Sunday, January 8, 2012

My goals for January 2012 - my twist on the New Year's resolution thing.


So last year I chose a word, I think it was "CREATE".  I liked that idea but I never really followed through with the idea.  New Years resolutions are really exciting to me.  I like to make start dates to the "new me" and typically I just keep putting it off and I always fail.  So this year I have decided to find success by breaking the whole new years resolution into monthly focus themes.  And then in that month I will take each week and focus on smaller goals that I can actually accomplish, letting some themes carry into upcoming months.

  At the motherhood retreat I went on last fall I remember the idea of making a goal and breaking it into manageable action steps.  Returning from that trip my friend Sarah and I shared weekly goals with each other and I found this to be soooo motivating.  So I am trying to transfer that into my 2012 goals. 

 
So this month I am all about SIMPLIFYING.



My big goals for January are to:

1.  Get up earlier than the kids and participate in a morning routine that gets me in the right groove so that our morning flows easier (more simple) and smooth.  The morning routine will focus on a few things that I want to accomplish before we enter the daily grind.  This week I am taking my first step of getting up around 6 (when Ed gets up).  I want to enjoy this time of day.  The quiet.  The dark.  The time.

  I will also be developing an evening routine that closes my day, making sleep more simple.  This routine will involve things that will help the next days adventures.  This week I am going to focus on the first item (of the few that my routine will consist of) and that will be making sure the kitchen is cleaned up. 

3.  Get the boys going on their jobs.  With winter break thrown into our life, the boys got out of the habit of doing their morning and evening jobs.  So this month we are going to get back in that habit.  This week I am going to be really upbeat and encouraging of them getting their jobs done.  Getting these jobs done independently will make everything more simple.

4. Get our space cleaned up and organized.  I have been purging and organizing all the nooks and crannies of our house. We have a load getting picked up by a donation truck on Thursday and another load going to the garbage pile tomorrow. It feels so good. There are other areas that I would like to simplify or make more smooth.   This week I am going to get a few drawers organized in the kitchen and celebrate the donation truck and garbage truck rolling up.  I am also trying to organize my email system so things don't seem so overloaded in that area of my life. 

5.  Get outside.  Getting outside always seems like a big task but we have been surprised with a really mild winter so far.  I want to make sure that we are getting outside for AT LEAST 15 minutes each day.  This week we will walk to get Charley in the afternoons and dawdle just a wee bit and enjoy the warmer temps.

6.  Get real.  Daily to do lists can get long and overwhelming.  I started a notebook to jot down my big goals for the week and I have my "reminder" thingy on my phone where I can organize my to do lists.  I would like to make sure I am keeping my expectations reasonable...three items sounds do-able. 

7.  Get hydrated.   Water.  Simple.  Needed.  And not consumed enough by me.  So let's see if I can get a few glasses of water in during the day. 

So these again, are the big items for the month and I have kind of worked this weeks action steps into this post (in bold).  So really, I want to simplify our home, simplify my to do expectations for each day, I want the boys to get rolling with their job charts, and I want to have a morning and evening routine that brings a better mood around these parts. 

So this week the bold print items up above are my action steps.  Hoping to find success.
I am guessing this post is a complete ramble to all of you.  HAHA!

What are you thinking for new year's resolutions?  Goals?  Are you one to get on board and toot your horn or are you against the idea of new years resolutions?  What are your goals for 2012?



3 comments:

shellycoulter said...

Good job! I love New Years Resolutions! :)

Get a Camelback or Under Armour waterbottle...they both have straws (but are slightly different from each other...you don't have to bite down on the under armour ones). They can be small enough to take with you and keep in your purse/diaper bag. When I drink out of them instead of a glass of water, I find I drink way more (3 or 4 times mores)! Not only am I physically drinking more due to the straw, it is easier to keep with me. Its spill proof so I can keep it down on the floor when I'm playing with the kids or on the couch with me if I'm working, etc. Just an idea! :)

The Tompkins Family said...

Fantastic! Good for you, they sound doable.

I love having goals for the year. I'm motivated by them and never want to disappoint myself. One of my fitness goals is to be able to do 100 pushups (the real kind, not the girlie!). I'm scared!

CB said...

I like your idea of breaking it down to a monthly focus - seems much more do-able.

I don't drink enough water either. I started carrying around a water bottle, that seems to help!

I'm curious, what jobs do you have your boys do? My kids are around the same age and I'd like to set something up for them. In the past, I've had the oldest do chores here and there, but I have never tried anything with the 3.5 year old.

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