My Insane List of Goals for 2011
I have a lot of goals for 2011. Like, an insane amount of goals.
Why so many?
First of all, I feel like I’m lacking structure to my days. The overall day is filled with nap times, meal times and playing with Grace, but I don’t usually have specific goals for my day.
Secondly, someday I would like to have another child. I am no where close to being ready for that, but I do hope that another baby is in my future. When that happens I have this sickening feeling that I’m going to look back at my time as a mother to one and wonder, “Why didn’t I accomplish more while I had the chance!?!?”
Therefore, my overall goal for 2011 is to become more focused. Focused on God. Focused on my husband. Focused on myself. Focused on Grace. Focused on housework (yuck).
My Goals for 2011
Host More Often – For nearly 5 years Nate & I lived in an apartment that was extremely awkward for hosting anything! Now we are blessed with more space and we want to take advantage of that by inviting someone over for supper once a month.
Mail More Cards – Three years ago I made it my New Year’s Resolution to send more birthday and anniversary cards. I did very well for about 1.5 years. It is time to step it up again! This past year I’ve missed many family member’s birthdays. That is just sad.
Organize Our Photographs – I use Snapfish to create photo books & I am very behind! I will catch up this year! Here are the books I want to finish in 2011:
- The Year 2008
- The Year 2009
- The Year 2010
- Grace’s First Year Book
- Mystery Book – I have a gift idea for a book I want to create.
Create & Follow a Cleaning Checklist – I’m not a natural born neat freak, so I need a checklist to help me stay motivated and focused.
Garden – I have a love/hate relationship with gardening. I love “free” food & I hate dirt. This year I hope to conquer my hate of dirt and plant an extremely small garden.
Can Something – I inherited some canning jars from my grandmother and I want to learn how to use them!
Organize The House – There are several areas of the house that aren’t organized how we want them. Simply put we are still unpacking & figuring out just where we want things. Here are the rooms that I want to conquer in 2011:
- Basement
- Attic
- Grace’s Closet
- Bathroom – We desperately need to add shelving, hooks, etc.
- Guest Bedroom
- Master Bedroom
- Mud Room
- Kitchen Steps – We have a 2nd staircase that is being used for storage.
Home Improvements – I’m really bad at decision making. Shopping can kind of stress me out. Picking out pictures for my walls is not fun for me. However, when you move into a new home things like that have to be done! Here is a list of home improvements & purchases Nate and I would like to accomplish this year:
- Purchase Patio Furniture
- Pick out & Buy Blinds for all Downstairs Windows
- Stain the Balcony Railing & Deck Lattice
- Hang Pictures – We moved in June & seriously there isn’t a single picture on our walls.
- Solve the No-Coat-Closet Problem – Buy hooks perhaps?
- Solve the Bathroom Storage Problem – Buy shelves?
Goals for Grace
- Continue to limit her pacifier use to only in the crib & eventually wean from crib use.
- Develop a better routine for giving her a daily vitamin & brushing her teeth in the morning. I just can’t seem to nail down a solid time for this each day.
- Have Grace drink milk from her sippy cup. She currently loves drinking water from it, but isn’t impressed with the frozen breast milk I’ve been giving her.
- Work on her stairs climbing skills so we can get to a place where we feel comfortable with her going up & down the stairs on her own.
- Have devotions from her “baby” Bible.
Personal & Spiritual Goals
- Drink more water.
- Exercise at least a little!
- Eat more fruit instead of sugar & chocolate.
- Read daily devotions.
- Increase personal prayer time & prayer time with Nate.
- Schedule more time for myself. That might be a Girls Night or time for me to be alone.
- Schedule monthly date nights with hubby. I don’t care if it is dinner & a movie or game night at home!
Each month I will check in and let you know how I’m coming on my insanely long list of goals. I hope that with you keeping me accountable that I’ll be able to accomplish great things this year!
Do you think my list is insane? Do we share any of the same goals for 2011?
Sounds like you’re going to be busy 🙂 But you’ve got some very doable goals. Thanks for sharing. Tiffany at Living as Mom started something that I have been following through with every day on my blog Real Life Deals. (www.reallifedeals.com) We are checking off one thing big or small every day that we get done. I love being able to click here and see that I accomplished something every day. Want to see it? http://www.reallifedeals.com/?cat=69
Sharon, I love the idea of “Checking it Off!” It is so easy for me to get discouraged with the things that I don’t get done, but when I look at what I DO accomplish the list is often pretty impressive. Thanks for the reminder!
Your goals are great! I write goals a lot too, and I think it helps start healthy habits. I’ll be praying that God will keep you focussed on them 🙂
Rachel, thank you for the prayers! I will definitely need them!!!
I don’t think that your goals/checklist for 2011 is insane. In fact I have a lot of the same things I want to get done, such as pictures, eating better and things around the home. I do want to comment on how floored I am that you hate dirt! You grew up in the country! I love dirt! What exactly do you hate about dirt? Is it getting it under your nails? Cause thats a pain to get out. I look forward to hearing about what you accomplish during the year!!
Angela, I think my big thing about dirt is just that I’m lazy… I don’t like the clean up involved. Yeah, it is kind of pathetic! Of course the other big thing is that bugs live in dirt. I’ve gotten much better about handling bugs, but they still aren’t my best friends of mine!
That’s a lot of goals, but just about how you could feel at the end of the year if you accomplish HALF of them!
As for the home organization part, I’ve gotten a lot of ideas from the blog apartmenttherapy.com They run features for budget-conscious and small spaces and often have very creative ides. I also just discovered http://www.IkeaHackers.com which is a fun place ro go and discover how some very creative people make stock furniture work for them.
Sarah, thanks for the tips!
That is a lot of goals, but I think you can do it!
Okay, I do think this list is insane, if only because I started out reading thinking to myself “um, I don’t have any goals” then as I continued to read I realized I need to do most of the things on that list.
So commencing panic attack in 3, 2, 1…
Also? It was lovely meeting you!
Megan, you crack me up. The list is insane, but like you said, most of the things on the list are things that most people do anyway. I just happen to write it all out! 🙂
You can totally do it. I have heard the super moms here talk about doing time frames with the kids-1/2hr blocks where they have the kids doing certain things. For example-1/2hr of room time, 1/2 hr of books,etc. If you have Grace doing an activity that doesn’t require your full attention, you could be working on your 5 million other goals. It does take some time for the blocks of time. I can ask them about it if you want. Kailey has a totally firm routine and I enjoy it. She and I both know what is coming and can deal better with that. You might even have to wake up earlier than she does…all the time….to accomplish some of the personal spiritual goals. I won’t even tell you what time I wake up 🙂
Lisa, I’ve heard that the key really is to wake up before your kids. However, I have ZERO intentions of ever doing that. I’m a night person and there is no way I’m getting out of bed any earlier than I have to. I’ve been doing my devotions in bed before I go to sleep & that works well for me. I’d love to hear more about this “totally firm schedule” of yours. 🙂
A great book for canning is Ball Blue Book Guide to Home Canning, Freezing & Dehydration. I believe it is still available. It is like a lifesaver!!
Deanna, thanks for the tip! I’ll have to look into it.