Category: goals

january 2015 goals

Here are my first set of monthly goals for the year! I am choosing one goal for each of six categories that I want to make progress in. As I wrote about in my personal planning post, these do not include big, serious subjects (like health, spirituality, finances, etc.) but are nonessential tweaks I want to make to add happiness to my life. I think they will also help me on my journey to feeling light.

Nagging task: Clean the car

I keep my car fairly uncluttered and don’t leave trash in there, but I’m not the only one who drives it and lugging around two kids just begs for crumbs and random toys to be left in there.

Purchase: Running gear

I have one half marathon this month and one next month. After that I am going to continue running 5k’s and 10k’s. My plan is to run about three times per week: 3-4 miles twice on weekdays, and 6-7 miles on the weekend. Then I want to cross train at least once a week at my work gym.

Basically, I want running to be a regular part of my life and having the right gear will make it a lot easier. I got a pair of Lululemon running pants for Christmas and they are amazing. I have good shoes, socks, and headbands. What I would like to add is a long-sleeved shirt and possibly a hydration belt. (In the future I also want to get a good jacket and tank tops for summer, but I can’t do that all at once.)

Style & Beauty: Make a list of items needed for cold-weather wardrobe

This winter I’ve been wearing what I already own, with no new purchases. I’m not calling it a real “capsule wardrobe” because there are for sure holes in it, but I’ve been making do in order to save money and know what I really need. I want to have a solid list so that I can pick up things when there are sales. (Also, my goal is to only buy ethically-made clothing from here on out, so if you know of any great companies let me know.)

Leisure: Read three books

I would love to read more this year. Currently I’m nearing the end of The Magicians by Lev Grossman. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel is on deck because I have it from the library. I’m listening to Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. Our January book club pick is The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. I’m hoping that at least three of these will get finished this month.

Also, I’m going to participate in Modern Mrs. Darcy’s 2015 reading challenge. It looks like just the kind of fun, low-stress thing I’ll enjoy!

Memory-keeping: Complete Monday in Week in the Life album

This is such a small goal for all the memory-keeping I want to do, but I’m hoping if I can complete Monday in this project I’ll get on a roll and keep going. I’m also hoping to finish up our 2014 Project Life album and keep up to date with 2015, do a first birthday scrapbook for Liam, and begin my One Little Word album.

Blogging: Choose fonts

I have decided some things about blogging: I want it to be a regular part of my life, I want to do it as well as possible for this time of my life, and I want it to remain a hobby. There are some things that I want to update and tweak and nail down, one of those being the graphics for posts. I keep using different fonts because I can’t ever decide what I really like, so I want to choose 3 fonts that I will use regularly and that will make it much easier for me.

I’m having fun with this kinds of goals already! Look for an update on how I did when I introduce February’s goals. Have an awesome week!

January 5, 2015
one little word 2015 : LIGHT

As I’ve mentioned a few times already, this year I am taking part in Ali Edwards’ class One Little Word. I have been following Ali for years so I’ve been familiar with her approach of taking on a word to help guide your intentions for the year, but I never felt compelled to do it myself until now.

A couple of months ago I was going for a run around my neighborhood and listening to a podcast – I am pretty sure it was this one where Jess Lively interviewed Ali. They were talking about the one little word concept and all of a sudden the word LIGHT popped into my head. It felt very clear and I just knew at that moment that in 2015 I would choose a word and it would be light.

Months later, and I don’t feel exactly the same as I did that day but I am still certain of my word. It is extremely multi-faceted; it can be a noun, adjective, verb, or adverb and it has dozens of definitions. Here are the ones that spoke to me most:

>something that makes vision possible

>spiritual illumination

>bright and airy

>cheerful, intended to entertain

>gentle

>capable of moving swiftly or nimbly

>to take fire

>with little baggage

I am entering this project openly, not knowing what to expect. Some of those definitions I want to bring into my life literally. Some are figurative. I don’t have a set plan for my word because I just want it to guide me and be an inspiration, but right now I have a few thoughts:

I want to be a light. I am thinking of this in spiritual terms, mainly. One thing I will be doing to enhance this is to take part in Beth Moore’s scripture memory program. I will be memorizing one verse every two weeks for the next year, and all of the verses I’ve chosen have to do with light in some way. Jesus is the ultimate light, I want more of him in my life, and I want that to be evident to those around me.

I want to feel lighthearted. This is kind of vague, and so not a measurable goal. That’s why this exercise is different for me. But for the last couple of months I’ve struggled with getting bogged down with stuff that really doesn’t matter and I’ve felt grumpy. My attitude lately has been better, but I still want to take action on some things that are weighing me down. For example, my one big goal for the year is to reduce our debt. There are also a bunch of nagging tasks that I want to take care of. Our home isn’t very cluttered, but I definitely want to keep the “stuff” from overwhelming us.

