Third Quarter Goals Revisited

I set some goals at the beginning of this academic quarter in January. Here’s how it all went down:

• Stay on top of my reading assignments: While I probably have around 50+ pages of assigned reading a week, I try my best to at least read the abstracts and understand the figures. It’s simply not realistic to read them thoroughly every week.
• Save 75% of my work paychecks for my move: I have done well to do this, sometimes saving 80% into my savings from later paychecks.
• Get academic help as soon as it’s needed: My courses have been pretty straightforward so far, but I’ll keep this in mind as we get closer to finals.
• Use social media less: Some mornings when I don’t have class until the afternoon, I will be lying in bed on my phone for God knows how long, so I’m going to start setting a timer to make sure I don’t get sucked into it on those types of days.
• Don’t nap as often: Aside from this last week with my depression flaring up, I’ve done well to stay productive.
• Stay on top of this blog with three posts a month: I feel like I’ve stayed on top of this blog well, but not as much as I’d like to.
• Read for half an hour everyday: The book I’ve been reading is a bit dry at the moment, but I’ll try to get into the habit again.
• Listen to new music (two albums a week): I’d say I listen to about one new album a week or three albums every two weeks.
• Get into a workout routine that includes running, stretching and weights: I do cardio about four times a week on weeks I don’t work, but other than that, I haven’t been stretching or doing weights as often.
• Volunteer once a month: Academics and paying work has taken priority over volunteering, especially when I have worked every weekend (often all day) these last few months.
• Apply for graduate school programs in the United Kingdom (one a week): I have applied to three universities already and am wrapping up two more this week. I didn’t apply to as much as I originally thought because I would like to be based in Brighton, so any university further than London is not very practical for commuting.