Before I get into the goals
for the year, I want to talk about the word that I chose to be my theme for the
year. In 2016 it was LESS, in 2017 it
was GROW, in 2018 it was JOY, and for 2019 I have chosen the word DONE.
This is going to be my year to get things done.
You might think this is an
odd word to choose for a word of the year, but to better understand why I chose
this word, you first need to know a little bit more about me. I have always been a very productive,
self-motivated person. I love lists, I
love checking things off of said lists, and I feel at my very best when things
are tidy and the way that they should be. I like order, I like planning ahead, and I like rules... they are meant to be followed. I do not like clutter and I cannot stand for things to be “undone.” A pile of dishes in the sink? Toys all over the floor? Laundry piled in the corner? A messy room?
It all makes me physically sick... irritable and anxious and completely
stressed out. Just call me
Monica. (From Friends, for all of you
non-Friends watchers.)
Therefore, I have always struggled
terribly with letting myself relax and be truly present when I know that there
are things that need to be done. Instead
of being present, my mind is always wandering to the dishes that need to be
cleaned and the laundry that needs to be folded. I actually stumbled upon this article a
couple of weeks ago and oh my word,
this describes me to a T! She hit the nail on the head when she said, "I am a better mom when the dishes are done." Literally me.
For the last few years or so
(mostly since we’ve had kids) I have lived in a constant state of feeling
behind and feeling like I’m always scrambling to get caught up. While I do consider myself to be a very
organized and on-top-of-things person, I still struggle in several areas. Figuring out a simple way to keep up with the
thousands of to-dos/wants/ideas/dreams in my head has always been my biggest
problem, so this year I want to figure out exactly how to organize all of it so
I can finally have peace of mind. In
addition to that, I really want to focus on crossing off the things on my
master to-do list. My master to-do list
is bursting at the seams, and I want to whittle it waaaay down this year. Last year I was so consumed by decluttering
that there wasn’t as much time to focus on the other to-dos. This year, the to-do list is going down! Because the shorter my to-do lists are, the
easier it is for me to truly let my mind and body rest. When my mind and body are at rest, only then
do I feel like I can allow myself to truly connect with others and feel fully
present. Do you think I’m crazy
yet? Haha.
With that said, I know it’s
not realistic to think that I will get every single thing crossed off of every
single one of my lists… I mean, let’s face it, life is messy and there will always be something that needs to be done. But,
I would like to get as many one-time things done as possible to shorten the
master to-do list + implement new systems to help keep me on track for all of
the other daily, weekly, and monthly to-dos + ideas and dreams that I have to
keep up with. That way, going forward, I’ll
have a clearer mind and that will allow me to shift my focus from getting
things done to the things that really matter… like being 100% present when I’m
with my family and friends and really being able to focus on turning my blog
into a successful business. I feel like
I have the potential to be a great blogger (because I'm so passionate about it), but I often neglect the things that
I should be doing to get me there... all because I’m constantly working on
other things that need to be done.
Obviously my zest for
organizing and getting things done is innate, so I won’t be abandoning my to-do
lists and productivity altogether (after all, it does make me really happy!),
but I just want to be able to spend less time on those things and more time on
the things that matter in 2020. This is
going to be the year that I finally declutter my mind and sort of “reset” my
way of thinking, if that makes sense.
Whew. Sorry for the book. I honestly didn’t see that coming. And also, don't think I'm going to neglect my family and kids this year to accomplish my goal either. That's just silly.
Now let’s get to the real reason why we’re
here. The goals.
Personal
Be positive, worry less, complain less. This is
something that is on my list pretty much every year. I have a tendency to fall into the dark abyss
of worry and negativity (I’m sure it’s innate), so having this on my list
serves as a reminder and helps me stay on track.
Work on patience. I want to get in the habit of thinking before I speak and trying my best to respond with love and kindness. I also want to try to stop rushing the kids so much when there's truly not a need to be in a hurry, and I just want to work on my patience in general. I'm pretty much the least patient person you'll ever meet and I want to set a good example for the kids since Olivia seems to be taking after me in that department.
Let kindness be my king. The kids and
I all worked especially hard on our kindness in 2018 and I feel like it made a
pretty profound impact on all of us. I
want to continue our journey with kindness in 2019, and I want to continue “filling
someone’s bucket” every day like I did last year.
Continue working at my relationships and forming new
ones. I want to continue treasuring my relationship
with B and the kids, actively keeping relationships with old friends going
strong, and working hard at cultivating new friendships.
Get caught up so I can just maintain. Just as I mentioned
when I was discussing my word for the year, I want to get stuff DONE so I can
just maintain going forward and not always feel like I’m scrambling.
