Wow. January truly felt like it lasted for 6 months. So much has changed between January 1st and February 1st, both in the US and in my own life, that it feels like the first month of 2021 lasted for a very long time. But! I am going to take that as a good sign; I would rather the months feel like they are lasting a long time than for them feel like they’re going too quickly.
Overall, January was a solid month for my goals and for life in general. I definitely didn’t accomplish everything I wanted to, but I still feel like it was an overall productive month. Here are some of the highlights of my January accomplishments:
- I read 15 books! I’ll write a post in the next few days about the books I read, but it was a terrific reading month.
- I started knitting a blanket, and actually made some good progress on it! This is one of my Q1-Q2 goals and I know it will take a while to complete, but I am very please with the progress I’ve made.
- My pup and I started doing obedience classes together! He’s doing so well so far (and I am not at all biased…). My ultimate goal is to do therapy with him. The training process for that involves four six-week courses; we are four weeks into our first course, so we still have a ways to go!
- I got a Fitbit! I’ve been debating whether or not I should get a smartwatch for months. I was originally thinking I might get an Apple Watch, but when I realized I mostly just wanted something to track my workouts, view texts, and check the time, I realized a Fitbit smartwatch would work just fine. So far I have been super happy with my purchase!
- I attended a (virtual) conference, the AMA Physicians of the Future Summit, AND I was one of the hosts for a portion of it! I’ve been on the planning committee for several months now, so it was nice to see how smoothly the conference went and how much the attendees seemed to learn from it.
- I finished receiving my COVID vaccine series! I was able to receive the Pfizer vaccine within a week of it being made available back in December, and then I got my second dose a few weeks ago.
- I volunteered to administer COVID vaccines! This is why I was able to get the vaccine so early, and so far it has been a great experience to be able to volunteer to (hopefully) move towards the end of the pandemic.
- I took a practice Step exam (and passed!). My score is still nowhere near where I want it to be when I take the actual exam in a few months, but it’s a relief to know I already have a passing score.
My two main goals were to read two nonfiction books (I wanted to read Becoming by Michelle Obama and The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander) and to practice Spanish for 10 minutes a day. I did read (more than) two nonfiction books, but not the two I really wanted to read, and I did practice my Spanish more than I have in years, but I didn’t quite practice 10 minutes a day. I also wanted to work out a little more than I did. I was able to work out 24 of 31 days (for an average of 49.7 minutes per workout), but my goal is to only take one day a week off, so I should’ve worked out 27 days in January. But I was close on this goal, so I might just count it as a win!
I was also able to get a LOT of studying done for my boards, in addition to spending a lot of time outside, despite it being, well, January in the Midwest. I think my biggest win in January was achieving what felt like a good “work-life balance” in that I was able to pursue a lot of non-school activities, but still got enough school done that I felt very fulfilled all around. Here’s to hoping February is just as good!
A Day In The Life Of Jara 