No matter what your path, if you believe it, you can have it. –Jason Mraz
I love a fresh start, don’t you? I began thinking about my new year goals back in December but I wanted to wait until we returned from vacation to make sure they were achievable. It’s so easy to have lofty goals when you’re out of the grind of daily responsibilities and the bustle of everyday life.
There’s nothing I love more than transformation and growth. I try to come up with new goals a couple of times a year, usually at the start of the school year in September (I’ll probably always think of a year in terms of the school calendar) and in January at the official start of a new year. As they say, vision without action is just a dream. I know all too well that the idea will pass and life will keep going — the laundry, the dishes, they’ll always be there won’t they? I know that unless I take time to connect the dots and plot out my movements from point A to point B I won’t achieve anything. So today I’m sharing some of my own goals and how I plan on achieving them. This isn’t everything I have in store for 2020 (some of my goals are private) but I hope that by sharing them I’ll inspire you to think through your process of making your dreams a reality.
Go to bed by 11:30. // I have a teen that doesn’t go to bed until after 10pm and two others who aren’t much earlier than that so I had gotten into a bad habit of going to bed between 1 and 2 am. I feel much more creative and inspired late at night. Those few hours when the house becomes quiet I could accomplish a lot. But I knew it wasn’t good for me because I wasn’t getting enough sleep. Everyone would still wake up between 6 and 7am everyday. Even if I didn’t NEED to be up with them it was unavoidable that I would wake up. Who can sleep with all that noise anyway? Hence, I was routinely getting less than 6 hours of sleep a night. I want to change that this year. Even though I love my time by myself late at night I’m aiming to be in bed by 12pm so I can get enough sleep. I’ve set my iPhone to alert me at 11:15pm when it’s time to wrap up.
Take Steps to being eco-concscious. // The more my kids come home from school and show me videos about the environmental harm our generation and our predecessors have caused, the more I realize I want to take steps to be a good steward of our environment. I’m not the most environmentally conscious person so using the principle “start where you are” I’m taking small steps to focus on sustainability. The fashion industry has a huge negative impact on our resources so I’m researching ways to focus on sustainability. I’m being practical with my expectations (I realize I will still want to buy new clothes) but if I can recycle, lesson my carbon footprint, or cause less harm I’m aiming to do so. I’ll be dedicating a post each quarter of this year to the topic of fashion and sustainability.
Plan Meals In Advance. // One of my biggest personal goals this year is meal planning. I’m committing to planning three meals a week. My aim is to prep all of our meals on Sunday. I realize that once spring sports are in full swing our Sundays will suddenly become very busy. When that happens I’ll shift my meal prepping to Monday. In the past we’ve been fortunate to have a chef prepare a bunch of meals for us at the start of the week and for us that will be a great way to continue meal prep during the busy spring and fall months. I feel so much more comfortable that I will achieve this goal knowing that I have a backup plan during the busiest times of the year.
Eat Dinner earlier. // Hand in hand with planning meals in advance is my goal to eat dinner earlier. Our family routinely eats dinner between 7:30 and 8:30pm. My kids always comment on how much earlier all of our neighbors eat than we do. For me it was a product of running around all afternoon driving carpools . . . . and not thinking of a dinner plan until it was time for dinner. I joined a healthy eating accountability group which has provided recipes for our three weekday meals on Sunday. If the meals are in the fridge and ready to go when we would usually begin to think about dinner is the time when we will sit down and eat.
What are your dreams for 2020 and how will you achieve them? Leave me a note in the comments below or email me. We can be accountable to each other!
If you like this post please subscribe to receive regular email updates. Did you know that now you can follow a hashtag on Instagram? Follow #lunchwithagirlfriend. For more inspiration, you can also follow me on Facebook and Pinterest .
