It’s goal-setting time!! I almost treat setting my yearly goals as its own holiday. I look forward to it. Prepare for it. And set aside special time for it. I can remember my first time setting real yearly goals and I distinctly remember feeling a bit of an aversion to it. Now that I’ve set multiple yearly goals and thousands of monthly ones, I feel like a pro. As a matter of fact, I even learned a valuable lesson last year. I set my 2015 goals without realizing how ambitious I was. I’m known for thinking I can do more than humanly possible in a day, so I definitely have to monitor my ambition when I plan for the year. After struggling to track and accomplish all of my many goals, I adjusted down to just one goal in April. I realized that I needed to pare down if I were going to really accomplish anything, and I felt relieved afterwards.

This year, I am setting more than one personal goal for the year. However, most of these are smaller, more easily attainable goals. They are things that I’m choosing to focus on throughout the year and that I’ll continue to work on as the time passes. I did my best to be more realistic and more conscientious of how quickly time passes. I didn’t set these big, lofty goals that could easily take a major lifestyle change to accomplish. Instead, I chose a few various areas to focus on. It’s almost like this list is more like intentions than goals. Yes, these are measurable and achievable. Ideally, I’ll be able to “mark them off” at the end of the year. However, my mindset is more about choosing to focus on these areas of my life rather than others this year. That enough talking about goal setting? Let’s dive in:

1. Reserve more personal time. I just talked about the goals being measurable and as it’s written, this one is a bit too vague. I still need to determine a metric in which I’ll be able to track this, so if you have ideas, please share! As I mentioned intentions, my intention this year is to place a lot of emphasis on my time. When things get busy or responsibilities grow, my time is the first to go. I need to train myself not to forfeit that time.

The specific ways in which I’m going to work on this are: resting before I crash and burn, spending more time at home…even if that means working from home more, more days off (For me, it’s not a day off if I have to wash my hair or put on makeup.), regular massages, and reserving time for creative activities. Sounds easy. I already know that I’ll struggle here.

2. 12,000-15,000 steps a day at least 4 times a week. I recently got a Fitbit and I have high hopes for it helping me change my activity level. My original goal was to hit 10k steps a day and then I realized that I was already doing that most days. If I wanted to notice a difference physically, I’d have to do more than I was already doing. So, my intention is to hit between the 12-15k mark, at least 4 days a week.

The specific ways in which I’m going to work on this are: exercise of some sort, continuing to play tennis, and walks around the neighborhood.

3. Easily accessible closets/cabinets/drawers. I’m getting serious about clutter. I’ve made so much progress in the past couple of years, and I’d like to keep going. I’ve transformed the way I purchase and keep things, and I’ve gotten rid of so much extra. However, there are still closets and cabinets that aren’t as easily accessible as I’d like. I want everything to be super easy to retrieve and put away. These last few areas are what’s left to achieve that feeling.

The specific ways in which I’m going to work on this are: continuing to purge and organize. There are 5 closets that need a good bit of attention, 1 closet that needs to be finished, 3 dressers that need thinning, and the kitchen cabinets could use some love. These will be my priority over the next year.

4. Read 8 books. I’ve done much better at reading lately and several books are going to be a part of my growth plan for the year. I think focusing on goal #1 might help me with this goal too. I often forfeit time to read in order to accomplish other tasks, even though I’m starkly aware of its importance.

The specific ways in which I’m going to work on this are: making somewhat of a lifestyle change and slowing down. I’m going to attempt reading a bit with my morning coffee instead of surfing Instagram. Books already on my list include: finishing Rising Strong, Big Magic, Think and Grow Rich, and The Miracle Morning.

5. Learn a new skill. This really could fall into goal #1 as well. There are many things that I want to try or learn, and I often give up that time so easily. This year, I intend to try at least one new thing.

The specific ways in which I’m going to work on this are: by focusing on goal #1. I already have plans to learn to crochet and snow ski. I also purchased a sewing class last summer that I haven’t been through yet. I want to do all of the above!

6. Host people at our home at least once a month. I read this article about how much time we have left with our loved ones, and it shocked me into reality. I often let the days pass without realizing how much time we use up without spending time with friends/family. This year, I want to invite people over often. The second reason for this intention is to help keep my house tidy! I notice that things stay much cleaner around here when I’m expecting visitors. It’s a win-win.

The specific ways in which I’m going to work on this are: planning ahead with friends, practicing new recipes to share, and working to make our backyard a more pleasing and functional space.

7. Introduce one new someday goal. I have a rather lengthy list of things I’d like to accomplish someday. If I were being honest, I’d like to do them all right this second. I actually loathe the idea of waiting until some undetermined time. Nonetheless, reality says that I can’t do all of these things right now. This year, I intend to launch/make progress/develop one someday goal.

The specific ways in which I’m going to work on this are: making a list of these someday goals and watching for opportunities. This year I might develop an ecourse, start writing business posts, introduce public speaking to my repertoire, or any of my other big ideas.

8. Keep my plants alive. You probably snickered at that one. It seems a bit silly, although it might be the hardest task on the list for me. I do not have a green thumb. If I needed to reason with the plants to make them stay live, I’d be set. Instead, you have to water them and provide them the exact amount of sunlight needed. It’s so tedious! And my plants are moody. (That’s my way of putting the blame back on them…not myself.) If you’re one of those folks that just keep everything alive by your natural abilities, I envy you. For me, I’m going to have to work at it.

The specific ways in which I’m going to work on this are: repotting and fertilizing a few and spending some time actually learning how to care for them. Hard work, you guys.

That, folks, is what I intend to work on this year. At first glance, some of the goals seem a little simple. However, they’re all going to require dedication and effort on my part. None of these come naturally for me and I’ll have to focus and sometimes make tough decisions in order to make them happen. Even though they’ll all require attentiveness from me, I also worked really hard to be sure to limit myself. I wanted to be sure to not overdo it again this year, and to choose the most important goals on my mental list. If all the stars align, I’ll accomplish these and more! However, if I end 2016 having focused heavily on these 8 areas, I’ll be amply satisfied.

If you’re setting goals this year, I wish you the best of luck with them. I’m here to encourage you and support you. If you haven’t set goals before, I encourage you to give it a shot! It’s best to write them down and put them out there for accountability sake. If you are a big goal setter or if it’s your first time and you find it to no longer be working, it’s okay to abandon goals or tweak them along the way. The important part is to do SOMETHING that propels you towards something. Big or small…doesn’t matter.

What are you hoping to work on this year?

P.S. I rambled a bit about my vision for 2016 yesterday, if you’re interested.