The Kat Files

Today is the first day of my much-needed winter break. What a perfect day to reflect on my 21 for 2021 list! I chose FOCUS as my word for 2021, and for most of the year, I did a pretty good job. I completed nine items on my list and sort of completed two others.

• Manage time. YES (accomplished this item by periodically tracking my time and then scheduling my time weekly)
• Maintain a regular fitness regimen. YES (accomplished this item by walking at least 20 minutes daily)
• Create weekly meal plans. SORT OF (only during the nine-week Fast Burn Challenge; beneficial)
• Eat more vegetables. YES (proud of this accomplishment; tried new recipes; will continue)
• Try intermittent fasting for one month (Clean & Lean). YES (accomplished with Fast Burn; same author; continued intermittent fasting since the Fast Burn Challenge; beneficial)
• Declutter and organize each room in my house. NO (too ambitious; need to be more concrete)
• Write a will. NO (procrastinating and don’t have any clue why)
• Try one NO spend month. (accomplished this – Frugal February; beneficial; will do this again in 2022)
• Revisit A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle. NO
• Complete The Four Tendencies course (Gretchen Rubin). NO
• Read Atomic Habits by James Clear. YES (accomplished this item; beneficial; recommend to anyone who wants to develop good habits)
• Read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. NO
• Create a vision board. NO (procrastinating)
• Take a WordPress Blogging course. YES (still working on this course; like the P2 community; made a friend across the pond, fellow blogger Rita; beneficial; renewed for 2022)
• Take a WordPress Podcasting course. NO (did not make the time; renewed for 2022)
• Purchase podcasting equipment. NO
• Complete Write a Bestseller course (Jeff Goins). NO
• Try 12 new restaurants (one per month). YES (not one per month, none in February, September, or December; 18 new restaurants for the entire year; 4-Colorado and 4-Utah)
• Take Becky Higgins Classroom: Photo Tips + Work Flow. NO (disappointed that I did not accomplish this item; will attempt in 2022, especially since I will be doing another Instagram project)
• Scrapbook at least two times per month. SORT OF (January, February, March, June; needs to be a priority for 2022)
• Learn how to use my Cricut Maker. YES (thanks to Shelly; took online workshop; beneficial)

Additionally, I participated in two reading challenges which I am still participating in until the end of December. I joined Gretchen Rubin, her sister Liz, and the rest of the Happier community in the #Read21in21 challenge where I read daily for 21 minutes. I read only nonfiction books for this challenge. I joined the Goodreads Challenge again and set my goal to read 50 books in 2021. The nonfiction books read for #Read21in21 will be included in that total number of books. In addition, I kept a TA-DA list for 2021. I will be sharing more information on all three of these activities in the coming days.

Overall, I think I did pretty well with my 21 for 2021. I knew when I made my list last December that it was a bit ambitious, especially with all the courses. However, once COVID restrictions relaxed with vaccination numbers increasing, I was not much of a homebody like I was in 2020. In addition, the impact of Hurricane Ida on my home and in my community affected some of my plans. I am still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. Nevertheless, I remain hopeful that our home will be back in order soon (praying for January), and Andrew will be back in his bedroom before the start of the spring semester at SLU. We FINALLY got a new roof last Friday, and sheetrock installation in Andrew’s room happened on Saturday.

I am currently working on my 22 for 2022 list and will reveal it and my new word for the year in January 2022. In the meantime, dear reader, for the rest of today, I will read, go for a walk, watch television, basically enjoy the first day of my winter break. Happiness!

“Aim at the sun, and you may not reach it, but your arrow may fly far higher than if aimed at an object on a level with yourself.” ~ J. Howes