The beginning of the year marks the time when so many of us look behind and ahead. I so enjoy the process of self evaluation and prayer that pushes me forward.
I’m sharing today a look back on my 2018 goals as well as my hopes for 2019. These are the big overarching drives for my year. I do smaller goals within the year as well; weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals.
I hope sharing these goals can spur you forward into 2019!
2018 Goals:
Word for the Year: Prayer
I really wanted my relationship with God to be the focus of my year. Looking back, I can say, with God’s grace, I’ve made some progress in this area.
Delineate work, family, and homeschool time more effectively – done!
As my blogging and business grew, I quickly realized how quickly I could lose myself in the sea of social media and constant desire to “do more.” I refuse to give up the greater (my family and vocation) for the lesser (blogging and business).
Block scheduling: Creating boxes around my day really helped me with this! Before lunch is homeschool time, quiet time is my blogging/work time, afternoons are household chores, and evenings are for my family. The only work item I allow myself to do in the evening is fill orders. In the “off-season” this may only be once a week for 10 minutes. Busy seasons (holidays, mid-year) it may take 30 minutes several times a week.
No smartphone– I continue to not own a smartphone (although after losing my flip phone this year I ended up with a smart phone but without data). This “dumb phone” really helps me to stay focused and live in the moment. People may look at me cross-eyed, but I love not having one more distraction to overcome.
Boxing in social media– While I do not have a smart phone, I can still get on my computer and check social media. It helps to create boxes around these activities too. For the most part, I don’t post and I only allow myself to get on once a day (unless I know someone is waiting for a response or I am waiting for a response). My Facebook feed is eerily quiet for a blogger and Instagram is pretty pointless without a smart phone! I’ve been amazed at how my blog and business has continued to grow despite my lack of attention to these modern facets of self-promotion.
15 minutes of mental prayer daily – done!
This is always, always, always a goal of mine. It is something I aim for but, in all honesty, only accomplish 5-6 days per week. Ideally this would happen in the morning, but sometimes it doesn’t get done till bedtime and I’m okay with that.
I couple this prayer time with my daily Bible and spiritual reading. I alternate between reading and prayer as this helps me focus. I’m aiming for 20 minutes in the year ahead.
Other spiritual habits I instilled in 2018 that I want to carry into 2019 are: monthly confession, daily mass once a week (this can involve driving 30 minutes, but I can couple it with running errands!), praying a decade of the Rosary with the kids before school
Get back in shape – making progress!
The last couple years have been me giving my entire self to my family, especially Christian as he battles epilepsy. Previously, I’d worked out 2-3 times a week and ate fairly healthy. I just haven’t had the oomph for that and I knew I needed to change.
To be honest, I didn’t in earnest start tackling this goal until the end of the year. A couple health scares of my own kicked my tail and helped me get going. I’m eating healthier (no diets, just aiming for healthier) and have begun working out again.
At this point, it is just about creating the habit versus following a program of any sort. I’m not immensely worried about the numbers on the scale, but just want to feel my best. I’m carrying this into the new year, and Husband is trying to get back to working out this year too.
Smaller Goals:
- Get the house painted (nope, the painters ran off with our money!)
Start and fully fund college savings funds for our kids. -done!Reach savings goal for the year.– done!Increase giving. -done!Pack Husband’s lunch most mornings.– done!
2019 Goals:
Word for the year: Gratitude
Life has held some bumps for our family lately, and, I hate to say, I’ve allowed the worries and cares of those bumps to steal my joy. This year, I feel called to practice gratitude. I’m not quite sure how this looks concretely (maybe a gratitude journal?), but I know it is something I need to cultivate. There is so much to be grateful for!
Create the habit of a workable, efficient, and nourishing morning routine.
Our children are growing, and with it, we are both getting more sleep. I found it funny that Husband independently came up with nearly the same goal as mine: wake up earlier and get a good start to our day.
I am sooooo slow in the morning right now. It is time to get back on track and focus so we can get a good start to our day.
This involves a bit of prep work like setting out clothes, Bibles, and breakfast for the next morning.
Right now my plan for the morning is:
- Wake-up (between 5:30-5:45), start a load of laundry
- Goals (workout 3 days per week (M/W/F) or work on smaller goals (reading, writing, planning, etc.))
- Prayer (I save this for a little later so I can be fully awake!)
- Get ready for the day
- Get breakfast and Husband’s lunch
Schedule intentionality
I like to be intentional, but I have to have it written down. Things I’m adding to my planner every month include:
- First Friday Mass and monthly confession
- School presentations (basically the kids sharing what they are doing in school with Husband)- last Friday of every month
- Homeschool chat with Husband (Husband is so good about helping me troubleshoot our schooling) – last Friday of every month
- Monthly Tea time with kids (I would love to do this weekly, but it just doesn’t happen) – second Friday of the month
- Birthday/anniversary cards (make for family and send out each week) – make as a family the last Sunday of every month
Smaller goals:
- Get house painted (Husband will be doing this!)
- Reach savings goal for the year.
What are your goals for 2019?
