This little task that I like to complete, does have its origins from my Performance Management days in the corporate world, whereby Monthly Reporting up the line was a key accountability of mine.
At home even though I don’t have to report to anyone, I do like to stop and take the time to have a look what I have achieved over the last month and then take a peek forward and see what is on the horizon for the next month.
Obviously I have never written my review out as formally as this before, as I have just jotted notes in my “to do” notebook. I have to admit to being quite attached to my “to do” notebook. I do love the feeling of crossing a task off the list once it is done. It is so satisfying to look down and see lots of lines through my list of things to do. (I am really outing myself here as a massive nerd I know, but can anyone else relate to this?)
My monthly review does not go into the low level detail, but looks at the key tasks that I was hoping to work my way through and how I fared.
REVIEW – KEY TASKS FOR FEBRUARY:
Settling the children into new kinder/school routines
This went pretty smoothly, however I did misjudge the tiredness factor for Possum from having to do an afternoon session of kinder, then follow it up the next day with a full day session. It was only when a two weeks ago she said to me that she didn’t want to go kinder that I worked out that she was finding it a bit tough.
I sat down with her and talked about why she didn’t want to go and it became clear that it was the length of time at kinder, not just being there that was the issue. The second full day is currently too much for her. When I said that I would come and pick her up before lunch, she brightened immediately and we have been having an early finish at the end of the week since then, with no complaints about going.
At 4, Possum only stopped having her afternoon naps over the summer holidays and I now realise that she needs more time to build up to the second full day. Her kinder teacher is very supportive and will work with me as we build up those hours to a full day next term.
Reorganise the children’s wardrobes, drawers and buy winter clothes.
The re-org of the wardrobes and drawers have been completed, but I still have a few items of clothes that I need to purchase.
List of things to do before summer ends
We are about 75% of the way through this list and with warm weather forecast for the next week or so, we should try or complete most of these activities. I actually have two very close girlfriends coming over tomorrow night for the big relish cook up! On the book front, I have to admit it is more likely to be winter before I finish my book. I sort of new that this would be tough to achieve when I added it to the list. Mental note to self – need to be realistic with goals!
Not being too busy
It was my goal this year not to fall into the trap of being too busy and rushed. If I am to be honest to myself, using the politically correct terminology, in this area I “need improvement”. I have loved getting the blog up and running, but this combined with the hectic work schedule of Mr Infrastructure, I have been too busy.
Part of the problem for me is that I don’t like to miss out on anything! I can plan so much into my day and achieve it but, it may mean that my sleep quota is dramatically reduced. I really do need to work on this in future months.
Front Garden
Weeding, tidying and mulching were all completed by Mr Infrastructure and it looks so neat and tidy now!
PLAN – KEY TASKS FOR MARCH
I like to make sure that the tasks are measurable in some way. Most are concrete; things are bought, done, tidied, rearranged, etc but for those that aren’t quite so concrete, I like to define how I will measure my success (or lack there of!).
Not being too busy.
I need to be in bed by 11.00pm as a norm. There can be exceptions of course for fun and frivolity, but staying up late to cram in too many activities needs to stop. This will be a challenge for me, but is important for me to achieve this for my own health and to ensure that I can then give as much as I would like to the kids.
Complete buying winter clothes for children and mum and dad.
For the children this also means, auditing their school winter uniforms which they will need for Term 2. Dad and mum don’t need much, but I want a heavy winter coat. I saw one in a magazine recently and I am going to hunt around some Op shops to see if I can find one like it. It was very retro so hopefully I might get lucky and come across one.
Easter holiday and camping
I am originally from north west Victoria and still have my parents, sister and her family and much more extended family there. We haven’t been for a visit for nearly 6 months, so I am very excited about heading back there for the Easter Holidays. We are also going to try and fit in a couple of nights camping which should be lots of fun.
Enrollment/Registration for Term 2 after school activities.
In Australia we move from summer to winter sports and the end of this month, so I need to make sure I have all the appropriate paper work completed. Also the Leaping Lizards class that I do with Babagansouksi, I think is a little late in the morning for him. I have need to put him on a waiting list for an earlier class.
Back garden
This one is actually for Mr Infrastructure, but there are times that we all get out there together as a family, and March is really the last month of really good weather to do this. Weeding, tidying and mulching has all started in the back, but it just needs to be completed.
Given that we are a couple of days into March already, we have a holiday week end this week end, then Easter and school holidays all to squeeze into March, I think this month is going to just fly by!
What do you have planned for March?