I’ve already taken longer than expected in making progress on this blog. However, since becoming a mom, I’ve learned to forgive myself for not always being in control of my time and abilities.
I had originally intended to organize and plan my long-term goals in the hopes of increasing the likelihood of achieving them. But again, since becoming a mom, where I was once an optimist I have now turned the corner to realism. The reality is that I am a full-time mom and God-willing, I will be a mom of two in 15 short weeks. Baby turned one on Saturday (a topic I have much to reflect on), and his needs change on a weekly basis. I have no idea what to expect and how I will manage when my blessings are doubled.
Thus, my 15 week challenge was born.
In the 15 weeks leading to my due date, I am challenging myself to accomplish a wide variety of things. I am planning and publishing my goals in order to hold myself accountable. I also intend to be kind and forgiving as needed.
Some of my goals are finite and some are meant to be ongoing. I intend to revisit and refactor my goals as a mother of two.
Below, I’ve listed and categorized my goals. The note at the end acts as an addendum outlining the Ramadan adjustments. I assure you that my future blog posts will not be so mundane. If you do happen to read beyond this point, please keep an eye out for resources and advice that you’d like to share with me.
Health & Fitness
- 10k steps daily
- 15 minute workout daily
- Fresh fruit/vegetables at every meal
- Omission of simple carbs in majority of meals
- Vast majority of meals home-cooked with fresh ingredients
My health and fitness goals are easiest to attain, especially at this time in my life. Although Baby doesn’t allow me much freedom while he is awake, he does find my workouts entertaining. Since I don’t allow screen time*, entertaining him often includes going for walks and chasing him around the apartment; this keeps me active.
When it comes to eating habits, I must admit my love for sugar in its many forms. However, since becoming pregnant and now that Baby also shares three meals with me, nutrition has become increasingly important. The majority of our meals are home-cooked, we always include fruits/vegetables and we make a great effort to omit simple carbs from meals. I don’t believe it is necessary to cut out all sugar and indulgent foods but I believe it is important that the majority of our caloric intake follows certain guidelines. My health goals are thus far (relatively) easily met but I list them here as a reminder to myself.
*No judgment for caretakers that allow screen time! Baby Facetimes with his grandparents and has even seen a movie (We watched Pets 2 over the course of a few months. First trimester plus a 7ish month old was ROUGH)! I prefer to engage him in other ways and recognize that I am privileged to have the luxury/ability to do so.
Religion & Spirituality
- 5 daily prayers
- Quran Study
- Listening to Quran with translation daily as a family
- Weekly progress through the Study Quran
- Arabic Study
- complete Quranic
- complete Arabic Through the Quran
- Islamic Readings
Many of my religious and spiritual goals are already being pursued with varying levels of dedication. I intend to hold myself most accountable to this list relative to the others.
Building My Business
- 4-5 hours/day of dedicated work
I do not have a clear 15-week goal in mind. This is mostly due to the fact that I have been dwelling on the fact that I have not made enough progress as opposed to actually trying to make progress. I intend to update this section with a clear goal in one week’s time.
I feel it is necessary for me to dedicate large chunks of uninterrupted time in order to make significant progress here. This obviously proves to be difficult while taking care of Baby unless I rise before him (~6:45am) or muster enough energy to use my brain after he has gone to sleep for the day (7:30-8pm). I have made a few versions of a daily schedules that I will try out over the course of the coming week. I have confidence that I can work something out.
General Learning
- Current events/politics
- Daily world news and followup research as needed
- Finance
- Daily FT reading
- Researching personal investment strategy
- Introductory pursuit of various fields through online courses:
- Business/Leadership
- Leadership in Turbulent Times
- How to Change the World
- Co-opetition
- Various online courses that interest me
Under general learning I’ve listed a few of the many areas in which I hope to build my knowledge.
Current events/politics are a relatively new interest but one I have been trying to keep up with for a short while and intend to continue into the foreseeable future.
Finance/investing is something I was very interested in during my MBA and was hoping to pursue further in my career. I did join a hedge fund for a short while but left when I realized I needed my career to allow flexibility to raise children and to align with a social cause I cared about. Recently I’ve felt a desire to reeducate myself and make decisions about personal investments. I am still figuring out how to best use my time in this arena. Suggestions are welcome!
The online courses are topics I have always been interested in but perhaps not enough to invest my time. I intend on taking these courses in succession.
Business/leadership studies tie in well with my short-term business goals as well as my long-term goal of having a social business/positive impact on the world.
In order to be practical, I’ve decided to cycle through the latter three areas of focus. Each day I will focus on either finance, online courses or business/leadership studies.
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Writing and planning this post has been simultaneously relaxing and anxiety-inducing. I would be shocked to learn that you’ve reached this point in my post. Since you’ve made it this far, I would love your thoughts and advice on how I can best reach my goals.
I hope the next time you hear from me on this platform, I will be discussing and reflecting upon all the interesting things I’ve been learning.
Ramadan Note
Ramadan is fast approaching and my focus during this time will be more concentrated on religion and spirituality than otherwise. I intend to follow Sunnah sleeping habits as much as possible (this includes waking up at 4am). I hope that the reduction in sleep will be counteracted with my intention to please God in this special month.
During Ramadan I plan to read the complete Quran in Arabic and complete In the Footsteps of the Prophet and Alchemy of Happiness. I also intend to dedicate more time to dhikr and the study of Arabic. For this month I will be borrowing time from my Business and General Learning goals as needed.
Deciding what you want to do when you can do so much (and your time is so limited) and stating your intention (even to yourself) are two of the most difficult steps on the road to discovery. While it isn’t all downhill from here, the path is at least clearly marked.
As you move forward, remember that this won’t just require dedication, but a daily re-dedication of yourself to these goals, to the journey, to discovery. Remember, “the most beloved of deeds to Allah are the most consistent of them, even if they are few.” Every day, take at least one step toward your goal.
These fifteen weeks will challenge you but when they’re over you’ll never regret rising to that challenge.
What a great list! So comprehensive! You are so dedicated and InshAllah Allah will put barakah in all that you do. Writing everything down always helps.
It’s all about intention, and even if you take small steps, at least you are taking them.
Remember to be kind to yourself ♥️
Your goals are inspiring. May God help you achieve them.