Hello folks, I am back! I am officially done with the blogging break (which by the way was extremely relaxing and rejuvenating), so now you can expect to see me here every single week, going back to my regular posting schedule, talking about books & blogging, like I always do. 🙂
Having said that, going forward, I am planning on changing the direction of this blog, just a little bit, so there will be newer, different kind of content for you to look forward to. That is, in addition to whatever I already post, because I am not phasing out anything that I already do/post on here. But more on that in a different post.
Because for now I know I have some catching up to do, since while I was on this break, there were a couple of posts which were due, and are now kinda delayed – my Quarterly Goals posts being among them.
Nonetheless, I am still going to go ahead & publish these posts, because public accountability is the #1 thing that keeps me motivated to work on them, and so I don’t want to slack off here.
Quarterly Goals – The What, Why, and the How!
(If you aren’t new here, skip this introductory section)
If this is the first time you are here, and you have no idea what these Quarterly Goals posts are all about, and why I do them in the first place, you can check out this post.
But here is the gist – every quarter I set between 10-20 goals for myself (spanning several areas of my life), and I review these goals at the end of the quarter. If I manage to accomplish 75% (or more) of these goals, then I declare the quarter a win. If not, I get to come to this very-public platform and announce a fail, which is so not fun. But as it happens, public humiliation works as a strong motivator (for me anyway), so I stick to this format.
Now coming to the particular goals I am reviewing today, if you are interested in reading why I set the goals I set for the past quarter, you can check it out here.
And now without further ado, let’s get started with the update, and see if this quarter was a win or a fail.
Quarterly Goals – Update
This last quarter was kind of interesting. As you know I had a long list of goals, but what happened was that within a month into the quarter, I had to deal with a pretty big project that I had procrastinated for the longest time, but could no longer ignore. And so that dominated my quarter, even though it did not make an appearance in the goals I had explicitly listed out for the quarter.
This is not to say that I did not work on the goals I had listed. In-fact I got through quite a few of them. However since almost 70% of my time was dedicated to this new project, I couldn’t get to every single goal I had listed.
That being said, let’s get on with the failures & successes of the quarter, starting with the former, well because, it’s always great to end on a high note, right?
The Failures!
1. Blog Posting Goals on Shanaya Tales & The Love of Spice – Okay, so these were 2 separate goals, but both of them weren’t accomplished for the same reason. As I have mentioned earlier, this quarter I took on a project to completely revamp my blog, and this included quite a few things from technical fixes to SEO updates. Now this was a relatively urgent project, because there were parts of the site that were breaking down and required immediate attention.
But then for some reason I felt like the past quarter was also the best time to learn Pinterest, which was a whole different beast, and took a lot more time and energy than I had expected or was willing to spend on it at the time.
Which meant that I was putting in crazy hours trying to get it all done, and was only accomplishing in getting myself closer to a total burnout. However good sense prevailed, and I decided to take a break to maintain my sanity.
But that also meant that all kinds of posting came to a complete halt, which is why I failed these two goals.
2. Sort all photos & videos – I would like to say that I couldn’t get this done because of the above mentioned project. Trust me, I would. But you and I would both know that that would be a lie.
Anyway, while this is still not done, I have some good news on this front. I have finally managed to work out a complete inventory of the things that need to be sorted. And I have also made my way through the bulk of the sorting. But since the goal says all, I don’t think I can mark this done until it is all done. So it stays there for now. My standard failure every quarter. Sigh.
The Victories!
Now come the victories…
1. Plan Family Vacation Goal – This is clearly done. If you are following me on social media you know that I planned (and planned) & even executed the plan. Family Vacation – check!
2. Fitness Goals – All 3 fitness goals were a success. Admittedly they were easy goals on the cardio & strength front, but I really needed those low pressure baby steps to get on track. As far as the portion control goal is concerned – I did manage to succeed at it, but only barely, and only because I am feeling like being generous with myself. However I have gotten much better at it now, in the second quarter, so I am not going to nitpick here, and going to go easy on myself for once.