Health
Continue chugging water, working out, and eating less
sugar. I did pretty well with all of this last year,
so I’m putting it on here again as a reminder.
Eat an apple most days. I have found
that on days when I eat apples I feel the absolute best. My digestion also seems to stay on track
better when I eat them. I would love to eat one every day, but I know that won't be entirely possible, so I'm going to stick to saying most days. :o)
Start moisturizing my neck and chest every day. This is kind
of random, but I noticed recently that the skin on my neck and chest look like
they are 10 years older than the skin on the rest of my body. When I started thinking about why that would
be the case, I realized that I never moisturize those two areas. I moisturize my face twice and a day and the
rest of my body once a day, but I never moisturize my neck and chest. And they are exposed to the sun most of the
time. Whoops.
Start using essential oils. Once and for
all! I included this in the “health”
portion of my list because they have been proven to have tons of health
benefits. I have been working on cutting
out chemicals as much as possible (the primary reason I cut out birth control
in 2017) and I know that oils are one of the ways to facilitate that journey. Yes, they are expensive, but I know it’s
inevitable that I will use them eventually, so 2019 is going to be the year to
just do it. Get it DONE. I know I’ll thank myself for it and I’ll
probably wonder why I waited so long in the first place to get started.
Get my health in order so I can visit doctors a WHOLE
lot less in 2020. With never-ending back/pelvic pain (from childbirth),
allergies, reflux, and several other minor issues, I have pretty much lived at
doctor’s offices for the last seven years or so. Y’all, I swear I’m falling apart and I’m only
36. Frankly, I’m tired of it. I feel like there were some really good
breakthroughs in 2018 that are going to (finally!) pave the path to my
wellness, so I’m going to take that journey this year and hopefully have my
healthiest year yet in 2020!
Get back/pelvic pain under control. Get SI
joint/piriformis muscle injections and continue working with my pelvic physical
therapist. We’ve come SO FAR and I
really feel like there’s a light at the end of this seven year tunnel. Ugh.
Get allergies/asthma under control. Continue
taking medications as needed and continue allergy shots, possibly finishing
them this year?
Get reflux under control. Continue
seeing my GI specialist to learn exactly how to keep my reflux (and a couple of
other minor issues) under control so my breathing stays under control. Hallelujah, my breathing is finally under
control!
Get rosacea under control. I’ve had
slight rosacea on my face for years. I
went to the doc last year to see how to get rid of it and they put me on a
crazy cocktail of prescription drugs.
There were so many that had such terrible side effects that I never
followed through and took the medicine.
I want to see another doctor and get a second opinion to see if there’s
a better (less chemically) way to treat it.
Get TMJ under control. Sigh. I’ve had TMJ issues for over a decade now
(due to mild anxiety) and I wear a bite guard to keep from grinding my teeth
down at night. The bite guard has always
been enough to keep it under control, but lately, I’ve been clenching my jaw so
bad in my sleep that I’m biting through the Kevlar bite guard. Yep.
You read that right. All of my
clenching has started causing frequent jaw aches, tension headaches, and a
permanent ringing in my ears. Ugh. Someone I know recently put on FB that she
was being treated for her severe jaw clenching with a super-mild antidepressant
for six weeks and that is supposed to “cure” it? Has anyone ever done this before? Thoughts?
I don’t like the idea of taking an anti-depressant, but she told me the
dose is so mild that it doesn’t really put much into your system. Hmmmm…
Get ringing in ears under control. Ever since I
had that terrible bout with allergies back in October last year, I’ve had a
terrible ringing in my ears. Like 24
hours a day, 7 days a week ringing. Most
of the time I don’t hear it when there’s other noise around, but when it’s
quiet it is soooo annoying.
Family
Continue working on kindness and good manners. This
was so successful last year and I want to keep it at the forefront of their
little minds so we raise kind, compassionate kiddos. There’s not enough of that in the world these
days.
Make a chore chart and implement a new allowance
system. This was on the list last year and we didn’t quite
get it accomplished. Take 2!
Teach them how to be responsible with money. Same
here. It was on the list last year and
we didn’t work with them at all on this.
I would like to take them to open bank accounts and teach them the
importance of finding balance between spending money and saving money.
Teach them how to be more responsible overall. Work diligently to help them form new habits of asking to be excused after meals, taking their plates to the sink, turning off lights in rooms when they are done in there, take their backpacks to the car each morning and bring them in every afternoon, and start showering unassisted.
