Tag: Weekly

Weekly Check-In

On By beinggoodeIn WeeklyLeave a comment

I hope everyone had a nice holiday. I was going to post this yesterday but my Aussie Shepherd Emerson was curled up on my feet and that is my Achilles heel. She’s so soft and fluffy and sweet and my feet get so warm. It’s the best kind of procrastination.

  • Traditional Volunteerism
    • 4 Hours of Crisis Text Line

 

  • Charitable Giving
    • $25 – I decided to participate in The Compassion Collective (which includes a writer I love – Cheryl Strayed) raising over $1 for Syrian Refugees. All with donations of $25 or less. I started with $5 and realized that my company would match if I gave $25 so I gave $20 more. I think this might have messed up my company match having it split up (only by a couple of minutes) so we’ll see. It is a lot of money for me right now but it was worth it to be a part of something really special.

 

  • Personal Kindnesses
    • It’s Christmas time and there have been gifts. Nothing extravagant as my budget for gifts this year was nonexistent but I managed to get something off to my Niece and I got a couple of nice surprises including some free goodies from work. I think when you don’t have piles of gifts it’s easier to notice the kindness behind the gifts, you can really appreciate the giving and receiving.
    • Also I’m close with my brother and growing closer with my Sister-in-Law and the special little moments of her stealing the phone from my brother on Christmas day to talk to me and texting each other about food was a sweet gift.

 

  • Self Care
    • I’m really taking advantage of my extra free time and focusing on making things. Knitting and sewing and baking. All things I very much enjoy.

 

Please share in the comments how you’re doing this week!

Weekly Check-In

On By beinggoodeIn WeeklyLeave a comment

Just a quick recap of the week.

  • Traditional Volunteerism
    • 4 hours on Crisis Text Line
    • 1 hour helping at an adopt a family gift drop off. I directed traffic (with a lightsaber) and helped sort and load things onto trucks.

 

  • Charitable Giving
    • I didn’t give any money away this week.

 

  • Personal Kindnesses
    • I noticed one of my coworkers wasn’t her normal self so I took a moment to check in on her. I did this even though I was having a difficult week at work. Actually we ended up checking in on each other. I think it’s important to notice how people are feeling and say something about it in a way that allows them to share if they want to or keep it to themselves.

 

  • Self Care
    • I know coloring books for adults are the latest fade but I’ve been coloring as an adult for as long as I’ve been an adult. Coloring was my dream job (I wanted to be an Animation Ink & Paint girl. Thanks computers for crushing that dream) and I find it extremely relaxing.

 

Please share in the comments how you’re doing this week!

Weekly Check-In

On By beinggoodeIn WeeklyLeave a comment

It’s getting to that holiday craziness time of year. I hope to have another post up this weekend.

 

  • Traditional Volunteerism
    • I made up for last week with 2 Crisis Text Line shifts this week. That’s 8 hours of crisis counseling which took a ton of energy but is always worth it.

 

  • Charitable Giving
    • I didn’t give any money away this week. I wish I had room in my budget and hopefully 2016 will bring better fortune.

 

  • Personal Kindnesses
    • This week I got multiple compliments from my coworkers on my positive attitude. This was so nice to hear especially when, especially in my current work situation, I feel dejected. It was a nice reminder how taking the time to compliment someone you see everyday can make a difference.

 

  • Self Care
    • I got new running shoes and am getting frighteningly close to my marathon. Running has improved my mental fitness as much as it has my physical fitness.
    • Gummi bears. Crisis Text Line has brought out a sweet tooth I didn’t know I had.

 

Please share in the comments how you’re doing this week!

Weekly Check-In

On By beinggoodeIn WeeklyLeave a comment

I have been having a hard week personally and have focused most if not all my energy on self care.

 

  • Traditional Volunteerism
    • I postponed my Crisis Text Line shift until next week so I could be a present, good counselor.

 

  • Charitable Giving
    • I used the “Charity Miles” app here and there but am starting to get frustrated with it’s poor history and inaccurate tracking. I walk more miles than it counts. http://www.charitymiles.org/
    • Again I put a couple dollars into the Salvation Army bin.

 

  • Personal Kindnesses
    • It was important to me that while I was somewhere that was produced a lot of anxiety and stress for me and most people there, that while I was waiting in the halls I made sure to make eye contact and smiled at as many people as possible. Just saying hi as I passed people really helped me feel grounded and better.

 

  • Self Care
    • Like I said this was my main focus this week. I ate ice cream which always makes me happy. I tried to exercise when I could, did breathing exercises when I needed them, and pet my sweet dog. But above all I reached out to friends and family for support. I took hugs when they were offered and re-read texts of support over and over until I really internalized them. Self care doesn’t have to be done all by yourself. Sometimes self care means asking and taking help when you need it.

 

Please share in the comments how you’re doing this week!

Weekly Check-In

On By beinggoodeIn WeeklyLeave a comment

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving!

 

  • Traditional Volunteerism
    • 4 hour Crisis Text Line Shift which I moved to Thursday afternoon this week

 

  • Charitable Giving
    • I used the “Charity Miles” app. It doesn’t track the history of how much you raised per run but I did it twice this week for The Wounded Warrior Project and The Nature Conservancy. http://www.charitymiles.org/
    • Coming out of the grocery store I put a handful of change into the Salvation Army bucket. It was probably less than a dollar but the bell ringer was very sweet and reminded me the act of giving is what’s important.

