Once upon a time, I would try to set birthday goals that corresponded with my new age. However, after a year or two of that, you kind of check off the big things that you want to do, and I found myself reaching for goals that weren’t as meaningful.
However, I’m in a busy season again, as anyone with a teenager and a toddler would be, and I turn to goal-setting, in part, because it makes me feel anchored.
So, this year, I’m setting 4 goals for this (that goes with 42, right). The point of these goals are to do things that are good for me/enjoyable on an ongoing basis. These goals are also things that I think will be positive adjustments for my family.
For several years I was very into doing quite a bit of regular exercise. I have fallen off of that habit over the last 3 years. How do I know it was three years-ish. *Cough, cough* Lincoln. Pregnancy plus the last two years. I like exercising. It makes me feel good, and it makes me feel good about accomplishing something. I used to say regularly (to myself), “I exercised today, and no matter what else happens, no one can take that away from me.” 42 minutes a day (on average) is definitely attainable if I commit to making time for it. So, BOOM, a goal!
One year, I had a goal to make 100 new-to-me recipes in a year. I met the goal and made lots of stuff that I wouldn’t have made otherwise. Right now, I don’t have time for a goal like that in my life, but, I can get back to meal planning. Now, that said, I recognize that what I need is a loose meal plan. I need to have an idea for what I’ll be cooking in the coming week. I need to leave some flexibility in there, and also account for using leftovers. Finally, this is the first time in a very, very long time that I am attempting meal planning in a household with another adult in it. So, I need to factor that in, too. I think that I have landed upon something that is showing promise for working for the above needs. Now it’s time to stick to it. So, BOOM, a goal!
Maybe it is just mom-of-a-toddler brain, or just the impact of being mentally divided over many things at any given time, but I am nervous about forgetting things that I might want to remember. So, with that in mind, I want to keep memory keeping, well, in mind. I don’t have a particular plan here. Returning to this blog, periodically, for example is one of the things that I’m doing to get some of these moments recorded. I’ll probably do a December scrapbook this year, and also, make a point to print some of the photos that would otherwise just live on my phone. So, BOOM, a goal!
This one is just for fun! I’d been wanting to play around with Procreate for a while, and a couple of weeks ago, I took the plunge. And I want to make time over the next year to learn it. One of the things that I like here is that it gives me a place to play around creatively that doesn’t involve pulling out a bunch of supplies that a certain toddler will want to pick up, eat, shake, or dump. So, BOOM, a goal!
I look forward to adding some goal setting into my days and feel extremely grateful that I, now, feel the capacity again to do so.