My goals for 2018. That sounds so official and serious. As I was typing the name of this post I thought I should probably change it to, “Here’s Hoping I Get Some of this Done!” I honestly don’t like putting too much pressure on a New Year. I learned long ago not to make resolutions but to reflect, make a plan, and write down my goals. My husband is the one who taught me to put pen to paper when it comes to articulating my goals and that is the best advice I’ve ever received. I truly believe that writing goals with intention gives them power. Collectively, we have achieved pretty much every goal that we have written down. So here goes!
PERSONAL GOALS
- Pick up the phone more. I don’t love the world of texting we are living in. I want to be more intentional about picking up the phone and calling my dad and my friends. A three-minute phone conversation has far more value than a week’s worth of texts.
- Be consistent with working out. I like to box and go to Barre3 classes and I completely flaked during the holidays. When I work out consistently I feel so much better about myself. When I feel better about myself, I am more confident in all areas of my life.
- Adopt more of a “no big deal!” attitude. As I get older I am realizing the value in this. When I don’t sweat the small stuff it’s almost as if the small stuff disappears. I want to save my time and energy for the big things in life.
- Read more. I’ve read three books in the last two weeks and it feels amazing. I’ve missed reading on a consistent basis.
- Learn the game of hockey. My son plays and truth be told I still don’t understand it. I need to!
- Meditate each morning. I was in such a good habit of this using the Headspace App. I forgot my login and then I stopped. #truth. We have a lot going on with my mom’s Alzheimer’s and worrying about my dad. I need to take a few minutes each day to be still and breathe. I saw huge benefits when I was meditating consistently.
- Say no. I am getting much better at this. It frees me up to say yes to my family and to myself.
- Take more bubble baths.
FAMILY GOALS
- Meal plan and eat family dinners regularly. We have ALWAYS done this but for the last six months late sports practices have caused us to adopt some bad habits. I want to be better about meal planning so that sitting down to dinner is much easier.
- Game night every two weeks. When we went to Big Bear we had such a blast putting on a fire and playing games. A couple of times a month I want to be sure we bring the “cabin life” to our own home.
- Travel more. We all have adventurous spirits and I want these children to see the world. Saving for travel is high on my priority list.
- Consistent date nights. We haven’t been scheduling as many. It’s largely due to the fact that the kids are older and more independent and we don’t need “the break” like we did when they were little. But you know my thoughts on this. Happy parents = happy kids. I don’t want to let the date nights go. We adore our time together and I think it’s so important for the marriage.
BLOG GOALS
- Connect more with all of you. I find that the more I open up and share, the more you do and that is what I love. I love hearing from you. That’s what makes blogging consistently so fulfilling.
- Revamp my blog design so that my website is more efficient. There are so many changes I want to make but I just keep putting it off. It’s so time-consuming and I always think of ten other things to do. Look for a blog clean-up in 2018.
- Continue to collaborate with brands that I love and love sharing with all of you.
- Write more. Whether it’s on the blog or just for myself, I love to write and it brings me such joy. I am not even sure of the topics or where it will lead but I know that in 2018 I am supposed to let it out.
- Take on more DIY projects with my husband. We work well together and have fun doing it.
- Collaborate with other creatives. I’ve met so many talented women and I have so many ideas swirling around in my head. I want to bring our talents together and create something beautiful and unique.
HOUSE GOALS
- Create spaces that aren’t just pretty but truly functional and enjoyable for my family. We live hard in this home and I love that. As we grow into our home, I want it to truly reflect all four of us and our interests.
- Finish our pantry (almost done!!!)
- Organize our closets.
- Finish designing our family room.
- Create a master bedroom sanctuary ( we are far from this right now).
- Make a few cosmetic changes to our kitchen.
- Finish our laundry room revamp.
So while this list would normally make me tired, it really energizes me. I love being able to share these goals with you. It’s an ambitious list but that’s ok.
INTENTIONALITY
Lastly, I want to be as intentional as possible. I want to embrace opportunities, adventures, work projects and family time with intention. I also think being more mindful of why we are doing things allows us to say no more often. And without guilt because the intention behind the no is pure and good. Does that make sense? Having set my goals also paves the way for choosing how to spend my time. If it aligns with my goals and brings joy, then I am all about it.
Have you sat down and thought about your goals? Have you written them down. If nothing else, please write down at least two of your goals. And then make them happen! It’s the best feeling in the world.
If you missed my reflections on 2017 you can get caught up here.
I’m ready for you 2018!!!!
