Our Five Ring Circus: 40 Attainable Goals for 2018

Friday, January 5, 2018

40 Attainable Goals for 2018

40 Attainable Goals for 2018

2018 is off to a rapid start! My January calendar is already full, and we are only 4 days in. (How does that happen?!?) Even though I don't believe in setting New Year's resolutions, I do like to jot down a few goals that I have for the following year. I only have one rule: The goals MUST be attainable!


The word "resolution" is so final. I feel like making a resolution just sets me up for failure. I like the word goal so much better, because I can take small steps to achieve that goal, and if I fail at some point, I can just start over where I left off!

Take this week for example. Had I set actual resolutions, I would have already failed on many of them. Blog three times a week? FAIL. Go to bed before midnight during weeknights? Triple fail. Read blog posts each morning? Fail. Exercise at least 3 times a week? Fail, fail, fail.

Setting goals, however, is the way to go! Life is REAL and it often gets in the way of the best laid plans. (It certainly did this week!) In order to successfully achieve goals, it's so important to allow myself flexibility and forgiveness along the way. That's how my goals become attainable!

40 ATTAINABLE GOALS FOR 2018


FAMILY


✽ Live more in the now. My kids are growing up at rapid speed. I often juggle so much that an entire day can go by before I realize how little time I actually spent with my kids. I want to spend more of my time with THEM. Everything else can wait.

Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory. - Dr. Seuss
✽ Continue to make changes toward a more green-living lifestyle. That was one of my goals last year, and we made so many changes over the course of 12 months. We are going to continue to switch to more organic and eco-friendly product over the next year.

✽ Get family pictures taken. We don't have a single professional family photo!

✽ Make family fitness a priority. Spend more time hiking, walking, and possibly skating or biking together!

✽ Go on regular "dates" with each of my children. It's so important to spend quality alone time with each of my kids so they feel special!

✽ Finish potty training Liam. He was doing SO well, then his issues popped up from eating gluten, and we had to stop. He still goes, but as soon as things get sorted out after his endoscopy, we are putting most of our energy into this!

✽ Start a family game night. We have regular Family Movie Nights, but my kids made this suggestion last year. This year, we will implement it!

The Lucky Few

PERSONAL


✽ Say no more often. I always say yes, but there are definitely times when I give too much of myself. Sometimes I just need to say no!

✽ Go out with my friends once a month. I rarely get out of the house without kids, and although more than once a month isn't really an option with 4 kids, going out once a month with my friends IS doable!

✽ Make self-care a priority. Making a little bit of time for myself each day would be very beneficial! Whether it's reading a chapter in a book or taking a hot bath, I need to do something for myself, without kids or a husband involved, each day!

Blogging

MARRIAGE


✽ Go on a date at least once a month. Yet again, more often is difficult to arrange with 4 kids and all their activities, but we need to go out together...ALONE...once a month!

✽ Do stuff together at home other than our almost daily Netflix Date Nights. I'm thinking card games would be fun!

Husband and Wife

HEALTH & FITNESS


✽ Go to bed before midnight on weeknights. I don't get nearly enough sleep during the week, and have to be awake by 6 AM with Dylan. Most school mornings, I am dragging. I'm going to TRY to go to bed by 11 PM on weeknights.

✽ Start running regularly again. I want to aim for 3 days a week, weather-permitting. I am not one who runs in the cold or extreme heat!

✽ Lift weights 3 days a week. Whenever I exercise, I always seem to push weight training aside first. If I lift while I'm watching TV, it might be more doable!

✽ Start doing yoga again once or twice a week. I used to love it, but gave it up for running. Now I miss it! Ideally, I would love to do it two days a week, but realistically, it will probably only be once a week!

Running

BLOGGING

✽ Publish Posts 3-4 days a week. I used to think 5 was the perfect number, but it just isn't possible, time-wise, these days!

✽ Spend 15 minutes each weekday morning reading some of my favorite blogs. I used to read all of my favorites every single day, but I don't have as much time as I used to.

