Simple and Meaningful Goal Planning for 2019

Last January I started categorizing my goals for the year.  I had never tried this approach before, but it worked so well for me that I am running with it again this year.  It is super simple, which is just what this busy mama needs!  I basically choose areas of my life I’d like to make some adjustments to and decide on my plan of action.  

The older I get the more I find myself reflecting on things, and feel that setting goals for different areas helps me focus more on how I want to live my life.  I may not accomplish these goals every day or every week, but by organizing my goals this way I am able to start creating new habits for the stuff that is important to me.  

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Fitness

This year I am continuing with my goal to get in at least 200 minutes of exercise per week.  Being home with a three year old makes this a bit challenging some days, but I have found that if I make it one of my top priorities during the day, I am more likely to make it happen.  I know that finding time to exercise can be tricky with family, work, and life obligations.   If you need some inspiration and ideas on how to squeeze in a workout during the day, take a look at my Exercise Tips for Busy Moms (although these can really apply to just about anyone!).

I’m also excited to start playing tennis again!  I played in high school and for a year on my college team, but have hardly picked up a racquet since.  I have been wanting to start up again, but have struggled to find the time to make it happen.  

For my birthday last week my husband got me a few private tennis lessons at our health club, so I am literally ready to get back into the swing of things!

I say find an activity that you enjoy doing and go for it!

Health

More sleep. This one was so easy for me to figure out.  I am a night owl and despite my best efforts, always stay up too late.  Mornings are pretty rough for me. I’ve struggled with this for a long time and am still trying to figure out the best way to tackle this one.  

Typically I go to bed around 11pm, sometimes even later, and wake up during the week at 6am or sometimes earlier.  I feel my best when I get about 8-9 hours of sleep, so you can see why this pattern isn’t working for me.  

Part of my night owl tendencies are due to the fact that I savor the quiet night hours when everyone else in the house is asleep.  Quiet is not something you can find during normal parenting hours with three kids!

Right now I am trying to go to bed at 10:30, with an end goal of 10:00 at the latest.  Trying being the key word here.  I have failed miserably the last three nights! Baby steps…

Food

Do you ever get into a food rut? Tired of the same old breakfasts, same snacks, and same dinners?  Really feeling like that is where I am at right now. I’m pretty good at planning our meals, but my goal for this year is to throw in at least one new meal per week to inspire my family to try new things!

If you are interested in meal planning and would like some help getting started, my Meal Planning 101 post should help get you on the right track.  Is packed with tips on how to get started, including a free meal planning template.  It feels so good to have a plan for meals going into each week!  

Relaxation

As a mom of three I can always use more of this!  Reading used to be one of my favorite relaxing activities.  Add a third kid into the mix and my reading screeched to a sudden halt. Well, at least reading anything besides Llama Llama, Fancy Nancy, or one of the other zillion picture books that graces our shelves.  

A few of my 2018 reads: The Family Next Door, Beneath A Scarlett Sky (one of my favorites!), The Lying Game, The Light We Lost

My plan this year is to change that!  Last week I sat down and made a list of all of the books I want to read this year.  Some I pulled off my “want to read” list on Goodreads and others I found by searching for book lists online.  

I am hoping to read at least two books per month, in addition to all of the picture books I read to my three year old.  Preferably before my bedtime – hoping this practice will help me wind down at night and get to bed on time if I make it a habit.  

I will post my 2019 books picks soon, so stay tuned!

Serving

My oldest daughter has spent some time volunteering this fall and has really enjoyed it.  Volunteering and donating more of my time to others is something that I have wanted to do more of for the past few years.  I can already see the impact it has made on my daughter, and I really want to continue this path as a family.

I would love for my family to participate in at least 3-4 volunteer activities in 2019.  

Marriage

I’m happy to report that my 2018 goal of making more time for date nights was a success!  Planning on continuing that into 2019 with at least monthly date nights. I know some people are able to sneak in weekly date nights, but with three active kiddos and one being a threenager, we are just not there yet. Right now I’ll take what we can get!  

Hoping to make one or two of our dates overnight getaways.  We managed to sneak away once last November and it was a great little break!

Parenting

As my oldest is now less than six months away from being a teenager, I am well aware of the limited amount of time we have with her living here at home.  With all three of my children I am really trying to focus on being intentional about the time I spend with them.

Sometimes I feel like even though we are all in the house together, we aren’t really with each other. I might be working in one room while my kids are reading, playing video games, drawing, etc. in another room.  Then they are off to school/dance/sports/hang out time with friends, etc. and I feel like I didn’t really spend time with them at all. Anyone else ever feel the same way?

Making time to connect with them individually or all together is my number one priority.  Even if some days it is just a quick 10 minutes to snuggle and read, or to take time to really listen about how their day went.  

Explore

Traveling with my family, whether it be a day trip or longer vacation, is one of my favorite things to do.  We have no distractions and nothing we have to get done when we travel. It is all about spending time together and making memories.  

While I am still trying to finalize our travel agenda for the year, it involves a mix of returning to some of our favorite places, as well as exploring some new ones.  One of our stops includes passports, so I am working on obtaining those for all of us. Excited that having those little documents will open up a whole new world of travel possibilities for us!

Do you make goals for the new year?  What is your process? I always find that writing down my goals and displaying them in a spot where I can look at them often really helps me stick with them!