Monthy Check-in | January

In order to keep my goals list at the forefront of my mind, I’ll be doing a monthly check-in on goals and accomplishments. Let’s do a review of January, the longest and shortest month ever, shall we? Some of these accomplishments you’ll find in my initial 2026 goals list; some are tangibly related or newly added. We’ll see how this goes. 

PERSONAL

• Read 2 books a month.
  Complete! I finished Sarah’s book “Best Laid Plans” and “Invisible Women” in January. 

• Use facemasks weekly when I do my Sunday meditation.
  I did this three times in January, so I call this a win.
• Prioritize sleep and rest.
  I did not hit my sleep goal of 7.5 hours; the average was 6 hours, 45 minutes. I slept in a few times and took a few naps, but I have to work on getting to bed on time. I’ve been staying up too late for a 5 am alarm. My sleep score on average was still “high” (probably because when I sleep, I sleep. I don’t wake up a lot at night *knock on wood*). I have yet to achieve a “very high” score; my highest sleep score was 94 a few times.
  A high sleep score (19) means I might not have slept perfectly, but I got the sleep I needed to feel restored. With an OK score (8), I probably didn’t get all the sleep my body and mind needed, and I should do better. A low score (2) means I really screwed up, ha. So, I did well overall, but there is room for improvement.

• Regularly walk with a friend (virtually or in person).
  I walked (virtually) with a friend during my lunch break twice a week in January.
• Find a running group, book club, or knitting group locally.
  No progress made.

HEALTH/WELLNESS

• Complete (another) 365 Peloton Streak.
  I am keeping my streak going and have earned a “blue dot” for 1864 consecutive days.
• Half Marathon Training
  So far it’s going well. I am 4 weeks through the 10-week training, and I’ve been able to execute all my training runs. I run three times a week at the neighborhood gym on the treadmill before work and a long run outdoors on the weekends. I am really glad I have access to a treadmill. I don’t know how I would be doing this training if I couldn’t run before work and since I don’t run in the dark (out of principle), this is the only option for me to get the runs in during the week. I could theoretically take my workout clothes to work and run during an extended lunch break (I guess), but I don’t know how feasible that really would be.
• Power Zone Training
  I am doing the “time crunch” option (30, 30, and 45 minutes per week) of the Power Zone Challenge, and so far, I feel like it’s a great cross-training option for non-running days.
• Hit a weekly (not daily) average step count. 
  I said I was aiming for an average of 8000 steps/day, and I averaged 9000+. I am good with that. I hit 10+k steps easily on my run days, not so much on my cycling (and rest) days. I am still doing something for my body on these days, though.

• Keep up my yoga streak.
  I did at least 10 minutes of yoga every day in January, as per by my “The Streak” tracker (see my Weekly Run Down post).

RELATIONSHIPS

• Date nights with Jon once a month.
  Jon and I went to a comedy show at the beginning of the month. I got him tickets for Trae Crowder for his birthday (in October), and it was a great night.  

• Go skiing with my family in March/April.
  I booked my flight. Let the countdown begin.
• Plan an anniversary trip.
  Nope, haven’t made any plans yet, or even thought about it.
• Visit Boston and meet up with my friend from Sydney.
  I’ve been in touch with my friend Cathy, and she shared details about dates and accommodations. I am really hoping I can make this trip happen.
• Reach out to friends more.
  I had a FaceTime Call with Tanja and a phone call with my friend Kim in Germany. As I mentioned, due to a 9-hour time difference, I usually can only talk to people in the mornings (evenings for them), so it usually has to happen on the weekends, and sometimes I spend a lot of time on the phone/video calls over the weekend, but the “face time” (pun intended) is worth it.
  I did not send any snail mail in January (except for a birthday card).
• Continue monthly Teams Calls with Ingrid (who will be 95 in March). 
  Yes, we checked in last month via Teams (I am still amazed that she knows how to use VideoCall) and had a nice, long catch-up conversation. I was happy to hear she’s doing well. It’s funny. Sometimes we talk nonstop for over two hours and then all of a sudden, Ingrid will exclaim, “Sandra, do you know what time it is?!” (as if it’s my fault alone that we’ve been chatting away for so long). You must know, we rarely run out of things to talk about and she often tells me story from her long and interesting life, and she’s just as much at fault for the lengthy conversations as I am. I am truly so grateful that I get to have these conversations with her.

HOME

• Estate Planning
  Nope. It was on my list. I actually googled local estate planners and then didn’t make any contact. Hmpf. It’s hard to pick just any random person from a list, but I think I have to just start calling people. I don’t know anyone who can recommend someone locally.
• Declutter/organize garage
  No progress made. I think this will be a goal for the spring.

WORK

• Keep advocating for myself.
  I mentioned that I switched research groups in January, and I have a good first impression of my new supervisor. She seems to be engaged and focused on supervising and mentoring (which not all of my previous supervisors were). I am working on establishing a good rapport with her and making sure she’ll provide the support that I need.
  I am still keeping up with my mentor (from the mentorship program that I participated in last year), and it’s great to also have this “outside” connection to run things by.
• Establish some new work-friend relationships.
  I am making an effort to approach and socialize with the people who are still in my office (there’s only 6 people left in our suite). I have not yet met many people who are part of my new research group, but I am hoping that we’ll have a group meeting soon where we can all introduce ourselves.

BONUS ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• I tried two new (sourdough) bread recipes, both rye-spelt mixes but one has yogurt. It’s an interesting combination that turned out great.
• I participated in the Capstone PeloFondo, a weekend (indoor) cycling event, with my Streakers Team. I also completed the Peloton Pump Up The Volume 1 (PUTV1) Strength Program, which was a 4-week program with three 20-minute strength sessions per week.
• I am actively trying to boycott Target, which is hard for me. I happily quit my Amazon Prime Membership last year (and have not been missing it), but quitting Target is another story. I like Target, there are certain things that I buy at Target that I don’t know where to get anywhere else, but Target has not been acting politically correct lately, so I am using the “power of the purse” and intend to spend my money elsewhere. So, I went to WinCo. Foods a couple of weeks ago. It’s obviously not the same as Target. WinCo. Foods is a supermarket, more than a retail store, but I can get a lot of things there that I’d usually get at Target. It’s a little bit off my beaten pass, but I think I can make it work for the time being (or until Target comes to its senses and changes course).
• I took our car through the car wash three (!) times. We have a monthly membership that Jon insisted on because we have a new car and we’d like to keep it in pristine condition. The membership pays for itself if we use it at least twice a month, so I am making it a habit to drive through the car wash whenever I pass by (on the weekends). It really takes just 10 minutes.
• I took my ankle boots to a shoe repair place to get the heel caps replaced.
• I fixed my coffeemaker when it threw an error code one random morning. I think it just needed a good cleaning and descaling.

How did your January go?

*photo credit: @sixteenmilesout via Unsplash