I hope you all had a fun New Years! We went to a Phoenix Suns basketball game and then to a friend’s house for New Year’s Eve game night. I won most of the games, so I started 2018 feeling pretty smug. New Year’s Day we stayed home and cooked filet mignon and lobster tails for dinner. Growing up my mom cooked whatever we wanted for dinner on New Year’s Day (I always picked shrimp scampi). She thought it was a fun way to start the year and I’ve continued the tradition since moving out.
With the start of a new year, it’s the perfect time to set some goals and create a project list. Before I get into my goals for 2018, I want to take a moment to review my 2017 goals.
Overall I’d say I did OK, but I definitely didn’t achieve what I wanted to last year. Anyway, let’s start on a high note –
One of my goals last year was to blog more consistently and I feel like I achieved that. I wrote 17 more posts in 2017 than in 2016…including 8 posts in December vs. 0 in 2016! I also feel like none of it was filler content like I might have wrote in years past.
I was also successful with my goal to eat less meat. I wanted to plan at least 2 meatless dinners a week and I’m happy to say I did it! I missed a few weeks here and there because of various reasons, but other than that, I really stuck with this goal. We found some great recipes over the past year that we’ll definitely keep in rotation.
Now let’s talk about the half-ass goals and flops. I started strong with my decluttering goal, but totally fell off after a couple months. I cleaned out the master bathroom and closet, but I think that’s as far as I got. This one is going on my 2018 list.
Also, half-assed in 2017 and carrying into 2018 is my goal to read more. Technically I did read more this year because I read 10 books in 2017 and only 7 in 2016, but my goal was 24 books. I think that might have been a little too lofty, but I definitely don’t feel like I read enough this year in general, so I can’t use that as an excuse.
And lastly, I wanted to finish a room in the house and I didn’t do that. I don’t really have an excuse, I just feel like the year got away from me and I wasted a lot of weekends doing nothing productive. Such is life.
OK, let’s move on to my 2018 goals!
1 | Take More Pictures
I only have 12 pictures of Adam and me from last year…and 4 of those were taken around Thanksgiving once I noticed a lack of pictures. With cell phones, I feel like there’s no excuse not to take a lot of pictures. I even bought a new camera last year! So I seriously have no excuse. And it’s not just Adam and me…it’s everyone. We went to Las Vegas for his nephew’s birthday party in March and I only took 3 pictures – none of them are of him and his nephew. So this year, I’m taking more pictures! Friends and family, be prepared!
2 | Read More
As I mentioned above, I’m carrying over this goal from last year because I love to read, but I don’t do it enough. In 2015 I read 53 books, but only read 7 in 2016 and 10 in 2017. My goal for 2018 is to read 18 books. It’s definitely an increase from the past 2 years, but I think it’s manageable. It equals out to a book and a half per month, plus 18 in 2018 just seems fitting.
3 | Clear the Clutter
This one is also a carryover from last year and something I desperately need to do. If you’re a fan of Gretchen Rubin or have listened to the Happier podcast, you’ve probably heard her say “Outer order contributes to inner calm” and for me, that’s 100% accurate. I feel more stressed when the house is mess, so I really just need to purge and clean for my own sanity. The kitchen cabinet with our glasses and coffee mugs is overflowing and every time I open it or try to put something away it stresses me out. And that’s just one example, so for 2018 my goal is to declutter/organize a room every month. I think setting a timeline and manageable goal like that will really help me stay on track.
4 | Be More Active
You can’t have a list of New Year’s goals without one being related to living a healthier life. Instead of the cliché goal to exercise more, I’m just trying to move more in general. I work at a desk all day, so I live more of a sedentary life than I’d like. I can’t change the fact that I work at a desk without completely changing careers, but I can be better about getting up and moving throughout the day. I can easily start using the bathroom or filling up my water bottle on a different floor or just walk a quick lap around the floor. I’m going to start wearing my FitBit again and work on upping my steps.