I want to choose light. I want to be gentle in my parenting and my dealings with others. I want to read more entertaining books and watch more funny videos. I want to keep running and get faster. I want to get outside more and see the sun.

As a part of Ali’s class there will be monthly prompts and I’ll be putting together an album that is part scrapbook, part journal. My plan is to share it, along with how I’m interacting with the word LIGHT on a monthly basis. I’ve also ordered a necklace with my word stamped on it, and I can’t wait to wear it every day to keep it visible to me.

I would love to know if you’ve done anything similar to this in the past, and how it affected you. I am excited to see where it leads!

January 1, 2015
personal planning for 2015

As we come to the end of 2014, I want to talk about my goals and intentions for the new year. This kind of fresh start is all mental, of course, but it really works for me.

After having a baby at the beginning of 2014, the rest of the year was focused on finding my footing as a mom of two, making adjustments, and getting healthy again. I did whole30, started running again, and made daily Bible study a priority. I will constantly be working on my spiritual and physical health, as well as the work/family/personal juggle, but I do feel like I have a basic framework in place. In fact, let me go over that:

Spiritual:

>Wake up early every single day (4:30 or 5 a.m. for Bible study, prayer, and personal journaling). This doesn’t always happen if a child is up too early,

>Involvement at church.

>To work on: prayer life, giving, volunteering

Health:

>Eating – paleo is ideal, but “real food” with the least amount of processed ingredients is what I’ve been aiming for.

>Exercising – after my half marathons are complete, I want to continue running shorter races and do other exercise 2x per week.

>To work on: clean up eating (I’ve been indulging in too many Christmas treats, so I’m going to do a week’s reset), take my vitamins, use essential oils, finalize new exercise plan

Time balance:

>When I’m at work I’m all there, but leave early whenever possible.

>Right after work 3x/week I can exercise – run or go to the gym.

>Weeknights – all family time. Cook dinner, eat together (most nights), play. Go to bed early. Don’t plan anything except dinner with grandparents or occasional church activity.

>Weekends – lots of family time too, chores done with kids around, David does grocery shopping. Schedule kid-free time for: long runs (until races complete), date nights (once a month – grandparents babysit), alone time for personal projects (memory keeping, blogging, reading, crafts). I need this every week if possible for at least a couple of hours. Eventually I would also like to be able to stay up an hour or two after the kids go to sleep. :)

>To work on: when I build up PTO, schedule one personal day off per month. Figure out a better way to fit blogging and reading in.

For 2015, I want to improve on some nonessential, personal areas. These are all important to me, but they take a back seat to the previous areas. Here are the areas I’m thinking about:

>Nagging tasks

>Purchases (mostly small) that would increase my happiness or quality of life

>Style & beauty

>Memory keeping

>Blogging

I’m taking a three-fold approach to goals for 2015: one overarching, big intention unrelated to other things (which for me is going to be financial and I probably won’t be blogging much about it), participating in Ali Edwards’ One Little Word class (and this will have challenges along with it – more on my word soon), and going back to monthly goals. The monthly goals are going to be where I address the nonessential areas above, or at least that’s the plan. Hopefully they will also relate to my word.

I’ll be sharing more about all of the above in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime look for updates of the regular kind around here. On Wednesday the kids and I are heading up to visit some good friends for a couple of days for their annual NYE party. Sadly, David has to work so we have to go alone and I’m a little nervous…but I will not be deterred, even by a 5-hour road trip with two kids!

Thanks for sticking with me all this time, and especially now as I figure out my new “blogging normal.” I have lots of ideas for the future, but only time will tell if I can make them happen. :)

December 29, 2014
fall goals update and life lately

Seasonal goals has been perfect for me this year as I adjusted to having two children. I’m going to revamp my system for next year, though, so I won’t be making winter goals. More on my planning for 2015 soon.

>Run a 10k: I did this back in September. Although my running hasn’t progressed the way I wish it had, a 10k isn’t a big deal for me anymore and for that I am proud.

>Finish quilt: done! I have another one planned, but no idea when I’ll actually start it.

>Take the Grocery Savings Made Simple e-course: I did this, and it was really helpful and inspiring. There are still some tasks I need to complete. some systems I want to implement, and some things I want to try making from scratch, but at least I know what to do now.

>Christmas gifts done by the beginning of December: I got a lot of them, but not all. I still have a few left. Overall the holiday stress itself hasn’t been bad this year, it’s just other stuff that’s stressing me out.

>Read a parenting book: I read Raising Your Spirited Child and it was awesome. I had planned to write a whole series of blog posts based on what I learned, but that hasn’t happened yet. I do have extensive notes, but for now I’ll just recommend it highly if you have a child that is more intense than others.

