Exercise Outside:  This was definitly accomplished.  I have been out hiking twice this past month and took one of my workouts outside.
4. Move Faster:  I have previously posted that I can now jog 3.5 miles non-stop.  My best time right now is 44 minutes.

So 3 out of 4 is not bad.  I am proud that I was able to accomplish so much.  By the end of the week, I will be posting my April goals, so stay tuned!

I just wanted to share the wonderful news that, not only have I been able to jog for 4 minutes at a time, but I jogged for a full 40 minutes!

Amazing, huh?

The key was to just slow down.  I don’t have to go at a break-neck pace.  I just need to get my body use to the jogging and running movement.  So I cut my speed down and jogged the whole way.  I ended up doing my 3.5 miles one minute faster than my previous personal best.  Time to start thinking about new goals for April.

This month, I am going to try and set some more specific goals. Besides the ones I have previously listed for my “always-there” goals, I also want to add my March Goals:

1. Read one motivational book. It seems I have been focusing more on the healthy part of my life than the happy part. This will be a start on taking care of both sides.
2. Reach March Goal Weight. My March Goal Weight is 153. That is a 5 pound weight loss for the month of March; a bit more than 1 pound per week.
3. Exercise outside. I do not like to exercise in the great outdoors. Especially since my outdoors is a pretty seedy neighborhood. I would like to get to a park this month. If nothing else, out into the 40 degree weather I will be experiencing when I head to Tennessee next week for Spring Break/Apartment Hunting.
4. Move Faster. I am right now only able to jog about 3 minutes at a time before having to walk again. I would like to increase that to between 4 & 5 by the end of the month.

Do you have any goals this month?