3. Reading Goals – I had 4 reading goals, and I managed to succeed at all of them. Well, there is one that is kinda complicated, so let me address that first. I had a goal to buddy-read Anna Karenina. And while technically we did start the buddy-read, that is about all that we did. Because ever since then we both have been struggling with the book. I haven’t yet given up, but at this moment I am still undecided on whether I should continue or let it go. If you have read the book – please tell me if it gets better. Or even if the struggle is worth it?
That being said, I totally rocked the other 3 reading goals. As you know I am trying to read all of Austen this year, so one of my goals was to read Persuasion in the first quarter, which I did. So check √. My other goal was to read 2 books that have movie adaptations coming out this year, and I actually exceeded this goal by reading 3 books instead of 2 (reviews to come soon). So check again √.
The final reading goal was to get to 8 pending review requests, and while it might seem like a relatively ambitious goal – I am happy to say that I actually accomplished this, and more! In fact I managed to read and review 10 books from my pending review pile, which was amazing, because it made a significant dent in my commitments and really reduced my TBR anxiety (for now).
FINAL SCORE: I got to 8/11 of my goals, which means I got to about 73% of my goals. Now technically since it’s not 75%, this would mean a FAIL, but this time I am choosing to ignore the calculator. Because let’s face it, I don’t want to live in a world where 8/11 is a fail.
Which is why I hereby announce the quarter a SUCCESS ! 😀 *applause*
That’s all from my end, folks. I will be back soon with my goals for the next quarter. In the meanwhile, I would love to hear from you guys. Do you guys set quarterly goals too? Or goals in general? How do you track them? Do share!
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An interesting target to have reached in the first quarter of the year and like this step by step approach of weighing pros and cons, Shanaya.
Thank you so much, Vishal. 🙂
Shanaya Tales recently posted…On Coming Back From a Blogging Break and Vacation Recap #ChattyBlogs May Linky
8/11 is a very good score you know, Shantala.
I track my goals on a day to day basis and some weekly. But not as meticulously as you.
I’m working on Pinterest as well but slowly as I cannot invest more time in it with everything else going around. SOo, I keep telling myself, slow and steady is fine 🙂
All the best for the next quarter, Shantala 🙂
Thank you so much, Naba.
Oh and slow and steady IS fine. Especially when it comes to Pinterest. I tried rushing through it and only ended up burning out, due to which I had to take a break. At the end of the day, had I gone at a more reasonable pace, I am sure I would have been further ahead in understanding and implementing Pinterest.
Which is why, go at the pace you are comfortable. As long as you are consistent, you will get to the finish line soon enough. 🙂
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The (Super Delayed) Goals Post for the 2nd Quarter of 2018
Hahaha! Applause, Shantala. It is indeed a success. Love your Insta posts on your family vacation. I would do anything to visit the HP World and lay my hands on that wand. I regularly check your food blog to see if you’ve changed your mind and has posted something new. I miss your food posts, you know. Get going, girl! 🙂
Also, good luck with your plans on including more content. Cheers!
Shalini recently posted…Pay a Compliment Today #FridayReflections
Aww thank you, Shalini. I never meant to let anyone down. You are an inspiration for me, thank you for always encouraging me to stay on track. I promise I will get my act together soon.
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The (Super Delayed) Goals Post for the 2nd Quarter of 2018
So happy for you! 73% is a clear win. I loved seeing the pictures of your vacation. And that blogging break did you good. Working on the health of the blog is definitely more important than pushing out new content. I am glad that you took care of that first. Pinterest really is another ball game and so much keeps changing like their recent update. I have a reasonable hang of it now so takes me relatively less time but creating pins for my food blog, clicking food pics and converting old posts into recipe format takes a lot of time. I am doing it slow and steady and am seeing the gains in terms of traffic. Have still a pretty long way to go to achieve my goal but am in no hurry. Besides with all the work, I am going a bit easy on myself.
Looking forward to your new posts and catching up. 🙂 Great going on the fitness front. No matter how small the goals, achieving them is huge. Wish you great success on this front.