✽ Stop comparing myself to others. In this fast paced world of social media and blogging, it's easy to feel like I'm constantly falling behind. I need to let go of the guilt and just do my own thing, and stop worrying about numbers. YES, I want to increase my social media following and blog traffic, but I'm not setting a specific number. I REFUSE to stress over numbers, and all growth I have must be authentic! (Have we connected on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter?)

✽ Publish more posts about Down syndrome. I posted so much about this topic during Liam's first year of life, then it just became our normal. I still get emails each week from new parents who found my posts helpful and reassuring, so I want to continue with that!

✽ Treat blogging like a job and set work hours. This is my biggest struggle, and with sponsored posts, I need to think in terms of work. Setting work hours when all of my kids are away or actually scheduling a sitter once a week so I can leave the house to get some work done would help so much!

✽ Use a blogging calendar to schedule personal blog posts, guest posts, sponsored blog posts, and sponsored social media posts. I have one, but I need to make sure I keep track of everything!

✽ Redesign my site or switch to Wordpress. I still haven't decided!

✽ Allow myself to take breaks. Up until this year, I had never really taken more than a few days off in my almost decade of blogging. I just took a 2 week break over Christmas, and it was much needed!

Blogging


HOME


✽ Finish the bathroom! We have been working on the remodel for almost three years. ENOUGH already!

✽ Start repainting. It's something I have been wanting to do for years, but never got around to it. My goal is one room at a time!

✽ Clear out a little bit of clutter each week. With 6 people living in our home, we have so much STUFF. We don't need all that stuff. I want to choose one small section of our home each week and completely organize it, and get rid of the unneccessary items!

✽ Create a cleaning schedule and stick with it as best as I can!

✽ Put laundry away as soon as it's folded.

✽ Get a Roomba. I'm not even kidding.

✽ Create a command center and a mini mudroom in our home. Both projects have been on my to do list for a while!

✽ Get a dog. The kids are begging, and after three years without one, it's time.

✽ Continue with our meal plan, but add one gluten-free meal and one new recipe to our meal plan each month.

School Lunches


ORGANIZATION


✽ Accomplish tasks as soon as they come up rather than push them aside to do later.

✽ Keep up with our family calendar and USE it.

✽ Put things back where they belong every single evening so clutter doesn't build up.

✽ Go through old paperwork. Shred papers that are no longer needed and file away everything else.

✽ Write a To Do list each morning, and check off the most important tasks first.

✽ Mentally go through a DONE list each day. My To Do list may be out of control, but when I sit down and list all the things I actually accomplished, it can be eye opening!

✽ Write down the funny things my kids say and do in a journal. I used to do this all the time, but sadly, got away from it. I want to remember THOSE things!

Planners

I'm not expecting to accomplish every single goal I have listed here. Yes, they are all things I hope to achieve, but my main goal is to have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2018 with my family and friends!


Family

Do you set resolutions or goals each year? What are the goals you hope to achieve in 2018?


40 Attainable Goals for 2018


Find out what was on my list last year:


7 comments:

  1. Wow, we do have a lot of goals for the New Year in common. We'll have to check in with each other to make sure we've been scheduling our personal time :) I love your goal of getting a professional family photo taken this year as well as spending time clearing out clutter each week. (I've recently started writing "to-do" lists each morning, too.) Wishing you a very happy 2018, my friend. Here's to enjoying the big and small moments :)

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    1. I agree with accountability! Looking forward to hearing how your goals are going!

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  2. These are great goals. I'm still thinking of mine, I might have to take some of yours and add them to my list!

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    1. Feel free to grab a few! I'm looking forward to reading yours!

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  3. These are all great ideas! I'm going to cut back on my blog posting as well this year. During the summer I think I'm only going to post three times a week. A lot of people don't read then anyway!

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  4. I totally agree on the resolutions. I don't like them either. Goals are a MUCH better way to go about things. LOVE this list friend. Best of luck marking things off through the year.

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