I also want to drink more water and lose 15 pounds #kiddingnotkidding
5 | Finish Two Rooms
Last year we switched around the extra bed rooms to make space for an exercise bike and treadmill. With that move, both rooms went from being almost finished to disarray. That said, I don’t think it would take that much time/effort/money to get them put together and crossed off my list. I’m also so close to finishing the laundry room, master bedroom, and getting the garage completely organized. So I’m stepping up my game this year and changing the goal from finish one room to finish two. We’ll see how that goes…
What are your New Year’s resolutions?
I really enjoyed reading your post. I'm not great at setting goals, but my goal this year is to learn how to be goal oriented so this was really helpful in guiding me in this area of my life. Thank you for sharing and wishing you a wonderful and productive year. xo
ReplyDeleteThanks Annette! I hope you have a wonderful 2018!
DeleteThis was fun to read! I am ready to tackle some goals too...all the best to you on your new year!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jennifer! Wishing you a happy 2018!
DeleteI love your goals especially the take more pictures. I recently purchased a Canon Camera I'm still learning to work it lol. I also have deciedd to read a book a month & feature the book as my book of the month. I wish you well with your goals this year.
ReplyDeleteI love the book of the month idea!
DeleteLove your goals! Decluttering is always hard to do!
ReplyDeleteIt is! I'm always convinced I'm going to need something in the future, so I never want to get rid of items. I'm really pushing myself this year though and I already have a full load of items to drop off!
DeleteThis is great! I always love to see what peoples goals are because it really inspires me. I love yours. This year I finally came up with resolutions, since I did not last year. I look forward to this year. I hope yours is blessed.
ReplyDeleteThanks Courtney! Good luck with your resolutions and happy 2018!
DeleteMy list is nearly identical to yours. We are house hunting this year, so we are only planning a few domestic trips but photos are something I need to plan out more thoroughly. I think the first thing I'd love to tackle from my list is getting organized though. I feel the need to purge!
ReplyDeleteYes! I'm in serious purge mode right now! Good luck with your house hunting!
DeleteBe more active and clear the clutter are definitely on my list. I love your goals they are great. Reading more has been one of my favorite accomplishments in the last few years too!
ReplyDeleteThanks Courtney! Good luck on your 2018 goals!
DeleteIt's funny how similar 2018 resolutions can be! I have a kid leaving for college in a year, and it's a huge reminder of the fact that our family portrait is 3 years old. While my inability to carry the vacuum upstairs is my reminder that I might need a smidge more exercise in my life. Looking forward to watching you burn through your goals this year!
ReplyDeleteYes to the family portrait! I had my boyfriend take a picture of my parents and me over Thanksgiving and it's the first picture of the 3 of us in a long time. I seriously can't remember the last picture we all took together.
DeleteGood luck with your new year goals! These are important goals and I like how you've kept them realistic.
ReplyDeleteI've definitely picked unrealistic goals before, but then I don't achieve them and feel terrible. These seemed manageable, but still a push to accomplish things I might not otherwise.
DeleteThese are great goals. Just remember to give yourself grace and remember progress is worth mentioning and giving credit for. We live really busy lives and we want to do so much, we have to take it all in stride. I am carrying this thought in my mind as well as I have a tendency to be really hard on myself for not getting stuff done!
ReplyDeleteYes! That is such a good reminder! I have a tendency to be hard on myself too and need to remember to give myself credit for progress. Thanks Takenya!
DeleteI love your goals. I've added the goal to read more to my list but I have no idea how many books to read!!! My sister told me to read 12 but that didn't seem enough...
ReplyDeleteIt's so hard to pick a number! Last year I made my goal WAY too high, so this year I tried to think it through a bit more. I picked 18 because I think 1.5 books is manageable, but still a bit of a challenge for me.
DeleteI love your goals, it's like you picked them right out of my brain. The last one is the most important and I really need to stick to it!!!
ReplyDeleteYes! I'm so ready to just finish a couple rooms, get them off my list, and for our home to feel more complete!
DeleteThese are great goals for the new year! I'll be reading more as well :)
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm almost halfway through my first book already!
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