Life lately:

Last week Meredith got sick a day after Liam, so I missed 2 1/2 days of work total. Thankfully they both rebounded in a day and currently everyone is healthy. (THIS IS A HUGE DEAL. I SHOULD BE MORE EXCITED ABOUT IT INSTEAD OF JUST BEING PARANOID.)

I dropped off homemade hot cocoa mix for the daycare teachers (all ten of them) and learned my lesson about sticking to gift cards in the future.

Over the weekend I got the rest of the Christmas shopping done. We have kept it as minimal as possible, but it’s still hard to keep track of everything. Unfortunately, I haven’t managed to wrap anything yet.

I can run a 30-minute 5k pretty easily now, even if I’m having an off day. My running buddy and I are making a point to do the long runs together and are increasing them by a mile each week, and it really helps. We had different schedules this past weekend so I did 8 miles by myself and finished up the Serial podcast. I felt good, but very achy in the joints. If you’re a long-distance runner, I’d appreciate any advice on how to prepare for long runs.

David’s truck overheated twice, and we had to have it repaired twice.

I finished the book Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, loved it, and am reading Crow Lake this week for book club. I’m also almost done with Yes, Please on audio.

Lately I’ve been too tired, and I’ve been overreacting and losing patience and just being a grump with my family, especially with David, who is only trying to help me and be sweet to me. I have a feeling it has to do with a) lack of good sleep and b) my diet, which needs to be cleaned up again. Because really, there’s no need for this. I’m in the middle of choosing my One Little Word for 2015 and I’m taking into consideration how I don’t want to feel as well as what I do want.

Shopping with my dad this weekend buoyed my spirits, as did attending a Christmas show at their church. I love seeing the cards come in the mail (ours will be going out this week) and the holiday decorations everywhere.

I heard that Christmas (the feast of the Incarnation) was established on December 25 because it’s one of the shortest days of the year, in order to give us hope at a dark time. I’m so grateful for that, because my mood is definitely affected by the winter season, yet Christmas remains my favorite holiday. It’s so wondrous, and I don’t know about you but I need that hope more than ever.

December 22, 2014
keeping up with personal projects when you feel overwhelmed

Life has been busy lately! Between all the sicknesses in our household, a spirited toddler, more patients at work, and an overbooked schedule, I haven’t had much time for myself. That’s okay; it’s the season of life I’m in and I know it will come and go.

You probably know by now that I am a very goal-driven and aspirational person. I always have personal projects that I’m working on, both big and small, and even more that I’m dreaming up.

I actually become even more inspired when I am busy with other things. When I’m active physically my mind is active as well. Lately I have so many ideas and dreams and hobbies that it can be easy for me to get overwhelmed with them and lose focus. When I find myself mindlessly playing games on my phone instead of making any progress toward my goals, I know something needs to change.

Here’s what I do:

1. Write everything down.

I’m a huge fan of the Getting Things Done method. I use the Things app to capture any task or idea, placing them in the Inbox. That way I can stop using mental space to hold onto them. Then when I have some time, I can go back and categorize the tasks or create new projects out of them. I do that in the app, or using Evernote if it’s something larger.

2. Figure out what needs attention NOW.

I’m talking about personal projects here. It’s always a given to me that I put my faith, my family, my job, and the household first (that includes housework and meals). Sometimes there isn’t time for anything else, but usually I’ll have small pockets of time here and there even during a busy season. So I like to have a plan for what I want to focus on.

For me, right now, there are three ongoing activities that I want to keep up with: my training runs, blogging, and reading. Probably in that order. The runs are important because I feel better when I exercise and I don’t want to die when running the half marathon in January. Blogging is a constant creative outlet (good for my soul) and a community. Reading is just something I love, and I’m part of two book clubs that I want to keep up with.

Once I figure out that those are the most important things for the moment, I make a plan. Ideally I’d love to run 4 times per week, but my goal is 3 (two short runs on weekdays and a long run on the weekend). On an especially busy week I could make do with 2 (a short and a long). I tell myself that during any downtime I can work on the blog or I can read. It’s okay if my posts aren’t amazing or if I only read a few pages a day. I’m still making progress, and I’m not wasting time.

3. Prioritize the larger projects.

Then there are the larger projects, dreams, and goals. These are what can really trip me up because I want to do all of them right now. But when I gave myself permission to delay working on some of them, a weight was lifted. I decided to focus on one thing at a time for now, and this is what it’s looking like:

>Holiday prep (including purchasing gifts, my annual holiday minibook, and possibly completing the advent calendar)
>Liam’s birthday (planning his party and any memory-keeping to go along with it)
>A quilt for Meredith
>Blog development
>A possible creative business idea

So that’s what’s working for me during this busy season! Now it’s your turn to share your tips. How do you keep up with your personal projects?

November 4, 2014