My March Action Items

March 2022 Tending List

I’m really excited for a new month for so many reasons. January to me always feels like a slow start to the year. After the excitement of Christmas Day and New Year’s things tend to move much slower.

By the end of January I find that I’m more in my groove and finding a rhythm for the year.

That being said March marks the end of the first quarter of the calendar year and April for me is always the refresh and renew month.

So what does that mean for my March goals?

It means I’m adapting them and tweaking them based on my current season of life. February wasn’t filled with lots of progress with the final bits of wedding planning and the wedding itself - more on that in a later post ;) 

Here are my March Tending list items broken down:

Monthly Action Items:

Organise wardrobe + build capsule wardrobe – in February I bought a few new bits and pieces of clothing and accessories so this month I want to organise them all and have them be easy to take out when needed. Creating a capsule wardrobe has been a dream of mine for a while now. I love the idea of having a few pieces that I mix and match into 5 or 6 different outfits. I also want to have fun with the clothes I wear. I’m a firm believer that how you dress has a huge impact on how good you feel. I want to feel great every day! 

TBR List – this is my’ To Be Read’ list which currently has about 35 books left on it from last year plus coaching books I’m reading. I’m super excited to work through this list because there are many AMAZING books coming up. I shall be writing book reviews later in the year so stay tuned for those!

Print recipes and start binder - this is my attempt to cook more and make it easier for everyday life. I find it difficult to find new recipes for everyday cooking so I’m hoping to do research and use my cookbooks to create a collection of 7-10 recipes that I can call on quickly for different mealtimes and get togethers.

Plan a date night – now that I’m officially married, I want to work on building a happy marriage (yes I know it takes a lot more than date nights but I feel this is a fun start!). I will write more about our wedding and engagement soon with some pictures thrown in for fun because why not? Right? 

March Savings Transfer – continuing from January and February I’m building up the savings pot.

The Most Important Thing and £2K for £2K – these are both Coaching short programs that I am taking. These two action items are to do the coursework and check in with the groups regularly. I find it easy to forget the courses in the swing of daily life if they aren’t on a list somewhere. My tending list feels like a good place to keep them as it’s open infront of me daily. 

The Artist’s Way, The Endless Practice – these two books on the TBR list but they have a separate line in this month’s tending list. It’s because I want to really focus on building the more intentional focus and reflection into my daily life. The Artist’s Way is about exploring creativity and bringing more of it to everyday life. The Endless Practice is about doing the deeper inner mind work and having a daily practice of self-awareness. As a coach this is part of my daily work through my life.

Weekly Action Items:

 Declutter session (15 – 20mins) – This is something I want to implement going forwards to help me look after the flat and keep it to a manageable level of tidy. I’m quite OCD on tidiness and I feel that this will help me to stay calm (and also not get stressed at the hubs if things start to get a bit messy).

Meal planning + basic meal prep – again this a routine that I’m focusing on building in an attempt to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It has definitely been a bit of trial and error depending on my energy levels.

Time with Jay – Now I know that putting spending time with him on my tending list might seem odd but I’ve added this because I want to focus on intentional time with him and having quality time together. It’s something that is part of my big picture: creating memories with the people I love. It is the most important aspect of life to me and helps to keep my life in check when things get tough.

Budget check in – this is part of my long term finance routine to always ensure I keep an eye on overall finances and know what is going out and coming in to the nearest penny.

ABA Open Coaching – this is the weekly coaching training that I undertake to ensure my coaching skills are current and evolve with new thought models/theories.

Planning session (10-15 mins) – This is something that I have tried to implement on and off. When I do my weekly planning session I find that I feel much more ready for a new week. More on what my weekly planning session looks like in the later blog posts.

Daily Habits:

All of the below items are daily habits I’m focusing on integrating into my life: 

Daily clean – similar to the weekly declutter sessions I want to make cleaning a regular thing rather than a big thing that I dread because I don’t do the thing often. I feel that a 5 minute cleaning session everyday is better for my mind than a whole day of cleaning every 2 weeks. Or in my case I tend to leave it a few weeks before attempting to do a deep clean. Don’t get me wrong I will still do deep cleans but I want to make the process smoother.

Morning pages – this is one strategy I have adopted from The Artist’s Way that I love. It involves writing up to 3 pages of anything that is in your mind in an attempt to clear the mind onto the page. I love how my mind feels straight after and I’d like to have a go at it for a whole month and note down the results after.

Exercise – I am finally back to full health after struggling with a chest infection at the start of the year so I’m easing back into my Pilates and strength training schedule from Blogilates and I am super EXCITED to start working out again!! I’m looking forward to building more muscle and regaining some of my core strength that I’ve lost over the years. These things happen but now rather than punish myself I’m looking at how I can become the healthy version of myself that I want to maintain long-term.

Money Mindset – this is about looking at my spending habits and focusing on spending on things that are an investment in the future. I prefer to use this terminology rather than zero spend which to me sounds negative ( I used to refer to zero spending as my goal but nowadays I find that money mindset actually houses all of the values I want my life to reflect. Money isn’t just about zero spending; it’s also about saving, budgeting and income)

Wordle – yes, I have the daily puzzle as an action item on my tending list. It’s a bit of fun and I absolutely love the concept of the game. I love that me and my siblings share our attempts with each other on WhatsApp and it brings so much joy to my days. I’m looking forward to lots more wordle puzzles! Do you play wordle? If yes how do you find it and what time of day do you play the puzzle?

PM Skincare – After the wedding the one thing I noticed was that my skin was improving as a result of having a regular evening skin routine. This is something I want to look at stepping up gradually as I get towards late 30’s and beyond. For now I’m experimenting with Origin’s eye creams along with Murad and Elemis skincare ranges. We shall see what my skin looks and feels like in the summer!

And there you have my whole March Tending list in detail. It was a fairly long post so thank you for making it to this part!

Goal setting for me is not about the end destination but the process of building the identity that I want to live with for the rest of my life. There is a quote that I heard in a recent business training so I will end this blog post with that:

“The process of getting there is the experience of being there.”

If you don’t enjoy the process of getting to a goal the chances are the end goal won’t make you happy either. If this concept is new to you come and chat to me. Coaching can help you be the best version of yourself, enjoy the process of change and really build a life you love!