Thank you so much, Rachna. And yeah, I have started taken things slow on the Pinterest front. Because rushing through it only made me feel overwhelmed and eventually led to a burnout. Now I am taking things at a more realistic pace, and it’s kind of enjoyable. Who would’ve thought? You and Shy continually inspire me to stay on track with Pinterest, so thank you for that. 🙂
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The (Super Delayed) Goals Post for the 2nd Quarter of 2018
You’ll never know how much these goal updates of yours do for my sanity and staying on track indirectly, S! Not to be dramatic but it’d suck without this direction I’m lifting off of you.
8/11 is definitely a pretty big success! Good luck for the next quarter!!
Thank you so much, Priyanka. I am so glad that it helps you on some level. I know not everyone understands my obsessive need for structure and organization.
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The (Super Delayed) Goals Post for the 2nd Quarter of 2018
Way to go, girl! *applause* This is a big success. Did you find you could read on your family vacay? The pics were wonderful and I now want to visit Harry Potter World, with my adult children of course.
lisa thomson recently posted…Word of the Year Check-In
Yay! You should definitely plan a visit. It’s an absolute treat for Potterheads!
As far as reading on vacation, it’s normally not a priority. Reading for me is part of the usual grind, albeit the happy part, so not on the agenda while on vacation. That being said, I did read a fun contemporary romance on this trip, because I had the spare time in the evenings when my hubby and son hit the pool. 🙂
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The (Super Delayed) Goals Post for the 2nd Quarter of 2018
Wow this is such an excellent way to push yourself to complete tasks; as you said public humilation is a great motivator 😉
Congrats on achieving so much Shanaya and I have missed reading you so welcome back! Looking forward to some interesting reviews now!
Thank you so much, Shalini. I am happy to be back as well.
And yeah, public humiliation is one of the best motivators, because there are only so many times you can come on here and say, failed again. So you just simply start acting on those lofty goals you announced. 😀
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The (Super Delayed) Goals Post for the 2nd Quarter of 2018
8/11 is a good score, Shantala! Keep it up, but also remember not to feel bad if you are unable to meet all those goals because, you know, Life often gets in the way!
About Anna Karenina…well, I too began reading the book, in earnest, but before I knew it, I put away the book from sheer frustration! I just COULD NOT proceed with it! And, I am really okay with it. There are books I can’t/ won’t be able to read, and that’s okay. If you do read it, then do tell me the story, in short! 😛
Shilpa Gupte recently posted…5 ways your body changes after 40.
Hai na? It was so frustrating, that book! And I understand classics are generally not the most easy breezy reads, but this was on whole another level. Sigh.
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The (Super Delayed) Goals Post for the 2nd Quarter of 2018
It’s great that you’ve accomplished most of your goals. And I’m glad that you’re blogging break is over . One things I’ve learnt from this post is the importance of writing things down . For years I’ve teli d in my great memory but as age advances and life gets more demanding , it’s hard to keep track of what you’ve done, should be doing and ought to have done.
I think your post has given me the push that I need to get things done . Thanks 🙏
I am so glad it helped you in some way. Written goals make all the difference. You should definitely try it out once.
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The (Super Delayed) Goals Post for the 2nd Quarter of 2018
Great going Shantala.. I love that you succeeded in the most important goals (at least for me),family,health and reading. Yay!
True that, and thank you so much, Lata!
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The (Super Delayed) Goals Post for the 2nd Quarter of 2018
Wow! pretty cool. 8/11 is amazing. I love that you are so organized and planful. I am not like that at all. There are a few things that I do every day and few as and when it happens 😉 So when I read your goals updates, I am so inspired. Well done!
Vacation, health, reading – all good stuff!
Parul Thakur recently posted…Water and the wait
Thank you so much, Parul. I am obsessively organized in that way, but I know that it doesn’t work for everyone. I know some of my best friends are like you, who live for the day, and plan no further. And they manage to excel in their chosen endevours too. Which is to say, we must do whatever floats our boat, because that is definitely the happiest way to success. 🙂
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The (Super Delayed) Goals Post for the 2nd Quarter of 2018