Teach Jacob to ride a bike without training wheels. Dude has had
a bike with training wheels for a couple of years and he is never interested in
riding it. Never. I want to not only get him interested, but I
want him to learn to ride without the
training wheels.
Teach Olivia how to ride a bike with training wheels. She doesn’t
even own a bike but has been begging for one, so it’s time to get her one and
teach her how to use it.
Perfect my French braiding for Olivia. Girlfriend is
constantly begging me to French braid her hair and I struggle so badly with
it. I want to get good at it and fast so
we can French braid it in the morning before school.
Plan our Disney Trip for Spring Break 2020. Yes, we’re
heading back to the happiest place on earth and we’re going to plan well in
advance like we did the last time so our travel agent can book all of the very best
things for us once again!
Explore new places and try new things as a family. We tend to do
the same things/go to the same restaurants that we know and love, but this year
I’d like to step outside our comfort zone and explore some new places we’ve
never been, try some new restaurants, and start being more adventurous. This will hopefully be reflected in our seasonal
buckets lists throughout the year.
Home
Clean out everything, simplify, get rid of clutter,
and continue to buy less. Yep, round 2 is going down this year, and I’m
going to continue to be intentional with the things that we buy so we don’t
accumulate more clutter.
Sell old stuff. It’s back on my list again
because it’s something that needs to get done!
Get kitchen cabinets painted. Y’all, all of
my white kitchen dreams are going to come true this year and I’m the most
excited person EVER about it. It’s going
to be a fun year for our home!
Get entertainment center painted. Yep, the
entertainment center is going to be painted white, too. Bye bye, dark colors! Hello, light and airy!
Get the coffee table and side table painted. These need
updating, too.
Repaint the living room, kitchen, foyer, and
staircase. We’ve lived here for almost ten years… it’s
time for some updates. Lighter and
brighter is my goal once again!
Get master bedroom updated and exactly how I like it. Not much
needs to be done, but we do need new bedding and I’d like to update a couple of
the wall hangings, too.
Turn Olivia’s room into a big girl room. She’ll need
new paint, a few new accessories, and we need to turn her bed into a big girl
bed. She’s almost five, after all.
Cut long-term to do list down by 50%. Right now I have it organized by category in an Excel document and it's 472 lines long. OMG. I have my work cut out for me.
Blog
Lots of goals for this
little space of mine this year!
1.
Blog smarter,
not harder. I want to permanently cut
back to blogging four days per week most weeks and then cut back to three posts
per week during the summer and Christmas Break while still maintaining my
monthly pageviews.
2.
Blog ahead. I have always been the type to write my posts
the day before they go live, but this past year I started working ahead during
certain times of the year and it is fantastic.
I want to start doing it as much as possible.
3.
Enroll in two
blogging courses that I’ve had my eye on for years. It’s time to start investing in my blog
because I know in the long-run it will be worth it.
4.
Collaborate with
more brands than ever this year.
5.
Increase monthly
income and make this my most lucrative year on the blog yet (without
compromising my content and the real reason why I blog – to preserve memories).
6.
Start planning
for a blog revamp (including media kit and email signature), and a possible
switch to Wordpress. (This one terrifies
me.)
7.
Continue updating
old posts (SEO, watermarking pictures, creating Pinterest worthy images).
8.
Instagram –
increase following to 10k without letting the ‘Gram drive me crazy. I still want that swipe-up feature but I’m
not going to go crazy over trying to get there.
9.
Instagram – continue
using stories a lot and share even more about decluttering/organizing/planning.
10. Instagram – find my “groove” with my picture
feed. I want to start incorporating more
pictures of the kids, more pictures of my letter boards, more fashion stuff, more
candids, and more pictures that are just… interesting. I also want a lighter, whiter, brighter feed
while also continuing with my pops of color.
Basically my Christmas feed from this past year, but all year-round.
11. Pinterest – increase following to 5k
12. Pinterest – keep monthly viewers over at least 1
million. I was over 4 million monthly
viewers for several months this past year, and I want to get that traffic back
up again.
13. Pinterest – pin content more frequently
14. Facebook – increase following to 500
15. Facebook – start utilizing it more and posting about
stuff other than just blog posts.
16. Twitter – increase following to 1k (why do I keep
putting this on here when I hate Twitter so much?! Haha.)
In addition to the one-time
yearly goals post, I have also decided to start doing monthly goals posts to
ensure that I stay on track. Stay tuned
because tomorrow my January goals post will be live!
Let’s do it, y’all! I’m so pumped for 2019!
And here’s to getting stuff
DONE and setting myself up for the best year ever in 2020!
If you want to see my goals from prior years check out the posts below!
