For the most part, I haven't made New Years resolutions a large priority in the past. No one ever keeps them, so why make them. Oh, I have dreams in my head of how I'd like the year to go and how I'd like to improve myself, but I always struggle with turning dreams into goals into reality. This year I'm going to try to set some goals and strategically work my way through them. Here's how.
For the last several years I have solely used digital tools to keep my daily life running. I use Google Calendar for my schedule, a spreadsheet and Mint to stay on track with my budget, and various apps to track habits, make plans, etc. Now, I will still use those things, but I think an actual planner may help me have something tangible to assist with follow through. The problem is there are approximately 8.2 million planners out there. And as I've said before, I hate making decisions. After much research, I finally decided on the Living Well Planner. I don't think any planner has exactly what I want. For that I'd basically have to make my own like a Bullet Journal. That requires way to much time and creativity for this girl. The thing about the Living Well Planner that I did like was the emphasis on setting goals and then strategically working towards them each month, week and day. I'll do a full review of the planner after I've been able to use it for a few months.
My Goals
I started by choosing my top three goals. These are the things I will work on first. Then I chose one smaller goal in each of the following categories: Personal Growth, Fun & Recreation, Health & Fitness, Home Improvement, Finance, and Connecting. I've listed my goals below. I've taken out some of the specifics in order to not distract from the intent of the goal. The numbers would only be important to our family.
Big Three
- Start a podcast - This is a huge one for me. I started listening to podcasts around eight months ago. I had a few I liked and my list has now grown to about six I listen to consistently on my long commute and a few more I listen to here or there. So, why start one of my own? I've grown so much from listening to these podcasts. I would really like the opportunity to share that experience with others and look at some of the topics that are important to me and those around me. The plan is to do an interview style podcast and I'm hoping to launch it late summer or early fall. This endeavor is kind of scary for me, but I'm really excited about the possibilities! Be on the lookout for more details later and be prepared for me to ask for some help.
- Weekend getaway with Lee - Lee and I used to go away for a few days every six months to reflect on our marriage. We haven't taken a trip like that in three years so I'd really like to take at least one trip sans kids this year. It will require some planning and intentionality on our part, but I know it will pay off in the long run.
- Substantially reduce our minivan loan principle - Without specific numbers here, we're looking to essentially cut our auto debt in half.
Personal Growth
- Read 15 non-fiction books - My goal last year was to read at least one non-fiction and one fiction book each month. I didn't quite reach my goal, but I read a lot more non-fiction than I normally do. I'm taking reading fiction off my goal list this year because it's not really a huge challenge for me. Reading is the way I unwind and since I'm sure I'll get entertaining books in when I can I want to be very intentional about reading books that are a bit more edifying. 15 is more than I read last year, but it still seems quite doable.
Fun & Recreation
- Family trip - I'm still unsure what this will look like. I know what I'd like it to look like (reading some of the above mentioned books on the beach), but with so many goals that involve monetary investments I may have to be happy with something simpler (aka cheaper). Really I just want to have a fun getaway with my family and give the kids some new experiences.
Health & Fitness
- Eat clean 75% of the time and consistently work our 4 days a week - I'm not planning on doing this day one. I hope to build up to this by making smaller, compounding goals each month. I was gung-ho for about half the year last year and did pretty well, but by the end of the year it took a back seat in my priorities. This year I'm hoping that if I gradually work up to my goal it will give me time to really build on those healthy habits. This isn't a weight loss thing for me. I'm honestly pretty happy where I'm at. This is about being a healthier person.
Home Improvement
- Plant a garden - One of the books I'm reading right now is Finish by Jon Acuff. It's about (surprise) finishing goals. One of his points is that we need to choose what to bomb. I'm essentially choosing home improvement this year. I already mentioned in the previous post that this is a weak area for me and I'd rather not add a lot of stress or money commitments. So I've chosen one thing that I think would add the most value (in my eyes) to our home. Right now that's our extreme lack of curb appeal. So my plan is to do some research on what flowers/plants are easy to keep alive, get those things planted, and enlist the help of tiny hands with keeping it going. This is probably my scariest goal, because I don't exactly have a green thumb, but it's something I'd really like to do. After this year I may completely change my mind and fill the flower beds with rocks, but until then I'm going to give it my best!
Finance goals
- Start college funds for the girls - A lot of my goals involve saving/spending money. While I'm really hoping our kids will be geniuses and get full rides to whatever college they want, or they'll choose an occupation that requires special training if not necessarily college, I'd still like to save towards them having a successful future. I'm not aiming for a lot in these funds this year since we have some debt to pay off, but I'd like to at least get them set up.
Connecting
- Monthly daughter dates - Last year I learned about the awesome idea of scheduling parent/child dates on the date they were born each month. So for example, since Callie was born December 2, either Lee or I would take her on a date on/around the 2nd of each month. I'd like to be more intentional about this by actually planning it out and putting it on the calendar.
So there are my 2018 goals! It's a little scary writing them all down, but hopefully it provides me with an extra bit of accountability. You may have noticed while reading (as I did while writing), that many of these goals mention being more intentional in a specific area. Therefore, I'm declaring my word of 2018 to be...INTENTIONAL. I'm hoping to cut out some of the extraneous things and really focus on what adds value. This is not an exhaustive list on what I'd like to work on this year of course. Increasing the quality of my time in the Word and deepening my prayer time are always important. Building new relationships and strengthening current ones are of course essential as well. I'm so thankful for the new year which allows us to reflect on all God has brought us through and look forward to what's to come!
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