Wednesday, January 1, 2014

My Three (Well, Maybe Five) Goals for 2014

Happy New Year!

On January 1st a lot of people make resolutions each year and very few actually follow through with them.  I stopped making resolutions years ago.

I do make goals though and do try to follow through on them.  My major goal for 2013 was to get my house decluttered (most specifically my living room which is the dump room as it isn't really used) decluttered.  I did not accomplish this goal :(  .  I am disappointed in myself and don't know how I couldn't get this achieved within twelve months.  I did make major strides toward this but I wasn't consistent enough.  I didn't realize how much stuff I have accumulated through procrastination and overspending.  I learned a lot through many different organizational experts.   I have to learn to be brutal when it comes to what I should keep and what I should let go off.

My goals for 2014 are only through March 1st at this point.  I will continue to make goals from March 1st - May 1st in the meantime.  I will only choose three things (or try) to focus on.  I think this was a problem last year because I had too many goals and they were not specific enough.

My first goal is to lose 10 lbs. before March 1st.  I did weigh myself this morning but I still need to do measurements (yuck....) .  The way I will achieve this is:

*  start exercising three days per week and try to be more active through housework  and not spend so much time at my desk unless I have a specific purpose other than reading emails and/or facebook.

*  watch my chocolate and sweet intake.  This I will need to accomplish by not bringing it into the house and leaving it at the store.  For instance, I have a love for Reese's peanut butter cups so I will buy a king size one at the checkout when I grocery shop and eat two on Saturday and two on Sunday.  This I am okay with I just can't bring in bags of candy.  I can still bring in sweets for Nicole and Rick but it will be those things that I have self-control over and I know what this stuff is.

*   I will also watch my portion control and only go by the serving size.  I have cut back a lot on bread (or I had until the holiday season) and want to get back into only having bread once or twice a week at the most.

* I also want to focus on drinking more water.

My second goal is getting my living room totally done by March 1st.  I broke this down into zones and what their  purpose is.  For instance, we have two wall bookcases and one is for books the other is for photo boxes, binders, cook books, journals etc.  (this is the purpose for it).

I also have the purpose for the two trunks I have in there and the craft area as well as the foyer off the living room.  The only area I didn't do was the fireplace mantel which I will need to find a purpose for but not sure what that is yet.   I guess it could just be clean except for some fake flowers or a plant.

The third goal is something I heard from Ellen Rogin about not making all your goals things to do (lose weight, declutter, jump out of an airplane etc.) but also on emotions so the first word that came to me when I heard her say this was peace so my goal to March 1st is to read at least one book on peace which I have already picked out by Joyce Meyer and write the scriptures on peace in the concordances of several different Bibles (amplied, NIV, KJV etc.).

The fourth goal ( I know I only said three) is to save enough money prior to March 1st to get a new iPhone.  I don't want a contract for my cell phone and Straight Talk is great and much cheaper.  Even though I only got the phone last year (2012) for Christmas it is a 3GS and came out in 2009 so I really do need to upgrade.   I also would like to save $200 in savings by March 1st.  I will also have a consistent habit of keeping track of my spending both for  our family and for Nicole (since I am her representative  payee of her SSI and am accountable for what she spends).  This will include consistently sticking to a budget....

My fifth goal stems from a free scholarship that I won for a Nutritional Healing Class along with a couple of other classes regarding naturopathic healing.  I want to complete this first class by consistently spending at least 30 minutes five days a week working on it.  I will need to schedule this into my calendar just like exercising and decluttering.

I know I should have only listed three goals but these all weigh heavy on my heart.  I would like to think that each one is realistic and I will be able to achieve them.

I know by recording my goals in a specific notebook (which also has a specific home) and writing this blog I will have these goals in front of me and will not forget them or misplace them.

I would also like to work on being more diligent with keeping up with Nicole's medical notes and paperwork and not let it pile up.  I will be happy to make a habit of filing all medical related paperwork at least one day every two weeks (which I will put in my tickler system so I don't forget and it can be planned).   I also want to consistently keep updated in Evernote with daily happenings with Nicole's medical issues such as phone calls, appointments etc.

I have so many things that I want to work on and improve and I want to do them all at once when I know I can't do this and it is unrealistic.


No comments:

Post a Comment