I love a good goal list, and it seems like your list seems reasonable, but includes some aspiration. I totally see the Personal, Family and even House goals as very doable. Since I am not a blogger, I don’t know the time commitment involved, but you seem to handle your blogging so well.
My favorite goal on your list is the family game night. We had a free afternoon this weekend (so rare for us during hockey season – 2 in the sport at our house), and we sat down as a family and played board games. We had so much fun and it really felt like we really reconnected! I loved it, and I think I will try to schedule these more intentionally. Thanks for the idea!
And since a date night out is out of our budget right now, I want to get back to doing what my husband and I used to do pre-kids… and have date night in! I’m pretty sure he would be thrilled to bring those back on a regular basis.
Ditto on the bubble baths! And reading more. If you aren’t on good reads for finding and tracking reading, it is a great site! Also game nights are a terrific idea! Or a family walk around the block, as simple as it sounds, is a nice time to connect. You gave good ideas to brainstorm some goals 🙂
On a personal note, I lost my mom to Alzheimer’s 7 years ago this month and I empathize with the daily struggle emotionally and practically to care for a parent with Alzheimer’s. Especially raising kids at the same time. So my heart goes out to you and your family. Hugs go a long way when memory fails.
Cheers to a new year and the hope it brings-
Would love to know your recommended reading list (or at least what you’ve tackled so far). I just finished Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (her first novel Everything You Never Told Me is fantastic) and it’s one of those that sticks with you long after you finish. Engrossing and somewhat haunting. Loved it!
This was great to read, thank you for sharing Courtney. I especially find it a bit difficult to be more open and share on my blog as well. But I think its important and can add value to others. You inspired me to write down my own goals for 2018, thank you.
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I am a meal planner myself (with a cheap, but adorable notebook from Target). My sister in law wanted to start and I found her a beautiful planner from Carrie Elle online, just through a random google search. I loved it so much I told my husband it was on my list after the current notebook is full. Price wise it’s an investment, but it’s beautiful and so well organized. No kickback to me, I promise, but I know you like pretty things so I thought I’d pass it on. 🙂
One of my goals is to get better organized. Since I still work outside the home, I prefer to work in short periods of time so this year I went through the house and took photos of all the areas that need to be straightened up – desk, magazines, drawers, etc. Now when I find myself with a half hour of spare time I just have to look through my photos which I have put in a folder on my iPad.
I love the goal of intentionality. Your blog has made me much more intentional with what I bring into my home. I was really anxious about “finishing” all of the rooms of my house (it’s my first house and I’m no decorator) but reading your blog has helped me realize it is ok to take it slowly and not buy things just to buy things, but because I really love it.
Love this post, Courtney! I agree with not putting a lot of pressure on resolutions since they can bring you down if they are not met. I have now moved toward focusing on what I did right this past year and how to stick with those habits along with brainstorming some goals/ideas for the new year. I used to struggle with working out consistently as well until I realized I really need to focus on group classes since I was a gymnast growing up and that is what’s ingrained in me – doing the work for yourself but being in a group setting to keep you accountable with someone coaching along the way! I do Barre classes as well and like that I have to sign up for classes in advance. Makes me keep going! Happy New Year to you and your beautiful family. Can’t wait to see what you have in store for 2018 and you know we can’t wait for those pantry posts!! 🙂
Courtney, I love this post so much and the idea of writing down goals. I read your post yesterday and I think it has been the kick and inspiration I needed to “get going”. I’ll be honest…I’ve been in a stuck spot since Jan1st. I got out my journal last night and jotted down a few simple goals so far. Things are changing so fast with my Dad’s Parkinsons that I am
going to work on being more present each and every day. I have been looking at the big picture and the future and I am getting overwhelmed and missing out. So my goal is to be more “present” each day. I don’t want to turn my comment into a book but I will say that I agree 100% with you about phone calls vs texting all the time. It’s so nice to hear a voice and the emotion and so much more personal. A goal I am definitely going to work on. Picking up the phone. Great post Courtney! Thank you.
I’m sorry to hear about your mom’s Alzheimer’s, that must be very difficult. All of your goals sound wonderful, from game night to “no big deal!” I’ve been trying to have that attitude more and more 🙂
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These are some awesome goals my friend, and I will be cheering you on in 2018!
I have just finished my goals and hope to have them on the blog this week – and I am loving getting them going, its such a great feeling!
i hope we can connect online more too x
“When I don’t sweat the small stuff it’s almost as if the small stuff disappears. I want to save my time and energy for the big things in life.”
This hit me hard! I had to make some Pinterest-worthy images of it to save!