 

  • Personal Kindnesses
    • I went to see a movie with my friend and we were chatting on the sidewalk by my car, catching up after the movie. There was a woman with her trunk open just looking at two grocery bags. Eventually she asked us for a favor, she had had a small surgery earlier that day and was having trouble lifting the bags. We carried two bags from her driveway to her front door. It was so easy for us and so helpful for her. I’m really glad she asked and the timing was right that we were there.

 

  • Self Care
    • Two seemingly opposing things I focused on this week were making sure I got in my running, toning, biking, and yoga and making sure I got pie. I went to my favorite local bakery on Thanksgiving and had coffee and pastries while I wrote and bought an entire pumpkin pie for myself. Then I went on my traditional Thanksgiving hike with my dog. It’s about balance right?!

 

Please share in the comments how you’re doing this week!

Weekly Check-In

On By beinggoodeIn Four Facets, WeeklyLeave a comment

I’m starting to feel that holiday chaos.

 

  • Traditional Volunteerism
    • 5 hours Great Los Angeles Personal Statement Weekend with 826LA. This is my second year doing this event and it’s fantastic. We get to sit one-on-one with a student working on their personal statements for college applications. I think the best part is that they get to sit for a long time with an adult and talk about their future. This year I had another superstar student who was just a pleasure to talk to.
    • 4 hour Crisis Text Line Shift

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  • Charitable Giving
    • I used the “Charity Miles” app. Still hard to remember to turn on and slightly inaccurate but I raised $2.30 on two runs I was going to do anyway. http://www.charitymiles.org/

 

  • Personal Kindnesses
    • A coworker of mine was having a difficult family situation. I did whatever I could to make it easy for them and to check on them once they got home to deal with it. Hopefully I made their day even a little easier.

 

  • Self Care
    • This has been hard this week. There were more opportunities to volunteer this past weekend (I could have done the 826 Personal Statement event on Sunday as well plus the SoCal Special Olympics fall games were going on at several locations in Orange County) but I chose to rest and work on being okay with only volunteering a little over 8 hours this week. It’s too easy to feel guilty when it comes to self-care. But it isn’t selfish – it’s necessary!
    • I’m continuing my running training and bought the fabric for my marathon costume. Lots of planning and daydreaming go into running a marathon. Just 50 days to go.

 

Please share in the comments how you’re doing this week!

Weekly Check-in

On By beinggoodeIn WeeklyLeave a comment

My thoughts are with Paris and all of France tonight.

This week was pretty calm. Mostly focused my first marathon in January.

  • Traditional Volunteerism
    • 4 hour Crisis Text Line Shift
  • Charitable Giving
    • For my run on Sunday I finally tried the “Charity Miles” app. You use it as you’re running/walking/biking and they’ll donate to one of a dozen or so charities based on your mileage. It’s a very small amount and while I’ve had the app on my phone for months I usually forget to turn it on since I use a different app to track my runs. I chose charity:water and raised $4.71. The app was off by about half a mile and drained a lot of the battery but I’m going to try and remember to use it more often. Have you tired this app? What are your thoughts? http://www.charitymiles.org/
  • Personal Kindnesses
    • This week the personal kindnesses were more like kind interactions this week. I called Delta to try and use a voucher that wouldn’t work online to buy my tickets for January. I’ve worked in customer service for years and know that honey is the way to catch bees. I asked for a supervisor and kindly asked him if he could help me and without yelling or insulting I was able to get the extra help I needed. Please be kind to customer services workers. There is always somewhere to go from kindness, if you start with anger you have nowhere to go. Do you have a customer service kindness success story?
  • Self Care
    • It may feel like the opposite of care at times but I’m training for my first marathon. I ran 19.2 miles this past weekend as part of my training. I’m sore but good.
    • They say planning for a vacation brings as much joy as going on it. I have planning my trip for my marathon in January and it is bringing me a lot of joy right now. It’s nice to daydream about far off places. What’s your favorite part of planning a vacation?

Please share in the comments how you’re doing this week!

First Week Check-In

On By beinggoodeIn Four Facets, WeeklyLeave a comment

I believe there are four facets to the Being Goode Challenge –

  • Traditional Volunteerism
    • What it sounds like, helping in soup kitchens, tutoring, etc.
  • Charitable Giving
    • Giving or raising money to donate to a charity.
  • Personal Kindnesses
    • Little or big gestures to put smiles on the faces of others.
  • Self Care
    • Kindnesses directed at myself. More important than people realize.

I want to share with you here the progress I’m making in those categories each week. More than likely the charitable giving category is going to be on the lighter side and the others will have off weeks but it’s good to check in and see how I’m doing.

This week I’ve had a head cold, which has been more annoying than anything else. I have a standing shift with Crisis Text Line where I’m a counselor on Wednesday nights and as you saw me tweet I almost called in sick to my shift and happened to see the article about Jimmy Carter who is in his nineties and has cancer still being a hard core humanitarian and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.

  • Traditional Volunteerism
    • 4 hour Crisis Text Line Shift
    • I track my volunteer hours through my company in order to earn a bonus charitable donation at the end of the year. This week I hit the top level at over 150 hours this calendar year. That’s about a half hour of volunteer a day. It feels great to hit this milestone.
  • Personal Kindnesses
    • One of my co-workers went on a job interview and as I struggle to get ahead in my career I made sure to support her. I checked in with her before and after her interview and made sure to keep her in my thoughts.
  • Self Care
    • This week mostly consisted of spending all my free time sleeping and drinking orange juice.
    • But I also started this blog, which is bringing me a great amount of joy after only a week.

Please share in the comments how you’re doing this week!