Our goal for this community i to create a safe place for PowerSheets users to share their intentional goal-setting journeys. We’re excited to share a May PowerSheets progress update from our contributor, Bailey Robert. If you haven’t yet, be sure to read Bailey’s introduction here and first contributor post here. Thank you, Bailey! – Laura
May was a big month in my world, and it flipped my schedule and rhythm topsy turvy. I graduated from graduate school with a MA in Theatre (insert praise hands emoji here!) and I moved back to Texas. Well, partially. I’m staying with my parents while I hunt for teaching jobs and save up for the summer, then once I know where I’m going we’ll pack my apartment and truck it to the right place. I have to admit daydreaming about a new apartment has been all sorts of distracting, but there would be no new apartment if I didn’t get things in gear with my goals. So back to the basics we go!
I find that I thrive in routine, and it should come as no surprise that my PowerSheets help lead the way. But this month my routine has been thrown out the window with the move and the lack of a class schedule, and some things have not gone as planned. Even so, I returned to my Tending List and the Cultivate Gratitude pages for May, chanting progress not perfection over and over and over again.
The Cultivate Gratitude section keeps things in perspective, and I’m immensely grateful for that on its own! Filling in the little flowerbeds of thankfulness reminds me of small victories and memories made that may or may not have been included on my Tending List.
My favorites this month include:
- Seeing a new play in Dallas with a friend from college.
- Graduating from graduate school!
- Celebrating my little sister’s college graduation/engagement.
- Completing 30 days of my 100 Illustrated Days challenge (so far).
- Reading good books, new and old. (A Severe Mercy + The Selection)
- Visiting friends in Austin.
A couple of these were on my goals list for the month, but many of them happened by surprise. These are also great reminders of what fires me up, and they give me ideas for what to add to my Tending List next month. I mentioned that my little sister got engaged, so you know Maid of Honor duties will have their share of the page.
Another thing I’ve learned in three years of using the PowerSheets is that it’s important to include major milestones and upcoming events in the Monthly Goals section of my tending list. They are (almost always) guaranteed to be checked off, and they remind me what I’m looking forward to most!
Number one this month? Graduate from graduate school! That one received a big ol’ check mark and I don’t know how many more times I can/will mention it in this post. Number two? Move back to Texas. These were major game changers in my schedule and season, and thanks to them several of my goals had to be adjusted or set aside.
Some of my usual goals found their place in the Monthly or Weekly spaces, and some found success while others floundered:
- Read 5+ books. I’ve read 10!
- Continue The Contentment Challenge. Ehhhh… this month has been rough.
- Write for Illustrated Faith + PowerSheets blog. You’re reading the answer to this goal!
- Complete my teaching certification. Progress? Yes! Completion? Not yet.
Again, it’s about progress not perfection here. It’s also about being real with yourself about what your month will hold or has held as you assess your progress. I knew the move and the end of school would throw a monkey wrench into my routine, which means I knew early on that this month would get a lot of grace to cover the goals left unchecked.
No matter what your May held, and whether or not you have one box left unchecked or twenty, remember to give yourself grace and cultivate gratitude. Fill in your gratitude page and celebrate what DID happen this month and which people left their mark. This month I was all kind of grateful for blogging friends who encouraged me during the transition and surprised me with sweet notes in the mail to celebrate graduation.
As we look forward to the summer months, I repeat: PROGRESS NOT PERFECTION. Set goals and make what matters happen, but sometimes what matters is setting the to-do list aside and being with your people. Give yourself grace when that happens. The goals will still be there when you get back.
This is His Year: our first-of-its-kind workbook to let your faith inform the goals you set for the New Year.
Set, plan, and track progress toward the goals that matter most, big or small, the things you’ve always wanted to do—with PowerSheets!