Making Goals for the New Year

I asked my daughters tonight at the dinner table if they knew what a resolution is. The two younger ones, 8 and 5, didn't know and didn't try to guess. My 10 year old said, "It's a promise people make every year and they never keep." My husband and I busted out laughing - because we know it's true. I've sworn off resolutions. I would much rather make myself goals that are actually possible to attain. So, I asked my girls what kind of goals they would like to make for this month for themselves and then we talked about some goals for our family. It was a great conversation. I have decided to make monthly goals for myself this year instead of yearly. It's much less intimidating and overwhelming and I'm less likely to fail at them with such a short time frame. I have categorized mine into 4 categories this month. Spiritual goals, personal goals, blogging goals and health goals. Here are some things I have found helpful in planning and keeping goals. Maybe they'll be helpful to you, too!

Get a good planner. This monthly planner is going to be close by my side everyday. Believe it or not I found this at the dollar store. And it's perfect. Great size, great color, and just what I need. It shows year at a glance for 2014 and 2015. It also shows month at a glance for 2014 and includes a section for notes and reminders. I love it! I've been very scatterbrained lately and forget things or get distracted by other things needing my attention, so this calendar is going to be very useful in helping me stay on track. 

Set a realistic time frame for your goals. If you want to lose 40 pounds, don't limit yourself to 6 weeks and expect to meet your goal. Calculate a reasonable time frame for your goal and then figure out how you will accomplish that goal. One of my goals is to declutter my entire house (I do this a couple times a year), but I'm pretty sure it won't get done in a two week time frame. It'll take me at least this whole month because of other obligations I have.

Make a step by step plan. In order to reach a goal like decluttering my whole house, I have a plan to go room by room, starting with drawers then closets and then the open, obvious things in each room. As I go along, each room will also be cleaned from top to bottom using cleaning plans like these. Everything will be split into 3 piles. 1) Give away, 2) Throw away 3) Sell. That way everything that stays has a purpose and has value. Anything else goes! {I can't wait!!}

Do you make resolutions or goals? Do you set a time frame or just hope it all gets done? I'm motivated by a new year! It's a clean slate. A chance to start all over. Another chance to succeed. It's exciting and I have high hopes for this new year!

Hope all of you have a wonderful new year!




Follow my blog with Bloglovin