Can you believe we’re half way through 2021 already? Considering all the days and weeks have been the same as the pandemic has dragged on, I can’t believe how fast time has been flying. With six months of 2021 in the books, it’s time for a mid-year goals report card.

At the beginning of the year, I set several goals for my blog. I also set goals related to green living, physical and mental health, and lifelong learning.

Here’s an update on the first half of the year.

Mid-year goals report card – Blogging goals

Overall, things have been going well on the blogging front.

• Publish three blog posts a week. From January to June, I published 82 blog posts. That’s an average of 3.2 posts a week.  A+

• Establish a more consistent look for my blog posts, Pins and Instagram posts. In January, I made a new logo and colour palette for my blog. I also created new Canva templates for my banner images, Instagram posts, and Pinterest pins. I’m sure there’s more I could do but I’m happy with the progress I’ve made.  DONE

• Six blogging collaborations. Check! Six months into the year, I’ve already done 7 guest posts. And, I kicked off a new Clutter Tales collaboration series.  A+

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Mid-year goals report card – Other goals

In addition to my blogging goals, I also set goals related to sustainability, health and lifelong learning.

Green living and sustainability

• Do a Buy Nothing Challenge for Lent this year. This one is done. I recapped the experience in What I learned from the Buy Nothing Challenge. DONE    
• Buy no new clothing. In the first six months of the year, I bought one pair of workout shorts. A+
• Complete the 52-week Decluttering Challenge. This challenge is going really well and it has been a lot of fun so far. I’ve decluttered every week – 716 items in total! A+

Physical and mental health

• Work out 180 minutes each week. Continuing to work from home full-time has made this one pretty easy. I have a good routine going, fitting in a workout every day before starting work. There were a couple of weeks where I didn’t hit the 180 minute goal, but my overall weekly average is 213 minutes. A+
• Cut down on sugar. I knew this one would be tough and I was right. Instead of cutting out sweets altogether, I decided to not eat any candy during the workday and limit myself to one sweet treat a day. My weekly average is 4.4 days out of 7. I need to do better! C
• Set aside 15 minutes a day for mindfulness, prayer and reflection. Another difficult one! I tried mindfulness but I came to the conclusion that it’s just not for me. A few weeks ago, I decided to try a different approach. I started a prayer journal and made a playlist of some of my favourite Christian music to listen to. That has helped. My weekly average is 4.6 days out of 7. I’m going to try to improve on that in the second half of the year.  C

Lifelong learning

• Complete three more courses towards the Plain Language Certificate at Simon Fraser University. I’m on track with this one. I completed one course in February, and I’m just wrapping up my second. I have another one lined up for the fall. ON TRACK
• ISCEBS Fellowship exam. I passed the annual continuing education exam in early May. DONE

There’s still time to get on track

At the mid-way point in the year, things are mostly on track, but there’s definitely room for improvement in some areas. I’ll keep at it. If you have tips on how I can get on track, I’d love to hear them.

How are you doing with your 2021 goals? Tell us about them below.